Featured | Mount Sinai Today

Seventh Episode of Mount Sinai Future You Features One Artist’s Battle with Cancer

Nov 5, 2018 | Featured, Future You

Episode 7 of Mount Sinai Future You highlights innovation in science and features one artist’s battle with late stage, drug resistant, multiple myeloma. With the research of Samir Parekh, MD, Director of Multiple Myeloma Translational Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the patient participated in a clinical trial that helped him achieve his dream of finishing a painting that had been in the works for 40 years.

Mount Sinai Future You, Episode 7, also features:

Clinicians from the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai discussing advances in cancer treatments
William Oh, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Deputy Director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, shows how rapidly cycling prostate cancer medications may prevent drug resistance
Ash Tewari, MD, System Chair of the Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Dennis Charney, MD, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, raise awareness for prostate health with a push-up challenge
Barry A. Salky, MD, Chief Emeritus of the Division of Laparoscopic Surgery at Mount Sinai, and an alumni of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses minimally invasive surgical techniques
Alfred Iloreta, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and member of the Division of Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performs minimally invasive surgery on a patient who had been misdiagnosed for years
Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Director of Immunotherapy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, uses precision medicine to develop a personalized vaccine to attack cancer mutations
James Ferrara, MD, Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, leads a study that uses the lining of the gastrointestinal tract to create a new class of drugs
Edward Wolin, MD, Director of Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumor Center at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai and William Oh, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Deputy Director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, discuss the development of advanced imaging procedures for treating tumors in the gastrointestinal system

Watch other episodes of Mount Sinai Future You

$43 Million Grant for Study of Environmental Effects on Children’s Health

Nov 5, 2018 | Featured, Research

Robert O. Wright, MD, MPH, and Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have been awarded a $43 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue their work in a sweeping five-year research program called Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). The national ECHO study aims to evaluate how a range of environmental factors, also known as the exposome, affect health during childhood, adolescence, and the transition into adulthood. At Mount Sinai, this work builds on the expertise and resources of the Institute for Exposomic Research, which is co-directed by two international leaders in the field, Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH, Horace W. Goldsmith Professor of Pediatrics, and Dean for Translational Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine; and Robert O. Wright, MD, MPH, Professor and Ethel H. Wise Chair of the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health.

“Exposomic research is changing the way medicine is practiced by finally addressing the largely unstudied role that our environment plays in our health—and doing so on the grandest possible scale,” says Dr. Robert Wright. In the ECHO program, institutions across the nation will study up to 50,000 families, investigating the influence of environmental exposures on four key areas: perinatal outcomes such as preterm birth; child growth and obesity; respiratory disorders; and neurobehavioral and cognitive difficulties that may affect social and academic functioning in the longer term. The Wrights are principal investigators of a regional ECHO consortium, including sites in New York City, Boston, and Virginia, that will study 5,000 women and children, measuring the exposome across their diverse ethnic backgrounds.

“Synergistic programs”

Mount Sinai has also received two related NIH grants, for a total of $19.4 million, that fund its participation in the Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource (CHEAR) program, which is designed to support ECHO. One CHEAR grant funds a Laboratory Hub, led by Dr. Robert Wright, which analyzes environmental chemicals, metabolites, hormones, and other factors. The other supports the Data Repository, Analysis, and Science Center, led by Susan Teitelbaum, PhD, Professor, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, which conducts big data analysis. Across the nation, there are six CHEAR laboratory hubs, and one data center, at Mount Sinai. “ECHO and CHEAR are naturally synergistic programs,” says Dr. Robert Wright. “CHEAR will run exposomic assays on samples collected by ECHO that can identify thousands of chemicals to which children are exposed, and can systematically study which are toxic, which are harmless, and which are beneficial.”

In 2016, Mount Sinai won a large NIH grant during the development phase of ECHO, and since then Dr. Robert Wright and Dr. Rosalind Wright have been part of a select national committee that has shaped the program. Now they are helping set protocols for the researchers who will follow up with mothers and children at multiple stages of life—collecting samples of blood, urine, hair, saliva, and placental tissue, and gathering data on birth weight, preterm birth, growth, cognitive development, and lung development.

Informing better health

One overarching goal of the ECHO study is “solution-oriented research,” Dr. Rosalind Wright says. “We are not just looking for risk factors, we are also measuring factors that might be protective and build resilience. For example, there is evidence that higher intake of antioxidants such as vitamin C and anti-inflammatory fatty acids, like omega-3 fish oils, can buffer the effects of stress and other toxins. We are now looking at the effect of diet on exposure to air pollution and chemical toxicities,” she says. “People in the ECHO program are really excited—we are all in this because we want our research to inform better health.”

A New Mount Sinai Partnership With the U.S. Military Gets Underway

Nov 5, 2018 | Featured

From the ranks of the U.S. military to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, from left: Ray Tang, Chris Bellaire, Brendan Bechard, and Thomas Fetherston.

A new Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai admissions program for United States military personnel recently welcomed its first recruit: former Marine Lieutenant Chris Bellaire, who will join the Class of 2023 in September.

“The opportunity to apply when I was on active duty and then defer acceptance was so accommodating that it, honestly, changed my life,” says Mr. Bellaire, a Princeton University alumnus and former intelligence officer who supported Marine units engaged in tactical and special operations. Accepted to Mount Sinai’s program in March, he is currently attending a post-baccalaureate graduate program at Columbia University.

Chris Bellaire

All full-time active duty military personnel are eligible to apply to Mount Sinai if they have a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. or Canadian-accredited institution that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The arrangement is similar to the Icahn School of Medicine’s popular FlexMed program, which allows college sophomores to apply for early assurance of acceptance to medical school. Students accepted through both FlexMed and the new military program do not take the Medical College Acceptance Test (MCAT).

Adjusting admissions requirements is rooted in evidence that students with “nontraditional” backgrounds match the performance of students who spend their college education immersed in science courses. Before taking their places in medical school, these aspiring physicians must complete one year of coursework in both biology and chemistry, a semester of physics, a semester of statistics, and one year of laboratory work in biology and/or chemistry. Admitted students are required to achieve a “B” in all required courses, and to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5. They must also log 100 hours of documented clinical service in nursing homes, clinics, or other patient facilities.

Military backgrounds enrich the pool of doctors, says David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education and the Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair in Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Medicine and service are inseparable, and service is paramount for women and men who are on active duty. “Through great efforts they give more than most of us can ever imagine giving in a lifetime,” Dr. Muller says. “They bring incredible talent, diverse knowledge, and unique skills to the learning environment and the health care workforce.”

Active duty often requires urgent decisions to be made under pressure, experience that is immensely valuable to doctors who work in emergency rooms, intensive care units, or operating rooms. “When you think about leadership, team building, discipline, maturity, and focus,” Dr. Muller says, “they embody the best of those attributes.”

Ray Tang

Indeed, second-year Mount Sinai medical student Ray Tang says his experience as an infantryman in the Marines, serving two deployments in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2013, provided him with the “strict discipline and organization that has helped me stay on top of my schoolwork, while maintaining good health and work-life balance. The training and deployments improved my mental toughness and ability to stay calm in stressful, high-risk situations,” he says. In addition, the teamwork he experienced in the Marines has helped him work effectively with others, which is a critical component of delivering excellent patient care.

Reaching prospective students with news of Mount Sinai’s tailored admissions process for applicants on active duty has been somewhat challenging, says Dr. Muller. But it was his 2015 interview with National Public Radio about nontraditional paths to a medical education that actually caught the attention of Mr. Bellaire. “I thought the door to medical school had closed. Then I heard about a school that values nontraditional experience,” he recalls. A phone call to express his interest in Mount Sinai’s medical school reached Dr. Muller, who told him about the new initiative. Mr. Bellaire applied in the fall of 2017 and had an interview at Mount Sinai in March 2018, one week after completing his military service.

During his stint in the Marines, and on his own time, Mr. Bellaire assisted in the emergency department and the intensive care unit of a hospital near the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii. While deployed in the Philippines, he confirmed his interest in global health and serving disenfranchised and vulnerable populations.

Seeing veterans with injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder helped spark Mr. Bellaire’s interest in medicine and steered him toward the Icahn School of Medicine’s Neuropathology Research Division Training Program, directed by John F. Crary, MD, PhD. While enrolled at Columbia, Mr. Bellaire is volunteering at Dr. Crary’s brain bank at Mount Sinai and learning about brain diseases in preparation for medical school next year.

Thomas Fetherston

Former infantry medic Thomas Fetherston, a first-year medical student and recipient of the F. Edward Hébert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program, approaches a career in medicine informed by his battlefield experience assisting injured soldiers in Afghanistan. The alarming frequency of suicide and suicidal thoughts among returning veterans has spurred his current interest in the use of ketamine for drug-resistant depression.

“Dealing with people who have suffered losses has enabled me to better understand their stress and to understand the doctors who are at the end of the line for a lot of their patients,” he says. After medical school and residency, he plans to resume his army career.

Now a second-year Mount Sinai medical student, Brendan Bechard enlisted in the Marines in 2005. While stationed in Quantico, Virginia, and Okinawa, Japan, he maintained the military’s vital supply chain and enhanced unit readiness for operations throughout Southeast Asia. When his service ended, he earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Columbia University and subsequently performed research for the Traumatic Stress Studies Division, which is directed by Rachel Yehuda, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx.

Brendan Bechard

“My interest in neuroscience is directly related to my service,” says Mr. Bechard, who leads the Icahn School of Medicine’s student group for military veterans. “It’s our duty as medical student-veterans to continue serving our sisters and brothers in arms.” In addition to furnishing a robust support community for all military veterans who work or study at the Mount Sinai Health System, the group encourages medical students to work with Veterans Affairs medical facilities in New York City.

Mount Sinai’s support for veterans has been incredibly encouraging, says Mr. Bellaire. “The new pathway program is an example of how the school really values diversity and service. It seemed like the perfect fit for me as I planned for my medical education after the military.”

Nurses Salute Physicians Who Excel as Partners in Care

Nov 5, 2018 | Community, Featured

From left: Laura Stark, DNP, RN; Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC; Tao Xu, MD; Gregory Serrao, MD; and Judah Sueker, MD.

Before an enthusiastic audience of faculty and staff, and family and friends, 13 physicians at The Mount Sinai Hospital were honored by nurse colleagues and Nursing leadership with the 31st Annual Physician of the Year Award. The ceremony, held Tuesday, September 25, at Stern Auditorium, is a yearly salute to physicians who excel in patient care and foster strong collaborative partnerships with nurses.

“All of the award winners are partners in care and have earned the respect and appreciation of the Mount Sinai community of nurses,” said Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC, Edgar M. Cullman, Sr. Chair of the Department of Nursing, and Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services, The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Nurses showed their appreciation of the award winners with speeches, videos, and PowerPoint presentations, set to pop music and filled with accolades like these: excellent communicator, team player, compassionate, hands-on, forward-thinking, engaged, approachable, and thorough in patient care. Gregory Serrao, MD, who won the Fellow Award, thanked the nurses he works with at Mount Sinai Heart, saying, “They have become friends, they have become mentors, and they are living examples of what it means to always put patients first.

David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital, said: “Every physician who was nominated by Mount Sinai nurses should feel a tremendous sense of pride for cultivating patient-care teams that promote clinical excellence.”

The 2018 honorees were:

House Officer Award

Judah Sueker, MD, Chief Resident, Department of Emergency Medicine

Fellow Award

Gregory Serrao, MD, Mount Sinai Heart

Attending Award

Tao Xu, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hospital Medicine)

Special Recognition Award

TeamSTEPPS Stroke Team, Department of Neurology: Benjamin Brush, MD; Bradley Delman, MD; Gregory Fernandez, MD; Andy Jagoda, MD; Cappi Lay, MD; Peter Shearer, MD; Hazem Shoirah, MD; Paul Singh, MD, MPH; Laura Stein, MD; Judah Sueker, MD; Stanley Tuhrim, MD.

From left: Tara Roche, RN; Laura Stark, DNP, RN; Hazem Shoirah; MD; Danielle Wheelwright, RN; Cappi Lay, MD; Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC; Laura Stein, MD; Stanley Tuhrim, MD; Bradley Delman, MD; Judah Sueker, MD; and Paul Singh, MD.

Albert Siu, MD, MSPH, Elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Nov 5, 2018 | Community, Featured

Albert Siu, MD, MSPH

Albert Siu, MD, MSPH, chair emeritus of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. This is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine, and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“Dr. Siu is an exceptional leader in health policy research and medicine,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. “His knowledge of aging and health care policy will be a tremendous asset to the National Academy of Medicine.”

After serving as the chair from 2003 to 2017 of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, the nation’s first—and now largest—medical school department of geriatrics, Dr. Siu has dedicated himself full time to building and leading the nation’s most ambitious Hospital at Home program. Under Dr. Siu’s leadership, and with the support of an award from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, the program has provided acute hospital-level care for nearly 800 patients who otherwise would have been treated in the hospital.

“The Hospital at Home program has made a huge improvement in patients’ lives,” says Dr. Charney. “Its clinical outcomes show measurable reductions in patient readmissions, emergency department visits, and transfers to skilled nursing facilities.”

The Academy provides independent, objective analysis and advice on health issues, and its members are elected through a selective process. With the election of Dr. Siu, Mount Sinai has 21 current faculty members in the Academy.

National Cancer Institute Leader Visits Mount Sinai

Nov 5, 2018 | Cancer, Community, Featured, Research

From left: Luis M. Isola, MD, Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), and Pediatrics; Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, Director, The Tisch Cancer Institute; Norman E. Sharpless, MD, Director, National Cancer Institute; and William Oh, MD, Deputy Director, The Tisch Cancer Institute, and Associate Director of Clinical & Translational Research for the Institute.

Aging is one of the greatest risk factors for developing cancer, which is most frequently diagnosed among people aged 65-74. But there are no simple explanations for the “multifaceted” science behind this connection, according to Norman E. Sharpless, MD, Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

On Thursday, September 13, Dr. Sharpless addressed the topic in a seminar titled “The Dynamic Interplay between Cancer and Aging,” which he presented before a standing-room-only crowd in Davis Auditorium on The Mount Sinai Hospital campus. Dr. Sharpless has devoted much of his career to studying the connection between cancer and aging. Developing a better understanding of this relationship is particularly important, he said, because people over the age of 65 make up the fastest growing segment of the nation’s population.

Dr. Sharpless was invited to speak about his own research by The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he spent the earlier part of the day meeting with leaders of the Institute and medical school. He had lunch with postdoctoral fellows and students who work in Mount Sinai’s cancer-focused laboratories, and met with faculty and staff who oversee Mount Sinai’s Cancer Center Support Grant. The grant provides Mount Sinai with its NCI designation as one of an elite group of U.S. institutions committed to the research and treatment of cancer.

During the day’s meetings, Dr. Sharpless shared his vision for NCI programs and discussed trends in funding and cancer research. The Tisch Cancer Institute received its NCI designation for the fi rst time in 2015 and is preparing to renew the competitive grant in 2019. Since his appointment to the NCI in 2017, Dr. Sharpless has spent time visiting NCI-designated cancer centers around the country. On his recent trip to New York City, he also visited the Albert Einstein Cancer Center.

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