Mount Sinai’s Graduating Master’s Students Share Their Experiences and Passions

Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Featured, School

Why a master’s degree? Here, five graduates at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences share how they will use their degree to explore new paths and careers.

Mackenzie Langan Receives a Master of Science in Biomedical Science Degree, Immersing Herself in Research and Gaining New Insights into Brain Disorders

“Mount Sinai has completely changed my life. I’ve had a lot of really great mentors and I definitely would not have gotten here without the support of all those people. Everyone is invested in seeing you succeed. And I think that the level of caring is something that has just really blown me away.”

Read her story

Trisha Tagle: A Project Manager in Neurology Plans to Use Her Master of Health Administration Degree To Move Health Care Forward for All Patients

“One of my project proposals focused on how to make health care technology more inclusive. Not every patient has a smartphone, for example. So how can we give more patients access, to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks? I’m a very process-oriented person, so the idea of making sure we capture everyone is very important to me.”

Read her story

How Conducting Research in Artificial Intelligence Through the Master of Science in Clinical Research Program Puts Olivia Cullen on a Physician-Scientist Path 

“For me, the MSCR program was an opportunity to understand the inner workings of clinical research to discover what interested me most. Ultimately, I fell in love with data science research, and now I’m about to begin an MD/PhD program at Mount Sinai with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Medicine.”

Read her story

Varsha Venu, MBBS, MPH: How Her Training as a Medical Doctor Revealed a New Passion for Public Health

“Without good public health, the entire community suffers, and that is probably the biggest reason why I chose not to become a practicing doctor, but instead to take on roles that would ensure that I could give the best care to an entire community and not just individual patients. Public health enables me to contribute to society in a more holistic way.”

Read her story

A Unique Set of Resources at Mount Sinai Enables Thomas Dolan To Find a Passion for Biostatistics

“[The faculty’s] passion for biostats stands out, and it really showed in their coursework and even in conversations about their field.”

Read his story

Read more about Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Read more about the 2022 Master’s Commencement Ceremony: Celebrating fortitude and achievement

Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Approved for a Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing

Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Community, Featured, School

The Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel has been approved to charter a chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Sigma is the global leader in recognizing excellence in education, practice, and research in nursing. This milestone designation will allow the school to charter its own chapter and induct members into the Society from the school as well as nursing leaders in the Mount Sinai Health System.

Laly Joseph, DVM, DNP, CNE, RN, C, MSN, APRN, ANP, FNAP

“We are excited and honored to have received this invitation from Sigma,” said Laly Joseph, DVM, DNP, CNE, RNC, MSN, APRN, ANP, FNAP, Senior Associate Dean at the Phillips School of Nursing and President of the school’s Sigma Chapter. “Sigma members are leaders at all levels of the health care industry, which includes top-notch nursing executives, clinicians, educators, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and others. Our students and nurse leaders from the Health System will join a distinguished group of nurses who have met or exceeded the rigorous standards required to receive an invitation to join Sigma.”

A chartering and induction ceremony is planned for the fall of 2022 and will include nursing students and nurse leaders from the Mount Sinai Health System.

“Being selected to host a Sigma chapter is a testament to our school’s commitment in nursing education and scholarship. I want to thank Dr. Laly Joseph and the faculty for their hard work in preparing us to gain this honor,” said Dean Todd Ambrosia, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNAP.

Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the learning, knowledge, and professional development of nurses as part of a commitment to making a difference in health worldwide. The society was founded in 1922 by six nurses at the Indiana University Training School for Nurses, now the Indiana University School of Nursing.

Dean Todd Ambrosia, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNAP

Sigma’s mission is to create a global community of nurses who lead in using knowledge, scholarship, service and learning to improve public health around the world, which aligns with the mission of the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Membership is by invitation based on scholarly achievement. Baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, along with nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing, are invited to join.

Sigma has more than 130,000 active members in more than 100 countries, and there are 540 chapters at 700 institutions of higher education worldwide. Members have numerous professional development opportunities in the areas of education, leadership, career development, evidence-based nursing, research, and scholarship.

Annual Dubin Breast Center Event Spotlights an Inspiring Patient Story

Jul 6, 2022 | Featured, Patient Stories

Eva Andersson-Dubin, MD, at podium, with panelist (left to right), David Anderson, MD, FACs, Anna Barbieri, MD, Jeffery Meckanick, MD, Cardinale Smith, MD, PhD, and Joseph Sparano , MD, FACP.

 

The annual Dubin Breast Center Fact vs. Fiction Luncheon and Symposium is a unique event that provides a forum for Mount Sinai leaders to share key insights about all aspects of breast cancer and healthy living, and to answer questions about emerging trends and the future of women’s health.

More than 130 people attended the event, which was held Wednesday, June 1 at The Harmonie Club in New York City.

The panel discussion was moderated by Elisa Port, MD, FACS, and featured a panel of experts, including David Anderson, MD, FACS; Anna Barbieri, MD; Jeffrey Mechanick, MD; Cardinale Smith, MD, PhD; and Joseph Sparano, MD, FACP. Watch the video here.

In opening remarks, Eva Andersson-Dubin, MD, Trustee of the Mount Sinai Health System and Founder of the Dubin Breast Center, noted how the Center continues to grow.

“Today we see an average of 180 to 200 patients a day, and since the day we opened we have seen 380,000 patients,” she said. “I am so thankful to everyone who works at the Center.”

One patient, Julie McAllister, shared her inspiring story. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer six years ago when she was 36 years old.

Julie McAllister tells her story of how the Dubin Breast Center helped her overcome triple negative breast cancer.

“I was in complete shock. I was young, very healthy, active a mother of two children–my youngest was just six months at the time,” she said. “There wasn’t any history of breast cancer in my family. Breast cancer wasn’t even a remote part of my reality. I truly didn’t know if and how I was going to survive. I kept thinking about my kids and how much of their life I was going to be around for, not to mention my husband and I wanted more children.“

Immediately after her initial diagnosis, Shari Brasner, MD, her OBGYN doctor, arranged for additional care. Eventually Ms. McAllister chose Mount Sinai for her treatment and surgery, and she was introduced to Hanna Irie, MD, PhD, who would become her oncologist.

“Dr. Irie was the best and felt like my lifeline during my treatment,” she said. “She was straightforward, incredibly smart, kind, and never made me feel like any of my questions and or fears were silly or unwarranted.” The doctor also helped her find a clinical trial to participate in once she completed her standard treatment.

Ms. McAllister would undergo a number of surgeries, five months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, and then years of ongoing surveillance.

“Throughout all that time, I always felt like I was in the best hands and had the best doctors and nurses looking after me and never felt like a generic cancer patient or a statistic,” she said. “The nurses and staff were extremely warm and knowledgeable. The treatment rooms were comfortable, and I never felt alone.”

She added, “Cancer crushes you physically and mentally. It changes you, puts a fear in you that you never knew existed, and alters the way you think and worry for the rest of your life. But knowing that there are places like the Dubin Breast Center, that there are doctors like the ones I was fortunate enough to call mine, who can and will help treat and cure your cancer, is incredible. I am forever grateful for the treatment and care that I received.”

As a result, she was able to have another child, who was born just four months before the event at The Mount Sinai Hospital, two floors above the Dubin Breast Center.

The Dubin Breast Center at The Tisch Cancer Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was created in 2011 to provide integrated care and services for every phase of breast health and care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Clinicians and staff treat each person individually and holistically, with the goal of alleviating anxiety, enriching lives, and supporting emotional and physical well-being. The team works to advance the standard of care with innovative and emerging treatment, while researching life-saving options for the future.

Learn more about the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai
Read more stories from Mount Sinai Today

Celebrating Fortitude and Achievement at a Rousing Master’s Commencement Ceremony

Jul 6, 2022 | Featured, School

For the 220 master’s students who had started—and completed—their academic studies at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an especially joyful in-person graduation at Stern Auditorium on Tuesday, June 21. This was an event that honored much more than degrees—this was a rousing celebration of the Class of 2022, a highly diverse group of students who displayed fortitude, resilience, and altruism as they worked together to achieve their career goals and to serve the Mount Sinai community during unprecedented times.

Click here to meet five of the graduating master’s students and learn more about their experiences and passions

 Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer for Icahn Mount Sinai, greeted the students and guests, saying that two words come to mind when he thinks of this class—grit and optimism. “Grit expresses the idea that a crucial component of success is a person’s ability to pick a goal and stick with it,” said Dr. Nestler. “Grit is interesting because empirical research has shown that it does not correlate with IQ or standardized test scores. Rather, it more closely maps an individual’s conscientiousness to work hard, with scruples and care, and to adapt to new experiences.”

Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, salutes the graduates’ grit and optimism at Master’s Commencement 2022

Dr. Nestler continued: “Optimism may seem like an ephemeral stance in today’s world,” but it “is especially poignant for today’s graduation because each of your master’s degrees…imbue you with the ability to make the world better.” Dr. Nestler is also Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience and Director of The Friedman Brain Institute.

Marta Filizola, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, told graduates: “Class of 2022, as I stand here, I applaud your passion, your dedication, and your commitment to hard work. Your experience at the Graduate School has been like no other…Not only have you witnessed history at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai during the COVID-19 pandemic, you have also helped make history with your extraordinary contributions to biomedical research and volunteer work across the Health System.”

Dr. Filizola added: ”We are proud of the diverse group of talented students graduating today, and, now more than ever, we see a need for that diversity in science and health care…You have seen your studies through and added to your growing abilities, and now, when they are needed most, you will be applying your new skills across biomedical and clinical research, data science, genetic counseling, public health, epidemiology, health administration, and health care leadership. We’ve worked together to prepare you to meet some of the greatest challenges these fields have ever faced, and we know you are ready for them.” Dr. Filizola is also the Sharon & Frederick A. Klingenstein/Nathan G. Kase, MD Professor of Pharmacological Sciences,  Professor of Neuroscience, and Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health.

Dean Marta Filizola, PhD, congratulates the graduates at Master’s Commencement 2022

The Commencement address was presented by Torian Easterling, MD, MPH, the first Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene who was appointed at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Dr. Easterling also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for a career committed to combatting longstanding complex public health disparities that include violence, maternal health outcomes, and chronic disease.

Dr. Easterling received his Master of Public Health degree from Mount Sinai in 2012 and passionately addressed the graduates. “In my role at the Health Department over the last two and a half years, the more public facing part of my job has been to change people’s minds about vaccines,” he said. “But a more longstanding and behind-the-scenes parts of my work involves changing minds, both inside and outside the agency, around public health itself, around equity and why it matters, around why notions like equality and inclusivity and even diversity are insufficient to eliminate inequity and to make the larger changes we need.”

Torian Easterling, MD, MPH, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, is Commencement Speaker and receives an honorary degree at Master’s Commencement 2022

He added: “Around health inequity in particular, good intentions—without rigorous science and data-informed analysis, a clear-eyed understanding of root systemic causes, and a fierce ideology of purpose matched with boldness of vision—are stultifying…When I’m asked to describe the work I do, I can answer in one word—change, and the work of change comes in three main forms: changing minds, changing lives, and changing society.” He asked each graduate to join “in solidarity, resolving to change the systems that imprison far too many of us, and by never settling for good intentions.”

There are 220 graduates from nine programs: Master of Science in Biomedical Data Science (7); Master of Science in Biostatistics (5); Master of Health Administration (29); Master of Science in Health Care Delivery Leadership (11); Master of Science in Clinical Research (23); Master of Science in Biomedical Science (61); Master of Public Health (62); Master of Science in Genetic Counseling (12); and Master of Science in Epidemiology (10), which graduated its first class.

When the time came for graduates to receive their degrees, it was a boisterous audience that joined in the celebration. Beyond the formal handshakes, and smiles and hugs onstage, graduates could count on robust applause of friends and family, and special shouts of congratulations from all reaches of Stern Auditorium. This is the Class of 2022, of whom Dr. Easterling had said in his Commencement address: “You are not burgeoning health leaders. You’ve been health professionals and heroes for quite some time already. How about a huge round of applause for yourselves?”

 

Scenes From Master’s Commencement 2022

Read more about Mount Sinai’s graduating master’s students as they share their experiences and passions
Learn more about Mount Sinai's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

What Pride Means to Mount Sinai

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured

The 52nd NYC Pride March kicked off in full force on Sunday, June 26, returning in person after a two-year hiatus. Mount Sinai displayed its pride down Fifth Avenue and the full spectrum of the Mount Sinai family—providers, researchers, support staff, students, and more—showed up to impress the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusivity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine fields.

Mount Sinai Health System is committed to meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ patients, be it through the Mount Sinai Doctors or hospital networks, the Institute for Advanced Medicine, or the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. In addition, the Health System’s dedication to LGBTQ+ representation in employment and training helped it earn a top score of 100 and the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index earlier this year.

Check out the Mount Sinai contingent at this year’s Pride March:

Read more about LGBTQ+ health and how Mount Sinai champions this cause:

How to Find an LGBTQ+ Experienced Medical Provider and Why That’s Important

LGBTQ+ Health with Zoe Rodriguez, MD

Mount Sinai Creates LGBTQ+ Medical Fellowship That Will Serve as a National Model of Care

What to Expect When You Need to Take Your Child to the Emergency Room

Jun 30, 2022 | Children's Health, Featured, Your Health

It’s a moment every parent dreads. You believe your child needs critical medical care and decide you must go to the hospital.

Christopher Strother, MD, Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital, offers some helpful tips on when you should take your child to the emergency room and how to best prepare. The Mount Sinai Hospital recently completed a full renovation of the Children’s Emergency Department, which features state-of-the-art technology and treatment rooms, and specially trained staff.

What are the most common pediatric emergencies?

For children, the three biggest things that we see in the emergency department are infections, such as the flu, stomach viruses that can cause patients to get dehydrated, and high fevers. That’s followed by injuries: falls, broken arms, cuts, and head injuries. In New York, we also see a lot of patients with asthma, especially during the spring allergy season.

When should you take your child to the emergency department?

It’s a tough question. Anytime your child is in pain, or you’re scared, or you’re worried about their safety, we’re here for you 24/7. We’re there for anything, and if you think you need to see somebody right away and you’re not sure where else to go. There are many reasons to come to the hospital, such as severe pain or injuries, or anytime you’re worried about your child’s health and safety. The things we worry the most about are trouble breathing, dehydration, and major injuries.

How does the children’s emergency room at The Mount Sinai Hospital differ from a regular emergency room?

The biggest difference in a children’s emergency room is the people who work there. The doctors and nurses are all pediatric trained and comfortable taking care of sick children. If your child needs medications, an IV, or a procedure, the people who do that are trained to do it with children. We also have child life specialists who will help kids cope with the experience. Our staff will help your child be comfortable. They can educate you and your child on what’s happening and what’s going be next. Our expertise, our staff, and our training and the focus on children really set us apart.

What else is new at the Emergency Department?

The new Emergency Department is tailored to the needs of children and their families, with a separate space from the adult ED that is connected to all services within Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital.

We’ve increased the size of the Department as well as redone the entire space. It’s brighter and very child friendly, with lots of colors and other features that make the experience calmer and safer for kids. Video tablets have something to keep kids busy, distracted, and calm. We have a whole wall with an interactive video for the kids to look at. It feels like a family environment. We’ve also created are a “low-stimulation room,” which is a single room a little bit apart for children with autism or other neurodevelopmental challenges, where they can be quiet and calm. We also have a separate area with the most advanced equipment where we can take the best care of critically ill children.

How common are children only emergency rooms?

We’re lucky here in New York. We have several children’s hospitals in New York City and around the area. A lot of places in the country don’t have any. A major city might have one children’s emergency department. Most children who go to the emergency department in the United States go to a general emergency department. Pediatric emergency departments are a unique thing.

What else does Mount Sinai offer?

Mount Sinai has two other pediatric emergency departments, one at Mount Sinai-Union Square downtown and one at Mount Sinai Morningside on the Upper West Side. At all of the emergency departments throughout Mount Sinai Health System, we keep in touch with how they take care of children. So even if you’re not in one of our children’s emergency departments, our pediatric specialists are working closely with the other emergency department to make sure that your child gets the best care.

What are some tips for parents taking their child to the emergency room?

  • If possible, call your pediatrician first. Sometimes you’re worried. Things may look scary, and you feel you must go right away. If you have a minute to think about it, I always suggest giving your pediatrician a call if you can. It helps in a few ways. Sometimes talking to your pediatrician or your regular doctor can actually keep you from having to go. Sometimes they can make an appointment the next day or give you some advice that might allow you to stay home for this visit.
  • Be prepared to spend some time in the emergency department. If you need to go, be prepared to be there for a while. Bring a charger for your phone, and a book. A visit may last a couple of hours. It can take time to perform X-rays or tests.
  • ·Be ready to tell the medical staff about any medications your child is taking. Either bring the medications with you or write them down. It’s extremely helpful to the staff at the hospital to know what your child has taken already and when they took it. For example, if you have given Tylenol or Motrin, write it down. Let us know when was last time. Or if your child has any allergies to medications, let us know right away.
  • ·Let us know as soon as possible if your child has any chronic medical conditions. For example, if your child has sickle cell disease, when you come into the emergency department with a fever let the first person you talk to know they have a fever and sickle cell disease. Because that can change the way we approach a patient and the tests that are done. Be up front and an advocate for your child’s history.
Read more stories from Mount Sinai Today
Read about the renovations of Mount Sinai Children's Emergency Department

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