Why a Master’s Degree? Mount Sinai’s Outstanding Graduate Students Share Their Experiences and Aspirations

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, School

Here, we share the educational journeys of seven current and former students at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Learn what they are studying and how they will use their degree as they explore new paths and careers.

Medical Student Takes Detour to Understand the Potential of Artificial Intelligence

“I envision myself becoming an ambassador between the clinical side and the engineers and technicians who are on the development side, or even developing tools myself. Either way, my goal is to be on the forefront of harnessing AI for the benefit of dementia patients.”

Read his story

Aleta Murphy, MSBS: How a Brother With Autism Started a Mount Sinai Graduate Student on a Scientific Journey 

“Mount Sinai appealed to me because of the strong focus on biology as it relates to human diseases and medicine.”

Read her story

Briana Bell, MPH, Came to Mount Sinai for a Master of Public Health and Discovered a World of Research Opportunities

“I was also drawn [to Mount Sinai] by the extensive research experience of the program’s directors…their expertise and mentorship have been very beneficial for me.”

Read her story

Jeannys Nnemnbeng, MD, RRT, MSCR: On the Road to Becoming a Physician-Scientist With a Master of Science in Clinical Research

“I was looking for a program with a very specific focus on clinical research, and I knew Mount Sinai was top-notch, which meant I would have a very strong foundation for achieving my goal of becoming a physician-scientist in internal medicine.”

Read her story

 

 

 

Rosemary Espinal, BSN, RN: An ICU Nurse Enrolls in the Master of Science in Health Care Delivery Leadership Program To Bring New Perspectives to Patient Quality and Safety

“I want to use what I have learned to provide excellent care from a new perspective, address the disparities my mother faced as a non-English-speaking immigrant, and guide the next generation of nurses to high standards of quality and safety for our patients.”

Read her story

 

 

 

A Robust Immunotherapy Program and a Highly Collaborative Environment for Research Draws Matthew Brown to the Master of Science in Clinical Research Program

“The potential to have a significant impact in improving patient outcomes and expanding the range of therapeutic options available to patients is what excites me.”

Read his story

 

 

 

Tina Aswani Omprakash: A Journey From Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient, to Patient Advocate, to Master of Public Health Student

“I gained a knowledge base that expanded my understanding of the disease and gave me insights to approach public health not just from my own personal experience but from a broader health care perspective.”   

Read her story

 

 

 

Read more about Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

When Omicron Struck, Mount Sinai’s Students Signed Up to Help

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, School

Arman Azad and Aliza Gross

Several days after Christmas, second-year medical student Arman Azad met with top administrators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to plan how he and fellow students could help the Mount Sinai Health System handle the crush of COVID-19 patients falling sick from the Omicron variant.

As co-leader of the Student WorkForce at Icahn Mount Sinai, Mr. Azad says his job involved “helping the Health System deal with the most severe bottlenecks, as cases rose and staff were in isolation, and then organizing students to address those needs.” He and his co-leaders worked closely with their deans to mobilize students for appropriate roles, ensuring they had the training and protective equipment needed to stay safe.

During this latest COVID-19 surge, 198 medical, PhD, and master’s students at Icahn Mount Sinai have logged roughly 5,000 hours performing various tasks. They have worked in the Emergency Departments at six of the Health System’s eight hospitals and have also helped run asymptomatic testing programs for staff in those locations. Students have assisted in the pop-up testing sites in the student resident hall. And at The Mount Sinai Hospital, which shares a campus with the school, they have delivered meals to inpatients and assisted in the urgent care center.

Their efforts represent the fourth wave of student involvement since Mount Sinai’s Student WorkForce was created in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic. Since then, the WorkForce has ebbed and flowed to meet the needs of Mount Sinai’s hospitals. Unlike in earlier waves, the students recently received an hourly wage for their work. Along the way, they have also honed their WorkForce model, sharing it with other schools and health systems throughout the country. Students published a paper about their contributions in June 2021 in Academic Medicine.

In addition to assisting staff, WorkForce members say the most gratifying aspect of their jobs is helping the patients who need Mount Sinai most. Many of Mount Sinai’s hospitals serve communities in New York City that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

On New Year’s Eve, Mr. Azad worked in The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Emergency Department into the early morning hours, taking patients’ blood pressure and other vitals.

Calista Dominy and Brett Weingart

“It was a busy night and an opportunity to learn from experienced providers and offer relief to staff where I could,” he says. “The pandemic has brought to light many of the inequities in medicine, and Omicron only amplified that. For people who can’t access consistent primary care, the emergency room serves a critical role, one that was threatened by staffing shortages as COVID cases surged. I’m proud of my fellow students who did their small part to ensure the Hospital could continue providing care to those who needed it most.”

Shortly after recovering from COVID-19 herself, Calista Dominy—also in her second year of medical school—assisted in The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Emergency Department on New Year’s Eve, as well. Ms. Dominy says one of the things she loves most about Icahn Mount Sinai is its strong commitment to social justice and student advocacy.

“Working New Year’s in the emergency room is an experience I will never forget,” she says. “The Omicron surge brought many more patients through the doors on a night that is typically notoriously busy.”

Workforce member Jesse F. Mangold, who is a dual MD-PhD student with a specialty in microbiology, chose to deliver meals to The Mount Sinai Hospital’s COVID-19-positive inpatients.

Jesse F. Mangold

“Meal delivery may not be the first role that comes to mind when you think of a first responder, but it means a lot to patients who have reduced contact and need nutrition for recovery,” Mr. Mangold says. “There was this tremendous bottleneck because you couldn’t just enter their rooms with a tray. All of the safety precautions needed to be implemented. My task served two needs—to feed our patients and relieve our already taxed nursing staff.” Before he was able to enter a patient’s room, Mr. Mangold had to properly don his personal protective equipment and then properly doff it immediately after leaving.

In the Hospital’s kitchen, located in the building’s basement and through a labyrinth of hallways, Mr. Mangold worked alongside a staff member who was seven months pregnant. “She was putting the Hospital and its patients first and taking personal risks to bring meals to patients,” he says. “Every team member is essential. She is a health care hero.”

Second-year medical student Claire Ufongene helped Mount Sinai conduct asymptomatic testing of employees. “The asymptomatic testing program allows employees to regularly monitor their health and return to the hospital safely,” she says. “It’s been wonderful to work with members of the Mount Sinai community, including students and employees. I’ve been happy to contribute in a small way to facilitate a testing process that’s easy and accessible.”

Claire Ufongene

Early last year, medical student Aliza Gross became involved in addressing vaccine hesitancy and helping patients obtain COVID-19 vaccine appointments through the internet and their Mount Sinai MyChart apps. At Mount Sinai Morningside, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, she recently helped counsel patients entering the Emergency Department about the benefits of receiving a vaccine.

“It was very meaningful to have patient contact after spending so much of our medical school career remote,” she says. During the most recent spike, Ms. Gross took on the role of Student WorkForce co-leader and started taking shifts in the Mount Sinai Health System’s Express Care center—an urgent care facility—helping administer COVID-19 testing to sick patients. “It was gratifying to help our staff where they were experiencing the biggest backlogs,” she says.

Now that the worst of the Omicron wave seems to be receding, Mr. Azad says students remain ready to respond to future COVID-19 surges. “One lesson from the pandemic is that all of us, no matter our training or background, can in some way help protect our Health System and those we care for,” he says.

Read more about the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Medical Student Michelle Tran, Whose Non-Profit Combats Anti-Asian Hate, Is Featured on NBC Special

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

Michelle Tran and her friend Howard Chen donate a personal safety alarm to a senior in Manhattan’s Chinatown in April 2021.

When Michelle Tran is not pursing her MD/PhD degree with a specialization in cancer immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, she is busy helping Asian Americans protect themselves against hate crimes through Soar Over Hate, the non-profit she created last March.

Soar Over Hate has since raised more than $100,000 and distributed more than 24,000 protective noise-making devices primarily to elderly and vulnerable Asian Americans in New York City and San Francisco—as well as to the Mount Sinai Health System’s essential health care workers who commute to work. Her organization has established a need-based college scholarship fund for local high school students, arranged community health fairs in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and offers free, culturally competent mental-health therapy—either remote or in-person—in several languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean, to victims of anti-Asian hate crimes.

Mount Sinai medical students volunteered with Soar Over Hate to distribute 1,000 personal safety devices, whistles, and booklets about reporting hate incidents to elderly in Manhattan’s Chinatown in April 2021. In addition to Michelle Tran, student volunteers included: Alyce Kuo, Serena Zheng, Axel Epié, Fred Kwon, Rachel Levantovsky, and Matthew Lin.

Recently, Ms. Tran was among 10 “fearless change makers” who were named 2021 L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth by the popular beauty brand. L’Oréal Paris USA donated $20,000 to Soar Over Hate and, in November, flew Ms. Tran and the nine other Women of Worth award recipients to Paris for a special ceremony. On Thursday, December 16, at 8 pm, the women and their non-profit work will be featured on an NBC special hosted by L’Oréal Paris and including guest appearances by Helen Mirren, Camila Cabello, Gemma Chan, and Eva Longoria. One of this year’s awardees will receive an additional $25,000 for their philanthropy.

“Asian hate, unfortunately, does exist,” says Ms. Tran. “I felt very disheartened by what was going on in my backyard and with the people around me who were being harassed, and attacked, and physically hurt, and I wanted to do something. A colleague of mine was attacked on his way to work and he still avoids the subway. The long-term impact of these incidents leaves a mental scar. So we’re helping to address the healing of the community, and we’re empowering youth with scholarships.”

In the fall, Soar Over Hate provided six low-income high-school seniors in New York City with scholarships of between $500 and $1,000, based on their essays about addressing anti-Asian hate.

Initially, Ms. Tran started her charity as a GoFundMe page with the help of teenager Tiffany Yuen. Ms. Tran is Ms. Yuen’s mentor through the organization, Apex for Youth, which partners Asian American professionals with low-income youth. The money they raised was used to purchase personal safety alarms and whistles for the elderly and supported several community events that featured self-defense classes and health screenings.

Michelle Tran in Chinatown

But Ms. Tran soon realized she could continue to pursue her two “passions” of growing her charity and focusing on her MD/PhD studies by combining efforts with her friend Kenji Jones, who ran a similar Asian American grassroots effort. That is when they developed the current line-up of services for Soar Over Hate. This fall, she was thrilled to learn that she had received a L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth award.

Ms. Tran also credits her mentors at Mount Sinai with providing support for her advocacy work. She works in the lab of Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Director of Immunotherapy and Co-Director of Cancer Immunology, who serves as her Principal Investigator. Ms. Tran is a co-President of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association at Mount Sinai, supervised by Nolan Kagetsu, MD, Clinical Professor of Radiology, and Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is also a student representative on Mount Sinai’s Committee on Anti-Asian Bias and Racism, which is led by Amanda J. Rhee, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, and James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, President of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, and Chair of Ophthalmology at the Mount Sinai Health System.

Read more about Mount Sinai and the Community
Read more about Diversity and Inclusion at Mount Sinai

A Generous Multimillion-Dollar Gift Advances Medical Education at Mount Sinai

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, School

Peter W. May and his wife, Leni

Peter W. May and his wife, Leni, have made a generous multimillion-dollar gift in support of medical education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Steadfast champions of Mount Sinai and the future of medical education, the Mays have had a long, illustrious history of philanthropic support across numerous areas of the Health System. This commitment is the latest example of their tremendous generosity and will be recognized with the naming of the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Medical Education at Mount Sinai.

The Mays are strong advocates in bolstering the culture of innovation, service, and groundbreaking science and medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine.  Their gift will be instrumental in ensuring the School continues to provide a strong foundation to prepare physicians to advance medical care and research that will ultimately result in equitable health care and better outcomes for the diverse communities Mount Sinai serves.

“Leni and Peter have always recognized the uniqueness of our medical school, its values rooted in justice and care for the underserved, and the rigorous training we put our medical students through to ensure they are well positioned to pursue their professional ambitions,” says David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education and the Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair for Medical Education at Mount Sinai.  “We are grateful for the role this gift will play in building upon our continued success at the Icahn School of Medicine.”

During his tenure as Chairman of the Mount Boards of Trustees, Mr. May helped drive Mount Sinai’s transformation into one of the top health systems in the world, and he continues his visionary leadership as Chairman Emeritus. The May family’s tireless support of Mount Sinai was previously recognized with the naming of the May Center for Mount Sinai Doctors on East 98th Street and the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. They remain committed as ever to supporting the ever-growing needs of Icahn Mount Sinai as it continues to prepare the most promising students to improve the health of communities locally and globally and to shape the future of science and medicine.

“Leni and I are happy to support the next generation of medical leaders,” says Mr. May who now serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Boards of Trustees at Mount Sinai.  “The Icahn School of Medicine provides students with an extraordinary education in a translational context, and we are proud to be a part of that.”

Read more about Medical Education at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai’s Master’s Commencement—Celebrating Resilience and Achievement

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, School

Neha B. Pannuri, MPH, one of 147 candidates receiving a degree from Mount Sinai

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai conferred 147 master’s degrees in eight programs during a recent ceremony, an interactive virtual event that recapped a year of great challenges and extraordinary achievement. In 2020, the Graduate School added a ninth master’s program, in epidemiology, which will graduate its first cohort in 2022.

Pediatrician, scientist, and activist Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, Founder and Director of the Michigan State University-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree for playing a pivotal role in helping to uncover the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Dr. Hanna-Attisha also delivered the commencement address.

Marta Filizola, PhD

Graduate School Dean Marta Filizola, PhD, greeted the graduates and guests, saying, “This pandemic is the latest we have seen, but it is not the first,” and recounting “some of the things that really are unprecedented about our times.” Dr. Filizola is also the Sharon & Frederick A. Klingenstein/Nathan G. Kase, MD Professor of Pharmacological Sciences, and Professor of Neuroscience.

“The world is undeniably more complex today than ever before—interactions of people and nature with sophisticated technologies and human-made systems, taking place in a world of unprecedented population size and unprecedented levels of interdependence,” she said. “This is the reality that presents us with immense challenges.”

Yet, she continued, “What is also unprecedented is the extent of the cooperation, compassion, and teamwork we must bring to bear on these challenges. The breadth of professional training and expertise the world calls for is the reason our graduates today represent such a diversity of degree programs, training areas, and specialty tracks.”

Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD

Presiding over the ceremony was Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, and Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience. “The fact that you are all here today is testimony to your fortitude and impressive resilience. Today’s master’s graduates exemplify the full range of expertise that our society has needed to combat and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “We are very proud of your inspiring accomplishments at Mount Sinai, and look forward to all the good that you will do as you embark on your exciting careers.”

Dr. Hanna-Attisha gave a heartfelt speech that drew on her own experience in public health, and she exhorted the graduates to be fearless leaders.

“We need tough graduates like you,” she told them. “Fueled by the power of this place, the engine of knowledge and innovation, you are the light that will illuminate some of our hardest and greatest challenges. You, and especially the field of science, will be on the front lines of some of the most important battlegrounds of society today.”

Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH

“My story, the Flint, Michigan, story, is a story not unlike our current crisis, about failing to respect science and public health, and failing to protect the most vulnerable among us,” she said. “Remember—somewhere, somehow, sometime in your life—you will have to make a choice. The issue may not be as momentous as a poisoning of a town, but there are Flints everywhere, there are injustices everywhere, there are places and people that will need you to open your eyes and take action and to do the hard things. I urge you to keep your eyes open, to stay vigilant, to remain curious, to take action, to keep doing the hard things for the right reasons.”

Student speaker Meghan Smith, who received a Master of Public Health, spoke of the perseverance and compassion of this unique graduating class, and the hope that they represent.

“At the onset of the pandemic, and this very dark period of time, many people were at a paralyzing low. Incredibly, the students channeled all of these emotions and possessed the strength to step up,” she said, citing the medical- and graduate-student COVID-19 workforce, and other efforts around New York City to support clinical and research efforts. “At one point, it seemed like every student I knew, across all programs, was doing something to help the devastation this nation had witnessed.”

Meghan Smith, MPH

And, as the “country began to recognize the racism and oppression that has existed as part of our society for hundreds of years,” she continued, “powerful social justice movements inspired all of us to make our voices heard.”

With robust optimism, Ms. Smith concluded: “As we embark on our journeys, not knowing what challenges we may face, I know we will all continue to be the people who are willing to step up.”

Why a master’s degree? Read more about the experiences and aspirations of our outstanding graduates and students.

Tina Aswani Omprakash: A Journey From Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient, to Patient Advocate, to Master of Public Health Student

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, School

Tina Aswani Omprakash

When Crohn’s disease forced Tina Aswani Omprakash to leave a career on Wall Street, she began looking for a way to rebuild her life. Having navigated the surgeries, the health disparities, and the South Asian cultural stigmas—shame and taboo—associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for more than a decade, Ms. Aswani Omprakash knew she had insights on IBD that could be beneficial for people of color facing the same challenges.

That revelation led her to the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“I chose the program in part because I had heard Mount Sinai was accommodating of students with disabilities, and that was important to me in rebuilding my career and self-worth,” she explains.

 

 

“I gained a knowledge base that expanded my understanding of the disease and gave me insights to approach public health not just from my own personal experience, but from a broader health care perspective.”

A long-time patient advocate and public speaker who has presented at many domestic and international gastroenterology conferences, Ms. Aswani Omprakash is pursuing the General Public Health track to better understand the needs of different patient populations and develop her research skills. In 2020, she conducted a qualitative study, sponsored by the biotechnology company Genentech, on the unmet needs among diverse patients living with IBD. Her abstract was published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and presented at the 2021 Crohn’s and Colitis Congress.

“This was a groundbreaking study in that it was the first patient advocate-led study in the IBD space. I hand-picked and recruited patients of various races, ethnicities, genders, age groups, sexual orientations, and geographical locations via my social media presence,” Ms. Aswani Omprakash says. “Although the conclusions we came to were expected, the study helped to legitimize the needs and concerns of patients—such as more access to mental health care, improved access to specialists who understand the complexities of the disease, and better medications that target the disease in different communities.”

For her MPH Applied Practice Experience, Ms. Aswani Omprakash worked with the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust on two projects: a guidebook for caregivers of children and adolescents with Crohn’s disease, created with the National Alliance of Caregiving, and a series of web pages detailing surgical treatment options, which she developed with the United Ostomy Associations of America. “These resources are designed to fill an information gap among health care providers and patients living with IBD, and to change perceptions of surgery as a last resort,” Ms. Aswani Omprakash says. “The fact that they are written by a patient who is earning an MPH further enhances the content.”

Nils Hennig, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of Mount Sinai’s Graduate Program in Public Health says: “Tina Aswani Omprakash is a great example of our patient-focused approach to public health. Proximity to the populations we serve is fundamental. The study of Public Health at Mount Sinai goes beyond mere analysis and repair: it offers choices, it provides a human touch, and it may ultimately help reestablish human dignity.”

Ms. Aswani Omprakash has been completing the program one course at a time and will graduate in December 2022. “This has been an incredible experience,” she says. “I gained a knowledge base that expanded my understanding of the disease and gave me insights to approach public health not just from my own personal experience, but from a broader health care perspective.”

To learn more about Ms. Aswani Omprakash’s patient advocacy journey, go to her blog at ownyourcrohns.com.

 

Read more student stories
Read more about Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Pin It on Pinterest