Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School
Lakshmi A. Devi, PhD, left, Dean for Academic Development and Enrichment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, began the year as a designated 2018 WCBR (Winter Conference on Brain Research) Pioneer for her neuroscience research on opioid and cannabinoid signaling in analgesia and addiction.
Along with her team, Dr. Devi, Professor of Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine, has demonstrated that G protein-coupled receptors can function as heterodimers, with unique pharmacology and selective upregulation associated with various disease states. Dr. Devi also serves as an engaged mentor in the field of neuroscience.
The WCBR provides an annual forum for the sharing and dissemination of the latest advances in neuroscience and supports continuing education, mentorship, diversity, outreach, and financial support for junior investigators. Dr. Devi serves on the WCBR Board of Directors.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, School
Brenda Castillo, MD
As the University of Puerto Rico Sports Medicine Fellowship program in San Juan struggled to maintain regular clinic hours after Hurricane Maria, Mount Sinai’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine offered to host the University’s current fellow, Brenda Castillo, MD, for an elective rotation. “Dr. Castillo’s training program is my alma mater,” says Gerardo Miranda-Comas, MD, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Associate Program Director of the Department’s Sports Medicine Fellowship. “When I realized that her fellowship was directly affected by the devastation, we invited her to spend some time with us.”
With the support of Joseph E. Herrera, DO, Chair and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System, fellowship coordinator Ana Peña, and the Graduate Medical Education office, Dr. Castillo worked a month at Mount Sinai’s sports medicine clinics evaluating patients and performing ultrasound-guided injections and spinal procedures—as well as helping to provide medical coverage at several local high school football games.
“Dr. Miranda-Comas and his entire staff allowed me to continue my training as a sports medicine fellow, and for that I am truly grateful,” says Dr. Castillo, who completed her rotation Friday, December 1, and has returned to Puerto Rico. “It was definitely an excellent hands-on learning experience for me.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School
Joseph Schnitter
Second-year medical student Joseph Schnitter says the support he received from his family and friends at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai helped him place among the top 100 male runners in the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5. He completed the 26.2-mile marathon in 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 5 seconds, his best-ever showing.
“The crowd along the course was unbelievable,” he says. “Seeing my supportive family—who made the trip from Buffalo to watch—along with so many folks from Mount Sinai, was a huge boost and a major reason why I was able to run the time I did.” In each of his two prior races—in Buffalo and Boston—Mr. Schnitter’s time was approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. The 2017 New York City Marathon winners, Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya and American Shalane Flanagan, finished the race in 2:10:53, and 2:26:53, respectively.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School
Ian Thomas McNeill, MD, right, with Aldrin Bonilla, Deputy Manhattan Borough President, who presented the award.
Ian Thomas McNeill, MD, a fifth-year Neurosurgery resident at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was honored recently at the 48th annual African American Day Parade for his service in New York City at large, and at Mount Sinai. Dr. McNeill is the founder and leader of Doctors Reaching Minority Males Exploring Neuroscience (DR. MMEN), a summer mentorship and immersion program for black and Latino young men entering their senior year in high school.
“We are very proud of what Dr. McNeill has achieved in launching the DR. MMEN program,” says Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Professor and Chair, Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Health System. “It is important that we promote diversity and the advancement of talented individuals who might not otherwise have these opportunities.”
Oct 12, 2017 | Community, School
Ernest Barthelemy, MD, and Ian McNeill, MD, (left and right center, respectively) with students who participated in a six-week clinical program in neurosurgery, from left: Saimon Acevedo, Roydon Rodrigues, Alexis Rodriguez, and Jonathan Joasil.
Since 1975, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE) has been preparing minority and disadvantaged youth for careers in science and medicine. This year’s annual summer research and clinical internship programs attracted a record number of 108 high school students from across New York City with hands-on classes in Fruit Fly Genetics and Genomics, and Nanotechnology, for example, along with a new clinical offering for young men of color: participation in a six-week clinical rotation in neurosurgery. Doctors Reaching Minority Males Exploring Neuroscience (Dr. MMEN), a partnership between CEYE and the Department of Neurosurgery—with support from Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Chair, Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Health System—was led by Ian McNeill, MD, PGY-5 neurosurgery resident, and Ernest Barthelemy, MD, PGY-4 neurosurgery resident. “The number of African American men who applied to medical school in 2014 was actually less than the number who applied in 1978,” says CEYE Program Director, Alyson Davis, LMSW, “which is why specific and targeted interventions like this are needed.” In addition to rotations in the operating room, the neurosurgery intensive care unit, and outpatient office hours, the four Dr. MMEN students participated in weekly seminars led by Dr. McNeill that explored topics such as mental health and wellness, vision and goal-setting, and handling racism and bias as they pursue a professional career. Says participant Jonathan Joasil: “Dr. McNeill and the Department of Neurosurgery have given us an opportunity to stand out. They have empowered us to think that we can go anywhere.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School
Plans are underway for the 2017 Program for Post Graduate Trainees (PGME): Future Academic Clinician-Educators, sponsored by the Institute for Medical Education (IME) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Harvard Macy Institute, and the Boston Children’s Hospital.
The program supports residents and fellows on their path to becoming clinician-educator leaders and facilitates skill development in teaching, learning, and medical education scholarship. Applications for the next PGME course are due in June; acceptance is announced in July.
The course is held annually at The MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, a graduate university of health sciences founded by Massachusetts General Hospital.
“The program allowed me to think about the paths available as a clinician educator and the skills that make pursuing medical education more attainable,” says School of Medicine alumna Laura Stein, MD, PGY-4, Chief Resident for Quality Outcomes. “In addition to offering me concrete ideas for continued medical education projects and scholarship, the weekend allowed me to meet and learn from fellow residents with similar interests and leading experts in the field.”
PGME Course Co-Director, Reena Karani, MD, MHPE, Director, Institute for Medical Education, says the program represents a unique opportunity.
“We need innovative, skilled and committed educators in the future. The PGME course focuses on residents and fellows and is a unique offering targeted and tailored to this next generation of medical education leaders,” Dr. Karani says. “The IME is proud of our trainees who just completed the program. They all have a very bright future ahead of them.”
Last December, 19 house staff members from the Mount Sinai Health System were accepted at the program, with two participants receiving an IME tuition scholarship to attend: Kamron Pourmand, MD, Gastroenterology Fellow, and Jacqueline Paulis, MD, PGY-3S, Emergency Medicine. They will also have an opportunity to present their work at Medical Education Grand Rounds and at Education Research Day.
“The course allowed me to learn and practice a variety of skills that are critical to a successful career in medical education,” says Dr. Pourmand.
Andy Coyle, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Associate Program Director for Ambulatory Care, Internal Medicine Residency Program, at the School of Medicine, says the course has been a wonderful resource for trainees.
“They return from the course equipped to implement valuable and scholarly educational projects, with support and mentorship from fellow participants and Harvard Macy faculty,” he says. “Most importantly, they come back inspired and prepared to excel in clinician-educator career pathways.”
Brijen Shah, MD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Mount Sinai Queens, says the program is a valuable source of networking, medical education related knowledge, and skill development for rising clinician educators.
“The most striking impact this program has made on learners has been the legitimacy and confidence it provides to early clinician educators who are launching their careers,” he says.
