The class of 2027 was seated at the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, September 12, waiting to be coated in the White Coat Ceremony, which marks the start of their medical education. Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, came up on stage and addressed the audience. He spoke about his own time in medical school.
Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, stressing the importance of a diverse student body at the White Coat Ceremony.
“Back then, medicine lacked so many of the tools we rely upon today,” Dr. Charney said. There was no sophisticated imaging equipment, nor things like DNA sequencing, but the medical field did its best to heal patients. “The world was a different place in 1973,” Dr. Charney said.
Medical science has made many breakthroughs—with Mount Sinai having played a significant role—and it faces exciting new chapters ahead. Some of these, Dr. Charney said, include integration of artificial intelligence and advanced genomics, allowing for better targeted interventions, and perhaps even for once-hard-to-treat cancers to become manageable chronic diseases. That is why the Health System has launched the Mount Sinai Million Health Discoveries Program—to usher in a new era of personalized medicine, he added.
And while science improves, so too must the field for those who work in it, and for whom it serves. Dr. Charney then pulled up a picture of himself in his class at Penn State College of Medicine. “Of 82 students, we had just 12 women and only four people of color,” Dr. Charney said. Then he showed a picture of the 120 students who comprised the cohort present in the hall. “The world has clearly changed for the better—your class is more than 50 percent women and 30 percent people of color,” he noted.
Of this year’s entering class, 53 percent are women, and 28 percent are from backgrounds considered underrepresented in medicine, including racial and economic groups. In comparison with the class that graduated 50 years ago, while race and ethnicity data was not collected back then, the class of 1977 at Icahn Mount Sinai had 24 percent women out of 91 students.
“In spite of the recent Supreme Court decision on college admissions, future classes here at Icahn Mount Sinai will continue to be highly diverse,” Dr. Charney said. “Icahn Mount Sinai will not stand down from our strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we will do this legally, under the law.”
The message of diversity resonated with the incoming students. “From my experience, having a diverse body is the only way to go forward as a school, as it then provides a diversity of opinion,” said Nathan Ji, Class of 2027.
“It’s very important to have representations of patients who look like them, from the physicians who treat them,” said Rico Pesce, Class of 2027. “I’m super proud to be part of a school that places importance on this.”
Click to read more about some of the students from the Class of 2027 and the journey they have taken.
Nathan Ji
What drew you to Icahn Mount Sinai?
I first came to hear of Icahn Mount Sinai through friends at Johns Hopkins, where I went for undergrad, who had gotten in through Mount Sinai’s unique FlexMed program. As someone still far removed from the medical school application process back then, I casually asked them why they had elected to commit to Mount Sinai. Their responses varied, of course, but one central theme stuck out: the commitment of the medical school to serving the community.
I remained curious but mildly doubtful of the claim, until I ended up visiting the medical school during Second Visit Weekend this past spring. It was then that I realized the distinct difference between an “East Harlem medical campus” and a “medical campus located in East Harlem.” Icahn Mount Sinai embodied the spirit of the former.
From the several medical student-run community clinics to anti-racism initiatives led by faculty physicians, it was clear that Mount Sinai cared about the community. There is still much more work to be done, of course, but Mount Sinai’s self-awareness of its responsibilities to the people in its vicinity is seldom found among its peers.
It is no coincidence that such a socially conscious school would have such a positive impact on mental health and wellness among its student body. I may not have the same support system from home, but, no matter what background you come from, there will be support for you here, I guarantee it.
What made you decide to enter medicine?
Growing up, I always thought I would become a scientist. Such was the ambitions of a lonely boy growing up in China, whose parents were thousands of kilometers away working in exciting research laboratories to change the world. I never saw myself as being sociable enough to be the “physician-type,” given my introverted personality and upbringing as an only child and perpetual new kid in school.
But that all began to change in 2015 when I returned to China with my parents for the first time since we had left when I was still a child. A sudden trip in the middle of October was no leisurely vacation; we arrived just after midnight at the ICU where my grandfather lay on his deathbed. It was there that I saw the uniquely humanistic challenges that medical professionals dealt with on a regular basis.
We, the family, consulted with the attending physicians on the ethics of pulling the plug to lay my grandfather to rest. All the while around us in the dead of night lay several other elderly patients, each with their own families and individual stories. I realized then that physicians weren’t just sociable professionals who leveraged knowledge of science to help people. Above all, they were care providers who embarked on distinctive humanistic journeys with each of their patients.
The rest, as they say, was history. Sure, there were still seven more years of high school, research internships, undergraduate classes, volunteering and exposure to medical settings, shadowing physicians, tutoring students in underprivileged backgrounds, and a million more exciting adventures along the way. But as I embark on my first medical school classes this fall, I distinctively remember that dark desolate night in Shanghai, as the spark that lit my passion for medicine.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
During orientation I would ask my classmates to guess how many schools I have attended before Icahn Mount Sinai. Most guessed four or five, as is the common pathway—elementary, middle, high schools, and university. Others guessed between six and eight. Yet all would be surprised at my eventual answer of eleven.
I lived in Shanghai, where I was born, for a whopping four months, before I was sent to live with my grandparents in Tianjin, near Beijing. Thus, I had no memories of being with my parents until we reunited when I immigrated to the United States and arrived in Chicago at the age of eight. Two years later, we would move to Salt Lake City, and then to Tampa six years after that. And then I would go to Johns Hopkins University just two years afterward.
Looking back, what really stood out about my unique upbringing is the diversity of culture that I experienced. There were so many ways of living, so many unique compositions of heritage among the people who I called my friends and neighbors throughout the various locations. That is why I want to pursue medicine in a melting pot like New York, where I can encounter people, patients, and colleagues from all walks of life.
Michael Lemonick
What drew you to Icahn Mount Sinai?
I was initially drawn to Mount Sinai as it is one of the most veteran-friendly medical schools in the nation. I am a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served eight years on active duty as a surface warfare officer, and Mount Sinai’s institutional partnership program with the military allowed me to apply directly to medical school while still serving on active duty.
In fact, I actually completed my application while deployed on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during the height of the pandemic. Without Mount Sinai’s veteran-friendly policies, I am not sure that I ever would have been able to realize my dream of becoming a doctor, and for that I feel enormously indebted to Mount Sinai. I am also drawn to Mount Sinai’s emphasis on equitable care and leadership in addition to its standards of scientific excellence.
What made you decide to enter medicine?
As a child, I had the opportunity to witness physicians treat my family and literally save their lives: my mother and both of my grandmothers suffered from breast cancer, while my father and paternal grandfather both suffered from prostate cancer. My sister is a type 1 diabetic who, with the help of spectacular physicians, has worked hard since her diagnosis at six years old to manage her disease.
As an athlete, I suffered broken bones and other sports-related injuries throughout my childhood, teenage, and college years, and each time I was met by competent, confident, and compassionate physicians who were always able to quell my anxieties.
Inspired by those who treated my family members and me in times of need, I knew that I always wanted to become a dependable physician; one who can deliver excellent care while imbuing patients with the confidence and strength to overcome their ailments. With this experience, and with my love of science, a career in medicine always seemed an obvious choice for me.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I am a 2015 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and I subsequently served on active duty for eight years. From 2018-2021, I was stationed in Rota, Spain, onboard a destroyer, where I served as the lead navigator on three of five deployments. I was the first navigator to make a port call in the Faroe Islands of Denmark, and I was part of a group of ships to navigate along the north coast of Russia in the Barents Sea for the first time since the Cold War.
As an athlete, I played on the varsity soccer team at the Naval Academy. I am still passionate about soccer and athletics in general, especially from the perspective of using sports as a vehicle for developing leadership, toughness, and the will to win.
I am an aspiring writer and am currently working on a memoir of my time at sea in the Navy. Finally, I lived in France for two years as an ensign in the Navy, where I completed a bilingual master’s degree in international affairs at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. I work to maintain my level of French and enjoy learning about various aspects of French culture, including its cuisine, art, and history.
Boluwatito Oladeinde
What drew you to Icahn Mount Sinai?
Its unique position on the borders of the richest and poorest ZIP codes in New York City would expose me to a variety of patient cases and interactions.
I also appreciate that it is in the northeast United States, where I have my adopted family and friends, which would be integral for me to get through the mental and physical rigors of medical school. New York City was also appealing to me as I am interested in fashion and art—what better place to experience and participate in this than in NYC?
What made you decide to enter medicine?
My choice stems from my childhood experiences growing up in Nigeria, and as an uninsured adult in the United States. My father constantly struggled with his health growing up, and between the ages of 12 and 14, he underwent four separate neurosurgery procedures in India and in the United States. This was scary because, as a family, we never knew how these surgeries were going to pan out. This was the first thing that prompted my desire for a career in medicine.
Over the course of my 18 years in Nigeria, I also witnessed the poor health care system in the country and suffered a loss due to an avoidable occurrence in the system. This further strengthened my desire to provide quality health care to my home country, and other disadvantaged communities around me.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and migrated by myself to the United States at the age of 18 for college at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Looking back, it is astounding how I have successfully navigated being in a new country, culture, and system without the presence of my immediate family, who all live in Nigeria. My parents made the trip to the United States for my White Coat Ceremony and were very proud of me for being the first person in my family to go to college and medical school.
Rico Pesce
What drew you to Icahn Mount Sinai?
After the military, I did my undergraduate studies at Columbia University. There, I met a person doing post-baccalaureate studies, who did the Institutional Partnership program with Mount Sinai. When he started at Mount Sinai, he introduced me to its culture and the school.
The school’s mission and focus on developing cutting-edge technologies aligned well with my personal goals. Furthermore, every person I had talked to had nothing but positive things to say. I also love being in New York City, and Mount Sinai is certainly one of the most welcoming institutions I’ve come across.
What made you decide to enter medicine?
My interest in medicine began in high school, where for a biology class, we went to a cadaver lab. I became fascinated with the anatomy and science of the human body. Later on, I became a certified nurse assistant and worked in a dementia facility, and decided to go to school in a community college to further my career. However, I wasn’t thriving academically, left community college, and joined the military.
I became a special operations combat medic for the 75th Ranger Regiment. I ended up staying in the military for seven years, where I had been platoon medic, senior medic, battalion clinic manager, and completed five deployments in Afghanistan.
I have treated patients at their most vulnerable—even their last moments on earth—and there is not a more meaningful way to spend my time in this world than to be part of a team to help improve and prolong people’s human experience. Once I saw the impact on my patients’ lives as a medic, it drew me to want to learn more about medicine and be able to provide care in a definitive way. I then decided it was time to separate from the military to pursue my goal of becoming a physician.
Throughout my education and experience providing care on the front lines of the pandemic, I realized that the responsibilities of a physician went well beyond the one-on-one contact with patients. Physicians have such immense responsibility to their patients, and to society at a larger scale, and I have updated the vision for my future to include medical device innovation. It has been a long journey, but I am proud to continue down the path of being in medicine and advancing the field.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I am a proud member of the gay community and my fiancé, Zach Thomas, is a third-year medical student at a nearby university. It is amazing to have a significant other who is also studying medicine because he understands what I am going through, and we can share our passion for medicine for many years to come.
Residents took a community health tour to meet local community leaders and visit the East Harlem Neighborhood Action Center, the East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence, and the NYCHA Jefferson Houses. From left: Riana Jumamil, MD; Kierstin Luber, DO; Megha Srivastava, MD; and Betty Kolod, MD, Associate Residency Program Director.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai General Preventive Medicine Residency Program has won a prestigious federal grant designed to reduce social inequities in health care through enhanced resident training and expanded public health intervention.
Under terms of the four-year award, the program’s six residents take an intensive summer course in health equity. Residents learn about health literacy, communication, and data analysis skills to address health disparities. They will apply these skills during a longitudinal population health rotation at several Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) throughout New York City, which specialize in homelessness, HIV, and other issues.
“We’re excited for a deeper level of community engagement with these health centers and hope some residents continue their careers at FQHCs,” said Kristin Oliver, MD, MHS, General Preventive Medicine Residency Program Director and Associate Professor, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Pediatrics, and Medical Education.
All of the program’s residents train in a broad range of topics including population health, quality improvement, lifestyle medicine, cancer prevention and tobacco cessation. Mount Sinai’s program is known for encouraging residents to customize their education according to individual passions. Each resident chooses a particular focus, such research or advocacy.
Recent program graduates include a resident who focused on primary care services for LGBTQ patients and worked with infectious disease doctors at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx to establish an HIV infection prevention program at the Center. Another graduate focused on research to address underrepresentation of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color community in cancer clinical trials.
Residents rotate through the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, working on issues such as COVID-19 response, measles outbreaks, and reducing pregnancy-associated mortality among Black women. Shifting public policy is also a focus of the residency program. All residents learn to write op-eds or give oral testimony as part of their training.
“Our specialty is so broad, which is what makes our residency so fun and fabulous,” said Dr. Oliver. “Each resident has a different passion, and we help identify mentors and bring their skills to the next level to make a big impact. Everyone brings in something different, then we all gain from it.”
Laura Sirbu, MD, the program’s co-chief resident, is studying how “upstream” factors such as barriers to health care access can be addressed to allow people in nearby communities to live healthier lives.
Dr. Sirbu said she is excited about the grant and that she is enjoying the training. “It’s great to secure extra support,” she said. “Mount Sinai’s program strength is its support of residents to go down different paths, allowing them to choose from a variety of project types and research topics.”
Residents can apply to the program, which is being renamed the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency Program, after completing one year of a clinical residency or after completing a full clinical residency.
During the two-year program, residents earn a Master’s Degree in Public Health. The program has longstanding ties with East Harlem’s nonprofit groups, which enable the program to build relationships and make a bigger impact.
“It’s not just one patient at a time, it’s the entire community,” said Dr. Oliver.
Beyond the clinical excellence she provides her patients, Susan S. Khalil, MD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, says she wanted to learn how to communicate in a better way with health care leaders, and to have the tools that are needed to advance advocacy and help reduce barriers to care.
In the following Q&A, Dr. Khalil explains how she is already using her new skills.
What do you do in your current position?
I’m a gynecologic surgeon with a clinical focus on endometriosis and pelvic pain, as well as minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and robotic surgery. During my master’s program, I was promoted to Program Director for the Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery for The Mount Sinai Hospital, which helps hone the skills of gynecologic surgeons for minimal access as well as improved surgical outcomes for women.
You’ve been a practicing surgeon for 10 years. Why a master’s degree?
I thought a master’s degree would help me develop leadership skills. The program has taught me to think in different ways, to think not just about clinical outcomes but also about health care on a population level and about ways to innovate change in health care.
It has also helped me better understand how the various systems of health care intersect. I really enjoyed the strategy, policy, and economics classes I took, and I learned to apply these concepts to gynecology and gynecologic surgery. One of the most important things I learned is how to communicate more effectively in order to deliver the best level of services to our patients.
The master’s program also introduced me to a group of mentors who have helped support my quality improvement initiatives in surgical infections in obstetrics and gynecology, and in furthering innovation in endometriosis care.
What, specifically, did you learn?
The program is set up in different team-led educational experiences, so it helps us see how other clinicians view medicine and health care—and how physicians and administrators can better understand each other’s perspectives and communicate more effectively. We all communicate in different silos, so this training helped to bridge that gap, teaching us how to use language that resonates with administrators as we communicate what we need for our patients, for our hospital divisions, and for the overall health care system to function effectively.
As an example, I was working with a teaching assistant from one of my classes to pitch a research idea for using artificial intelligence for my patients with endometriosis and chronic pain. I had submitted research proposals over the years and they never got much traction, but now we just won a pitch challenge and were awarded $25,000 to support my research. It’s such a big win for an underserved disease process and it’s very exciting. I attribute it to the training I got in this program, and learning how to work with other team members in health care to advance improvements for the issues we see daily, one on one, with our patients.
What are your next career goals?
I would like to take on more of a leadership position at Mount Sinai to help advance gynecology and women’s health care in general, and to have a seat at the table to help support an infrastructure that provides better health care for everyone.
Raj Vaza, who received his Master of Science in Biomedical Data Science degree at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2023, says that Mount Sinai had much to offer him, but one top opportunity was working in the Huang Lab in Computational Omics. Under the direction of Kuan-Lin Huang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Mr. Vaza worked on a capstone project that studied common and rare genetic variants to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the following Q&A, Mr. Vaza discusses his recent achievements at Icahn Mount Sinai and his career aspirations.
What first attracted you to this area of study?
It combines my interests in human biology and computer science, and I believe having a master’s would make me a more prepared candidate for medical school. Health care will become more data-driven and personalized. For me to be an effective physician, I need to understand how massive amounts of data can improve health care. As for neurology, my grandparents had Parkinson’s disease and dementia and as a child—as early as the sixth grade—I was curious about what ailed my grandparents.
What did you find most satisfying about the work you did in Dr. Huang’s lab?
It’s very exciting to be at the forefront of Alzheimer’s research. We have all these genetic sequencing tools, and the goal of my capstone project was to see how we can take the information we already had on common genetic variants and combine it with the data we’re collecting about rare variants. We’re trying to understand the differences at the genetic level and in the future, the protein level, to enable us to predict individual risk.
Why Mount Sinai—what, specifically, are the strong points of this program?
I majored in human biology and minored in computer science, so the Biomedical Data Science program was the perfect niche for me. It enabled me to look at the intersection of computers and data science with biology and medicine. And Mount Sinai, as a massive research and health care environment, presented all kinds of resources and opportunities to explore this intersection. Mount Sinai has so many resources available for students. For example, we have our own high-performance supercomputer and a database of genetic data for 30,000 individuals.
And the classes are exceptional. The Machine Learning for Biomedical Data Science course I just finished was the most informative and tied together everything I’ve been learning throughout the years. I also thought the people I worked with during my time here were brilliant.
What particular activities interested you as a student?
I arrived on campus in 2021, and when the COVID-19 Omicron wave started a few months later, I joined the Student WorkForce [a team of medical and graduate students who took on vital non-medical roles in the Mount Sinai Health System to support physicians, staff members, researchers, and hospital operations]. I got involved in COVID-19 testing of staff. Just being part of that entire process and learning how a health system works was very insightful. It was great that Mount Sinai asked the student body to help out at a critical time, and the fact that students rose up and met those expectations was very inspiring.
I have also been involved in Story Time/Teen Talk in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit at Mount Sinai Morningside. We played games with the children and had discussions with the teens to lift their spirits during their treatment. Being a part of that gave me the idea to introduce similar programs at other hospitals.
What’s next?
I’ll be attending medical school at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. I’m keeping an open mind about my area of specialization. The field that intrigues me right now is neurology, but I don’t think I’ll actually know until I get to medical school. Whatever I decide, my goal is twofold—to help patients in the clinic and advance research.
Justine Marcinek received her Master of Public Health degree, specializing in Environmental Health Sciences, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2023. In the following Q&A, Ms. Marcinek discusses how exciting research opportunities and strong mentorship helped her develop the skills she will need to make a mark in public health.
What first attracted you to this area of study?
As an undergraduate student at Stony Brook University, I worked at their Center for Prevention and Outreach, which provides education, prevention, and outreach services and resources around a number of public health concerns. When I talked to my mentors about their career journeys, I learned how public health research and policy influence so much of the world around us, and that intrigued me. I looked into an MPH degree as the next step in my education.
How did you decide to focus on Environmental Health?
Once I got to Mount Sinai, I took a required class in environmental health, which looks at how public health interacts with food, water quality, occupational health, and other related areas. That really interested me, so I took a class in environmental and occupational epidemiology, which combined knowledge I gained from that first class with computer programming skills that taught me how to use technical methods to evaluate environmental and occupational health. What I liked about Environmental Health was that I could see much of what I learned “in action” in the world around me. I took a toxicology class that looked at how toxins and toxicants can affect organ systems of the body. I rounded out my coursework with additional statistics and computer programming classes, so now I have working knowledge of the industry as well as technical competencies in the field.
What were some of your achievements as a master’s student?
In my first year at Mount Sinai, I was a contributing writer for The Scoop, the public health graduate program newsletter, and I became co-editor in 2023. Making that progression was very exciting and rewarding for me. It enabled me to take a leadership role and curate interesting pieces from different members of our school community, not just students.
One thing I am proud of is my culminating experience. Under the mentorship of Yueh-Hsiu Mathilda Chiu, ScD, I wrote a first-author manuscript about pregnant workers’ awareness and understanding of the New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which grants pregnant workers more flexibility to obtain reasonable accommodations in the workplace. My mentor fielded a survey about that sector and, for my project, I looked at the survey data and we found that a majority of pregnant workers did not know about this policy. The more I dove into the work, the more I grew passionate about the subject. It lived up to its name as a culminating experience, because it drew from what I learned in all my classes, and applying what I learned to a real-world public health topic was really fulfilling. We’re planning to submit it to an academic journal.
For my applied practice experience fieldwork, I worked with the New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers to research current asthma resources on Staten Island and put together a resource map. I then incorporated those organizations into pamphlets that will be made available to pediatricians and community partners throughout the borough.
What are the strong points of Mount Sinai’s MPH program?
There are so many. The professors and teaching assistants are so passionate about their work, and they make the classes very engaging. I was exposed to many guest speakers, each with their own area of expertise from different niches in public health, and it showed me how broad the field is. The support of faculty enabled me to challenge myself and develop my skills. The mentorship I gained through my culminating experience helped me become a stronger researcher. At Mount Sinai, students have access to a large network of resources at the Health System. They also offer professional development opportunities and events focused on topics that I might not have otherwise learned about.
What’s next?
My goal is to work in risk communication and health literacy, particularly as it relates to occupational health, making sure that working environments are safe and that workers can go home safely to their families. I think it’s important that scientific research outcomes are translated into actionable information that people can understand, and use, to make well-informed health decisions. Right now, I’m looking at positions in the city and state government and hospitals, including Mount Sinai.
Erica Palladino, MPH, has held increasingly responsible positions in health communications at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after she received a Master of Public Health degree in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention track from Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2019.
In the following Q&A, Ms. Palladino discusses her passion for public health and how her work in federal government enables her to make a true impact on the health of women and children.
What is your current job?
I’m a health communications specialist at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). I write about and promote how HRSA-funded programs improve the lives of mothers and their children.
After graduating with my MPH, I began as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow in the Office of the Surgeon General and I then transitioned to a federal Public Health Analyst at HHS, but I knew from my time at Mount Sinai after taking some reproductive health and maternal health classes that I wanted to go in this direction.
Among my day-to-day responsibilities, I write press releases about government funding that is available and awarded to states, doctors, local health departments, and community-based organizations that help our maternal and child populations. I write speeches for HRSA leadership when they attend events about these topics, and I help create campaigns that increase awareness and highlight the work of those who have received our funding.
A very important part of what we do is use plain language to effectively communicate our programs and health impact. We discuss prevention, promote healthy behavior modifications, and provide resources available to moms. Resources include the maternal mental health hotline that allows pregnant or postpartum moms who are experiencing mental health challenges to talk to counselors and get support, so they don’t feel like they’re alone.
Far too many women die or experience life-threatening pregnancy-related complications in this country. But we also know that 80 percent of these pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. The federal government is helping in whatever ways we can. Specifically, at HRSA, we support community-based programs with a focus on increasing access to care, strengthening the maternal health workforce, and improving the quality of care especially for those who are geographically isolated, and economically, or medically vulnerable.
I love this position because it gives me the opportunity to show people that the federal funding truly impacts the communities that need it the most.
Why a master’s degree?
Public health is a very broad field, which may seem overwhelming at first, but you can do so many different things with it. So, for me, the best part of Mount Sinai was learning about my professors’ backgrounds and seeing what career options were out there. They would say, “When I was at the CDC, this is what I did,” or, “I was a contractor for the health department, and this is how I got there.” I think the stories and experiences that professors shared were helpful in influencing my journey.
I didn’t even realize I had any interest in maternal health until I took the Health Promotion Strategies class. The professor there connected me with my Applied Practice Experience advisor at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Bureau of Maternal, Infant, and Reproductive Health. I’m thankful to Mount Sinai for highlighting the importance of health literacy within maternal health and making me realize that this is one of those areas where we can really make a difference.
What are your next career goals?
I see myself staying at HRSA MCHB for now because I love my coworkers and my job. A great aspect of working for the federal government is that you can easily transfer to other agencies so, down the line, I could go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the National Institutes of Health, or I could work for the Secretary of Health at HHS. I’m very happy that I’m in a role where I feel fulfilled and where everyone around me is so passionate about what they do.
Any advice for students?
I recommend that students—and graduates—maintain relationships with their professors and reach out to department administrators to put them in touch with alumni. These people are very well-connected and can be very helpful when looking for a job or career advice.
Mount Sinai was a great resource for internships and fellowships, and I highly recommend that students take advantage of those while pursuing their degree and after graduation. I was working full time as a pharmaceutical copywriter while getting my MPH, so I was nervous to take a fellowship after graduation. But, as an ORISE fellow, I was able to learn from a variety of leaders within HHS and home in on certain subjects. As a fellow, I attended numerous events and traveled with the Surgeon General. I got to do a lot of things that I wouldn’t have done if I had been a full-time federal employee. I’m very thankful that Mount Sinai pushed those fellowship opportunities to the graduates.
