Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, at Commencement: In Pursuit of Progress

Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, President of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, giving the Commencement address

Commencements are not only about graduating students being hooded and receiving their degrees, or outstanding individuals being recognized with honorary degrees, but also opportunities for wisdom to be passed down.

At the 54th Commencement of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, held at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center on Thursday, May 11, Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, President of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, had the honor of bestowing wisdom upon a new cohort of physicians and researchers.

“I have the awesome responsibility of providing you with wise and inspiring words, but with the comfort that you might not retain them for more than 24 hours,” began Dr. Fuster with a chuckle. But beyond the humor, Dr. Fuster called on graduates and all present in the hall to reflect on the concept of progress, especially in medicine.

What Does It Mean to Progress?

Society has moved through time, but we can’t take progress for granted, said Dr. Fuster.

At present, and sadly not new in the history of humanity, the concept of progress appears to be challenged, he said. One, by an ongoing abandonment of traditional ethical and moral values, ​​and two, by radical groups threatening one of the most basic principles of human dignity, which is the right to live.

New perspectives of progress can only be advanced by youth with innovative training, and the graduating class at Icahn Mount Sinai represents a group key to that goal, Dr. Fuster noted.

Challenges to Progress

Scientific innovations have forged ahead at a rapid pace, and have created gaps—between digital and cognitive creativity, and between treating disease and preventing it.

In the first category, Dr. Fuster spoke of acceptable uses of recent technologies, such as the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, for preparing research manuscripts. However, the definition of acceptable uses should be questioned by the younger generation, he said. “Young people—you—are generally those with the highest exposure to digital technologies, and as such you are uniquely equipped for positive decision-making.”

Furthermore, while advanced technologies have become part of daily lives, clinicians need to realize that the digitization of body data can only be useful to the well-being of the patient when integrated thoroughly with a complete clinical and social history and physical examination—a reality that is being diluted in medical educational systems that are mainly focused on digital technology, Dr. Fuster said.

In the latter category, there remains a gap in thinking about where the line between treatment and prevention should lie. Experts have agreed on the importance of prevention, not just treatment, but there remain questions about when medical practitioners should intervene, Dr. Fuster said, exhorting the young graduates to continue contributing toward prevention efforts.

Contributing to Progress

Being an active participant toward progress can be fulfilling, but the journey will be fraught, said Dr. Fuster. There are three principles that can help during dark moments, he noted.

Resilience is key, as the road to personal fulfillment is long and often marked by frustration. Mentorship is next, as people often spend excessive energy pursuing ambitions before they are ready and tutors can help discover talent. The last is to give back to society, as generosity and empathy are always the basis of happiness.

Finally, Dr. Fuster called on the graduates to live in the moment. “In this special and unique day, please stop your clock and celebrate your achievement,” he said. “And turn the clock back to give thanks to all of those who helped you on this journey, in a sense, to make you ready to engage in progress.”

Through work with Mount Sinai Heart, Dr. Fuster has also led initiatives and programs that have had a global impact.

Hypertension management in rural Kenya: Using a multidisciplinary approach to address the challenge of linking and retaining hypertensive individuals to a hypertension-management program, community health workers use a behavioral communication strategy and smartphone-based tools to reduce blood pressure and manage their health.

Sesame Street education project: In 2006, Dr. Fuster joined as an advisor for Sesame Workshop’s Healthy Habits for Life initiative, launched in 2005 to promote healthy lifestyles and diet among young children. In 2012, he collaborated on Sesame Workshop’s Global Health Initiative, and helped create a mini-series Barrio Sésamo: Monstruos Supersanos, or Super Healthy Monsters, which aired on Spain’s co-production of Sesame Street. Segments have since been incorporated into local versions of Sesame Street in Colombia, Germany, Netherlands, United States, and other countries.

Polypill initiative: Mount Sinai Heart launched a program to combine aspirin, a statin, and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor into one pill to prevent heart disease. The program was not only launched in the United States, but made available to developing nations, with accompanying studies to determine whether the polypill is effective in reducing cardiovascular disease and improves adherence and accessibility to health care.

Cardiovascular disease prevention in children worldwide project: Dr. Fuster is pursuing a project that helps children acquire a healthy lifestyle and sustain it long-term through early education and intervention, preventing cardiovascular and other diseases later on in life. This project, presently reaching about 50,000 children worldwide, is rooted in the understanding that given greater brain plasticity in early years of life, what is learned and experienced in those ages will be enduring.

The class of 2023 graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai on Thursday, May 11, after a journey that was not only long, but marked by tribulation.

“You witnessed the strong moral character of our Mount Sinai physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals. You saw them put their lives on the line to battle COVID-19, to save lives,” said Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn Mount Sinai, addressing graduating students and their families and friends, faculty, and trustees, at the Commencement ceremony.

“You witnessed our scientists, shortly after the onset of the pandemic, return to their laboratories to solve the riddles of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Charney said.

As guests gathered at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center to celebrate the new cohort of physicians and scientists embarking on the next step of their careers, none were more excited than the graduating students.

“We are the last class to graduate from Mount Sinai who all began medical school before the pandemic,” noted graduating student James Johnson, MD, who gave a speech on behalf of his class.

“Because of this, we all had other motivations to practice medicine—other primary drivers in our pursuit of this field,” Dr. Johnson said. “We still own those passions and hobbies we enjoyed at the start, and we can still channel them when the road ahead appears dark yet again.”

Click to read what some graduates had to say on what drew them to the profession and Icahn Mount Sinai:

Jasmine Modasi, MSCR

First, there was an interest in studying medicine, but then a research project brought new possibilities to Jasmine Modasi, MSCR, a 2022 graduate of Mount Sinai’s Master of Science in Clinical Research program.

In the following Q&A, Ms. Modasi, who is now enrolled in the PhD in Clinical Research program, discusses recent achievements—and her aspirations to ultimately improve the lives of those living with psychiatric illness.

What attracted you to this area of study? 

My background is in developmental cognitive neuroscience and I am fascinated by the relationships among human experiences, development, cognition, the brain, and behavior. My initial plans were to go to medical school and specialize in psychiatry.

During my undergraduate thesis project, however, I had the opportunity to conduct a research study in language learning, totally unrelated to what I do now. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and began to imagine that perhaps research was for me.

Mental health has always been very important to me and I felt I could make a greater contribution to the field by doing the research that ultimately goes into practice. As a longtime mental health advocate, I’ve heard concerns voiced by friends and fellow students, both for themselves and the community, and this continues to inspire me to strive toward improving our understanding and approaches to treating mental health problems.

What were some of your achievements as a master’s student? 

I had the opportunity to take on several roles as a research assistant, teaching assistant, and Trainee Health and Wellness (THAW) committee member. During my research, I produced an original manuscript for my thesis examining associations between chronic and acute lifetime stressors with psychosis-risk symptoms in high-risk genetic disorders—it has since been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

Outside of academics, I took on the role of co-host for the THAW Wellness Podcast where we aim to inform students and trainees of the many resources available at Mount Sinai through discussions with members of various offices and organizations, such as the Office of Career Services and the Office of Gender Equity. In recognition of my achievements and contributions, I was awarded the Outstanding Thesis Award and Excellence in Leadership and Service Award.

Why a PhD—What are your goals in the PhD clinical research program? 

The clinical research program has provided me with opportunities to explore the field and deepen my appreciation for the work underlying medical practice. Pursuing a PhD will only continue to better my understanding of how to design and conduct effective research studies to create meaningful contributions to medicine.

One major goal I have is to work closely with physicians to identify gaps in medical knowledge pertaining to disease etiology for developing and/or improving treatment and prevention methods. I am particularly interested in under-researched areas of psychiatric illness and symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum and borderline personality disorders.

As an evolving researcher, I hope my work will improve the lives of those living with psychiatric illness and advance medicine by bridging the gap between research and practice.