Being outside is wonderful for children’s development and health. However, if your plans include being in grassy or wooded areas, remember to try to protect your family from ticks and the risk of illnesses like Lyme disease. The best protection is prevention. You can...
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) isn’t a medical condition you normally hear much about. But it was in the news recently after President Trump was diagnosed with the condition. In this Q&A, Prakash Krishnan, MD, FACC, System Director of Endovascular Services, at...
Six master’s graduates from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences discuss what they accomplished and how they are using their degrees to explore new paths in science, health care, and medicine. After Sharpening His...
There were many achievements to celebrate at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2025 Master’s Commencement Ceremony in Stern Auditorium, a lively event of cheers and tears, applause and hugs, that graduated a class of 178 students committed to...
Pickleball is quickly becoming one of New York City’s favorite ways to stay active—and it’s doing more than just bringing people together. It’s also a fun, heart-healthy way to support your overall well-being. Why Pickleball Is Good for Your Heart You don’t have to be...
Every June, rainbow flags appear across New York City in celebration of Pride Month. Mount Sinai Health System, too, shows up in support for the LGBTQ+ community by participating in the NYC Pride March and events.
In the Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders list released in June, the Mount Sinai Health System earned top marks: among health care institutions in the United States and North America, it was No. 5 for its research output. When compared against health care institutions around the world, Mount Sinai ranked sixth.
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, created a legacy by serving as Dean for 18 years—one of the longest tenures of any medical school dean in the United States. His research career has been just as...
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, giving the Commencement addressIn the 18 years that Dennis S. Charney, MD, has served as the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount...
Being outside is wonderful for children’s development and health. However, if your plans include being in grassy or wooded areas, remember to try to protect your family from ticks and the risk of illnesses like Lyme disease. The best protection is prevention. You can...
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) isn’t a medical condition you normally hear much about. But it was in the news recently after President Trump was diagnosed with the condition. In this Q&A, Prakash Krishnan, MD, FACC, System Director of Endovascular Services, at...
Six master’s graduates from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences discuss what they accomplished and how they are using their degrees to explore new paths in science, health care, and medicine. After Sharpening His...
There were many achievements to celebrate at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2025 Master’s Commencement Ceremony in Stern Auditorium, a lively event of cheers and tears, applause and hugs, that graduated a class of 178 students committed to...
Pickleball is quickly becoming one of New York City’s favorite ways to stay active—and it’s doing more than just bringing people together. It’s also a fun, heart-healthy way to support your overall well-being. Why Pickleball Is Good for Your Heart You don’t have to be...
Every June, rainbow flags appear across New York City in celebration of Pride Month. Mount Sinai Health System, too, shows up in support for the LGBTQ+ community by participating in the NYC Pride March and events.
In the Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders list released in June, the Mount Sinai Health System earned top marks: among health care institutions in the United States and North America, it was No. 5 for its research output. When compared against health care institutions around the world, Mount Sinai ranked sixth.
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, created a legacy by serving as Dean for 18 years—one of the longest tenures of any medical school dean in the United States. His research career has been just as...
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, giving the Commencement addressIn the 18 years that Dennis S. Charney, MD, has served as the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount...
Can the bacteria in your gut influence addictive behavior? That is the question that Katherine Meckel is studying and trying to answer. Currently a fifth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Ms. Meckel is one of 31 young scientists from across the country to be honored with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award.
The award will provide Ms. Meckel with a six-year, $447,000 fellowship to fund the remaining two years of her PhD studies, as well as four years of postdoctoral research. The D-SPAN Award recognizes outstanding trainees from historically underrepresented communities in the sciences.
Working in the lab of Drew D. Kiraly, MD, PhD, Ms. Meckel is drawing upon her background in gastroenterology and neuropharmacology to study the effects of the gut microbiome on gene expression and behavior in a rodent model of cocaine use disorder.
“When we look at human patients and also animal models of substance use disorders, we see highly altered gene expression in response to cocaine and other drugs of abuse,” she explains. “This seems to emerge from long-term adaptations or ‘molecular scars’ which affect the ability of gene sequences in the DNA to be accessed and expressed. My work seeks to understand how gut bacteria and the metabolites they produce regulate the structure and accessibility of the DNA, influencing gene expression and ultimately drug-seeking behaviors.”
Dr. Kiraly, her dissertation advisor, praises her tenacity in establishing a new line of research within the field of neuroscience. “Katherine has generated a tremendous amount of exciting data, which provides insight into the mechanisms of gut-brain communication,” says Dr. Kiraly, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, at Icahn Mount Sinai. “Her work holds potential to uncover novel pathways for drug development, which may one day lead to much-needed treatments for patients with substance use disorders.”
Trusting Her Gut Intuition
As an undergraduate, Ms. Meckel pursued a rigorous five-year dual degree program in Voice Performance and Biochemistry at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. There, she conducted neuropharmacology research under Bruce Hetzler, PhD, studying the effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on rodent behavior and visual processing.
After graduating, she joined the Section of Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, working under Joel Pekow, MD, and Marc Bissonnette, MD, to study the effects of diet and metabolism on inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
Ms. Meckel credits her time in gastroenterology for encouraging a more integrative physiological approach, which now informs her studies. “Often times in neuroscience, we study the brain in isolation,” she says. “But it’s important to consider that the brain exists in communication with the other peripheral organs throughout the body, and they influence each other’s activity.”
Building Community for Students With Disabilities
Ms. Meckel has also emerged as a leader in disability rights since joining Icahn Mount Sinai. Together with classmates Jessica Pintado Silva and Marisa Goff, she co-founded Disability Rights, Education, and Awareness at Mount Sinai (DREAMS), which provides peer mentoring and support to graduate students with visible and invisible disabilities.
“As a queer, disabled individual, I often compare living with invisible chronic illness to ‘being in the closet.’ If you didn’t know me well, you probably wouldn’t realize I am disabled,” she says. “But much of my life outside of lab is characterized by managing chronic health flares.”
Ms. Meckel expressed gratitude to her advisors and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for supporting her training. “I hope that my experience inspires disabled and chronically ill trainees to continue in the sciences,” she says. “So we can share our unique perspectives and bring new innovation to STEM.”
The Rehabilitation Department at Mount Sinai West would like to highlight Lea Tsao, MS, CSRS, an occupational therapist who works on our inpatient unit and on the acute medical floors.
When Lea started working with us, she was immediately dedicated to patients, willing to learn, and eager to help. She has a track record for going above and beyond for her patients, giving them not only excellent care but in difficult moments giving heartfelt words of encouragement that could inspire anyone else in the room listening.
Lea has been involved in several challenging cases, but we’d especially like to acknowledge her role in helping a patient who had a complex clinical presentation and a limited support system. Over several months, Lea remained an advocate for his functional progress and for the goal of getting him home. She advocated for interdisciplinary communication, family involvement, and comprehensive care. Her consistency allowed for the continuity of care we strive for as health care providers to best meet the individual needs of our patients.
Without a doubt, this patient also benefitted from the care of numerous physical therapists, including Caitlin Counihan, Victor Rhee, and Erika Chason. Many of them worked to bring the patient’s mobility closer and closer toward functional independence.
We are very lucky to have a team of dedicated therapists and good human beings.
Being outside is wonderful for children’s development and health. However, if your plans include being in grassy or wooded areas, remember to try to protect your family from ticks and the risk of illnesses like Lyme disease. The best protection is prevention. You can...
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) isn’t a medical condition you normally hear much about. But it was in the news recently after President Trump was diagnosed with the condition. In this Q&A, Prakash Krishnan, MD, FACC, System Director of Endovascular Services, at...
Six master’s graduates from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences discuss what they accomplished and how they are using their degrees to explore new paths in science, health care, and medicine. After Sharpening His...
There were many achievements to celebrate at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2025 Master’s Commencement Ceremony in Stern Auditorium, a lively event of cheers and tears, applause and hugs, that graduated a class of 178 students committed to...
Pickleball is quickly becoming one of New York City’s favorite ways to stay active—and it’s doing more than just bringing people together. It’s also a fun, heart-healthy way to support your overall well-being. Why Pickleball Is Good for Your Heart You don’t have to be...
Every June, rainbow flags appear across New York City in celebration of Pride Month. Mount Sinai Health System, too, shows up in support for the LGBTQ+ community by participating in the NYC Pride March and events.
In the Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders list released in June, the Mount Sinai Health System earned top marks: among health care institutions in the United States and North America, it was No. 5 for its research output. When compared against health care institutions around the world, Mount Sinai ranked sixth.
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, created a legacy by serving as Dean for 18 years—one of the longest tenures of any medical school dean in the United States. His research career has been just as...
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, giving the Commencement addressIn the 18 years that Dennis S. Charney, MD, has served as the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reveal the significant racial disparities that exist in health care access and treatment across the United States, Mount Sinai’s neuroscience community is additionally exploring the profound connections between racism and mental health through a new seminar series.
The first seminar, “The Impact of Racism on Mental Health,” held virtually on Monday, January 25, featured two guest speakers, and drew nearly 500 members of the general public, and researchers and students from 35 universities across eight nations. It was sponsored by The Friedman Brain Institute, as part of its Diversity in Neuroscience initiative known as #DiverseBrains, and the Mount Sinai Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The seminars aim to raise awareness and address the inequities—and amplify the work of researchers studying the various effects of racism on minds and bodies.
The seminar was organized and moderated by Aya Osman, PhD, a third-year postdoctoral fellow at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment. Dr. Osman is studying the role of the gut microbiome in various neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism and addiction, in the lab of Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD. It was co-moderated by Joseph Simon, a fourth-year PhD neuroscience student studying social influences on decision-making in the laboratory of Erin Rich, MD, PhD, in the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience.
Participants included, clockwise from top left: co-moderator Joseph Simon; speaker Tanja Jovanovic, PhD; Aya Osman, PhD, event organizer and moderator; and speaker Monnica Williams, PhD, ABPP.
The aim of the seminars, said Dr. Osman, is to make research findings more accessible to the public and to increase scientific collaboration with researchers studying similar topics. “We hope this lecture series will open our eyes to the ways racism can be perpetuated and spark dialogue around dismantling structural racism in the mental health field and discuss ways to heal from its impact,” Dr. Osman said.
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, and Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, welcomed the participants. “We launched #DiverseBrains about five and a half years ago to promote diversity and inclusion, and to create an optimal climate throughout The Friedman Brain Institute,” said Dr. Nestler. “And no conversation is more at the heart of our original goals than today’s topic.”
Invited speaker Monnica Williams, PhD, ABPP, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, and Canada Research Chair for Mental Health Disparities, gave a presentation on “Racial Trauma and New Directions in Healing,” which drew from existing research data. “We know there are profound connections between racism and mental health,” said Dr. Williams. “We have research over the past 20 years that shows definitive links to just about every major mental illness to experiences of racism and discrimination,” she said, citing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, severe psychological distress, psychosis, disability, and suicide.
Dr. Williams also discussed the growing use of medical psychedelics and the research that shows it may hold promise in helping to decrease the negative impact of racial trauma in minority populations. However, she pointed out that her own research has uncovered that minorities are greatly underrepresented in psychedelic medicine studies, with 82.3 percent of the people involved in these studies, as both patients and researchers, being white. “We can now make a strong case that future clinical trials need to examine the efficacy of psychedelics as an adjunct to psychotherapy for individuals with race-based trauma,” Dr. Williams said.
Speaker Tanja Jovanovic, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, and the David and Patricia Barron Chair for PTSD Neurobiology at Wayne State University in Detroit, addressed the topic of “The Biological Impacts of Racism—Implications for Negative Health Outcomes.” Dr. Jovanovic’s research focuses on the interaction of traumatic experiences, neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, and genetics in stress-related disorders in adults and children in high-risk populations. In her seminar presentation, she examined racial differences related to neurobiology and how the stressors of racism affect the brain.
“Racism impacts biology and should be treated as an illness,” she said. Dr. Jovanovic presented research showing the biological effects in those experiencing the chronic stress of racial discrimination. Altered physiological measures include higher levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA, a biomarker associated with stress, aging, inflammatory processes, and cell death. Further, her research shows that racial discrimination may alter the automatic nervous system by increasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (increasing startle response, accelerating heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and raising blood pressure), and decreasing the peripheral nervous system, or vagal tone, which is associated with rest and regulation of stress responses.
The Mount Sinai Health System has an ongoing commitment to accelerate efforts to dismantle racism and advance equity through priorities established by the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The BioMedical Laureates Program, for example, is one of the first in the nation to recruit underrepresented candidates and enhance diversity among senior research faculty. It includes an initiative to recruit and mentor Junior Laureates, those just starting their postdoctoral fellowships. Forming the foundation for these and future efforts is the Mount Sinai Health System Task Force to Address Racism, which was established to make Mount Sinai an anti-racist health care and learning institution that intentionally addresses structural racism.
Participants agreed that much work—at many levels—needs to be done on racism and research. Dr. Osman cited a need for an increase in Black faculty, and diversity training among principal investigators. Said Mr. Simon: “We must continue this dialogue in many different forms, and it’s important that we make this information and this outreach understandable for all.”
Indeed, educating the public is a key component of this effort, said Dr. Osman, who cites a need for solid, clear, science-based information that is understandable by the general public, which is driving her extensive public outreach through social and mass media. As this seminar series continues to invite speakers and discuss this topic, an additional goal is to explore grants that would fund further research into the impact of racism on health, and ways to eradicate it. The second seminar is planned for early spring 2021.
Dr. Williams also discussed the growing use of medical psychedelics and the research that shows it may hold promise in helping to decrease the negative impact of racial trauma in minority populations. However, she pointed out that her own research has uncovered that minorities are greatly underrepresented in psychedelic medicine studies, with 82.3 percent of the people involved in these studies, as both patients and researchers, being white. “We can now make a strong case that future clinical trials need to examine the efficacy of psychedelics as an adjunct to psychotherapy for individuals with race-based trauma,” Dr. Williams said.