Jeannys Nnemnbeng, MD, RRT
Growing up in Gabon, Jeannys Nnemnbeng, MD, RRT, knew she wanted to enter the world of medicine. Her passion was inspired by her father, an orthopedist, and by her own experience after being hospitalized with a pulmonary abscess.
But as she began her journey to become a clinician, Dr. Nnemnbeng discovered that studies of treatment efficacy among African populations are hard to find.
“It is not because there is a lack of brilliant minds,” says Dr. Nnemnbeng. “I believe it is because of a lack of training in clinical research methodology. I wanted to change that.”
That led Dr. Nnemnbeng to the Master of Science in Clinical Research program (MSCR) at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“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.”
Dr. Nnemnbeng, who has expertise in respiratory therapy, started the MSCR program as the COVID-19 pandemic was about to ravage New York City hospitals. Recognizing that intensive care units urgently needed to determine best practices for patients put on mechanical ventilators after a combined diagnosis of COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome, Dr. Nnemnbeng launched an observational study of those patients who were admitted to Mount Sinai during the first three months of the pandemic and published preliminary results. She intends to publish more studies related to mechanical ventilation and quality improvement through clinical management.
Dr. Nnemnbeng, who graduated from the MSCR program in 2021, is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Research at Mount Sinai and preparing her dissertation under the mentorship of Alex Federman, MD, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She intends to conduct research evaluating the effect of peer support on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease outcomes in patients of African ancestry.
Eventually, Dr. Nnemnbeng would like to start a nonprofit aimed at mobilizing U.S. medical students to help other medical students and institutions around the world. “I love the idea of students from various countries collaborating to improve patient care, and I would like to do that for countries such as Guadeloupe, and in Gabon and Mali, where I trained,” she says.