The exciting story behind our cover photo is revealed below!! the joy displayed echos the joy of the season!
Notes from: Dean Nosanchuk
2022 is nearly complete! Over the past months, our new Service Learning and Impact courses have successfully launched and provided Einstein first year students with engaging new experiences that will enhance their understanding of our diverse communities and the effect of structural determinants on individual and community wellness as well as provide a solid platform, together with lessons learned in other courses, for scholarship.
We congratulate our second year students who have successfully completed their pre-clerkship curriculum!! These students are now entering a study period to prepare for the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, which is a pass/fail exam that assesses foundational science knowledge with a focus on the principles and mechanisms of health, disease and treatment strategies. Our clerkship students are enjoying a 2-week Winter Break before returning to complete the second half of their penultimate clerkship. Our senior students are on the homestretch of their residency interviews and strategizing for their Match. We are so impressed and proud of our Einstein MD students for their academic achievements!
As shown in the adjacent photo, I recently was awarded an Doctor of Honoris Causa by the University of Szeged, Hungary, which celebrated its 440th year. Especially as prior recipients of this honor include Katalin Karikó, PhD (lead developer of mRNA vaccines) and Angela Merkel, PhD, I am deeply humbled by this recognition, and I credit my success to the incredible support that I have received from Einstein mentors like Liise-anne Pirofski and Stephen Baum as well as fabulous colleagues across the globe.
For over a year, we have been diligently working toward an accreditation site visit that will take place January 22-25, 2023. Our students have been major contributors in this effort through their service on our preparation committee and for implementing and analyzing a comprehensive student-led survey of diverse aspects of student life and the education program at Einstein. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education will be sending four senior educators to assess our program. We look forward to their analysis of our medical school and their input on how we can continue to advance Einstein as a leader in medical education.
I am pleased to share that Einstein and Jacobi Medical Center, our vitally important NYC Health + Hospital affiliate, have re-affirmed our association with an 10-year collaborative agreement. This will continue our longstanding tradition of our students caring for and learning from diverse members of the Bronx community as well as engage in service and research activities at Jacobi.
I am also thrilled to share that the NIH grant supporting our MD-PhD program, the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), has been renewed. We are all appreciative of Myles Akabas, MD, PhD, the MSTP Director, for this achievement and for his constant outstanding leadership. The other major Einstein program with a recent NIH renewal is our Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), led by Marla Keller, MD. The ICTR is extremely important in supporting student research and several MD students complete Masters Degrees in the ICTR's Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), led by Aileen McGinn, PhD.
I am incredibly grateful for our amazing staff and faculty who lead and participate in Einstein's MD program- we are truly blessed to have so many dedicated and talented people working on medical education at Einstein! I am confident that 2023 will be another milestone year for our MD program. Most importantly, our MD students will continue to make major impacts in our communities and they will carry the lessons they learn to enhance the wellness of others throughout their careers.
I wish you all joy and good health in the year ahead!
MD Program Update
| The Office of Student Life |
From Mohanlall T. Teloki, Director, Office of Student Life
When I first arrived at Einstein in March, I was both excited and nervous about the new adventure that lay ahead of me. Not only was I joining an amazing team within the division of student affairs, but I was also going to work directly with a group of students who were ambitious and passionate. Since my arrival, the office of student life has hosted several large-scale events commemorating significant milestones in our students' medical journeys while also welcoming a new class. The work we do in the student life office has been influenced and shaped by student feedback. As we look forward to the new year, we hope to return to more in-person experiences and build more bridges within the Einstein community through strategic partnerships.
Greetings to the new board members and expressing gratitude to departing ones
The opportunity to introduce your upcoming MDSC class of 2026 fills us with joy! Their appointment to the board will support maintaining the MD program's competitive edge in 2023. The MDSC board members are instrumental in creating and fostering a culture at Einstein that is focused on students. Members put forth a lot of effort and talent to improve the educational experience for students. Members keep an eye on whether the College is operating in accordance with the stakeholders' missions. Additionally, they collaborate closely with the deans, directors, and faculty to make sure that the daily activities and experiences of the students they represent are carried out in accordance with the goals and scope of the board.
Class of 2026 MD Student Council Board
Farewell to Outgoing Board Members
Peter Ch'en and Emmanuel (Manny) Mbamalu, the 2025 Class Representatives, worked tirelessly to build and cultivate memorable experiences for all students both current and incoming. The office of student life could not ask for better partners to strategize plans and implement opportunities for building a more cohesive MD community. The Senators for the Office of Medical Education, Wesley Day and Marc-Mina Tawfik played a key role in developing a strategic alliance with the medical college and pushed for significant modifications to the academic environment and student learning opportunities. The Senators for the Office of Student Affairs, Troy Karanfilian and Justina Shafik, were excellent collaborators within the student affairs division. By leveraging student feedback and surveys to inform their roles and projects that would have an impact on the campus and housing experiences, they played a crucial part in fighting for a more equal community. The Senator for the Office of Student Finance, Anne Lally, worked with the team in Student Finance to establish a place and information to understand the procedure and plan properly to empower student financial decisions on loans and payments. The Senator for Advancement, Aaron Hui, assisted in fostering a connection between alumni and students through networking and mentorship opportunities. He also shared his student viewpoint on alumni mentoring programs. I sincerely thank the departing board members. Your enthusiasm for and dedication to your roles and responsibilities were contagious. Thank you for your commitment to the student body.
The MDSC board of the class of 2026 has identified and developed a strong strategic plan that complements and continues the work of the previous board while looking ahead to making their own imprint on the Einstein community as we enter a new year with great anticipation. Please join me in congratulating and wishing the newly elected MDSC board members all the best in their new roles.
Class of 2025 MD Student Council Board
Did you know?
Natalie Tan is a second year MD student at Einstein. But each of our students is more than "just a medical student." Natalie and her sister Chiara, a student at Boston University School of Music, won gold medals at the US Figure Skating 2022 National Intercollegiate Final for Shadow Dance! Congratulations Natalie!!
Medical Student Activities at Conferences, Twitter and more!
Einstein students with peers in "Medical Students for Choice NYC" at sister medical schools in NYC have published an abortion education resource, "Accessing Abortion in NYC." The work has been published through the Columbia and Mt. Sinai libraries. Einstein student leads for this impactful work are Sarah McNeilly, Viviane Kim, Kimberly Graybeal, and Anne Lally.
The Einstein Standardized Patient Program
Lily Burd-Orama would like all to know about the Standardized Patient (SP) program in the Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Center and its development: "The SP Program is holding its first Einstein-wide professional development training in January to start off the New Year! Since its inception in early 2022, we have brought on nearly 70 diverse and talented professional Standardized Patients. In collaboration with Dr. Felise Milan, I am putting together a program for our SPs that will refine their unique skill set and meet the standards we are setting in this inaugural year of the in-house SP Program. I am excited to continue building thoughtfully designed SP experiences for our students that allow them to bravely explore how they can relate to patients like, and unlike, themselves."
The SP program will also further enhance the validity of our robust clinical skills assessment activities and facilitate the expansion of skills practice and testing!
OME Welcomes New Staff
Susan Legnini comes to AECOM from Fordham University where she worked for 14 years, most recently in the Office of the Dean as Administrative Assistant. Susan was effective in event planning as well as maintaining structure for the multi-faceted office. In the Office of Medical Education, she will be supporting Drs. Nosanchuk and Cassese as well as the educational committees. "As the Executive Assistant, I hope to cultivate a welcoming environment for anyone coming to the Office of Medical Education. My goal today and every day is to procure organization and streamline processes. I hope I can make a difference!"
Holly Nuthmann "As the new Program Manager for Service-Learning, Holly will be facilitating the collaboration between Einstein medical students and the Bronx community-based organizations they will partner with over the course of their Service-Learning experience. As a social worker with a focus on community engagement and cross sector collaboration, Holly looks forward to strengthening community partnerships and fostering students’ interest in service during her time at Einstein!"
Yesica Pache "I am the new Program Administrator for the Medical Student Research and Impact Course. I am very excited to be a part of the Einstein community. A little bit about myself: I have a beautiful 4-year-old Husky whose name is Diamond. I am very social, love meeting new people and having meaningful conversations. So, if you see me around, please don't be afraid to say hello. For the last 7 years I've worked in the Department of Education gaining extensive experience, servicing students of all backgrounds. I want to use that experience as a good foundation for my knowledge and skills which I plan to build on here at Einstein. Together with the Impact and OMSR team I want to help create an environment where the medical students can engage with the impact course and successfully complete research projects and acquire valuable knowledge and experience. "
Madison Pooser "I’m the Data Coordinator for AEQI team in OME, working with student evaluation data. I’m looking forward to being a great assist to OME on the never-ending goal to improve education here at Einstein.” Madison graduated from St John's University with the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and also complete Columbia's data analytics bootcamp program. Madison comes to us from Success Academy Charter Schools where she served as the Assessment Specialist with oversight of a team charged with managing assessment administration and data systems. Another interesting fact about Madison is that she speaks German fluently.
Hansen Wetsel is thrilled to be the newest member of Einstein’s Office of Medical Education where he’ll be working as a data analyst for the Assessment, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement (AEQI) team. Originally from Clemson, South Carolina (Go Tigers!), Hansen recently graduated from NYU with a Master’s in political science focusing on comparative European politics and political economy. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of New York who enjoys reading and long-distance running in his spare time.
Selected work by our Medical Education Faculty
Fall LH, Fulton TB (Lead Editors); Allen M (student), Beck A, Bernstein JA, Carroll R, Cassese T, Cline S, Crofton A, Dalmeida D, Dell M, English K (student), English R, Edmondson A, Gorski V, Reichgott M, Sheridan L, Steinman H, Weinstein A, Yoest J (Contributing Authors in alphabetical order). Aquifer Sciences Integrated Illness Scripts:Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis. Fall L, Hand Wilson-Delfosse AL, eds. www.aquifer.org. Date of First Publication: July 1, 2022.
Nixon J, Sheridan L (Lead Editors); Allen M, Bahner I, Beck A, Bradford C, Cassese T, Cho Y, Dickinson B, Drowos J, English K (student), Gallman E, Gorski V, Hayward K, Larson K, Lyons V, Miodownik H (student), Ngo K, Poznanski A, Reichgott M, Steinman H, Yasin M, Yoest J (Contributing Authors in alphabetical order). AquiferSciences Integrated Illness Scripts:Rheumatoid Arthritis. Fall LH and Wilson-DelfosseAL, eds. www.aquifer.org. Date of First Publication: July 1, 2022.
Susannah Cornes, Dario Torre, Tracy B. Fulton, Sandra Oza, Arianne Teherani & H. Carrie Chen (2023). When students’ words hurt: 12 tips for helping faculty receive and respond constructively to student evaluations of teaching, Medical Education Online, 28:1, DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2022.2154768
Datta K, LaRue R, Permpalung N, Das S, Zhang S, Mehta Steinke S, Bushkin Y, Nosanchuk JD, Marr KA. Development of an Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) to Aid Diagnosis of Histoplasmosis. J Clin Microbiol. 2022 :e0112822. https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.01128-22
Smith DFQ, Mudrak NJ, Zamith-Miranda D, Honorato L, Nimrichter L, Chrissian C, Smith B, Gerfen G, Stark RE, Nosanchuk JD, Casadevall A. Melanization of Candida auris is associated with alteration of extracellular pH. J Fungi (Basel). 2022 Oct 11;8(10):1068. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8101068
Select recent Medical Student Publications
Emily Miao, Kaleena Zhang, Jianyou Liu, Jaun Lin, Donna Yoo, Claudene J George. Metformin use and mortality and length of stay among hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19: A multiracial, multiethnic, urban observational study. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Nov 9;13:1002834. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1002834.
Brian Geohagen, Elizabeth Zeldin, Kimberly Reidy, Tao Wang, Evripidis Gavathiotis, Yonatan I. Fishman, Richard LoPachin, David M. Loeb and Daniel A. Weiser. Acetophenone protection against cisplatin-induced end-organ damage Translational Oncology, 2023-01-01, Volume 27, Article 101595. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2022.101595
Benjamin Green, Nathan Feiertag, Kara Watts, Alexander C. Small. Evaluating perceptions and usage of natural remedies, herbal medicine, and dietary supplements for kidney stones among a diverse, international, urban patient population. Urolithiasis. 2022 Aug;50(4):447-453. doi: 10.1007/s00240-022-01340-3
Benjamin W. Green, Kevin Labagnara, Eric Macdonald, Nathan Feiertag, Michael Zhu, Kavita Gupta, Charan Mohan, Kara L. Watts, Arun Rai & Alexander C. Small. Evaluating the association between food insecurity and risk of nephrolithiasis: an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. World Journal of Urology. 2022. vol. 40, pages2641–2647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-022-04150-9
Mustufa Babar, et al. Comparison of Patient Satisfaction and Safety Outcomes for Postoperative Telemedicine vs Face-to-Face Visits in Urology: Results of the Randomized Evaluation and Metrics Observing Telemedicine Efficacy (REMOTE) Trial. Volume 9 Issue 5Page: 371-378. https://doi.org/10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000323
Alison E. Schulz, Priya Dave, Whitney Clearwater, Jesse Kase, Jianyou Liu, Kara Watts, Nitya Abraham. Assessment of Patient Understanding Prior to Urological Procedures. Urology . 2022 Oct 1;S0090-4295(22)00815-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2022.09.010
Leia Kessler, Kara Watts, Nitya Abraham. Should We Correct the Use of Race in Urological Risk Calculators? J Urol. 2023 Jan;209(1):17-20. https://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002954
Benjamin W. Green, Kevin Labagnara, Nathan Feiertag, et al. Financial Toxicity of Nephrolithiasis: The First Assessment of the Economic Stresses of Kidney Stone Treatment. Urology. 2022. Volume 170, Pages 46-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2022.08.042
Matthew Demasi, Michal Segall, Amanda Mengotto, Pablo Cuartas, Nathan Feiertag, Justin Loloi, Jordan Ahn, Mimi Kim, Melissa Laudano, Joshua Stern & Kara Watts. Optimizing pain management following kidney stone surgery: can we avoid narcotics? World Journal of Urology. 2022 volume 40, pages 3061–3066. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-022-04214-w
Max Abramson, Nathan Feiertag, Darius Javidi, Mustufa Babar, Stacy Loeb, Kara Watts. Accuracy of prostate cancer screening recommendations for high-risk populations on YouTube and TikTok. BJUI Compass. 2022; 1–8 https://doi.org/10.1002/bco2.200
Belfer Bulletin curated by Susan Legnini in the Office of Medical Education. To submit information for consideration for future MD education bulletins, email susan.legnini@einsteinmed.edu.