News and Events

Three physicians with the Phelps Family Medicine Residency Program have achieved the Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the national medical association representing nearly 134,600 family physicians, residents and medical students. They are Rebecca McAteer, MD, Sara Paul, MD, and London Muse, MD.

NYMC Faculty News: Rebecca McAteer, M.D.'08, clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine and School of Medicine advisory dean, Sara Paul, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine, and London Muse, M.D. ’12, clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine

BioInc@NYMC, the biotechnology incubator on the campus of New York Medical College in Valhalla, had two celebrations in one on Oct. 30. It celebrated its fifth anniversary while opening new space that effectively doubles its size. Since its launch in October 2014, BioInc@NYMC has supported nine startup companies, created at least 54 jobs and has had an economic impact estimated to be in excess of $16 million.

BioInc@NYMC News: 

Deborah Novick, director of BioInc@NYMC

Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer

Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice

Marc Zemel, SM, M.B.A., co-founder and CEO of Retia Medical, a BioInc client

A biotechnology and health care company in the Hudson Valley is growing in size. Biotechnology incubator BioInc@NYMC is celebrating a five-year anniversary today, and announced a huge expansion of its facility. Westchester lawmakers joined officials from New York Medical College in Valhalla for a ribbon cutting to officially open the expanded space.

BioInc@NYMC News: Deborah Novick, director of BioInc@NYMC

Biotechnology incubator BioInc@NYMC celebrated its five-year anniversary Wednesday and announced a huge expansion of its current facility. Westchester lawmakers joined BioInc officials from New York Medical College in Valhalla for a ribbon-cutting to officially open the expanded space.

BioInc@NYMC News: 

Deborah Novick, director of BioInc@NYMC

Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice

Sarah E. Cottet, executive director of facilities management and capital planning

New York Medical College in Valhalla quickly became a Biotechnology inbucator for the Hudson Valley. This unique space provides startup companies with equipment and resources they need to explore and create new forms of medicine or medical technology to improve our quality of life.

BioInc@NYMC News: 

Salomon Amar, D.D.S., Ph.D., vice president of research at NYMC and provost for biomedical research and chief biomedical research officer for Touro College and University System

Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer

Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice

I read the article “Vaccination: the unending controversy” with great dismay. While healthcare professionals have labored painstakingly for years—and never harder than this last year—to stress the urgency of vaccinations, all it takes is a single gadfly in the ointment of common sense to plant doubt in the minds of the easily frightened or woefully uninformed. Even the headline of the piece demands redressing: Vaccinations are only “controversial” because of conspiracy theorists; their narrative is only “unending” because of those who profit, one way or another, by perpetuating myths.

New York Medical College Leadership News: Alan Kadish, M.D., president

Battling through coffee-induced anxiety just to get a boost of energy is a relatable struggle for many 9-to-5ers. Fully skipping your morning brew to avoid jitters is one obvious solution, but it's also not realistic for those who simultaneously feel completely drained without it. So, is there a happy caffeine medium between being overstimulated and wiped out?

NYMC Faculty News: Stephen J. Ferrando, M.D., Har Esh Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 

Various Articles: #TeamWMCHealth Goes the Distance in 2019 New York City Marathon, WMCHealth Cardiology Director Publishes Study on New Treatment Benchmark, The Power to Save Lives, ‘I Cheated Death’, Support System, Saving Josh, Back in the Game, When Flu Turns Fierce, Can the shorter days really be affecting me?, What should I know about toddler safety during the holidays?, Do I really need to wear sunscreen in the winter?

NYMC Faculty News: Fabio O. Danisi, M.D., clinical associate professor of Neurology, Lisa N. Hirsch, M.D., instructor of medicine, Elizabeth Tilley, Ph.D., instructor of surgery, Julio A. Panza, M.D., professor of medicine, Kartik Prabhakaran, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, Tanya Dutta, M.D., M.A., clinical associate professor of medicine and assistant professor of radiology, Sateesh C. Babu, M.D., professor of surgery, Mill Etienne, M.D. ’02, M.P.H., FAAN, FAES, assistant dean of student affairs, associate professor of neurology and School of Medicine House Advisory Dean, Arun Goyal, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, Rajiv Narula, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine, Gary Tatz, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, Sheila M. Nolan, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, Alexander C. Lerman, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Darshan D. Patel, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, family and community medicine and of emergency medicine, Xiang D. Dong, M.D., clinical associate professor of surgery

Dr. Nitin Sekhri is board certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and earned his Chemical Engineering degree from Manhattan College before attending Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency in Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, serving as Chief Resident in his final year. He went on to complete his Fellowship in Pain Medicine at Columbia and was recognized as a Virginia Apgar Research Scholar, with his research focusing on Mathematical Modeling of Pain during labor.

NYMC Faculty: Nitin Kumar Sekhri, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology

The Business Council of Westchester has officially elected a new chairperson as well as six board members to its Board of Directors.

NYMC Affiliate News: Susan W. Fox, Ph.D., associate professor of health policy and management and director of the Center on Disability and Health

With influenza season a little more than a month away, just 12% of Wisconsin residents have received their vaccination, a concern to public health officials who have been keeping an anxious eye on Australia's record-breaking flu season. Australia, which can be a harbinger of flu conditions in the northern hemisphere, has recorded almost 300,000 confirmed cases and 812 deaths this season.

NYMC Leadership News: Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice, and professor of public health, pediatrics and environmental health science

“The Smart Million Dollar Man” — on this episode we converse with Dr. Adam Block, a Harvard graduate in health policy and economics and he’s an incredible wealth of knowledge. Dr. Block gives an in-depth account of the world of economics and delve into what it takes to be a conducive entrepreneur in our modern-day society.

NYMC Faculty News: Adam E. Block, Ph.D., assistant professor of public health in the Division of Health Policy and Management

Gene editing of DNA inside living cells has many potential uses — from treating human disease to altering crops and livestock for agriculture — and is often considered the preeminent technological breakthrough of the new millennium. For example, in a move that has been widely criticized, Chinese researcher He Jiankui claims to have edited human babies to resist HIV by altering a gene called CCR5.

NYMC Faculty News: Stuart A. Newman, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy and medicine

Activated charcoal is created from carbon-rich materials burned at high temperatures, according to the National Capital Poison Center (Poison Control). For example, carbon-rich materials such as wood, coconut shells or coal, are burned at a high temperature (between 600 and 900 degrees Celsius or 1,110 and 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit) to create a charcoal powder. 

TCDM at New York Medical College News: Benjamin Schwartz, D.D.S., clinical assistant professor of dental medicine, TouroCDM

Secuado gives a once-a-day sustained dose of the anti-psychotic drug many people suffering from schizophrenia rely on. Asenapine treats schizophrenia by rebalancing chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin, in the brain, and transdermal delivery may offer patients an easy way to take their medication.

NYMC Faculty: Leslie L. Citrome, M.D., M.P.H., clinical professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences

Clinical trials not only facilitate new drug development, but they can provide care to patients who desperately need more options, such as those with cancer. While trials may be listed online in readily accessible databases, such as those listed on clinicaltrials.gov, cancer.net and curesearch.org, it can be hard to know what to search for and how to make sense of the medical jargon of the listings. This creates a barrier between patients and clinical research. Not to mention that, unless their doctor is a researcher themselves, a doctor may not suggest clinical trials to their patients or even be fully aware of the clinical trials available.

NYMC Faculty News: Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, division of pediatric hematology, oncology and stem cell transplantation, and professor of medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and cell biology and anatomy

The recent measles outbreaks in Westchester and Rockland counties have shown the importance of disaster preparedness. An expert in this field, Robert Amler served as regional health administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he controlled federal medical emergency funding, and has coordinated anthrax response teams at the Centers for Disease Control. Amler also served as an adviser to the U.S. surgeon general and Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

New York Medical College Leadership News: Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice, and professor of public health, pediatrics and environmental health science

New York — At a young age, Leah Cik Roth left her Czechoslovakian home to become an apprentice basket maker and wig maker. She learned in 1941 that most of her community back home, including her father and nearly all her siblings, had been forced over the Polish border by Hungarian forces allied with the Nazis and executed by firing squads.

TCDM at New York Medical College: Shreya Jha and Nicole Zimmerman, TouroCDM students

When Theresa Gucciardo-Perry discovered a cracked crown in her mouth in April, she dreaded the idea of going to a dentist to get it replaced. The Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., resident has undergone more than 18 root canal procedures; she also has five implants, with crowns on all but her front teeth. She hated the procedure in which trays of a gag-producing, putty-like substance were stuffed into her mouth to make impressions.

TCDM at New York Medical College Mentions: 

Ronnie Myers, D.D.S., M.S., dean of TouroCDM

Edward Farkas, D.D.S., vice dean for administrative affairs, TouroCDM

Barbara Jurim, D.D.S., clinical assistant professor of dental medicine and assistant director of digital dentistry 

(Courtesy of Touro College) Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM), the nation’s newest dental school, established in 2016, recently launched a partnership with The Alpha Omega-Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program, a public-private partnership that seeks to increase underserved Holocaust survivors’ access to oral care, thereby enhancing their overall quality of life. The program is jointly sponsored by Henry Schein, Inc., the world’s largest provider of health care solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners, and the Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity (AO), the oldest Jewish international dental and medical organization.

TCDM at New York Medical College: Ronnie Myers, D.D.S., dean of the TouroCDM and professor of dental medicine