News and Events

As a kid in rural Connecticut in the early 2000s, Kathleen McWilliams was well acquainted with the danger of ticks. After days spent playing outside in the wooded areas around her house, “our home routine was you brushed your teeth, you went to the bathroom, and you did a tick check,” she said. So when, at age 15, McWilliams suddenly spiked a 104-degree fever, her mom immediately thought Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. She requested a Lyme test. While they waited for results, McWilliams’s symptoms morphed into near-constant dizziness and achy joints, two more markers of the disease.

They are working on developing better biosignatures and algorithms for identifying Lyme based on new blood samples they recently collected from clinics affiliated with Colorado State University and New York Medical College. Eventually they will begin real-time testing on patients’ serum samples collected in clinics and mailed to the CDC.

Also Making Rounds — Dr. Catherine Hinterbuchner’s estate gave $3 million to New York Medical College. The money will endow a professorship and chair in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Metropolitan Hospital.

New York Medical College (NYMC) was endowed with $3 million to establish a professorship and chair in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. According to the college, the endowment will foster research and support the training of medical students and residents. The estate of Catherine Hinterbuchner is the benefactor of the gift. Hinterbuchner was a physiatrist who passed awayin 2015. She served as chair of NYMC’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine from 1971 to 2004.

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

The Latest in Westchester County Business News, June 22, 2017

New Training Center for Bioterrorism and Disaster Response at New York Medical College

New York Medical College in Valhalla recently opened their new Center for Excellence on June 8 with a training program for medical responders. With a $500,000 initial grant from Empire State development, the medical center will develop an “austere medicine” facility for first responders to simulate situations of accidents, active shooters, and more. The Center for Disaster Medicine at the college has previously partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense, and they hope that the Center for Excellence will help to increase funding for those programs.

Hot weather, hot medical topics.  Briefly, Dr. Robert Amler, the Dean of the School of Health Practice at New York Medical College will be joining us to talk about legionella. I will be having GI update, answering your questions on the latest and greatest in digestive diseases. Dr. David Shlim of Jackson Hole Travel and Tropical Medicine will be joining us to talk travel medicine.  And, of course, we will end with Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any medical question on any topic at all: anything that you forgot to ask your doctor ask me!

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

Former NFL player Ryan O'Callaghan surprised fans when he revealed his darkest secret; he is a gay man. The offensive lineman revealed to Outsports he planned to kill himself after he retired because of his sexuality. O’Callaghan is not alone. Deric Metzger calls his former boyfriend, Brian Shaughnessy a “survivor.” Dr. Jack Drescher, a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College who was on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) V workgroup on sexual and gender identity disorders, told Fox News that while many mental illnesses are genetic, there are psychosocial aspects to mental health. “If you stress a person with a vulnerability for depression enough, they can get very severely depressed and become suicidal,” Drescher said. “If you belong to a stigmatized minority group, whether it’s a racial minority group or… a gender or sexual minority group, there is an increased risk because there are all of these…moments in your life where you may be subject to stressers that the majority does not usually experience on a regular basis.”

NYMC Faculty: Jack Drescher, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences

In White Plains, Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group Inc. (WVNS Group), the parent company of VNS Westchester, the VNSW Foundation Inc. and Westchester Care at Home, announced appointments to its governing board. Amy Ansehl, executive director, Partnership for a Healthy Population, New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, was re-elected as board chairperson.

NYMC Faculty: Amy Ansehl, M.S.N., D.N.P., FNP-BC, assistant dean, associate professor of public health practice, executive director of the Partnership for a Healthy Population and assistant professor of family and community medicine

As the landscape of health-care reform shifts rapidly, it’s clear the federal Medicaid Program — the nation’s largest insurer of children — is in jeopardy. Over the next two weeks, the U.S. Senate will debate a version of the American Health Care Act, also known as the “Obamacare repeal,” which drastically endangers the care of children. The House of Representatives' version of this bill defunded Medicaid by $834 billion over 10 years and President Trump’s recently released budget was even more drastic — calling for $1.3 trillion in cuts over the next decade.

NYMC Faculty: 
Shetal I. Shah, M.D., professor of pediatrics
Heather L. Brumberg, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics

During cancer diagnosis and treatment, effective communication and planning is key. However, mapping a plan of action can be difficult when patients speak a different language than doctors and staff. Thanks to Dr. Sung Ho Lee, a board-certified physician in medical oncology and hematology at Highland Medical P.C. and Nyack Hospital, both native and foreign speakers are receiving the comprehensive care they deserve, in a familiar tongue. Today, Lee practices at Highland Medical P.C. and Hematology Oncology Associates of Rockland at Nyack Hospital. He also serves as director of Clinical Research at the hospital, bringing cutting-edge oncology therapies to the community. Lee is also assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y.

NYMC Faculty: Sung Ho Lee, M.D., assistant professor of medicine 

The Touro College of Dental Medicine was accredited a year ago and its inaugural class is moving up. One member of the class, Jessica Li, has become an ambassador of sorts to the dental college's students in the community. A Westchester native, she has assisted incoming students with finding housing, as well as giving them the down-low on where to eat and drink around campus. The daughter of a dentist, Li originally had no interest in following in her father’s footsteps. She attended Cornell as a communications major, but slowly found herself working on more and more projects involving dentistry. This eventually led her back to Westchester to join the inaugural class at Touro College of Dental Medicine, located at New York Medical College in Valhalla.

NYMC/TCDM Mentions: 
Jessica Li, TCDM Class of 2020
Jay P. Goldsmith, D.M.D., founding dean
Aaron E. Yancoskie, D.D.S., associate professor at TCDM and adjunct assistant professor of pathology at NYMC

Global Bioethics Initiative (GBI) launches its third edition Summer School Program

GBI starts its summer school program sponsored by Pace University, College of Health Professions and New York Medical College. Lead by experts in the field of Bioethics, students and professionals will witness Bioethics in various forms such as film screenings, field trips, and lectures/seminars, ending with a completion ceremony. Topics addressed in the program are: embryonic stem cell research, cloning, gene therapy, end-of-life care, genetics, reproductive technologies, human subject research, organ transplantation and access to health care.

College of Mount Saint Vincent biology professor Robert Suriano is a co-investigator of a patent that could increase the safety of vaccines. The majority of vaccines are created with aluminum-based products designed to enhance the body’s response against antigens like bacteria and viruses, Suriano said in a release. Although aluminum has been FDA approved for nearly a century, it’s still a known neurotoxin. Suriano’s work, in partnership with New York Medical College in Valhalla could lead to a safer alternative to aluminum-based products in vaccines to fight infectious diseases. It also could lead to a breakthrough in the creation of a cancer vaccine, the Mount said.

NYMC Alumn: Robert Suriano, Ph.D. ’07

Robert W. Amler, dean of the New York Medical College’s School of Health Sciences and Practice and the college’s vice president for government affairs, was among the 200 community, educational, and government leaders who gathered at the Westchester County Center on June 7 to begin an initiative to combat opioid abuse. It’s called “Westchester Opioid Response Teams Helping You (WORTHY).” Westchester County Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, who also is an associate professor at NYMC and married to Robert Amler, told the gathering, “There is no room on the sidelines in the fight against opiate addiction….We need the help of our partners to change the lives of the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters with opiate addictions.”

NYMC Leadership: 
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
Sherlita Amler, M.D., M.S., FAAP,  clinical associate professor of pediatrics and distinguished lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health

The St. Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation has announced five board appointments for its operations Continuum of Care at the Foundation, the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center and the John A. Coleman School. Benny Caiola of Bettina Equities Co. LLC will serve the Continuum. Pediatric Center board additions are Michael Gallagher of Corporate Risk Solutions LLC, David Ingber of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network and Claudia Pici-Morris of consultants Egon Zehnder. At the John A. Coleman School, Lisa Marrero of Sound Shore Medical Center and New York Medical College joins the board.

NYMC Faculty: Lisa A. Marrero, M.D., clinical assistant professor of pediatrics

In a glittering ceremony Amity University Conferred an Honorary Professorship Prof Raj K Tiwari for his exceptional achievements and his unsurpassed contribution to the field of Cancer Biology. The Vice Chancellor Prof P B Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Amity University Haryana conferred the Honorary Professorship degree to the Dr Raj K Tiwari, Professor and Graduate Program Director at NYMC.

NYMC Faculty: Raj K. Tiwari, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology and associate professor of otolaryngology

To explain the situations that New York Medical College’s Center of Excellence in Precision Responses to Bioterrorism and Disasters will help address, Dr. Robert W. Amler said to picture the final scene of an action or disaster movie.

“You see the credits are rolling, the hero is being loaded in the back of an ambulance, but he’s OK,” said Amler, vice president of government affairs and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice at the medical school in Valhalla. “He gives a high five or chuckles with his friend. He’s only shot in the shoulder, so maybe it’s not so bad. Then you see the ambulance roll off into the distance.”

NYMC Leadership: 
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
Michael J. Reilly, Dr.Ph. ’10, M.P.H., Director of Center for Disaster Medicine, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Science, and Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine

“If I don’t get older soon, I’m never going to die and get to see Grandpa again.” Those words stopped me cold one afternoon on a regular Tuesday drive with my 5-year-old son. We’d been talking about nothing, or so I thought, as he was absorbed in his standard rapid-fire line of questioning. “How many days until my next birthday?” he asked. I was busy thinking about the million things that needed tending to that day so I dismissed him quickly, “It was just your birthday. Not for a long time.” 

It is important to understand how your child is processing their grief. “Children don’t always verbalize or feel safe enough to ask questions about their feelings,” Jeanette Sawyer Cohen, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College and co-founder of Everyday Parenting Psychology, LLC explains. Being able to determine if their feelings of grief are driving “fight or flight” behavior in your child is critical.

NYMC Faculty: Jeanette Sawyer Cohen, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging recognized seven new SNMMI Fellows during a Special Plenary Session at the society’s 2017Annual Meeting, held June 10-14 in Denver, Colorado. The SNMMI Fellowship was established last year to recognize distinguished service to the society as well as exceptional achievement in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. It is one of the most prestigious formal recognitions available to long-time SNMMI members. All past SNMMI presidents were granted Fellowship at the 2016 Annual Meeting. Now, 2016-17 SNMMI President Sally W. Schwarz, MS, RPh, BCNP, FAPhA, has joined their ranks. She is professor of radiology, director of PET Radiopharmaceutical Production and co-director of the Cyclotron Facility at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. Also recognized as SNMMI Fellow this year is Diwakar M. Jain, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of nuclear cardiology, New York Medical College, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York. 

NYMC Faculty: Diwakar Jain, M.D., professor of medicine

The inaugural class at the Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla completed its first year at the new school on Monday.

The 112 students, who entered the college last July, will graduate in 2020. Touro also operates a college of Osteopathic medicine in Middletown.

The new dental school is expected to improve the oral health care delivery in New York State, where the population has grown by 4.5 million people since 1968 when the last school of dentistry opened. The new college seeks to address New York’s projected shortage of dentists as well as expand the network of dentists practicing in underserved areas.

“Although it is only the first year, we are beginning to make inroads as we have students not only interested in outreach projects to the rural communities in upstate New York, but also have multiple students applying for the National Health Service Corps scholarships, a program to place dentists in areas of the US where oral health care is needed while helping students to cover the cost of their dental education,” said Dr. Aaron Yancoskie, DDS, associate professor at Touro College of Dental Medicine.

NYMC Faculty: Aaron E. Yancoskie, D.D.S., associate professor at Touro College of Dental Medicine and adjunct assistant professor of pathology at New York Medical College

If it feels like the weather has been more like autumn than summer, that's all about to change quickly. Forecasters are predicting much warmer temps for the week ahead. As it gets hotter, local health experts say to pay closer attention to your activity level and give extra care to older and younger members of your family.

Ivan T. Miller, M.D., assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine, says people should definitely prepare for the sudden change in temperature.

"It does make sense to remind people that there are a lot of illnesses that are brought on by excessive heat," he says. "People should make sure they are well hydrated, use plenty of sun block and cover exposed skin." 

Take breaks if you have to be outside in the heat, whether for work or play, Miller advises. "And although it may be very hot outside, remember water temperatures are still pretty cold so if you jump in a lake or into the ocean, it could be a shock to the cardiovascular system."

NYMC Faculty: Ivan T. Miller, M.D., assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine