News and Events

The Business Council of Westchester announced its 2017 class of Rising Stars, a diverse and  highly talented group representing an impressive array of professions. The winners will be honored on June 15 during an evening reception at 800 Westchester Avenue in Rye Brook. The Rising Stars program is modeled after the national business recognition program “40 under 40.” Rising Stars honorees were chosen based on professional and/or entrepreneurial accomplishments, professional and/or business affiliations, and demonstrated leadership skills.

The 2017 Rising Stars: Katharine Yamulla, director of the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center

The YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester in collaboration with the Women’s Research and Education Fund (WREF) will hold the 9th annual In the Company of Women on Friday, May 12 at the DoubleTree in Tarrytown. This year’s honorees will include Dr. Jin Li, neurologist with Westchester Medical Center clinical associate professor of neurology at New York Medical College. The highly-acclaimed event will draw over 500 diverse and successful women (and a few good men!) from across Westchester County and beyond. Dr. Jin Li was selected as an honoree for being one of the trailblazers in the field of neurology and as such is a magnificent role model for young women. In addition to her duties as a neurologist, she finds time to maintain involvement in the Chinese American Society and the Huaxia Chinese School. In her everyday life and in her vocation, Dr. Li shows her “smarts” and sincerely deserves this award as “Health & Wellness Champion.”

NYMC faculty: Jin Li, M.D., Ph.D., clinical associate professor of neurology

The new concourse was specially designed to connect Westchester Medical Center with the 280,000-square-foot Ambulatory Care Pavilion, which is currently under construction on WMC's Valhalla campus. The eight-story Ambulatory Care Pavilion is the largest healthcare construction project in Westchester County since the construction of Westchester Medical Center’s main tower in 1977, and is slated for completion in 2018.

NYMC Affiliate: Westchester Medical Center

Whether you’re a first-time mom or a seasoned pro, breastfeeding is a tough gig. Especially when the periods between feedings decrease and you feel like you’re nursing constantly…like every 15 minutes constantly. Here’s what you need to know about those out-of-the-ordinary (yet perfectly ordinary) cluster feedings. Newborns typically nurse every 2 to 3 hours, but sometimes they change their feeding patterns to more frequent guzzling (with a side of fussiness thrown in). Also known as bunch feeding, this can be super frustrating for moms who suddenly feel like they’re nursing all the time. “It seems to happen most often during the first few weeks of breastfeeding (because the milk supply may be more erratic) and then again around three months, but it can also occur later,” explains Jeffrey L. Brown, MD and clinical professor of pediatrics at New York Medical College. And while many moms experience cluster feedings in the evenings, it can also happen at any time of the day. Cluster feeding is totally normal, say experts. The reasons why this happens are unclear (it could be due to growth spurts, increasing mom’s milk supply or babies just wanting more attention), but there’s usually no need for parents to be concerned or to supplement with formula. Your baby is one smart (and adorable) cookie who instinctively knows how much milk she needs—listen to her and feed her as often as she wants. Dr. Brown weighs in: “Cluster feeding is a common occurrence. Medical warning signs would be if the baby appears ill, has a weak suck or cry, or is not gaining weight properly. These suggest that she may not be getting enough calories.” Got that? You’re doing nothing wrong, but speak to your pediatrician if you notice any of the aforementioned symptoms. 

NYMC faculty: Jeffrey L. Brown, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics

While other teens are planning for prom, Stephanie Gallagher is fighting a disease that threatens her future ability to have children. Thrown into premature menopause, Gallagher, 16, suffered an auto-immune disease in which antibodies attacked her ovaries. Doctors say she has lost more than half her egg follicles over the past few months. Dr. Kutluk Oktay removed two-thirds of the outer layer of Gallagher’s right ovary, where microscopic eggs are stored. The tissue will be cut into pieces and frozen until she’s an adult and ready to become a mom — and then transplanted back. “I’ve always loved kids. I definitely want to have kids when I’m older,” said Gallagher, who lives in Pompton Plains, NJ. A high-school junior, she plans to become a nurse or child psychologist. While ovarian tissue is frozen for women with cancer before they undergo chemotherapy, Gallagher’s surgery is a first for anyone in the midst of autoimmune ovarian failure, Oktay said. Normally, young women are diagnosed with the disease after all their eggs have been destroyed. “You never catch it when it’s happening because it happens really fast — in a matter of months,” said Oktay, who is also a New York Medical College professor and pioneered ovary-freezing and transplantation.

NYMC faculty: Kutluk Oktay, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology, cell biology and anatomy, medicine  and pathology

It is one of the worst pronouncements a person can hear from a doctor — that  you’ve got cancer — now imagine that diagnosis is for a child. "PCF has been instrumental in providing critical grant support over the past quarter of a century to help raise the cure rate in pediatric cancer from approximately 50-60 percent to 85-90 percent today," says Dr. Mitchell S. Cairo, Chief of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Maria Fareri. The group has raised more than $500,000 towards research for hospitals that include Maria Fareri, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer at NYU Langone Medical Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Feinstein Institute of Medical Research Northwell Health and University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. Dr. Cairo describes PCF as instrumental in providing millions of dollars in critical grant support to raise the cure rate. "Major accomplishments over the past 40 years have occurred in pediatric(cancers)," says Cairo. ALL, NHL, HL, Wilms Tumor among others." He cites emotional support for family members as another important factor in the process.

NYMC Faculty: Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and cell biology and anatomy

According to the American Cancer Society, pediatric cancers are different than what normally develops in adults. They include Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Brain tumors and unique solid tumors such as Neuroblastoma, Wilms Tumor and sarcomas are also common.

"PCF has been instrumental in providing critical grant support over the past quarter of a century to help raise the cure rate in pediatric cancer from approximately 50-60 percent to 85-90 percent today," says Dr. Mitchell S. Cairo, professor of pediatrics, medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and cell biology and anatomy and New York Medical College and chief of pediatric hematology, oncology and stem cell transplantation at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.

NYMC faculty: Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and cell biology and anatomy

Last week Ross School students became the first group of high schoolers allowed to visit the Alumni Gross Anatomy Laboratory at New York Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest and largest health sciences colleges. The lab, which serves hundreds of medical students annually, provided Ross ninth graders with an object lesson in human anatomy. The day began with a presentation by Laboratory Manager Roger Bender, who offered students an overview of the facility, its procedures, and the specimen donation process. Afterward, he guided students through explorations of the dissected specimens and allowed them time to sketch what they observed.

NYMC Mention: Roger Bender, instructor of cell biology and anatomy

The Westchester Biotech Project, launched this spring, will try to bring together the various facets — education centers, private business and government — of Westchester’s biotech industry to help boost research. In doing so, its organizers say it can build on momentum already propelling the local biotech sector forward.

 “There are a lot of things happening at once,” said Joanne Gere, executive director of the Westchester Biotech Project. “You have the billion-dollar-plus investment at North 60 and a really nice cohort of universities such as New York Medical College, and companies like IBM, Regeneron and other smaller companies.” 

Gere said the group is working now to identify challenges in the county’s research community and develop programs around them. New York Medical College, through its BioInc@NYMC life sciences incubator, is a partner in the project, as is the Westchester County Association.

Researchers at Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine say they have successfully demonstrated that a particular peptide, or compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain, may be useful in combating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis. The peptide, known as pNaKtide, is designed to block the oxidant-amplifying function of the body's cellular sodium-potassium pump. The peptide's potential effects on experimental nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis were published in the March 15 edition of "Scientific Reports," an online journal from the publishers of Nature.

NYMC Mention: Nader G. Abraham, Ph.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology

Heritage Provider Network (HPN), in partnership with Crain’s Custom Studio – a division of Crain’s New York Business – will honor the 25 finalists of the second Heritage Healthcare Innovation Awards on Monday, May 22nd, for transforming access to and quality of affordable healthcare in the New York metropolitan area.

The exclusive celebratory luncheon will unveil the five winners of this year’s awards: Heritage Innovation in Healthcare Delivery Award; Heritage Healthcare Leadership Award; Heritage Healthcare Organizational Leadership Award; Heritage Innovators in Healthcare Awards; and Heritage Research Investigators in Translational Medicine Award. Heritage Innovation in Healthcare Delivery Award goes to Nora V. Bergasa, MD, MACP, FAASLD, AGAF, Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College; Chief of Medicine, NYC Health+Hospitals/Metropolitan

NYMC Faculty: Nora Bergasa, M.D., professor of medicine

A panel discussion focusing on academic stress, anxiety, competition and staying level-headed in the high-stakes high school environment will be held at the Scarsdale Public Library on Friday, May 19 at 10 a.m. Registration is required at the library website, scarsdalelibrary.org or by calling 914-722-1302. The panel will discuss research and offer tools that parents and their children can use.

Panel Member includes: Suzanne Braniecki Matteo, Ph.D. - NYS licensed psychologist with specialized training in pediatric neuropsychology, she conducts neuropsychological evaluations at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center and is an assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry & behavioral sciences at New York Medical College.

NYMC faculty: Suzanne Braniecki Matteo, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry & behavioral sciences

Children’s Dream Foundation’s 25 years of supporting pediatric emergency health care in the Hudson Valley will honor Dr. Frank N. Medici, Pediatrician and Healthcare Executive. Our 2017 Medical Service Award will be given to Dr. J. Anthony SanFilippo, Attending Pediatric Surgeon, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.

NYMC Faculty: 
Frank Medici, M.D., former clinical professor of pediatrics
J. Anthony SanFilippo, M.D., professor of surgery and associate professor of pediatrics