New York Medical College Honors Distinguished Community Health Leaders at Annual Founder’s Dinner
Event Honored Robert A. Barish, M.D. '79, M.B.A, Jean Marie Malecki, M.D. '79, M.P.H., FACPM, and Ira D. Glick, M.D. '61, for Noteworthy Achievements
Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A.
Vice President of Communications and Strategic Initiatives
New York Medical College
(914) 594-4552
jennifer_riekert@nymc.edu
Valhalla, New York – On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, New York Medical College (NYMC) hosted its Founder’s Dinner at The Surf Club on the Sound in New Rochelle, N.Y. The annual fundraising event brought together more than 325 academic, healthcare, business and community leaders to celebrate NYMC’s proud history and promising future, and to honor distinguished community leaders for their impactful and transformative achievements. Proceeds of the evening directly benefit NYMC students through student scholarships and important initiatives, and further NYMC’s success in educating the next generation of physicians and healthcare providers and support life-saving biomedical research.
This year’s event honored:
Robert A. Barish, M.D. '79, M.B.A., The William Cullen Bryant Award recipient. After earning his medical degree from NYMC in 1979, Dr. Barish interrupted his residency to provide medical treatments to refugees along the Thai-Cambodian border and in Somalia. As a former lieutenant colonel and flight surgeon in the Maryland Air National Guard, he was among a select group invited to become a NASA astronaut candidate in the early 1990s.
Jean Marie Malecki, M.D. '79, M.P.H., FACPM, The Alfred B. DelBello Distinguished Service Award recipient. Dr. Malecki has received international attention for her work with public health intervention, including diagnosing one of the first children with AIDS and the first case of intentional Anthrax. Under her leadership, the Palm Beach County Health Department(PBCHA) has become a model for other local public health systems—for becoming an academic health department, promoting a platform to learn and teach innovative ways to serve the public’s health.
Ira D. Glick, M.D. '61, The Jackson E. Spears Community Service Award recipient. Dr. Glick graduated from NYMC in 1961 and has spent his career pioneering research focused on psychiatrics, including current and future treatment of schizophrenia and mood disorders, and the diagnosis and treatment of athletes. In 2018, he served on the International Olympic Consensus Committee, focusing on "Mental Health in Elite Athletes." He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, among many other accolades.
During the event honorary Doctor of Science degrees were awarded to:
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| 2019 Founders Dinner Honorary Degree Recipients |
Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Schleifer founded Regeneron in 1988, and over the span of his career, has worked to build his company from a small startup into one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies. Under his leadership, Regeneron has been repeatedly voted the number one company to work for in the biopharmaceutical industry by Science magazine and has been consistently ranked a top ten most innovative company by Forbes.
George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Yancopoulos, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, has worked to build Regeneron into a leader in science-driven biotechnology. Under his direction, Regeneron’s accomplishments include invention and development of seven FDA-approved medicines. Dr. Yancopoulos delivered the commencement address to NYMC’s 160th graduating class.
“Our annual Founder’s Dinner is a time for the New York Medical College community to come together to celebrate the culmination of the school’s accomplishments in the past year,” said Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer at New York Medical College. “Through the support of those who attended the Founder’s Dinner, we are able to fuel groundbreaking biomedical research as well as support the next generation of graduates through the scholarship funds raised.”
Photos from the 2019 Founder’s Dinner can be found here.
New York Medical College
Founded in 1860, New York Medical College (NYMC) is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the country with nearly 1,500 students and 330 residents and clinical fellows, more than 2,600 faculty members and 23,500 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, the School of Health Sciences and Practice, the Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC and the Touro College School of Health Sciences’ nursing program at NYMC. NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities for students, residents, and practitioners.