Scholarship Match

Meet Our Goal

Help us meet our $10 Million goal.

Progress to date: YAY!

Alumni Donors: 51+

Match $$ Claimed: $3M

Total Raised: $6M

New Endowed Scholarships: 40

Suzanne M. Murphy, Ed.D.
Vice President of Development
suzanne.murphy@einsteinmed.edu

  718.430.2917

Support Students

Support Students: Create Your Own Endowed Scholarship

At Einstein you can establish an Endowed Scholarship with a gift of $100,000. With the Scholarship Match, you're halfway there! You can support Einstein students now and for generations to come by creating an endowed scholarship in your name or in honor of a loved one with a minimum of $50,000.

Your gift can be paid over time, up to five years, and will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $250,000, by an anonymous donor — doubling the impact of your endowed scholarship.

Read on to see how the match works or contact Min Um-Mandhyan, at 718-430-4171 or min.um-mandhyan@einsteinmed.edu, to learn more.

Student Debt

By the Numbers

  • Approximately 50% of Einstein students carry $200K of debt, as compared to only 17% of students at other local medical schools.
  • The average need-based scholarship is currently $8,000.

How the Match Works:

Your gift between $50,000 and $250,000 will be matched,
dollar for dollar by the anonymous donor.

Your $50K

Match $50K

$100K Endowed
Scholarship

Envision the impact of your gift with the following scenarios.

Combined with matching, an endowed scholarship of:

  • $100,000 will generate $5,500 annually and will help reduce student indebtedness.
  • $200,000 will generate $11,000 annually in scholarship support. A scholarship at this level increases the average need-based aid award given currently by nearly 40%.
  • $300,000 will generate $16,500 annually, doubling the magnitude of our current average need-based aid student scholarship.
  • $500,000 will generate $27,500 annually. This level of scholarship funding has historically been the “tipping point” that makes us competitive with our peer institutions and helps to attract Einstein's top applicants.

Match Guidelines:

  • A 1:1 match is available to endow a new scholarship or add to an existing scholarship fund.
  • A minimum of $50,000 is required to unlock the match.
  • Gifts up to $250,000 will be matched dollar for dollar.
  • Pledges can be paid over time, up to five years.
  • The match is in effect for scholarship gifts made from May 1, 2022.
  • Must adhere to Einstein's NYPMIFA policy.

Got Matched: Inspiring Scholarship Stories with a Major Impact

Jovanovic Family

An Einstein Family Shares the Love

Lois Jovanovic, M.D. ’73, who received Einstein’s Dominick P. Purpura Distinguished Alumni Award and Distinguished Alumni Clinical Practitioner Award in 2003 for her trailblazing research in diabetes in pregnancy among many other accomplishments, helped countless women with diabetes realize their dream of becoming mothers. She was also the mother of two Albert Einstein College of Medicine graduates: Kevin Jovanovic, M.D. ’00 and Larisa Taylor, M.D. ’01.

Dr. Lois Jovanovic passed away in 2018, but her legacy lives on, through the mothers and babies she helped and through a scholarship at Einstein that Dr. Kevin Jovanovic established to honor her. “It was only natural to think about what we could do to cement the fact that Einstein was an integral part of her life,” he said. “Einstein has been a special place for our whole family, but especially for her. She always talked about how Einstein molded her because she was one of the first women, how different it was back then, how it pushed her to be better. She became a great doctor, and the seed was planted at Einstein.”

The Lois Jovanovic, M.D. ’73 Endowed Scholarship Fund provides need-based financial support to a medical student and is matched 1:1 as part of a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor.

“Being in medical school with Larisa was a gift,” said Dr. Kevin Jovanovic. Upon their graduations, Kevin and Larisa were hooded by their parents. “That was incredibly special too,” he said. Both became obstetrician/gynecologists.

Dr. Larisa Taylor practices in California, where her mother was CEO and chief scientific officer of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute until she retired in 2013. Dr. Kevin Jovanovic was a resident at Yale University Medical School, where he received the Outstanding Laparoscopic Surgeon award, he then completed a fellowship at the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute in Beverly Hills, before joining his father’s practice in New York City. He is an attending physician and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Lenox Hill Hospital.

“Einstein was the best part of my education,” Dr. Kevin Jovanovic said, “In private practice you do everything, you have to know the medicine,” he said, “and it was an easy transition because I had touched it and done it at Einstein.”

Lois Jovanovic, M.D. ’73
Kevin Jovanovic, M.D. ’00

Joan Li

Focusing on Medicine

As an Einstein medical student, Joan Li, M.D. '97, was the recipient of the Einstein scholarship fund, which helped her reduce the debt she owed after medical school. “I was able to pay off my debt quickly after residency and open my office,” she says.

Inspired to pay it forward so that a new generation can focus on building their career, too, rather than worrying about how to pay their debts, Dr. Li, with her husband, established the Joan and Stanley Li Endowed Scholarship Fund to ease the financial burden for medical students with demonstrated need.

“I hope to provide some financial assistance to medical students who need it so they can focus on studying medicine and worry less about how to finance it,” she says.

The endowed fund will be doubled through a generous 1:1 match made possible by an anonymous donor.

“With the matching funds, I am able to provide more help and make a bigger impact,” Dr. Li says.

Her own time at Einstein influenced Dr. Li to invest in making a meaningful impact on students for generations to come.

“I had a very pleasant and rewarding experience at Einstein. I think Einstein treats its students with great care and respect. I hope that I can help make the Einstein experience more memorable for someone,” Dr Li says.

Joan Li, M.D. '97

Hasan and Wendy Bazari

A Small Token of Appreciation with a Big Impact

The road to Einstein was not without its challenges for Hasan Bazari, M.D. '83. He had gone through the medical school application process twice. Despite his initial disappointment from being rejected by all the other schools he had applied to, he was able to move forward positively with the support of his wife, Wendy Bazari, Ph.D. '82, whom he had met as an undergrad.

Dr. Hasan Bazari learned that he had been admitted to Einstein just a few weeks before school started, “It was early August when I heard and classes started in late August,” he says, “I was overjoyed with my admission and started classes with a vengeance and motivation.”

Dr. Wendy Bazari also attended Einstein, and she graduated with her Ph.D. in molecular biology while Dr. Hasan Bazari was working on his medical studies. After Einstein they moved to Boston, where Dr. Hasan Bazari went on to have a very successful career as a nephrologist. He led the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)—one of the most prominent programs in the country—from 1994 to 2014 as the Program Director.

Giving back has always been a central theme in their lives, so together they established the Drs. Hasan and Wendy Bazari Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will support an Einstein student with financial need. The initial impact of their gift has been doubled thanks to a 1:1 match made possible by an anonymous donor.

“It is a small token of appreciation, and I hope Einstein does its part to ensure that needy students will be represented in the medical profession,” Dr. Hasan Bazari says.

In 2015, Dr. Hasan Bazari received Einstein's Distinguished Alumnus / Clinical Practitioner Award for his success as both a clinician and an educator. He attributes his successful career to his alma mater.

Dr. Hasan Bazari proclaims, “The Einstein experience was instrumental in preparing me for a career that involved the very best of American medicine.”

Hasan Bazari, M.D. '83 and Wendy Bazari, Ph.D. '82

Sample

Continued Excellence at the Heart of Medicine

Pauline Woo, M.D. '91, now a cardiovascular disease specialist, recalls that she was the recipient of a scholarship when she was a student at Einstein. When the Scholarship Match was announced, it reminded her of the importance of this source of funding for the College of Medicine.

“The matching funds have enhanced my decision to donate. It is good to know that every dollar given will have double the impact,” she says. She adds, “One fun fact is that I am still using the same Littman stethoscope and Tycos sphygmomanometer provided to me from Einstein at the beginning of my clinical rotations. It is through generous donors that medical students can have the tools to become successful clinicians. This is another reminder that funds from donors are crucial in supporting medical education for our future doctors.”

Inspired by the excellent clinicians and mentors that she encountered at Einstein who positively influenced her career and the way she practices medicine, Dr. Woo created an endowed scholarship to honor her excellent experience.

“It is exciting to be able to give back to this community so that aspiring physicians can have the same opportunities as I did,” she says.

She hopes to her gift can provide financial support to the qualified medical students to benefit from the “Einstein education” that gave her excellent training to be a compassionate physician.

Pauline Woo, M.D. '91

Sample

In Service to Humanity

During his time at Einstein, David A. Schreiber, M.D. '03 gained an exceptional education and experience that prepared him for his career in psychiatry. He believes his experience led to the establishment of Compass Health Center, an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive, evidence-based, patient-focused psychiatric care outside of a hospital setting, where he has since made his professional home. Compass Health Center is also committed to ensuring the future of similar practices by investing in medical students.

“We recognize that financial challenges can be a barrier to achieving academic success, so we established the Compass Health Center Endowed Scholarship Fund with the hope of alleviating some of these financial pressures, allowing medical students to concentrate on their studies and ultimately contribute to the field of psychiatry, as I was able to do thanks to Einstein,” Dr. Schreiber says.

The funds have been matched, dollar for dollar, thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor. The Compass team credits the opportunity for matching funds as pivotal factor in their decision to establish this fund.

“We saw that for every dollar Compass Health Center donated, we could double our impact on students' lives. This match amplified the reach of our support, ensuring that we could extend financial aid to a greater number of medical students who are eager to pursue their passions but constrained by financial pressures.”

The Compass team, through their work, has seen the significant impact of patient-centered, comprehensive psychiatric care and hope that this scholarship will empower more individuals to join the medical field and contribute to improving mental healthcare, especially those who may otherwise have been deterred by financial constraints.

“By reducing the burden of student debt, we hope to enable graduates to make career decisions based on passion and service rather than financial limitations.”

Dr. Schreiber's transformative experience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine inspired the establishment of Compass Health Center and this scholarship. “Einstein instilled in me the values of service to humanity and the transformative power of education. The scholarship aims to pass these opportunities on to the next generation of medical students. Through this, we hope to enable more students to contribute significantly to the future of healthcare,” he says.

David A. Schreiber, M.D. '03

Ken Blank

Making the Extraordinary Attainable

Ken Blank, M.D. '92 tributes his extraordinary experience as an Einstein student with prompting his desire to give back.

“I was inspired by the exceptional educational experience provided to me at Einstein, which laid the groundwork for a rewarding career in Radiation Oncology,” he says.

He and his wife established the Kenneth Blank and Michele Cascardi scholarship to help provide medical education for gifted students who might not otherwise be able to attend medical school. Dr. Blank was especially heartened knowing that the one-to-one match would create more extraordinary opportunities for future students.

“It's wonderful knowing there is a generous donor who will increase the charitable contribution and the ensuing opportunities for Einstein students.”

Ken Blank, M.D. '92

Ifeoma Ikenze

Inspiring through Action

Ifeoma Ikenze, M.D. '78 credits her father, Samuel Ikenze, as a lifelong pilar of inspiration who has instilled in her the drive to be supportive and encouraging to others. She has incorporated this sense of giving back in all aspects of her life and career.

She endowed the Papa Sam Ikenze Scholarship Fund in his honor, and she was pleased to see the impact of her contribution will go even further with the matching funds. “It causes me to give as much as I possibly can,” she says.

Dr. Ikenze hopes that this scholarship will be a source of inspiration to future medical students as well. “I hope it will inspire more young people of color who might not do so for financial reasons, to pursue a career in medicine and become an inspiration to others who will come after them.”

Like many fellow alumni, Dr. Ikenze's experience at Einstein proved to be transformative. “Studying at Albert Einstein College of Medicine opened for me, a new and vast world of knowledge and a curiosity and love of learning which has permeated all other areas in my life. I hope that this scholarship will make the same opportunities accessible to other young people of color,” she says.

Ifeoma Ikenze, M.D. '78

Raja Flores

Lightening the Load of Student Debt

Einstein Trustee, Raja Flores, M.D. '92, was excited to join other alumni when he established the Windhover Foundation–Raja Flores, M.D., Endowed Scholarship. As chair of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, Dr. Flores treats everyone—from the wealthiest patients to those experiencing homelessness. He credits Einstein with instilling the ethos that patients from all walks of life deserve the same compassion, dignity, and respect.

Dr. Flores himself almost chose a more affordable medical school. But then he read an inscription on the wall of Einstein's Belfer Building: There is no greater privilege than to be entrusted with another person's mind, body, and spirit. “I fell in love with the place,” he says. “I decided to take out loans and whatever else it took to go here.”

Coming from a low-income family shouldn't dictate a student's choice of a medical school or specialty. “I see others like myself out there,” he says, “and I want to help them realize their dreams.”

Raja Flores, M.D. '92

Suzanne Fried

Championing the Underdog

Suzanne (Sue) Fried, M.D. '64 was just 12 when her father died, which left her - an only child - with a “need to belong. I'm drawn to the underdog, and I think I got that from him,” she says. “For me, doing what you can to help is the most important thing.”

She enrolled at Einstein in 1960, where she found a place where she felt she belonged. Dr. Fried pursued a career in psychiatry, focusing on patients with the most severe mental illness, often from underserved communities. Over the course of her career, she has lived on both coasts and in Israel. As part of her life's work, she has created a social rehabilitation center for chronically ill patients, worked in the White House's Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention, in a mental hospital in Israel, and with students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Recently, she established the Suzanne R. Fried Endowed Scholarship for Einstein students. “Some people bond with their undergraduate institutions, but for me, the real bonding was at Einstein,” she says. “I enjoyed my time there so much, and I benefited from a scholarship myself. Without it, I would have had a hard time paying tuition.”

Dr. Fried's generosity doesn't end herehere. She established the scholarship with a blended gift, so her initial contribution will be paired with a bequest, which will further enrich her legacy at Einstein, making an even bigger impact for generations of future students.

“I feel a sense of obligation to give back as much as I can,” Dr. Fried says.

Suzanne Fried, M.D. '64

Pauline Brenholz

Rewriting the Script

Arriving in the United States from Poland in 1965, Pauline Brenholz, M.D. '73 was told she'd have to start medical school all over again – after repeating college. Which she did.

A refusal to bow to the seemingly inevitable has been the leitmotif of Brenholz's life and the focus of her career. The child of Holocaust survivors, she has time and again faced down bias, whether anti-Semitism in Poland, as an immigrant to the MidWest, or as a woman in science. Despite and perhaps because of these obstacles, she became the nation's first medical geneticist in private practice – a pioneer in a field that, by definition, challenges the notion that our fate is written in our genes.

Dr. Brenholz, who is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, serves as Director of Genomics at Integrated Oncology, part of Labcorp.

She established the Dr. Pauline Brenholz and Dr. Charles Pollak Endowed Scholarship Fund, which thanks to the support of an anonymous donor will have the twice the impact for Einstein students.

“Medical school was the time of my life – and life was easier when Einstein gave me a scholarship,” she says. “I loved every course and every professor. I met my husband at Einstein – you can't beat that! [The late Charles Pollak, M.D. '67 was a pioneer in sleep disorders research and treatment.] But it goes deeper than that. It's not just that I became a doctor; I literally became a different person. So, I give back with pleasure.”

Pauline Brenholz, M.D. '73

Sean Sukal and Mintra Sukal

It Takes a Village

A lifelong dream of becoming a doctor brought Sean Sukal, M.D., Ph.D. '02, from his native Trinidad to the United States at the age of 17. After graduating from the CUNY's Hunter College, where he met his wife, Mintra Sukal, M.D. '00, he was elated to be accepted to Einstein. As an international student, he wasn't eligible for government loans like the ones that financed his wife's education. Without the scholarship he received from Einstein, his family could not have afforded medical school. Now, to help other aspiring physicians realize their dreams, the couple has established the Sukal Family Endowed Scholarship Fund.

The one-to-one match is “amazing,” says Dr. Mintra Sukal. “Supporting scholarships is something we've always thought of doing,” she says. “The opportunity to double our contribution convinced us to make it happen.”

The Sukals credit their success to the support they received from Einstein and now want to extend a hand to others. “The idea that it takes a village to raise our young doesn't end with elementary school,” says Dr. Sean Sukal. “It's true of medical school, too.”

“We are so grateful for the education, training, and life experience we received at Einstein,” says Dr. Mintra Sukal, a radiologist. “We're just so happy to be able to give back.”

Sean Sukal, M.D., Ph.D. '02 & Mintra Sukal, M.D. '00

Claim Your Match: Start Planning Your Scholarhip

Min Um-Mandhyan,
Senior Director, Alumni Relations & Development

  Contact Us: 718.430.4171

  min.um-mandhyan@einsteinmed.edu

Join Together

Join Together:

Add to an Open Endowed Scholarship Fund

A select number of endowed scholarship funds have been left open for fellow alumni and friends to add their gifts, of any size, to exponentially grow the impact of these awards.

Your gift will be matched 1:1, extending the reach of these scholarships created in honor of Einstein administrators, and select Classes.

Explore Open Endowed Scholarships:

The Gordon F. Tomaselli, MD '82 Endowed Scholarship

The Nilda Soto Endowed Scholarship

The Einstein-YU Endowed Scholarship

The Class of 1973 Endowed Scholarship

The Class of 1977/78 Endowed Scholarship

The Class of 1992 Endowed Scholarship

Strengthening Diversity

Strengthening Diversity

Former Students and Colleagues Create Endowed DEI Scholarship in Honor of Nilda Soto's Legacy

In September 2022, Nilda Soto, MS, Ed, retired as Assistant Dean in the Office of Diversity Enhancement after 32 years. A Bronx native of Puerto Rican heritage, Nilda gained recognition for championing the recruitment, retention, and promotion of historically under-represented racial and ethnic minoritized students.

In honor of her long-standing contributions to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Bronx, and thousands of advisees and mentees, her former students and colleagues have established The Endowed Nilda Soto Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Excellence Scholarship. This is Einstein's first endowed DEI scholarship.

“As a Bronx native, I chose Einstein for medical school, residency, and faculty life to serve the Bronx community and address the inhabitants' unique health issues and disparities,” says JP Sanchez, M.D. '06. “Nilda has served as a reminder of my Bronx roots and Einstein as a means to promote health equity for all Bronx community members.”

The scholarship fund remains open to new donations. The award will be granted annually to a student who exemplifies the spirit of DEI-related work to advance health equity, especially in historically marginalized communities.

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Multiplying the Good

Multiplying the Good

Sten Vermund, M.D. '77, Ph.D. & Pilar Vargas, M.D. '77, Ph.D. Name Scholarship for Dean Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D. '82

Sten Vermund, M.D. '77, Ph.D., a pediatrician and infectious-disease epidemiologist who recently stepped down as dean of the Yale School of Public Health to return to teaching and research, and his wife, Pilar Vargas, M.D. '77, Ph.D., a retired child psychiatrist are grateful for the opportunity to grow the impact of the scholarship they created.

“It's human nature to want to multiply a good,” says Dr. Vermund, co-chair of the alumni board's development subcommittee and member of the Einstein Alumni Association's board of governors. “The generous gift of matching funds helps us do that in a substantial way.”

Drs. Vermund and Vargas chose to double their impact with an endowed scholarship in honor of Einstein's Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean, Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D. '82. The fund remains open to new donations. “Einstein has catching up to do when it comes to fundraising for student support. The current leadership has done a great job of turning the ship around, says Dr. Vermund. “Now I hope that we can sail out under full steam, bringing alumni along.”

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