Academic Honors & Events

Advancing Aging Research—The Albert Einstein Jack and Pearl Resnick Gerontology Center has awarded Claudene J. George, M.D., its 2018 Resnick Center Emerging Scholarship in Aging. This award recognizes Dr. George’s dedicated work in aging research. Primarily interested in geriatric clinical care and education, her research explores drug interactions, particularly concerning when patients receive multiple drugs to treat an ailment or condition. The Resnick Gerontology Center advances broad aspects of aging research among Einstein clinical investigators and basic scientists, promotes interdepartmental collaborations regarding aging-related endeavors and enhances education and training related to the care of older adults at Einstein hospitals and outpatient clinics. Dr. George is an associate professor of medicine at Einstein, and an attending in the geriatrics division at Montefiore.

Battling the Spread of Lung Cancer—Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and worldwide. Despite significant progress in lung cancer advances, it remains difficult to treat when it spreads to the brain. Haiying Cheng, MD, PhD, was recently awarded the 2019 Lori Monroe Scholarship for Lung Cancer Research to advance her investigations into preventing lung cancer-related brain metastasis. This scholarship honors the memory of Lorraine “Lori” Gail Monroe, a registered nurse who co-founded the Lung Cancer Foundation of America and passed away from the disease in 2013. Two researchers are selected internationally every year; each receives a $200,000 grant funded by the foundation in conjunction with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. The fellowships support translational lung cancer research and foster collaboration between basic science researchers and clinical investigators. Dr. Cheng’s group has found a key gene, RICTOR (Rapamycin insensitive companion of mTOR), which plays important roles in the onset of cancer and its progression. With the award funding, she aims to use this gene to further understand how brain metastasis occurs, with a goal of developing an effective treatment to manage and treat lung cancer-related brain metastasis. Dr. Cheng is associate professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and an attending physician in medicine at Montefiore

Hearty Support— Ana Mesquita, Ph.D., has been awarded a two-year fellowship by the American Heart Association (AHA). The honor is among annual fellowships given by the AHA to early career professionals in academia and healthcare, to support research that focuses on cardiovascular disease and function. Dr. Mesquita’s fellowship will support her research project titled, “Regulation of Endosomal Microautophagy by Cellular Stress.” Because autophagy is a pathway used by cells to recycle nutrients and remove unwanted or damaged matter within a cell, Dr. Mesquita and her team will investigate cellular clearance mechanisms (the role of autophagy) in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly). This model will help themto identify what might reverse the effect of cellular stress. which is known to contribute to cardiovascular disease. Findings from this project aim to advance methods for preventing heart disease. Dr. Mesquita will conduct her work in the laboratory of Dr. Andreas Jenny, associate professor of developmental and molecular biology and of genetics, where she is a postdoctoral researcher. 

Aiding Mental Health—Parent reflective functioning, or PRF, is an intervention used to help parents in treatment for mental illness with regulating their emotions and preventing relapse of substance abuse. During the annual World Association for Infant Mental Health Congress, held in Rome and hosted by the Italian Association for Infant Mental Health, Amanda Zayde, Psy.D., presented promising new data about enhancing PRF among at-risk parents, drawn from the Mentalization-Based Parenting Program, a pilot study conducted with mothers being treated for mental illness. Dr. Zayde is assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein, and a licensed clinical psychologist in the child outpatient psychiatry department at Montefiore’s Wakefield Division.

Sharing Expertise—Janet Brown-Friday, RN, MSN, MPH was recently featured in a National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Diseases webcast. In a program targeted towards healthcare professionals, she discussed how to work with diabetes patients to develop the most effective titration regimen using the drug metformin.  As a key thought leader in the field, Ms. Brown emphasized the importance of developing a relationship with patients based on trust and acknowledging their individual concerns, as this has been shown to improve medication adherence.  A registered nurse for 34 years, Ms. Brown-Friday is clinical trials manager at the Einstein Diabetes Clinical Trials Unit (DCTU). In this capacity, she manages the clinical and administrative operations of both National Institutes of Health- and locally funded clinical trials at the DCTU.

International Achievement—The Pew Charitable Trusts accepted Maria Eugenia Dieterle, Ph.D., into the 2018 Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences. This program supports the scientific training and careers of 10 outstanding Latin American scientists through a two-year fellowship in the United States and additional funds to launch their own research laboratories in Latin America at the conclusion of their fellowships. Dr. Dieterle received her Ph.D. in 2017 from the University of Buenos Aires. She currently conducts research in the laboratory of Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., where she studies mechanisms of hantavirus entry into human lungs, a process that frequently leads to fatal infection. Her goal is to develop the first FDA-approved hantavirus treatment. Dr. Chandran is professor of microbiology & immunology and the Harold and Muriel Block Faculty Scholar in Virology.

Disciplined Service—The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) appointed Michal Melamed M.D., to serve on the Nephrology Board Exam Committee, where she will take part in developing assessments that can more aptly keep pace with advances in medicine. Dr. Melamed studies the epidemiology of and ethnic and racial disparities in chronic kidney disease and its complications. She is associate professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health.

Leadership Role—The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has named Mario Garcia, M.D., chair of its Cardiovascular Board’s Cardiovascular Disease Exam Committee. The honor recognizes Dr. Garcia’s research and clinical work with patients who have diastolic heart failure. Dr. Garcia is professor of medicine and of radiology at Einstein, and he is chief of cardiology at Montefiore, as well as co-director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care.

Championing Stimulation Education—Developing innovative strategies to educate future physicians is an important, ever-evolving aspect of medical school training. As the site leader for the Weiler second-year medical student rotation in the OB/GYN clerkship, Meleen Chuang, M.D., received a grant to promote simulation education for fourth-year medical students. The award supported development of an intensive two-hour course. As a graduate of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Surgical Education Scholars Program, Dr. Chuang drew from her own training to incorporate use of an advanced pelvic model to simulate various labor and delivery procedures. She recently presented her model at a breakout session of the APGO national meeting. She also teamed with fourth-year Einstein medical student Heena Purswani to produce a short film, called "Building and Using a Standardized Model for Surgical Technique in Managing Postpartum Hemmorrhage," which was selected for presentation at the meeting’s film festival.  Dr. Chuang is assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health at Einstein.

Honoring Outstanding Doctors—In June, at its annual Physician Awards Ceremony, the department of medicine recognized four clinical staff members for their exceptional service to others. David Appel, M.D., director of Montefiore’s sleep program, received the Distinguished Clinician Award for providing excellent clinical care to his patients. Vafa Tabatabaie, M.D., director of Fracture Liaison Services, received the Humanism in Medicine Award for showing exceptional compassion towards colleagues and patients. Marta Rico, M.D., attending physician at the Montefiore Comprehensive Family Care Center, received the Citizenship Award for inspiring colleagues in their work. And, Olga Aroniadis, M.D., M.Sc., attending physician of gastroenterology, received the Rising Star Award for displaying great potential as a remarkable clinician, humanist, and institutional citizen. Dr. Appel also is an associate professor of medicine at Einstein while Drs. Tabatabaie, Rico, and Aroniadis are assistant professors in the department.