Medical Student Research Office Faculty

Karen Zier, PhD
Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
Director, Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program, PORTAL Program, INSPIRE
Professor of Medicine (Clinical, Immunology), and Medical Education
Tel: 212-659-9267
Email: karen.zier@mssm.edu

Karen Zier, PhD, is Professor of Medicine (Clinical Immunology) and Medical Education and the Associate Dean for Medical Student Research. She serves as course director for the first year medical school Basic and Clinical Immunology course. Dr. Zier is the author of over 70 publications in immunology and medical education. She has served on numerous NIH study sections and received a gubernational appointment to the New York State Health Research Science Board. Dr. Zier is principal investigator and Program Leader of the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. As a member of the AAMC Scholarly Concentrations Program Collaborative and the CTSA TL1 Program, Dr. Zier is committeed to developing scholarly programs and integrating them into the medical education curriculum in order to encourage critical thinking, creativity, and life long learning by students. She directs numerous scholarly programs for medical students including PORTAL, a 5-year MD/MSCR program; the Summer Research Scholars Program; the Distinction in Research Track; the Scholarly Year Program; INSPIRE, an opportunity for independent scholarship during the 4th year; and FAME, in which Doris Duke Fellows mentor first year and second year medical students, providing early exposure to clinical and translational research.

Christina M. Wyatt, MD, MSc
Associate Director, MSRO
Director, INSPIRE
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: christina.wyatt@mssm.edu

Christina M. Wyatt, MD, MSc, is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Nephrology and Associate Director of the Medical Student Research Office. Prior to joining the MSRO, she served as an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, coordinating resident scholarly activity and research mentorship. Dr. Wyatt is an NIH-funded clinical investigator and widely recognized expert in the field of HIV-related kidney disease, and is actively involved in observational studies on both a local and international level. Dr. Wyatt has also served on data monitoring committees for randomized clinical trials, and is currently acting as the nephrology consultant for an international randomized clinical trial comparing oral and topical antiretroviral therapy as pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV. She is the course director for INSPIRE (Individual Scholarly Project and Independent Research Experience), an opportunity for independent scholarship during the fourth year, and is available to provide guidance to students who are considering a scholarly project through any of the MSRO programs or through a tailor-made research elective.

Steven H. Itzkowitz, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF
Associate Director, Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program
Director, GI Fellowship Program
Professor of Medicine

Steven H. Itzkowitz, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Director of the GI Fellowship Program at Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Itzkowitz is past Chair of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Section of the American Gastroenterological Association, and past President of the New York Gastroenterological Association. A recipient of a distinguished Jacobi Medallion from the Icahn School of Medicine, he has served as a Study Section member for the National Cancer Institute, Veteran's Affairs Merit Review Board, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, and as an editor of the International Journal of Colorectal Disease, and associate editor of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Gastric Cancer. Dr. Itzkowitz serves on the Steering Committee of the NY City Department of Health Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition ("C5 Coalition").

Since 2003, he has served as the Associate Director of the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program and has mentored numerous pre-medical, medical and graduate students, as well as housestaff, fellows and junior faculty. His research interests are in the field of gastrointestinal cancer and his laboratory conducts research into the mechanisms of cancer inhibition and promotion by trefoil factors. Clinical studies have focused on detecting and preventing colon cancer in inflammatory bowel disease, reducing disparities in colon cancer screening and developing new non-invasive stool DNA tests for colon cancer.

Janice Gabrilove, MD
Director, MSCR Program
Associate Director, PORTAL Program (MD/MSCR)
Professor of Medicine
Email: janice.gabrilove@mssm.edu

Janice L. Gabrilove, MD, is an internationally recognized expert on leukemia and ameliorating the destructive side-effects of chemotherapy on blood-cell production. She joined Mount Sinai as Professor and Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine in 1998 and presently serves as Director of the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), Master of Science (MSCR) and PhD in Clinical Research in the Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biological Sciences and is a the James F. Holland, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Oncological Sciences.

A pioneer in the development of the understanding of hematopoietic cytokines, Dr. Gabrilove and her colleagues were the first to purify and characterize granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), and to demonstrate that it could alleviate certain harmful effects of chemotherapy on blood cell production. G-CSF, under the trade-name of Neupogen & Neulasta, is now used worldwide as a supplement to chemotherapy. Her recent studies have focused on the role of basic fibroblast (connective tissue) growth factor in hematologic malignancy and cell differentiation. Dr. Gabrilove has been a member of the Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee for the Approval of Biologics and the NIH/NIDDK Hematology-2 Study Section. She has served on the Editorial Board of a number of prestigious journals including Blood and the Executive Committee of the American Society of Hematology.

Alan Moskowitz, MD
Professor & Vice Chair, Health Evidence and Policy
Co-Director, MSCR Program
Co-Director, PORTAL
Email: alan.moskowitz@mountsinai.org

Alan Moskowitz, MD, is Professor of Health Evidence & Policy and Medicine and Vice-Chair of the Department of Health Evidence and Policy at Icahn School of Medicine. In addition to serving as Co-Director for the Clinical Research Education Programs, including the MSCR, PhD in Clinical Research, and PORTAL, he is the Co-Director of the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research (InCHOIR), a clinical and data coordinating center for clinical trials and comparative effectiveness studies and is a practicing internist. He has published extensively in the areas of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. He is a principal investigator in the NINDS supported ARUBA trial, investigating the treatment of unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations and co-principal investigator on the NHLBI sponsored cardio-thoracic surgery network, studying treatments for atrial fibrillation, ischemic and mitral regurgitation as well as stem cell therapy for advanced heart failure. A member of the scientific board of the Sarnoff foundation, he is also the quality of life and cost effectiveness steering committee for the NIH supported INTERMACS registry of cardiac assist devices. Dr. Moskowitz is committed to preparing the next generation of clinical researchers and is an active in the research training of medical students, house-officers and faculty.