Curriculum Leadership & Staff
Faculty
David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education. Dr. Muller received his BA from Johns Hopkins University and his MD from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he spent an additional as Chief Resident. Upon completing his training, Dr. Muller co-founded and directed the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program. Visiting Doctors is now the largest academic physician home visiting program in the country. In May 2005 Dr. Muller was appointed Dean for Medical Education. His recent honors include the Department of Medicine's Ruth Abramson Humanism in Medicine Award in 2005, induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2004, and the Casita Maria Community Builder Award in 2002. Dr. Muller is Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education and is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Reena Karani, MD, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Curricular Affairs. Dr. Karani received her BS from Brown University and her MD from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and her fellowship, chief fellowship and medical education research fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Karani is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She co-directed the Integrated Internal Medicine-Geriatrics clerkship, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation's Master Clinician-Educator Program, the Mini-Fellowship in Geriatrics for the Non-Geriatrician and the Investigator Education Skills Training (INVEST) Program. Dr. Karani is the recipient of numerous awards including the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the Presidential Award in Medical Education from the American Geriatrics Society, the John A. Hartford Center of Excellence Scholar, the Teacher of the Year Award from the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics, the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Icahn School of Medicine and Master Educator from the Institute of Medical Education at Mount Sinai. Dr. Karani is Associate Professor of Medical Education, Geriatrics and Medicine.
Peter Gliatto, MD. Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Affairs. Dr. Gliatto received his BA from Johns Hopkins University and his MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Gliatto is board certified in Internal Medicine as well as in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He has served as the Clerkship Co-Director for the Integrated Internal Medicine-Geriatrics Clerkship and Director of the Medicine Subinternship. Dr. Gliatto is the recipient of several awards including the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award, the Clinical Teaching Award and the Excellence in Teaching Award and the Faculty Council Award for Academic Excellence from the Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Gliatto is an Associate Professor of Medical Education and Medicine.
Erica Friedman, MD, Associate Dean for Education Assessment and Scholarship. Dr. Friedman received her BS and MD from the Thomas Jefferson University/Penn State University 5-year joint program. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center and her Rheumatology Fellowship at SUNY Downstate. She has done both basic and clinical research and currently does medical education research. Her honors include being elected a Master Educator in the Mount Sinai Institute for Medical Education, being an invited fellow of the American College of Physician, receiving an Innovations in Medical Education teaching award, being elected as faculty to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and receiving both distinguished educator and excellent in teaching awards from the Mount Sinai Department of Medicine. Dr. Friedman oversees assessment for the Icahn School of Medicine and the Institute for Medical Education and is the Medical Director of the Morchand Center for Clinical competence, overseeing the standardized patient and simulation curriculum. She is also responsible for promoting education research, scholarship and mentorship throughout the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Friedman is Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education.
Karen Zier, PhD, Associate Dean for Medical Student Research. Dr. Zier received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the State University of New York- Buffalo and her specific interests are in the area of tumor immunology, immunotherapy, immunosuppression and medical education. Dr. Zier is committed to developing scholarly programs and integrating them into the medical education curriculum to encourage critical thinking, creativity, and life-long learning. She also directs numerous scholarly programs for medical students including PORTAL (Patient-Oriented Research Training and Leadership); the Summer Research Scholars Program; Distinction in Research Track; 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. Dr. Zier is Professor of Immunology, Medicine and Medical Education.
David H. Bechhofer, PhD, Co-Director of the Curriculum. Dr. Bechhofer received his PhD in Microbiology from Columbia University in 1984. He began studying messenger RNA decay in the gram-positive model bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, during his postdoctoral fellowship at the Public Health Research Institute of New York, a quest that continues in his NIH-funded lab to this day. He joined the Mount Sinai faculty in 1986, has been teaching molecular biology to first-year medical students since 1987, and has been director of the Molecules and Cells course since 2001. Dr. Bechhofer serves as Co-Director of the Curriculum along with Dr. Soriano. Dr. Bechhofer is Professor of Pharmacology & Systems Therapeutics and Medical Education.
Rainier P. Soriano, MD, Co-Director of the Curriculum and Director of Educational Technology. Dr. Soriano received his MD from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, trained in Internal Medicine at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey and completed his fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Soriano's interests include student teaching skills development, clinical skills training and e-learning. Dr. Soriano serves as the Co-Director of the Curriculum along with Dr. Bechhofer and is also the Director of Educational Technology at MSSM. Dr. Soriano is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Medical Education.
Natasha A. Anandaraja, MD, MPH, Director, Office of Global Health. Dr. Anandaraja received her MD from the University Of Auckland School Of Medicine in New Zealand and completed her residency in Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine. She was also trained in Tropical and Travel Medicine at the Gorgas Course in Lima, Peru. Dr. Anandaraja's interests include international child health and disaster relief. She is Director of the Mount Sinai Office of Global Health and faculty in the Mount Sinai Masters in Public Health Program. Dr. Anandaraja is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Education.
Yasmin S. Meah, MD, Director of Service Learning. Dr. Meah obtained her BA in Art History and Biology from the Johns Hopkins University and her MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine where she also served as chief resident. Thereafter, she joined Mount Sinai as faculty in the Departments of Medicine and Medical Education. Since 2003, she has been faculty physician in the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program. In 2004, she founded the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), Mount Sinai's first student-run attending-directed clinic for the uninsured of East Harlem. Dr. Meah was the recipient of the Arnold P. Gold Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award in 2006 and the youngest recipient of the American Association of Medical Colleges Humanism in Medicine award in 2007. Dr. Meah is Program Director and Chief Attending Physician for the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership, Director of the Step II Board Review Course, Clerkship Director of the Interclerkship Ambulatory Care Tract (InterACT) and Director of Service Learning. Dr Meah is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Education.
Beverly Forsyth, MD, Director of Student Electives. Dr. Forsyth received her BA from Cornell University and her MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. She also completed the Nicholas A. Rango HIV Clinical Scholars Program in New York City. Dr. Forsyth is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Her clinical interests include access to health care, and barriers to care for HIV patients and for patients co-infected with HIV and chronic hepatitis C. She is a faculty member and teaching attending for the Internal Medicine residents and Infectious Diseases fellows on the inpatient HIV service. She is also involved in medical student education as a small group leader in the Art and Science of Medicine, Longitudinal Clinical Experience, pharmacology and microbiology courses. Dr. Forsyth is Assistant Professor of Medicine.
Staff
Priya Sikka, Administrative Director of Curricular Affairs. Ms. Sikka is responsible for direct management of the curriculum across all four years. She is responsible for overseeing curricular administrative needs, collaborating with faculty and staff on curricular and assessment issues, maintaining effective relationships with institutional and affiliate liaisons, supporting curriculum design, implementation and program evaluation efforts. Ms. Sikka partners with Student Affairs on joint projects such as learning resources, remediation planning, student compliance and longitudinal professional development of students.
Shashi Anand, Administrative Director of Student Affairs. Ms. Anand is the first point of contact for academic and personal issues, leaves of absence, educational resources, and student life. She also manages the career advising and development process for all medical students including the residency application process and class meetings. Ms. Anand partners with Curricular Affairs on joint projects such as learning resources, remediation planning, student compliance and longitudinal professional development of students.
Susan Estevez, Manager, Office of Curriculum Support. Ms. Estevez manages the Office of Curriculum Support. The office supports faculty leadership responsible for courses in the first and second years of medical school. Ms. Estevez manages priority course needs, class schedules and time-sensitive projects.
Faye Francisco, Evaluation Coordinator. Ms. Francisco is responsible for student, course and educator evaluations across all four years of medical school. Ms. Francisco obtains, tracks, monitors and summarizes data from Mount Sinai's online evaluation system and through focus groups and interviews.
Jennifer Reyes, Clinical Curriculum Coordinator. Ms. Reyes provides administrative support for the clinical curriculum in Years 3 and 4 and is responsible for management of Compass 2, Intersession and Clinical Skills Week.
David Fehling, Year 1 Coordinator. Mr. Fehling supports the Year 1 course directors and teaching faculty. He posts course materials, proctors exams and works with faculty to organize small group and laboratory sessions.
Ilia Castro, Year 2 Coordinator. Ms. Castro supports the Year 2 course directors and teaching faculty. She posts course materials, proctors exams and works with faculty to organize small group and laboratory sessions.
Cinthia De La Rosa, MPH, LCE /InterACT Coordinator. Ms. De La Rosa manages the logistics of the Longitudinal Clinical Experience embedded in the Art and Science of Medicine I and II. She also serves as the Clerkship Coordinator for InterACT, the longitudinal interclerkship ambulatory care experience in Year 3.
James Foster, ASM I & II Course Coordinator. Mr. Foster manages the logistics of the Art and Science of Medicine I and II. He ensures that the course runs smoothly, oversees the logistics of small groups and clinical sites and administratively supports faculty development efforts for both courses.