Faculty and Staff

The Leni and Peter W. May Department of Medical Education at Mount Sinai encompasses Undergraduate Medical Education (MD Program), Graduate Medical Education, and Continuing Medical Education. Below you will find key faculty and staff who focus on the MD Program.

Learn about the Department of Medical Education's organizational structure.

Executive Leadership 

Graduate Medical Education

  • Saadia Ahktar, MD, Associate Dean for Trainee Well-Being in GME
  • Frank Basloe, Associate Dean for GME
  • Michael Leitman, MD, FACS, Dean for GME, Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
  • Adriana Malone, MD, Senior Associate Dean for GME
  • Brijen Shah, MD Associate Dean for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, GME
  • Daniel Steinberg, MD, Associate Dean for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, GME

Continuing Medical Education

  • David C. Thomas, MD, Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education

Undergraduate Medical Education

  • Shashi Anand, MEd, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education Affairs
  • Tara Cunningham, EdD, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs
  • Robert Fallar, PhD, Associate Dean for Assessment and Evaluation
  • Alicia Hurtado, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Student Well-being and Student Affairs
  • Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Valerie Parkas, MD, Senior Associate Dean of Admissions and Recruitment
  • Rainier Soriano, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs
  • Michelle Sainté Willis, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Administration
  • David C. Thomas, MD, Dean for Medical Education

Office for Diversity & Inclusion

  • Gary Butts, MD, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System and Director of CMCA, Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy, & Community Affairs
  • Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Medical Education Administration 
  • MéLisa Best, Communications and Marketing Manager
  • Nelson Chin, Associate Director of Finance
  • Jeff Cavalli, Manager, Technology and Learning Systems 
  • Melissa De Palma, Executive Assistant, Dean for Medical Education
  • Susannah Feinstein, Infection Prevention and Compliance Coordinator
  • Darinka Gadikota-Klumpers, PhD, Medical Education Administration Program Director
  • Suzanne Garfinkle, MD, Director, Academy for Medicine and the Humanities
  • Colleen Hayden, Director for Quality, Compliance and Accreditation
  • Matthew Hersey, MSTP Program Coordinator
  • Samuel "Sammy" Langford, Education Technology Coordinator
  • Jairo Munoz, Administrative Fellow
  • Helen Ngai, Director of Operations
  • Jacklyn Njegric, Senior Business Coordinator
  • Jahriah Philip Hill, Administrative Assistant
  • Peter Zweig,  Program Manager for Process Improvement and Strategy

Bioethics

  • Gary Ostertag, PhD, Professor
  • Rosamond Rhodes, PhD, Professor and Director, Bioethics Education Programs
  • Karen Smalls, Program Coordinator

Center For Anatomy & Functional Morphology

  • Daniella Curcio, PhD, Associate Professor
  • Jeffrey Laitman, PhD, Director 
  • Ki-Mark Mak, PhD, Associate Professor
  • Joy Reidenberg, PhD, Professor
  • Frankie Steinberg, Administrative Coordinator
  • Torrence Wilson, Education Program Assistant

Educational Support

  • Jennifer Cameron, Manager, Labs and Learning Environment
  • Herman Supoyo, Lab Technician

Conference Center

  • Shem Patterson, Service Associate 
  • Carlton Thomas, Conference Center Coordinator 

Institute for Medical Education

  • Daniel Conover, Program Manager
  • Reena Karani, MD, MHPE, Director

Medical Student Research Office

  • Yahkira Encarnación-Patterson, MPH, Senior Program Coordinator
  • Jenny Lin, MD, Associate Director, Co-Director, SCHOLar Program
  • Grace Oluoch, MBA, Senior Program Coordinator
  • Mary Rojas, PhD, Director
  • Keith Sigel, MD, PhD, Associate Director, Co-Director, PORTAL Program

Morchand Center for Clinical Competence

  • Luis Argueta, Production Manager
  • Beverly Forsyth, MD, Medical Director for Morchand Center & Education Infection Prevention and Emergency Management Director
  • Meghan Green, Program Coordinator
  • Fariba Khan, Administrative Coordinator
  • Nikki Martin, Education Program Manager
  • Terry Sommer, Director
  • Aaron Yellin, Administrative Coordinator

Office of Assessment and Evaluation

  • Michelle Diamond, Evaluation Coordinator
  • Barbara Masi, Program Manager

Office of Curricular Affairs

  • Dominique Bordes, ASM Program Manager
  • Djeneba Danioko, Year 2 Course Coordinator
  • Chiara Davis, Administrative Assistant
  • Michael Herscher, MD, ASM Co-Course Director
  • Horatio "Teddy" Holzer, MD, Director of the Clerkship Phase
  • Staci Leisman, MD, Director of the Pre-Clerkship Phase
  • Chinghar "Samantha" Leung, Coordinator
  • Alex Posner, Electives and Site Manager
  • Chantal Pyram, MD, ASM Co-Course Director
  • Ryann Quigley, Clinical Curriculum Manager
  • Ravishankar Ramaswamy, MD, Director of Integration and Transitions Phase
  • Jennifer Reyes, Clinical Education Program Manager
  • Imani Robinson, Pre-Clerkship Curriculum Manager
  • Allison "Allie" Ross, Year 1 Curriculum Coordinator
  • Fatima Shafiq, Project Manager
  • Vasundhara Singh, MD, Director of Medical Student Electives
  • Christopher Strother, MD, Director of Clinical Competency
  • Mizuki Wada, ASM Program Coordinator
  • Juliette Wertz, ASM Clinical Sites & Compliance Curriculum Coordinator 

Office of Student Affairs

  • Samantha Amazan, Manager, Special Events
  • Theodore "Todd" Bania, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Keisha Berglund, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Patrick Burden, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Jocelyn Childs, LCSW, Wellness Advisor 
  • Gwendolyn Casiano-Patton, Program Coordinator
  • Uraina Clark, PhD, Faculty Advisor
  • Caroline Cromwell, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Monica Dweck, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Sharon Edwards, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Paola Escobar-McCabe, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Michelle Eisenstadt, Administrative Assistant
  • Bambi Fisher, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Allison Gault, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Meredith Grossman, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Alicia Hurtado, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Amanda Hyne, LCSW, Wellness Advisor 
  • Craig Katz, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Kelley Lassman, PhD, Learning Coach
  • Lauren Linkowski, Director, Programs and Resources for Academic Excellence
  • Tatiana Marshal, Student Life Coordinator
  • Jillian Palmer, MA, Associate Director, Student Success
  • Leigh Penner, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Roberto Posada, MD, Faculty Advisor
  • Lauren Powledge, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Brenda Ramirez, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Greta Rosen, LCSW, Wellness Advisor
  • Vannita Simma-Chiang, MD, Director of Specialty Advising for the Office of Student Affairs
  • Carlos Tapia, MEd, Director for Student Affairs and Engagement

Student Health Center

  • Destiny Edmondson, RN, Clinical Nurse
  • Elizabeth Garland, MD, Physician
  • Rachel Solomon, MD, Director
  • Lori Zbar, MD, Physician  

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

  • Peter Brodhead, Director
  • Jeanette Cotto, Program Coordinator
  • Marian Divinagracia-Bain, RSS Coordinator
  • Nicole Henry, Data Coordinator
  • Maryam Kojiashvili, Administrative Assistant
  • Lin Liu, CME Coordinator
  • Annette Roman, Program and RSS Coordinator

Graduate Medical Education (GME)

  • Garber Badran, Senior Systems Software Specialist
  • John Battis, Senior GME Administrator, Medicine-Other
  • Angelic Cotto, House Staff Affairs Administrator, Surgical
  • Kate Eisenberg, Senior GME Administrator, Medicine-Internal Medicine
  • Lauren Hagen, Administrative Coordinator
  • Merdena Harrell, Senior GME Administrator, Hospital-Based
  • Judy Irons, Senior House Staff Affairs Administrator, Medicine-Internal Medicine
  • Tara Jefferson, Administrator, Events and Project
  • Paki Reid-Brossard, MS, MA, Director of Data and Analytics
  • Jacinta Russell, Administrator, Surgical
  • Cheryl Spence, LCSW, Director of Operations
  • Paul Yu, Administrator, Quality and Patient Safety/Well-Being
  • Shou-Su Yu, Senior House Staff Systems Administrator

Other Partnerships

Institute for Equity and Justice in Health Sciences Education

  • Leona Hess, PhD, Co-Director
  • Jay Johnson, Education Program Manager
  • Chloe Martin, Project Manager for Change Management Strategy
  • David Muller, MD, FACP, Director
  • Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH Co-Director
  • Joseph Truglio, MD, MPH, Director, Clinical Education
  • Talia Swartz, MD, PhD, Director, Graduate Research and Education

Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE)

  • Hossein Aleyasin, MD, PhD, CEYE Instructor, Researcher and Adjunct Professor
  • Denise Croote, PhD, CEYE Instructor, and Assistant Professor
  • Tristan Franz, Program Coordinator 
  • Alexander Joseph, Program Manager
  • Alejandra Ramirez, Program Coordinator
  • Kenya Townsend, Program Director

Patricia S. Levinson Center For Multicultural and Community Affairs (CMCA)

  • Carmen Duran-Santos, Executive Assistant and Office Manager
  • Ashley Michelle Fowler, Med, Administrative Program Manager
  • Sherria McDowell, MPH, Director, Special Programs
  • Edward Poliandro, PhD, Senior Director, Education and Training

Diversity Innovation Hub

  • Fariha Ahsan, MPH, MSc, Director
  • Carmen Minsal, MHA, Program Manager