About Us

Our History and Mission

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is part of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Established in 2000, to support postdoctoral investigators, fellows, faculty, and administrators, the office handles both postdoc recruitment and termination and provides a mechanism for conflict resolution if such a need arises.

As part of our mission we maintain a productive and welcoming environment so that postdoctoral fellows can make the most of their training. Although the responsibility for career advancement is ultimately that of each fellow, our goal is to facilitate this by developing seminars, workshops, and other resources that provide information for career development, grant writing, communication skills, conflict resolution, and responsible conduct in research. We also serve as an advocate for all postdoctoral fellows, working to create a sense of family while they are here at ISMMS.

Quality of life is an important foundation for success in study and work. The Office assists in finding convenient, affordable housing within easy walking distance of Mount Sinai Hospital, and we organize social and networking activities, lunches, social evenings, and roundtables on important professional issues.  We also encourage and support postdoc-initiated activities and endeavors.

Leadership

Under the leadership of the Dean of The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, a senior member of the ISMMS faculty serves as our Faculty Director. Our team is dedicated to providing you with the information, support, and services that you need to make the most of your Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) postdoctoral training. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Basil Hanss, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Postdoctoral and Student Affairs
Associate Dean for Graduate School Wellbeing and Resilience
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
basil.hanss@mssm.edu

Kathy Dilks, EdD
Director of Postdoctoral and Student Affairs
kathleen.dilks@mssm.edu

Andrea Wells
Program Manager for Postdoctoral Affairs
andrea.wells@mssm.edu

Postdoc Affairs – current postdocs
Email: opa@mssm.edu

Postdoctoral Executive Committee

Our Postdoctoral Executive Committee is led by two Co-Chairs and is comprised solely of postdoctoral fellows. The Committee meets monthly with current postdoctoral fellows to hear concerns and gather information. Postdocs interested in serving should contact the Co-Chairs for more information.

Agata Kurowski (Co Chair)

Letizia Amadori (Co Chair)

Sabrina Tamburini

Attila Gulyas-Kovacs

Yifei Sun

Keerat Kaur

Enrica Piras

Divya Jha

Brandon Stuaffer

 

Julia TCW

Charles DeRossi

Leonardo Munari

Kuastav Mukherjee

Ashley Humphries

Andrew Trotta

Farhana Sakloth

John Sekar

Cigdem Sevim Bayrak

Justyna Mleczko

Rewatee Gokhale

Chandrani Mondal

Postdoctoral Advisory Committee

The Postdoctoral Advisory Committee reviews all findings reported by the Executive Committee. This sets in motion new plans and ideas that will facilitate and enhance postdoctoral life.

Robert Blitzer, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics
Saghi Ghaffari, MD, PhD, Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Alice H. Huang, PhD
, Department of Orthopaedics
Sandra K. Masur, PhD
, Department of Ophthalmology
Marek Mlodzik, PhD, Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Guy H. Montgomery,PhD, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Director, Center for Behavioral Oncology, and Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Scott Russo, PhD, Department of Neuroscience
Sabrina Tamburini, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Caryn Tiger-Paillex, Dean’s Office and Human Resources
Merina Varghese, PhD, Department of Neuroscience
Hamel Vyas, Esq, International Personnel
Bin Zhang, PhD, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences

Diversity

It is widely recognized that a diverse environment enhances the learning experience of all trainees and the biomedical research enterprise in general. ISMMS is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in research, clinics, and education as well as to increasing the representation of individuals who are members of groups that are underrepresented in science and medicine at all ranks and levels.