• Press Release

Mount Sinai Beth Israel Names New Chair of the Department of Medicine

Ira Jacobson, MD, a world-renowned expert in the field of hepatology and liver disease, has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

  • New York
  • (March 04, 2015)

Ira Jacobson, MD, a world-renowned expert in the field of hepatology and liver disease, has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

A principal investigator for several landmark trials on interferon-based therapy and new direct-acting antiviral agents, Dr. Jacobson is helping to transform the treatment of hepatitis C.  Dr. Jacobson joins Mount Sinai Beth Israel from Weill Cornell Medical College where he was Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C.  

“Ira brings to his position both clinical acumen and prolific research experience, having been involved in the development of antiviral therapy for viral hepatitis for more than 25 years,” says Barbara Murphy, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System and Dean of Clinical Integration and Population Health for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  “We are thrilled to have him join us in our  strong commitment to providing excellent patient care, training the next generation of physicians and engaging in cutting-edge clinical research.”

Dr. Jacobson received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.  He completed a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital after which he joined the faculty at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, where he has worked for the past three decades.  

Dr. Jacobsen has published extensively in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and other major journals, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Hepatology, Hepatology, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Digestive Diseases and Sciences.


About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.

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