Leadership
Benjamin S. Abella, MD, MPhill
Dr. Benjamin S. Abella, is the System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System. Dr. Abella leads the Department of Emergency Medicine’s clinical and basic research enterprise; upholds the high quality of emergency services across the Health System; and foster a strong academic environment for the education of students, residents, clinical fellows, and postdoctoral fellows. He also promotes the equitable advancement of the Mount Sinai Emergency Medicine Team through mentoring, educational programs, and appropriate support.
As a national leader in the study of sudden cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), he was one of the first investigators to develop quantitative methods to measure and assess CPR delivery, playing a key role in helping to advance defibrillator technology to improve CPR performance.
Deborah Dean, MD
Dr. Deborah Dean is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Co-Chair of the Quality, Safety & Patient Experience Committee for the Emergency Medicine Service Line, and Medical Director of the Emergency Department of Mount Sinai Brooklyn Hospital. Dr. Dean obtained her medical decree from Howard University College of Medicine and recently completed a Master’s in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Management from Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Dean is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, serves as a member of the Mount Sinai Health System Strategic Sepsis Committee, and on a host of other committees.
Dr. Dean is committed to mentoring young students through lectures and activities, which include the EM Service Line Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Queens Gateway to Health Sciences School, the Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria and Mentoring in Medicine programs. She has taught CPR classes, given geriatric health lectures, and participated in multiple health fairs for local churches, nursing homes and other community organizations. Recent community based activities include Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy discussions on Facebook Live, with local community organizations and Heart health discussions via Zoom for women to promote awareness and education regarding life threatening illnesses and the importance of empowering individuals to make optimal decisions for themselves and their families.
Ugo Ezenkwele, MD
Ugo A. Ezenkwele, MD, MPH, is the Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Queens and Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Furthermore, he serves as the Emergency Medicine System Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Mount Sinai Health System and President of the Medical Board for Mount Sinai Queens. Dr. Ezenkwele was named to Crains New York Business Notable Black Leaders and Executives for 2021. He is a counselor for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and a member of its Strategic Advisory Group. In addition, he is a member of the Becoming Certified Stakeholder Advisory Group for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and an oral board examiner. Dr. Ezenkwele interests include injury prevention, diversity in medical education, health disparities, unconscious bias and ED operations.
Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA
Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), is the Interim Vice Chair for Research for Emergency Medicine for Mount Sinai Health System, and the Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Sickle Cell Disease. Dr. Glassberg is a leader in promoting evidence based strategies for the acute management of Sickle Cell Disease. He has several research focuses within Sickle Cell including pulmonary complications of Sickle Cell Disease, novel biomarkers for vaso-occlusive crises, and novel agents for the prevention and treatment of vaso-occlusion. He is active regionally and nationally as a member of the Queens Sickle Cell Advocacy Network, the New York Sickle Cell Advisory Council and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
Stuart G. Kessler, MD
Dr. Stuart Kessler is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Vice Chair, New York Health & Hospitals, both in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He also serves in the capacity of Medical Director in the Emergency Department at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Dr. Kessler has built a strong, academic and clinical program at the Elmhurst Hospital Center Emergency Department by assembling a vibrant faculty with a commitment to clinical training, is a highly regarded member of the Elmhurst Medical Faculty, and a former President of the Medical Executive Committee. He continues to serve actively on the Board and Chairs the Hospital's Utilization Review/Case Management Committee. Dr. Kessler has been elected to the New York chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Board of Directors.
Eric Legome, MD
Dr. Eric Legome is Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospitals. Dr. Legome also serves as the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs within the Mount Sinai Emergency Medicine system. He has been active in NYC emergency medicine for over 20 years, leading multiple EDs including Kings County and St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Dr. Legome has led multiple citywide initiatives with the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation in this role, including strategic planning on trauma services and ED operation. Throughout his career he has been devoted to resident and student education mentoring, serving as the residency director at NYU/Bellevue for seven years, as well as associate program director of the Harvard MGH/BWH Emergency Medicine Training Program.
Dr. Legome trained in emergency medicine at the Denver Affiliate Resident Program, after completing an internship in general surgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He completed college at Emory University and medical school at Ohio State University College of Medicine.
A noted author and lecturer, Dr. Legome is active in leadership roles in national emergency medicine societies and has spoken nationally and internationally regarding the emergency medical perspective on traumatic emergencies. He currently sits on the American College of Emergency Medicine Educational Steering committee and chairs the Continuous Competency and Certification Committee for the College. He has performed research and published extensively on trauma, operations and public health as related to Emergency Medicine.. He is on the editorial and review boards of multiple journals and specialty publications, is the Co-Editor of the Cambridge University Press multidisciplinary trauma textbook, Trauma: A Comprehensive Emergency Medicine Approach, as well as several CME trauma texts.
Christopher Nagata, MBA, MPH
Christopher Nagata, MBA, MPH, is the Vice Chair for Administration and Finance for Emergency Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System. In this role, Mr. Nagata oversees all administrative and financial operations of the Department. Collaborating closely with the administrative team and the Department’s System Chair, Chris provides strategic leadership and direction across all financial and administrative functions. His responsibilities encompass budgeting and financial management, strategic planning, human resources, research administration, academic affairs, facilities and space management, compliance, and safety. Previously, Mr. Nagata worked at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, serving as the Division Administrator for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and subsequently as Director of Finance and Administration for their Cardiovascular Institute. In these roles, he was instrumental in guiding the operations and strategy for both departments. Mr. Nagata holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arizona and has earned both a Master of Public Health and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona.
Bret P. Nelson, MD
Bret Nelson, MD, FACEP, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is the Vice Chair for Education and Director of the Ultrasound Division across the system. He trained in Emergency Medicine at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency program prior to joining our faculty. Dr. Nelson has held education leadership positions within our residency program and co-directs our ultrasound fellowship training program.
He is a Master Educator level member of Mount Sinai’s Institute for Medical Education and has earned Excellence in Teaching awards from Mount Sinai as well as Harvard Medical School. He received ACEP's National Faculty Teaching Award and the SAEM Ultrasound Faculty Education Award. He authored the leading Emergency Medicine Oral Board review text as well as several medical books.
As Vice Chair for education, he oversees our robust educational mission including two residency training programs, clerkships and courses at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, continuing medical education offerings and faculty development.
Jonathan Nover, MBA, RN
Jonathan Nover, MBA, RN, is the Vice President of Nursing for Emergency Services at the Mount Sinai Health System. In this role, Mr. Nover oversees the delivery of nursing care in the Emergency Departments across the Health System. Mr. Nover brings more than 15 years of progressive and transformational nursing leadership experience in emergency medicine. In 2019, Jonathan joined Mount Sinai Queens as the Senior Director of Nursing for the Emergency Department. In following years, Jonathan expanded his role in overseeing the ICU, Medical Surgical Units, Dialysis, Telemetry Unit and Nursing Evening/Night Administrators. Under Jonathan’s leadership, there has been continued operational growth, performance/quality improvement, and academic nursing research in all his areas of his responsibility. In 2022, Jonathan was a recipient of the 1199SEIU's Nurse of Distinction Award for Leadership, a testament to his transformational leadership style.
Judah Sueker, MD
Judah Sueker, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, is the Interim Vice Chair of Operations for Emergency Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System. Judah graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed EM residency at The Mount Sinai Hospital/Elmhurst, serving as a chief resident. At MSH, he has co-led the multi-year renovation of the Emergency Department along with concomitant clinical workflow enhancements and overseen a large portfolio of quality and process improvement projects. He currently serves on multiple Site, Department, and System committees related to quality and safety, sepsis, consults, and policy. He will continue to serve as an RCA Chair at MSH.
Leadership Emeritus
Yvette Calderon, MD, MS
Dr. Yvette Calderon is an Emergency Medicine clinician, researcher, teacher, and mentor. Her titles at the Mount Sinai Health System include Professor of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Site Chair of Emergency Medicine, Mount Sinai Downtown which include Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Mount Sinai Brooklyn. A member of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, (ABEM), and a lifelong resident of New York City, Dr. Calderon is recognized for her clinical research focusing on health disparities, commitment to the underserved community, and a champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In 2019, Crains recognized Dr. Calderon as one of the most notable women in healthcare.
Andy Jagoda, MD
Andy Jagoda, MD, is Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chair Emeritus, and Chief Academic Officer of the Department of Emergency Medicine (EM) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Jagoda is nationally recognized for his involvement in Emergency Medicine education and for his work in the area of neurologic emergencies. He has co-edited nine books including Mosby’s Neurologic Emergencies and Rosen's textbook of Emergency Medicine. He has guest edited 4 issues of the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine. He is on a number of editorial boards and is the Editor-in-chief of a NLM indexed monthly publication, Emergency Medicine Practice. He is the past-Chair of the ACEP Clinical Policies Committee and nationally recognized for the impact he has had on implementing evidence based guideline methodology. Dr. Jagoda is a member of the Executive Committee of the Brain Attack Coalition at the NINDS. He is on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Education and Research in Neurologic Emergencies. He is on the advisory boards for the Brain Trauma Foundation, and is team leader for an NFL Neurotrauma Consultants team. He is the ACEP ambassador to Italy and has been involved in the development of Emergency Medicine in Italy and Holland. He was inducted as a "Master Educator" into the Mount Sinai Institute for Medical Education in 2009; received the 2011 Mount Sinai Alumni Association "Achievement in Medical Education" award; and in 2011 he was presented with the NYACEP “Physician of the Year Award.” Dr. Jagoda currently serves as the President of the Association for Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine.
Lynne D. Richardson, MD
Lynne D. Richardson, MD, FACEP, is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Professor of Population Health Science & Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and founding Co-Director of the Institute for Health Equity Research. She is one of the most successful NIH-funded investigators in Emergency Medicine and one of its most respected research mentors. Dr. Richardson is a nationally recognized expert in health services research, who has made highly influential contributions to eliminating healthcare disparities in both the research and policy arenas. She is an expert on community engagement and a national thought leader in the ethics of conducting emergency research. Dr. Richardson is a member of the New York City Board of Health, the Past Chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians Public Health Committee, a current member of the Board of Trustees of the Emergency Medicine Foundation, and the Chair of the Health Services Quality and Effectiveness Study Section. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the Board on Health Sciences Policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.