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Graduation 2023
112 is a Charm as Class of 2023 Graduates with Style
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Graduates - new DPMs - recite the Hippocratic Oath.
NYCPM’s 112th commencement brought together graduates’ families, friends and guests as well as NYCPM faculty, staff, trustees and honored guests to witness and celebrate the conferring of DPM degrees to 71 members of the Class of 2023.
_“You’re the best-trained DPMs in the country,” declared Deputy Board Chairman Rock G. Positano, DPM, MSc, MPH in his welcome to the graduates. A graduate of NYCPM, and Founder & Director of Non-Surgical Foot & Ankle Service, Joe DiMaggio Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery, he also predicted that “AI will never replace DPMs.”
_The speakers’ positivity continued throughout the ceremony, which was marked by all of the pomp that the occasion requires. Alan Kadish, MD, President of Touro University, commended former President Louis L. Levine and the NYCPM leadership, and then, addressing the graduates ... Read more
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Poster Day First Prize winners, front, left to right: Karin Messiha, Thu Truong, Diana Yoo, Igra Safarish, Mina Welsen. Rear: mentor Dr. Anthony R. Iorio (left) and judge Dr. D. Scot Malay.
Class of 2024 Shines on Poster Day
Poster Day 2023 displayed the depth and breadth of Class of 2024’s student research at NYCPM. The posters that encircled the Bruce Frankel Conference Center represented an impressive range of inquiry. Poster research, preparation and presentation is part of the third-year curriculum, and the posters themselves represent aspects of the students’ clinical studies.
_Eileen D. Chusid, PhD, Dean and Associate Professor of the Division of Pre-Clinical Sciences and Kenneth H. Astrin, PhD, Associate Professor of the Division, organized the competition and were joined on the steering committee by Ronald Soave, DPM (1981), Professor and Dean of the Divi- ... Read more
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
by Raymond Morales, DPM, AACFAS, DABPM
Class of 2018
I graduated from NYCPM in 2018 and completed my residency at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York in 2021. I am Board-Qualified in foot and ankle surgery and Board-Certified in the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. I currently work at Advantage Care Physicians in Forest Hills, Queens.
_My experience as a surgical resident in New York was educational as well as challenging. The pandemic hit during my second year of residency and it led to tribulations that were unexpected yet necessary. My colleagues and I were deployed to medicine for several months. Podiatry cases were practically non-existent for about 3-4 months. We worked alongside I-MED residents and general surgery residents. The hospitalist attendings respected our medical decisions and trusted us with their patients. The thorough clinical training I received at NYCPM made me extremely comfortable working with patients, which translated into success in my externships and residency program. I have no one but NYCPM to thank for this; ... Read more
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Steven Levitz, DPM (1951-2023)
Dr. Steven Levitz, Professor of Orthopedic Sciences at NYCPM, died June 20, 2023 at the age of 72. A graduate of the college, he completed his residency at the school and joined the faculty in September 1980; he was the senior-most faculty member of the school.
_A tidal wave of tributes followed the sad news. Michael J. Trepal, DPM, VP and Academic Dean, who studied with him, was “very impressed with his acumen for anatomy and ability to explain,” and relates that Dr. Levitz taught several generations of students who were struck by his photographic memory. _Samuel Adegboyega, DPM, Chairman of the Division of Medical Sciences, who was also taught by Dr. Levitz, remembers him as “very humble, intelligent, and proud to be part of the NYCPM family.”
_Loretta Logan, DPM, MPH, Chair of the Department of Orthopedics, considered Dr. Levitz to be a mentor and friend, and recalled his years of “sharing his knowledge and passion for podiatric medicine.” Chief Medical Librarian Paul Tremblay, MLIS, recalls Dr. Levitz as a “true ... Read more
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Awards Ceremony Recognizes Excelling Students
High achieving students in the Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 were recognized on May 4 at NYCPM’s Annual Awards Ceremony. These students excelled in academics as well as in other aspects of their work as podiatric medical students; many of the awards carry a monetary component. Susan M. Rice, DPM (1988) chairs the Scholarship Committee, which also includes Kenneth Astrin, PhD, Jeffrey Cusack, DPM (1981), Johanna Godoy, DPM (2005), Kevin Jules, DPM (1984), Lisa K. Lee, MA, Dean of Student Services and Enrollment, Margarita Presman, DPM (2012), Reem Sheikh, DPM, Patricia Wade, PhD, and Kemal Yariz, PhD. Dr. Rice spoke at the ceremony before the awards were presented. As usual, many of the honors were presented by the sponsors of the awards. Congratulations to all!
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Opemipo Akin-Adejimi (2025) Wins
An exciting email from the APMA Selection Team: "After a competitive selections process, student Opemipo Akin-Adejimi (2025) has been chosen as the first runner-up in the 2023 APMA-PICA Full Tuition Scholarship process. Opemipo will receive a $10,000 scholarship for ranking so highly. Congrats to NYCPM and your faculty! Our scholarships committee was deeply impressed by Opemipo and we're thrilled to see NYCPM's students excel." Opemipo was also recognized at the NYCPM Awards Ceremony with several honors.
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Above: Dr. Won Ho Ryan received his diploma from Dr. Thomas Vitale (left) and Dr. John T. Pellicone (right). | |
Festive Dinner Celebrates Residents’ Graduation | |
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On June 14, a celebratory dinner at NYCPM feted the two graduating residents of 2023 – Won Ho Ryan Chang, DPM and Gon Ehab Saman, DPM – with a festive Resident Graduation Dinner attended by over a dozen faculty members, staff members, two current residents, and two representatives of New York City Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, where these graduates completed their residencies: John T. Pellicone, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Hussein M. Matari, MD, Chief of Radiology. Thomas Vitale, DPM (1985), NYCPM’s Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Dr. Pellicone presented the graduating residents’ diplomas.
Below: Dr. Gon Ehab Saman received his diploma from Dr. Thomas Vitale (left) and Dr. John T. Pellicone (right).
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Resident Dobronevsky Honored by Northwell
Lina Dobronevsky, DPM (2022), was presented with Northwell Health’s Department of Surgery Outstanding PGY1 Award in recognition of her “dedicated and valuable service.” The plaque is signed by Adam Cirlincione, DPM, Program Director, Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, Residency Program, Northwell LIJ Forest Hills, himself a 1996 graduate of NYCPM. In photo, below, Arthur Gudeon, DPM (1960), left, and NYCPM Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Lisa Lee, right, celebrate with Dr. Dobronevsky, center. Dr. Dobronevsky has been working and shadowing in Dr. Gudeon’s office for several years.
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NYCPM Presents at Touro Research Day
Several faculty members represented NYCPM at the Touro Research Day 2023 on May 2. Paramita Basu, PhD, NYCPM’s Associate Professor Pre-Clinical Sciences and Director of Infectious Diseases, and her students presented a poster, “Effect of Anti-microbial Treatment on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms.” Among those students was NYCPM student Rochelle Greenberg (2026).
_On July 17, Dr. Basu shared with NYCPM “that our manuscript on antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms was accepted in a special issue of Applied Microbiology, an MDPI journal, focusing on medical microbiology. This study was the result of over 2 years of hard work by my talented research students in NYCPM, Evan Kello (2026) and Rochelle Greenberg along with my students in TCOP, Weiqi Li, and Roberto Maldonado, in collaboration with Dr. Yakov Peter, and his student Shaya Polansky from the Landers College for Men."
In photo above, (left to right): Drs. Sharon Barlizo, Reem Sheikh, Samantha Landau, Eileen Chusid, Paramita Basu at Touro Research Day 2023. Dr. Basu and students presented.
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NYCPM Attends NYSPMA Meeting
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean Michael J. Trepal, DPM and Samantha Landau, DPM, MPH, attended the NYSPMA House of Delegates on June 3 and 4 at Cooperstown, NY. Dr. Trepal (right in photo) gave an NYCPM update report and Dr. Landau (left) served as Time Keeper and represented the Kings Division.
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Alumni Obit
Erick D. Studyvin, a 2016 graduate of NYCPM and valedictorian of his class, passed away on July 13, 2023. Born in Joplin, Missouri, he practiced podiatry in southwest Missouri. Dr. Studyvin completed a forefoot and rearfoot/ankle surgical residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, NY and was board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. Source: PM News
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Alumni Obit
Alan J. Tabb, DPM (1972), passed away on June 1 following a stroke. After graduation, he completed his residency at Coney Island Hospital/Maimonides Medical Center. He and another podiatrist formed a practice in Steuben and Bath, New York; after 42 years he retired to Ave Maria, Florida. Source: PM News
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From the Editor
Greetings NYCPM! For nine years it has been my privilege and pleasure to support NYCPM's faculty, students and staff with coverage in this newsletter. Though this is my last issue, I know that the good news about NYCPM (as evidenced in this edition!) will continue.
~ Ellen Lubell
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