White Coat Ceremony Caps Off Transition to Medical School Week for SOM Class of 2026

The White Coat Ceremony for the SOM Class of 2026 on July 29 capped off an eventful Transition to Medical School Week for more than 210 incoming medical students. The ceremony, which marks the first time that students don their white coats before beginning their medical education, followed a busy week of move-in days, orientation presentations and the SOM Dean’s Barbecue, that allowed students to become acquainted with their new classmates, faculty and administration. Read the full article on the Class of 2026 White Coat Ceremony and view the photos and video.

Noted Biomedical Research Institute Joins Touro University and NYMC

Lovelace Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico has joined Touro University and NYMC, Alan Kadish, M.D., left, president of Touro and NYMC announced. Founded in 1947, Lovelace is one of the oldest not-for-profit biomedical research institutes in the country. The institute is noted for excellence in respiratory disease and neuroscience research, toxicology, drug development experience and in medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, and nuclear threats. Read the full article on Lovelace Research Institute.

Jennifer Salcedo, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., FACOG, Named Designated Institutional Official

Jennifer Salcedo, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., FACOG, has been named designated institutional official at NYMC. In her new role, which she assumed on August 1, Dr. Salcedo will maintain the institutional graduate medical education accreditation of the SOM by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as well as the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), which includes overseeing 20 ACGME-accredited graduate medical education programs sponsored by the SOM and two CODA-accredited graduate dental programs. Read the full article on Dr. Salcedo.

Regina Williams Named Director of Human Resources

Regina Williams has been appointed director of human resources (HR) for NYMC. Ms. Williams has extensive HR experience, most recently as director of human resources for Trumbull Public Schools in Connecticut and also an as adjunct instructor of human resources management graduate level courses at Pace University. Read the full article on Ms. Williams.

SOM Student Senate Set to Tackle New Academic Year



Members of the SOM Student Senate have their sights set on a productive 2022-2023 academic year. The 21 peer-elected student representatives from all classes represent concerns and ideas of their peers to administration and work to develop initiatives to improve the lives of their classmates. Rajkumar Pammal, top left, Class of 2023 and president of the student senate, who is serving his second term as president, and the new executive board of the Student Senate officers shared their plans.

Chioma M. Okeoma, Ph.D., Has Risen Above Adversity to Excel in Her Field

Born in Biafra land, Nigeria, the journey to NYMC was anything but traditional for Chioma M. Okeoma Ph.D., professor and the vice chair of research in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Okeoma’s educational and professional experiences around the world have provided her with a unique perspective on adjusting to new surroundings and the struggles an immigrant family can face when in a new country. Spanning different countries and positions, one constant frame of mind has shaped her career—contributing to society by way of research. Read the full article on Dr. Okeoma.

In response to the outbreak of Monkeypox, with a large concentration of cases in New York City as well as cases in Westchester County, NYMC Health Services has added a section to their webpage on the viral disease. Please check the website frequently to keep informed of the status of the outbreak, prevention strategies and the required precautions for health care workers and the general population.

Rahim Hirani, SOM Class of 2025, has worked with his mentor, Abbas Smiley, M.D., Ph.D., research assistant professor of surgery, to publish several works over the course of the summer. One study, published in Surgery Technology International, “The risk of mortality in geriatric patients with emergent gastroparesis is 7-fold greater than that in adult patients: an analysis of 27,000 patients,” analyzed gastroparesis, a chronic disorder where patients have delayed gastric emptying and how mortality rates increased by each day that an elderly person did not receive treatment. Mr. Hirani also assisted with “Burden of antibiotics in patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis,” which analyzed the health benefits and cost effectiveness of antibiotics for patients with uncomplicated acute diverticulitis—where small pouches form in the digestive track—after another study found that the antibiotics were not effective in patients. After they performed a meta-analysis, they determined that the unnecessary use of the antibiotics cost the health care system $642 million and had their findings published in Surgery.

Irene Crasto-Bolin, CPA, controller, received a 2022 Rising Star Award at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) 2022 Annual Meeting in Denver on July 14 – 19. NACUBO's annual awards recognize individual and institutional excellence in higher education business and financial management.

George W. Contreras, M.E.P., M.P.H., M.S., CEM, FAcEM, assistant director of the Center for Disaster Medicine and assistant professor in the Institute of Public Health, was recognized as Angel del 41 de Julio by Univision Nueva York for his service and work in the community.

Kristina H. Petersen, Ph.D., assistant dean of academic support programs and assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was elected president of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education, through 2024. They also presented her with an "Excellence in Scholarly Work" award for her work in the area of disability inclusion.

Join us in welcoming our new employees at NYMC during the month of July:

• Melissa Baljeet, Coordinator, Office of Faculty Affairs
• Sylvia Bandia, Clinical Research Coordinator, Clinical Trials Unit
• Stacey J. Bayer, Human Resources Coordinator, Recruitment, Office of Human Resources
• Nisha N. Beharie, Dr.P.H., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health
• Malik Bisserier, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell biology and Anatomy and of Physiology
• Kevin M. Clare, Research Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery
• Theresa D'Onofrio, Executive Assistant, Office of the Chancellor
• Julie DiMartino, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy
• Shuai Gao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Jennifer A. Knight, R.N., Research, Nurse, Department of Medicine
• Carlos Lemus, M.A., Institutional Review Board Administrative Assistant, Office of Research Administration
• Jian Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy
• Anjelica Matcho, Instructor, Phillip Capozzi, M.D., Library
• Jason A. Morency, Project Coordinator, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Bridget E. Nolan, Research Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery
• Muhammad Tahir, Ph.D., D.V.M., Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
• LaShari L. Valentin, M.B.A., Assistant Dean for Academic Affiliations and Clinical Programs

From the Office of Human Resources, August 1, 2022.

The School of Medicine Office of Admissions is seeking interviewers for the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) 2022-23 interview season.