|
One of our core goals in the Office of Medical Education is to engage learners, not just in the classroom, but as active partners in shaping the educational experience at Weill Cornell Medicine. The Med Ed Newsletter is one way we’re doing just that.
This new seasonal newsletter is part of our broader commitment to improved communication, increased transparency, and meaningful responsiveness to student feedback. MD and PA students and faculty alike will find updates on curriculum changes, new curriculum leadership appointments, student research, and important events, all in one place.
We want to celebrate the work you’re doing, keep you informed about what’s happening across our medical education community, and share how your input is driving improvements across programs.
Your voice matters, and we want to hear from you. Let us know what you’d like to see in future issues: this newsletter is for you.
- Dr. Joseph Safdieh, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education
| |
Congratulations to Dr. Teresa Milner who has been appointed the Thomas H. Meikle, Jr. Professor of Medical Education. This appointment recognizes Dr. Milner’s role as an innovator in teaching and mentorship as well as her expertise in neuroscience and deep commitment to serving others and the institution.
| | Welcome Aboard New Faculty Leaders | | |
Dr. Bishoy M. Faltas Associate Professor of Medicine & Co-Unit Leader of the Neoplasia Unit of EPOM-B
"I’m honored to serve as Director of the Neoplasia Unit and look forward to working with you to educate and inspire our medical students, the next generation of cancer physicians."
| | |
Dr. Anita Ganti Assistant Professor of Medicine & Associate Clerkship Director for Ambulatory Care
"I'm excited for the opportunity to work closely with our medical students to show them the breadth of ambulatory medicine and inspire them to reflect, engage, and innovate within this space!”
| | |
Dr. William Levine Assistant Professor of Medicine & Medical Director, PA Program
"I’m excited to help train the next generation of physician assistants and to foster meaningful, collaborative learning opportunities between the MD and PA programs.”
| |  | |
Dr. Shannon Reilly Assistant Professor of Metabolic Health in Medicine & Co-Unit Leader for the Metabolism & Nutrition Unit of EPOM-B
“I am excited about the opportunity to teach first year medical students about metabolism and nutrition and highlight the clinical and disease relevance of this basic science discipline.”
| | | |
Dr. Christine Zammit Instructor of Physician Assistant Studies in Medicine & Associate Program Director, PA Program
“I’m thrilled to join Weill Cornell Medicine, where academic excellence meets a true commitment to compassionate care and innovation. I am look forward to helping shape future PAs in a place that values both collaboration and impact.”
| | | Dr. Erika Abramson, Dr. Joseph Safdieh, Dr. Salvatore Cilmi and Sahira Torres met with the incoming MD/PhD class of 2029 to discuss the program, ways to get involved with the medical school, and more. | Dr. Joseph Safdieh met with student leaders from the various Med Ed programs for a dinner in Griffis to discuss issues impacting the student body. | Congratulations to the MD Class of 2029 who celebrated their new white coats. Read more about the ceremony here. | |
2025 Excellence in Medical Education Awards
Faculty and staff were honored with Excellence in Medical Education Awards at a ceremony on June 26. The awards celebrate the honorees' extraordinary contributions to the education mission and for making the Weill Cornell Medical College experience exceptional for its students. Read More
| |
WCM EDge
Over the summer, we launched WCM EDge, a new initiative from the Office of Medical Education that brings together faculty and trainees committed to advancing excellence in teaching, curriculum development, mentorship, and education scholarship. Membership is open on a rolling basis. Join Here
| |
Mission Med Ed: The Interoffice Challenge
Med Ed hosted a fun, interactive session for Med Ed deans and staff members.
|
Med Ed Grand Rounds
Medical Education is excited to announce the launch of Med Ed Grand Rounds! This series will spotlight innovative practices, foster cross-campus dialogue, and build community among faculty, staff, and trainees, occurring the third Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm. Find more information about our first Grand Rounds, happening on Sept. 17 here.
| | |
Last year, the Neoplasia Unit of EPOM ran a limited pilot of an AI tool to help students learn and understand the material. This AI tool was able to answer questions about specific lectures (based on the lecture slides and handouts) and generate on-the-fly practice questions. We will pilot an enhanced AI tool this year.
In September, we will be holding a curricular retreat with leaders from the Phase 1 and Phase 2 curriculum, along with student representatives, to focus on integration of the basic science and clinical curriculum. We look forward to innovative ideas that we anticipate will come from this retreat!
New SPE Project Updates:
The "Global SPE" pilot continues in the Anesthesiology-Critical Care and Emergency Medicine Clerkships. Since January 2025, over 810 evaluations have been submitted by our evaluators, containing over 75 000 words of written comments and feedback for our students. The Curriculum office has been hard at work not just analyzing the data but also providing in-person and online resources to ensure all evaluators know how to use the new SPE correctly as well as understand the stakes for students. Global SPE was expanded to the Medicine, Surgery, Neurology, Pediatrics subinternships in July and will be introduced to the Emergency Medicine subinternship in October.
Clerkship Council Updates:
After a summer hiatus, the Clerkship Council will resume monthly meetings in August. The Council is comprised of students who are currently enrolled in the clerkships and Dr. June Chan, the Assistant Dean of Clinical Curriculum. It is an important forum where students share their experiences, concerns and issues in near-real time, and a way for Dr. Chan and student leaders to identify solutions and innovations together. Some of the achievements of the Clerkship Council since January 2025 include the introduction of the NYP-Queens shuttle overflow Lyft Pass, and an updated guide to fridges, lockers and other important access information at all our clinical affiliate sites.
| | |
Congratulations to Drs. Anyanate Gwendolyn Jack and MacKenzi Preston who are WCM Primary Care Innovation 2025-2026 Seed Grant Awardees for their project, “Deliberate Practice in Medical Education with Simulated Standardized Patients and Immediate Feedback.”
WCM Alumni Association has provided a generous $100,000 contribution to help ensure the 2025 Summer Research Elective at Weill Cornell Medicine could proceed this past summer.
Congratulations to Kazi Shafia Maisha, class of 2028, who was awarded the Joseph Collins Foundation Scholarship! This scholarship is intended for students who are interested in psychiatry, neurology, or general medicine with experience in the humanities), and only one scholar is chosen per 40-60 medical schools.
Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Safdieh for winning the 2025 American Neurological Association Distinguished Neurology Educator Award!
Numerous WCM teaching faculty were recognized and presented impactful work at the 2025 American Headache Society Annual Meeting in Minneapolis in June:
-
Dr. Bernice Grafstein received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her landmark 1956 neuroscientific discovery that identified the fundamental mechanism underlying migraine aura—a breakthrough that remains foundational to the field.
-
The Student Neurology Ambulatory Preceptorship Project was showcased, which is an initiative designed to enhance early outpatient neurology exposure for medical students, funded by a WCM Education Scholar Award and led by Dr. Robbins with contributions from Dr. Louise Klebanoff, Dr. Erika Abramson, and Dr. Joseph Safdieh.
| | Student Scholarship Opportunities | | |
Samvid Scholars Program
“We support future leaders with exceptional potential and commitment
to drive change for society at scale through: leadership development, community and financial support." Part of the programming occurs on the Cornell Tech campus.
Applications are open Feb 2026-April 2026
| | |
Soros Fellowship for New Americans
“Daisy Soros and her late husband Paul Soros, both Hungarian immigrants and dedicated philanthropists, founded the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans to invest in the potential of New Americans at pivotal stages in their education. Recognizing a critical need that remains relevant today, they established this Fellowship to support and uplift those who, like them, have come to the United States seeking opportunity. Their vision was to give back to the country that provided their family with immense opportunities, ensuring that the next generation of immigrants can achieve their fullest potential and contribute to the nation’s future.”
Applications are open and deadline is October 30, 2025
| |
This year, the PA program celebrated its 50 year anniversary and will be honored in October at the New York State Society of PAs (NYSSPA) Annual Conference. | | |
Tom Nesdill, MBA, MA
Director, Medical Education Administration
“We love to grow a variety of peppers in the summer. We are always tinkering with our pickling recipe!”
| | Welcome MD Class of 2029! | | |
23
U.S. States
11
Countries
51
Undergraduate Colleges
| | | |
37%
Bilingual / Multilingual
18%
First-Generation College Students
| | |
Any reports of student mistreatment can be reported directly to the TLC either anonymously or with identification of the report.
Contact Dr. Alexis Halpern, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, for more information.
| | |
The Margaret and Ian Smith Clinical Skills Center (CSC) hosts open hours for student skills.
Contact Kevaughn Harvey, Operations Manager, Clinical Skills Center, for more information.
| | Important Dates/Deadlines | | | Wednesday, August 27 | M2 Class Meeting (Zoom) about the Clerkship Lottery, 5pm | | Tuesday, September 9 | M4 Class Meeting (Zoom) about Preparing for Residency Interviews, 5pm | |
Wednesday, September 24
| MSPEs for M4 Students Are Released to all Residency Programs at 9am
Final Application Deadline for ERAS and ResidencyCAS*
*Note that some specialties have earlier deadlines for individual application submission | | | |
Clinical Compliance Training: All students (and faculty) who work and learn in the clinical environment must be up to date annually with Basic Life Support, mask fitting, and Annual Hospital Training. Please look out for an email from the Curriculum office in the coming weeks to sign up for training.
Remember, failure to complete these items is a serious breach of professional obligations, and can result in removal from all clinical learning areas until completed.
| |
Contact Lindsay Capozzi at lca4007@med.cornell.edu to highlight your awards, events, updates, etc. in the
next Med Ed Newsletter.
| | | | |
