Chinazo Cunningham, MD, MSThe Montefiore Einstein General Internal Medicine Fellowship, which welcomed its first fellows in July 2014, is a two-year program that provides education, training and experience in mentored research projects to prepare general internists for an academic research career.
The fellowship is designed specifically for internal medicine residency program graduates interested in studying urban health issues such as substance abuse, HIV, incarceration, obesity, food security, and violence. Minority candidates interested in researching health disparities and related issues are particularly encouraged to apply. "Our program provides room for early-career investigators to develop their focus, particularly in areas that aren’t necessarily medically oriented but are important in urban health and social issues that have a huge impact on peoples’ health," said Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, Director of the Program and Associate Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine.
Study coordinator Jeronimo Maradiaga draws blood from a participant in Project FIRST, a study investigating whether financial incentives will effectively reduce substance use and improve treatment outcomes.Fellows complete the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and earn a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Research Methods.
The Program builds on the Division of General Internal Medicine's exceptional infrastructure of mentorship and support, including its strong success rate in helping junior faculty members secure NIH funding. The Division's uniquely supportive culture fosters collaboration over competition. Faculty members are generous in reviewing each others’ work and giving critical feedback, and the success of faculty members' research accomplishments is shared. Weekly research meetings give faculty members the mechanisms to advance their work. "Our commitment is high level," said Dr. Cunningham. "Joining this community means that you are making a high-level commitment to reviewing your colleagues' work and to putting your work out for review."
S. Safo, MD, MPHDr. Stella Safo completed undergraduate degrees in History of Science and African American Studies from Harvard University, a medical degree at Harvard Medical School, and the Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine Program at Montefiore Einstein.
In addition to the General Internal Medicine Fellowship, Dr. Safo is currently completing a HIV Clinical Scholars Fellowship through HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA). In addition to clinical research, she remains interested in HIV/AIDS primary care in urban populations both in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Laila Khalid completed a MBBS degree from Aga Khan University (Karachi, Pakistan). She then spent two years at the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Toronto), developing quality indicators for acute myocardial infarction. She completed an internal medicine residency and chief residency at Mount Auburn Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and a MPH degree, preventive medicine residency, and general internal medicine fellowship at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Khalid’s research interests are prescription opioid misuse and prescription drug monitoring programs.
Dr. Laurel Mohrmann's research focuses on improving glycemic control in outpatient diabetics being followed in the Montefiore Medical Center clinic system. She is currently working with Dr. Reena Agarwal, director of the diabetes clinic at the Comprehensive Family Care Clinic (CFCC). Dr. Mohrmann completed an undergraduate degree at Columbia Union College in Tacoma Park, MD; a medical degree at Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel; and the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Montefiore Einstein. Following her residency, she became a nocturnist at Weiler Hospital and assistant to Dr. Shadhi Nahvi in her work with smoking cessation in a methadone maintenance population.
Fellows have access to Montefiore Einstein's comprehensive database systems, which include rich, in-depth data from an extensive array of clinical research studies as well as clinical data from all of Montefiore's inpatient and outpatient facilities. Additionally, fellows can take advantage of a supportive research infrastructure provided by Einstein's centers of excellence such as its Bronx Center to Reduce & Eliminate Ethnic & Racial Health Disparities, Center for AIDS Research, Diabetes Research Center, and Hispanic Center of Excellence.
"We are truly excited to welcome this year's fellows," said Dr. Cunningham. "The Bronx is a terrific place if you’re interested in urban health--this is as urban as it gets, and there’s there’s plenty of opportunity to do great work."
