About the Award
In 2013, Ruth and the late James Scheuer, M.D., made a generous gift to Albert Einstein College of Medicine to endow the Ruth and James Scheuer, M.D., Award for an Outstanding M.D. / Ph.D. Student. The award provides funding to an exemplary graduate of Einstein’s M.D. / Ph.D. Program who has matched into an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved program for training in internal medicine. A committee led by the Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program selects one member of the MSTP graduating class to receive this award each year, and the recipient is announced at the Student Awards Ceremony as part of Einstein’s Commencement exercises. To-date, there have been 9 recipients of the award. You can find an update on each of the recipients and their achievements below.
About James Scheuer, M.D.
James Scheuer, M.D., was distinguished professor emeritus of medicine (cardiology) and university chair emeritus of medicine at Einstein at the time of his death in 2021. Since arriving in the Bronx in 1972 and even after retiring in 2011, Dr. Scheuer served Einstein and Montefiore in numerous roles, including vice chair, interim chair, and the Ted and Florence Baumritter Professor and Chair in Medicine; physician-in-chief; chief of cardiology; director of medical service and of the medical house staff program; professor of physiology; and principal investigator. Dr. Scheuer was a highly respected clinician and mentor, as well as a noted scientist who studied basic aspects of heart muscle function.
In addition to the Ruth and James Scheuer, M.D., Award for an Outstanding M.D. / Ph.D. Student, he and his wife also established the Ruth and James Scheuer, M.D., Cardiology Research Fund to support special training in research for future cardiologists at Montefiore. The division of cardiology on Montefiore’s Moses Campus bears his name.
A native New Yorker, Dr. Scheuer earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Rochester and his medical degree at Yale School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship at Bellevue Hospital in New York and residency at Mount Sinai.
Recipients of the Ruth and James Scheuer, M.D., Award for an Outstanding M.D. / Ph.D. Student
Maxim Maron, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2023
Resident, Internal Medicine
NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medicine
Dr. Maron recently graduated with distinction from Einstein with his M.D., Ph.D., and MS degrees – an honor reserved for the top 15% of students. He completed his Ph.D. thesis research in the laboratory of his mentor, David Shechter, Ph.D., in the Department of Biochemistry investigating arginine methylation, which is known to regulate fundamental cellular processes, including those involved in aging.
Justin Wheat, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2022
Resident, Internal Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Wheat earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Oncology and Cell Biology. He is interested in hematology and stem cell research.
Erik Hasenoehrl, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2021
Resident, Internal Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Hasenoehrl plans to pursue a GastroenterologyFellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital upon completion of his residency.
Talicia Savage, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2020
Resident, Internal Medicine
University of Washington
Dr. Savage focuses on preventive healthcare and addresses a broad range of medical conditions, placing a high priority on wellness strategies and health education.
Ross Firestone, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2019
Fellow, Hematology / Oncology
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Firestone is specializing in multiple myeloma. He presented an abstract at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conference, which analyzed and evaluated the efficacy of a new FDA-approved therapy for relapsed / refractory multiple myeloma called Teclistamab. His findings demonstrated that Teclistamab was just as effective in patients with prior exposure to anti-BCMA bispecific antibody therapies as it was in patients without this clinical history.
Chino Aneke-Nash, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2018
Fellow, Gastroenterology
Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Dr. Aneke-Nash completed her residency at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine in 2021. She is now entering the third year of her fellowship at Columbia University.
Carlos Diaz-Balzac, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2017
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Endocrine / Metabolism
University of Rochester School of Medicine
In June of last year, Dr. Diaz-Balzac concluded his fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency. He has received a National Institutes of Health F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Jayne Koellhoffer, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2016
Private Practice, Doylestown Health
Upon completion of her residency at Mount Sinai, Dr. Koellhoffer started a faculty position. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to her hometown in western Pennsylvania to take care of her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is currently working in a local private practice.
Alena Janda Markmann, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 2015
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine
After her residency at Mount Sinai, Dr. Janda Markmann was an Infectious Disease Fellow and Post-doctoral Fellow in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Now a faculty member, Dr. Janda Markmann is enjoying her teaching responsibilities and her time spent studying human immune responses to Zika and dengue viruses, with a specific focus on B cell and antibody responses.
