Academic Honors & Events

Powerful Presentation—Dr. Lauren Roth, presented her impactful work, “How LGBTQ+ Health Education Can Improve the Care of LGBTQ+ Youth,” as a plenary speaker at the Eastern Society for Pediatric Research in March 2023. Dr. Roth is the course director for Einstein's four-year longitudinal M.D. course on service learning. She also is assistant professor of pediatrics at Einstein and an attending at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.

Rising Within ASH Leadership—Keisuke Ito M.D., Ph.D., was elected to serve as vice chair of the Scientific Committee on Hematopoiesis for the American Society of Hematology (ASH), after which he will succeed to the role of chair. There are multiple scientific committees that contribute to ASH’s overall mission, aimed at aiding the battle against blood diseases. These committees oversee organizing of the ASH annual science meeting, defining research priorities and policies, and choosing the subsequent years’ members and award candidates. The vice chair and chair are responsible for communicating about and advocating for their committee's ideas to the program committee. Dr. Ito is associate professor of cell biology and medicine and the director of scientific resources of the Einstein’s Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research. His research seeks to expand our understanding of the regulatory pathways that control the equilibrium of healthy and malignant hematopoietic stem cells.

Honoring Excellence—Honoring Excellence — Marjan Islam, M.D., received the Young Investigator Research Award from the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). The award recognizes outstanding original scientific research and presentation of his abstract: “Thoracic Ultrasound in COVID-19: Use of Lung and Diaphragm Ultrasound in Evaluating Dyspnea in Survivors of Critical Illness from COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Post-ICU Clinic.” Dr. Islam is assistant professor of medicine.

A Mentor of Merit—Liise-anne Pirofski, M.D., has received the Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) in recognition of her outstanding mentorship. The award is named for the late Walter E. Stamm, a former president of the IDSA, and is given to a society member whose exemplary efforts have aided mentees in achieving their career goals. Throughout her career, Dr. Pirofski has nurtured a multitude of doctoral students, postdoctoral trainees, and faculty members, especially women and minorities. Last year, IDSA also honored Dr. Pirofski as a 2021 Woman of ID, further highlighting her passion and commitment to mentoring, since the title is given to “accomplished leaders, mentors, and pioneers in [the infectious diseases field] whose research and guidance make advancements in ID possible.” Dr. Pirofski is a professor of medicine and of microbiology & immunology, as well as the Selma and Dr. Jacques Mitrani Professor in Biomedical Research at Einstein, and she is chief of infectious diseases at Montefiore.

Golden Honor—The Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) has honored Dr. Judy Yee with its Gold Medal, the organization’s highest honor, based on contribution to abdominal radiology, medicine, and patient health, as well as service within the society and commitment to the SAR mission and values. A past president of SAR and chair of its corporate support committee, Dr. Yee has been a tireless advocate for radiology in colorectal cancer screening, leading the society’s multi-vendor CTC colonography course for nearly two decades. She also is a diversity advocate and an outstanding mentor, especially for women leaders in imaging. Dr. Yee will receive her SAR award in March 2023. She is professor and university chair of radiology at Einstein and Montefiore.

Exploring Ethics in Pedatrics—What are the issues in research on young patients? On September 13 and 14, Dr. Michael Cabana joined the nation’s top pediatric practitioners and thinkers as they discussed this and others question during a virtual event, titled “Ethical Considerations in Research for Pediatric Populations,”sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences. Dr. Cabana is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Pediatric Research, which makes policy recommendations to the board of directors on aspects of child health research such as identifying major research questions, promoting funding for pediatric research, and monitoring the status and practice of including children in federally sponsored research studies. He is professor and the Michael I. Cohen, M.D. University Chair of Pediatrics at Einstein and Montefiore, as well as physician-in-chief of the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.

Laudable Recognition—Dr. Allan Wolkoff has been selected to receive the Leadership Award from the American Liver Foundation (ALF) at its National Legacy Gala, in October. The honor recognizes his “decades of organizational leadership and scientific research on behalf of those affected by liver disease” and his loyal commitment to ALF’s mission. Renowned worldwide for providing new windows into the physiology and pathophysiology of hepatocytes as they relate to liver disease, Dr. Wolkoff’s work has had continuous support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and he has served on various advisory committees. Previously, the ALF honored him with its 2012 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award. A member of Einstein’s class of 1972, Dr. Wolkoff is professor and chief of the department of medicine’s division of hepatology and director of the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center. He also is professor of developmental & molecular biology, associate chair for research in medicine, and the Herman Lopata Chair in Liver Disease Research.

ExCiting News—Hyunah Yoon, M.D., has received the 2022 Infectious Diseases Society of New York (IDSNY) Junior Faculty Research Award. The IDSNY cited her COVID-19 research on convalescent plasma paper, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine in December 2021, as a basis for the award, which she shares with co-author and collaborator, Mila Ortigoza, M.D., Ph.D., an infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Yoon will be joined by Dr. Ortigoza in presenting their research at the IDSNY annual symposium on May 10, 2022. She is assistant professor of medicine. 

How Einstein CARES About Remote Learning—At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. Congress passed the CARES Act, which allocated funds to higher education institutions to provide assistance for a smooth transition to a remote environment. Last year, Damien Jackson applied on behalf of Einstein and was awarded $1.3 million to help our community safely adjust to the global pandemic. Half of the funding has been used in the form of student grants to support housing, childcare, and other living expenses. The remaining funds helped to expand Einstein’s remote education resources. This has included training for professors, purchase of test preparation materials for students in need, and procurement of software to enhance the learning environment. Mr. Jackson is assistant dean of student finance and an advisor to the executive dean. 

Improving Type-1 Diabetes Care—Shivani Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., has received the 2021 Outstanding Adult Principal Investigator Award from T1D Exchange. (T1D is an abbreviation for Type 1 diabetes.) The honor recognizes Dr. Agarwal for going “above and beyond” in addressing health disparities among patients with T1D. —particularly for being a leader in improving the quality of T1D patient care and serving as a peer mentor for colleagues at partner institutions. T1D Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together researchers from across the nation to help develop treatments and a cure for T1D. Dr. Agarwal is assistant professor of medicine at Einstein and director of the Supporting Emerging Adults with Diabetes program at Montefiore.