Michael Miksa
Pediatric critical care
<p>Physician-Scientist, Michael Miksa, MD, PhD received his medical degree from the Free University of Berlin in Germany and his academic degree magna cum laude from The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He completed his pediatric residency training at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate, a critical care fellowship at Yale and had worked in the pediatric emergency department for the Boston Children’s Hospital.</p><p>Dr. Miksa presented his work at several meetings both nationally and abroad and is Site Investigator for NEAR4KIDS, a multi-center quality improvement study to limit adverse events during intubations.</p>
Courtney A. McNamara
<p>Courtney McNamara, MD, is Associate Program Director, Pediatric Residency Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein (CHAM) and Assistant Professor, Pediatrics at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her clinical focus is on pediatric hospital medicine, with a particular interest in resident education and mentorship.</p><p>In 2006, Dr. McNamara received her Bachelor of Science at James Madison University. She pursued her medical education at New York Medical College, earning her Doctor of Medicine in 2010. She then came to CHAM for her postgraduate training, completing her pediatric residency in 2013.</p><p>Dr. McNamara’s research focuses on improving the patient experience. She is a co-investigator in a grant funded project investigating communication with hospitalized patients with limited English proficiency, and her body of research includes quality improvement research studies focused on improving inpatient pediatric comfort and decreasing painful experiences. She has shared her work through peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, poster presentations and platform presentations.</p><p>Dr. McNamara is board certified in both General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2023, Dr. McNamara was inducted into the Leo M. Davidoff Society.</p>
Nathan Litman
<p>Nathan Litman, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, is Vice Chair, Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Professor, Pediatrics at Montefiore Einstein. His clinical focus centers on general pediatric infectious diseases.</p><p>After earning his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Brooklyn College in 1967, Dr. Litman obtained his Doctor of Medicine from Einstein in 1971. He completed his straight pediatric internship, pediatric residency, and Chief Pediatric Residency at Montefiore Medical Center. He served for 2 years as Lieutenant Commander in the US Public Health Service. He returned to Montefiore to complete a two-year Infectious Disease Fellowship in 1978.</p><p>Dr. Litman’s research has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, books, chapters, review articles and abstracts, including the <em>New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Pediatrics, Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases</em> and many more. Dr. Litman has served as a reviewer for <em>Medical Letter, Journal of Perinatology</em>, the <em>Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal</em>, the <em>Journal of Pediatrics, Journal of National Medical Association</em> and the <em>Journal of the American Medical Association</em>. He has also served on many committees such as the Advisory Committee on AIDS and the Advisory Committee on Health Curriculum, and is currently a member of the Pediatric Research Day Committee at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.</p><p>Dr. Litman is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Pediatrics. He has received many awards and honors including the Teaching Excellence Award in Recognition of Outstanding Teaching in the Division of Infectious Diseases from Montefiore Einstein in 2014, Appreciation for Dedication, Support, and Commitment to Pediatric Hospital Medicine from the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in 2013, the Peer to Peer Excellence in Medicine Award from Bronx County Medical Society in 2008 and the William Obrinsky Award Outstanding Medical Student Teaching Award in Pediatrics from the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in 2004</p>
Leslie Lee
David M. Kaufman
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">David Myland Kaufman, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, was graduated from the medical school of the University of Chicago and completed training in internal medicine and then neurology at Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) hospitals. During his residency, Dr. Kaufman originated the nation-wide course, which he still directs, Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists. More than 25,500 psychiatry residents and attendings have attended the course, which has served as the basis for his classic textbook, <em>Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists</em>, (Elsevier) currently in its eighth edition and available in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish translations. He is also a co-editor of <em>Child and Adolescent Neurology for Psychiatrists</em> (Lippincott).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dr. Kaufman has also been a visiting professor at Ben Gurion University, Yale University, Pritzger / University of Chicago, and other American medical schools, and U.S. Naval Medical Centers, as well as a frequent lecturer at AECOM. He is a member of medical school's Leo M. Davidoff Society for excellence in teaching. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">In addition to his educational role at AECOM hospitals, Dr. Kaufman in partnership with Dr. Michael Swerdlow founded the quintessential neurology faculty practice K&S at Montefiore Hospital. K&S is the largest and longest surviving faculty practice in the institution. Drs. Kaufman and Swerdlow also give neurology consultation and attending rounds and supervise neurology clinics at Montefiore. In the clinics and faculty practice, Dr. Kaufman concentrates on the neurologic aspects of psychiatric illness and movement disorders. He works closely with the psychiatrists and, for botulinum treatment of certain dystonias, the neuromuscular group. Dr. Kaufman is the 2007 recipient of Montefiore's Staff and Alumni award for outstanding service.</span></p>
In addition to his educational role at AECOM and its hospitals, Dr. Kaufman in partnership with Dr. Michael Swerdlow founded the quintessential neurology faculty practice K&S at Montefiore Hospital. K&S is the largest and longest-surviving faculty practice in the institution. Drs. Kaufman and Swerdlow also give neurology consultations and attend rounds and supervise neurology clinics at Montefiore. In the clinics and faculty practice, Dr. Kaufman concentrates on the neurologic aspects of psychiatric illness and movement disorders. He works closely with psychiatrists and, for botulinum treatment of certain dystonia, the neuromuscular group.
From his research interests, Dr. Kaufman has published clinical studies of central nervous system infections, heroin overdose-induced pulmonary edema, Covid’s effect on Parkinson's disease patients, and other topics. He concentrates on teaching medical students in their neuroscience courses, psychiatry and neurology residents, and psychiatrists preparing for their Board examinations.
<p>Kaufman DM, Geyer HL, Milstein MM: "Kaufman's Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists," Elsevier, 8th Edition, 2017</p>
<p>Kaufman DM, Smuckler DJ: Neurologic Disease (in) Blumenfeld M, Strain JJ, "Psychosomatics," Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006</p>
<p>David Kaufman, MD, an attending physician and Professor of Neurology and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Einstein, concentrates on the neurologic aspects of psychiatric illness and movement disorders. He provides neurology consultations for in-patients and out-patients, serves as the attending on consultation and ward rounds, and supervises neurology clinics at Montefiore Einstein. He works closely with psychiatrists and, for botulinum treatment of certain dystopias, the neuromuscular group.</p><p>After earning his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester in 1964, Dr. Kaufman earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1968. He pursued his postdoctoral training at Montefiore, completing his internal medicine internship and residency in 1971. In 1975, he completed the four-year neurology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine hospitals. He has been a steadfast member of Montefiore and Einstein communities ever since.</p><p>From his research interests, Dr. Kaufman has published clinical studies of central nervous system infections, heroin overdose-induced pulmonary edema, COVID’s effect on Parkinson disease patients, and other topics. He has been a member of editorial boards for Internal Medicine Bulletin and Medical Meetings: Pearls & Perspectives, and a consultant and reviewer for numerous medical journals. He teaches medical students in their neuroscience course, psychiatry and neurology residents, and psychiatrists preparing for their Board examinations. He has been a Visiting Professor at Ben Gurion University, Yale University, Pritzker/University of Chicago, and other American medical schools, and at U.S. Naval Medical Centers, as well as a frequent lecturer at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.</p><p>Dr. Kaufman innovated the long-standing, annual, national course, Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry for Psychiatrists, developed a noteworthy neuropsychiatry seminar and authored the book, <em>Kaufman’s Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists</em>, now in its 9th edition.</p><p>Dr. Kaufman is board certified in Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American College of Physicians. He is also a member of the American Neuropsychiatric Association and the Movement Disorder Society. A devoted educator, Dr. Kaufman has received many accolades for his excellence in medical teaching, including induction into the Leo M. Davidoff Society in 1993, the American Academy of Neurology award in 2001 and the Montefiore Staff and Alumni Award in 2007.</p>
Tamara Gomez Kalhan
<p>Tamara Kalhan, MD, FAAP, is Medical Director, Low Birthweight Evaluation and Assessment Program (LEAP) Clinic and Director, Neonatal Education, Wakefield Division at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein and Course Director, Medicine Electives in Neonatology and Assistant Professor, Pediatrics at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her clinical focus is on neonatal outcomes for premature infants, low birth weight infants and infants requiring extended Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospitalizations.</p><p>Dr. Kalhan earned her Doctor of Medicine in 2009 at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency in 2012 at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at Columbia University, where she was Chief Fellow in her final year of training in 2015.</p><p>Dr. Kalhan’s research interests and expertise include improving follow-up care and neonatal outcomes in high-risk infant populations, with an emphasis on early detection of cerebral palsy. She has been co-investigator on research projects and has shared her work through peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, review articles and case reports, abstracts, platform presentations and poster presentations.</p><p>Dr. Kalhan is board certified in General Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.</p>
David L. Goldman
<p>The medical community has long recognized fungi as important allergens for patients with asthma. Interestingly, fungal sensitization is more common in children and has been linked to severe asthma resulting in death. The accepted paradigm is that fungal sensitization occurs as a result of recurrent, transient environmental exposures. Yet, increasing evidence suggests that fungi may interact with people in unrecognized ways to promote asthma. My lab is interested in understanding the role of subclinical fungal infections in asthma and their potential contribution to the high prevalence of asthma in urban areas.<br /><br /></p>
<p><em>Cryptococcus neoformans</em> is an encapsulated fungus that is well suited to serve as co-factor in urban asthma. <em>C. neoformans</em> colonizes pigeon droppings and is endemic to urban areas. Once inhaled, this fungus causes persistent, subclinical infections. We have demonstrated that the majority of Bronx children older than 2 years have serologic evidence of cryptococcal infection. Cryptococcal infection induces TH2 inflammation in animal models. In a rat model, we have shown that cryptococcal pulmonary infection acts a co-factor to enhance allergic inflammation to allergen challenge and promotes airway hyper-responsiveness, both hallmark features of asthma. Pulmonary cryptococcosis also induces chitinase expression, which has recently been implicated as an essential mediator of allergic inflammation.<br /><br /></p>
<p>To study this phenomenon, we have established collaborations with Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore. These collaborations provide access to the large number of children with asthma in the Bronx. Current studies underway include a characterization of chitinase expression among asthmatics and a comparison of cryptococcal infection prevalence among asthmatics and non-asthmatics. Animal experimentation directed at understanding the mechanisms and variables related to fungal induced asthma are also underway.<br /><br /></p>
<p>In addition to fungal studies, my lab is interested in anthrax pathogenesis. <em>Bacillus anthracis</em> is widely recognized as a potential agent of bioterrorism as evidenced by the 2001 anthrax attack. The toxins of <em>B. anthracis</em> are essential to virulence. In collaborations with Drs. Arturo Casadevall and Jurgen Brojatsch, we have studied the mechanisms by which <em>Bacillus anthracis</em> toxins contribute to host death. We have identified a previously unrecognized protease in human serum that inactivates the protective antigen component of lethal toxin <em>in vitro</em>. The precise protease and its role in the host response and susceptibility to anthrax remain to be determined. We have also identified a potential role for platelet activating factor (PAF) in mediating the lethal effects of toxin, including the alterations in vascular permeability which is characteristic of anthrax. Together, these observations may have important implications in developing new approaches to the treatment of anthrax.</p>
Dr. Goldman has a special interest in fungal infections in children, including hospital and community acquired mycoses.
Dr. Goldman has two primary research interests: the contribution of fungi to the development of asthma in children and the pathogenesis of C. difficile infection in children
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<p>1. Fungal sensitization in childhood persistent asthma is associated with disease severity. Vicencio AG, Santiago MT, Tsirilakis K, Stone A, Worgall S, Foley EA, Bush D, Goldman DL. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2013 Feb 8. doi: 10.1002/ppul.22779. [Epub ahead of print]</p>
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<p>2. Increased chitinase expression and fungal-specific antibodies in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of asthmatic children. Goldman DL, Li X, Tsirilakis K, Andrade C, Casadevall A, Vicencio AG. Clin Exp Allergy. 2012 Apr;42(4):523-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2011.03886.x. Epub 2011 Oct 10.</p>
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<p>3. CHIT1 mutations: genetic risk factor for severe asthma with fungal sensitization? Vicencio AG, Chupp GL, Tsirilakis K, He X, Kessel A, Nandalike K, Veler H, Kipperman S, Young MC, Goldman DL.</p>
<p>Pediatrics. 2010 Oct;126(4):e982-5. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-0321. Epub 2010 Sep 6.</p>
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<p>4. Proteasome inhibitors prevent caspase-1-mediated disease in rodents challenged with anthrax lethal toxin.Muehlbauer SM, Lima H Jr, Goldman DL, Jacobson LS, Rivera J, Goldberg MF, Palladino MA, Casadevall A, Brojatsch J. Am J Pathol. 2010 Aug;177(2):735-43. doi: 10.2353/ajpath.2010.090828. Epub 2010 Jul 1. Erratum in: Am J Pathol. 2010 Oct;177(4):2145.</p>
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<p>David L. Goldman, MD, is Fellowship Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Associate Professor, Pediatrics, and Associate Professor, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Montefiore Einstein. He has a special interest in fungal infections in children, including hospital and community acquired mycoses.</p><p>After earning his Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University in 1983, Dr. Goldman attended Jefferson Medical College, earning his Doctor of Medicine in 1987. He began his postdoctoral education at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Yale University, New York Medical College, completing a yearlong internship before coming to Einstein’s Jacobi Medical Center, where he completed a residency in pediatrics in 1991, a fellowship in academic pediatrics in 1992 and a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases in 1996.</p><p>Dr. Goldman has two primary research interests: the contribution of fungi to the development of asthma in children and the pathogenesis of C. difficile infection in children. He has shared his work through conferences, symposia, books, peer-reviewed journals, review articles, abstracts and poster presentations. He has also been an ad hoc reviewer for several journals including <em>Infection and Immunity, Microbes and Infection</em>, and <em>Medical Mycology</em>.</p><p>Dr. Goldman is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. He is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.</p>
Mamta Fuloria
<p>Critically ill neonates, mechanical ventilation, meconium aspiration pulmonary vascualr biology, oxidative stress.</p>
Neonatology; critically ill neonates
Optimizing respiratory management of infants in order to prevent chronic lung disease and management of pulmonary hypertension in neonates; neonatal nutrition; necrotizing enterocolitis; fetal programming of adult diseases
<p>Dr. Fuloria, Associate Program Director for the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, obtained her medical degree from King George’s Medical College in Lucknow, India, and then did her pediatric residency and neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC. Upon completion of her fellowship, she joined the faculty at Wake Forest University. In 2006 she took a two-year sabbatical, during which she was a Visiting Scientist at the prestigious National Institute of Biological Sciences (of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) in Bangalore, India. In 2010 Dr. Fuloria joined the Department of Pediatrics at Montefiore. </p><p>Dr. Fuloria is a recipient of the 2000 Physician Scientist Award from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the 2002 C. Scott Venable Research Award in Respiratory Diseases awarded by the American Lung Association. She has been a member of the SPR Communications Committee and the SPR Fellows Basic Research Award (and the David G. Nathan Award) Selection Committee since 2010.</p>