Sections

The purpose of the Academy Section on Anesthesiology is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field.

One of the events held annually is Anesthesiology Residents’ Night, where top residents from the area’s Anesthesiology programs present their research. Other recent events have included an Anesthesiology Jeopardy and Case Report Presentation Night.

Section Officers

Elizabeth A.M. Frost, MD (Chair)
Attending Anesthesiologist
Mount Sinai Medical Center

Farida M. Gadalla, MD (Co-Chair)
Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
Weill Cornell Medical College

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The Section on Dentistry and Oral Health seeks to promote dentistry as a primary health care discipline that functions to improve the oral health of patients, and to emphasize the role of dental professionals in contributing to the general health of their patients.

Related Links

The David E. Rogers Fellowship Program

Section Officers

Shahid R. Aziz, DMD, MD, FACS, FRCS(Ed) (Chair)
President
New Jersey Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
President and Co-Founder
Smile Bangladesh

Michael Turner, DDS, MD, FACS (Vice Chair)
Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Mount Sinai Hospital
Associate Program Director and Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Jacobi Medical Center

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Dermatology Section is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field of Dermatology.

Section Officers

Holly Kanavy, DO (Chair)
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Dermatopharmacology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Montefiore Medical Center

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Section on Evidence-Based Health Care is to enhance the health of the public and the quality of life of individuals through scientifically-sound, cost-effective individualized care.

The Section was established in 2009 and has a multidisciplinary membership comprising physicians, nurses, and librarians. Section activities focus on health care supported by the best available clinical evidence allowing for engagement with health care providers, public health professionals, health care administrators, public policy makers, and health information brokers in their roles as intermediaries to patients and their families. Through established collaborations with individuals and institutions within the U.S., Canada and Brazil the section is positioned to contribute to a global urban health perspective.

One of the Section’s major initiatives has been the “Teaching Evidence Assimilation for Collaborative Healthcare” (TEACH) program, which has run annually since 2010. TEACH is for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, librarians and other health care professionals. It utilizes small group learning supplemented by plenary sessions. Attendees may enroll in one of three levels, each of which is led by internationally recognized and acclaimed faculty:

Level 1: Foundations of EBC
Level 2: Policies and Recommendations for EBC
Level 3: Implementing EBC
Note: One group within Level #2 will focus exclusively on the GRADE system

For more information on the Section on Evidence Based Health Care and the TEACH Program, visit the section’s website at www.ebmny.org.

If you would like to become a member of the Section on Evidence Based Health Care, please email [email protected].

Please join Guidlines International Network and the Section on Healthy Aging for the virtual conference and open space discussion: “Evidence-Based Guidelines Affecting Policy, Practice, and Stakeholders: COVID-19 and the Challenge to Guidance”

Section Officers

Peter C. Wyer, MD (Co-Chair)
Attending Physician
Columbia University Medical Center

Arlene Smaldone, PhD, RN (Co-Chair)
Associate Professor
School of Nursing and Dental Medicine
Columbia University Medical Center

Sharron Close, PhD, MS, CPNP-PC (Secretary)
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University

Dorice L. Vieira, MLS, MA, MPH (Treasurer)
Associate Curator, Clinical Outreach and GME Librarian
New York University

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Section on Health Care Delivery is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field of Health Policy.

The section was formed in 1995 with the purpose of developing educational programs on delivery, policy, and economics of health care and health care management and administration, and providing a framework for developing strategies in health policy. The Section delivers an annual series of lectures here at The New York Academy of Medicine for a diverse audience of New York health care professionals, including clinicians, administrators, and policymakers.

Included in the series is the annual Duncan W. Clark Lecture, named for former Academy President (1983 to 1984) and Trustee (1985 to 1989) Duncan W. Clark, MD. Dr. Clark, an honored physician, teacher and mentor had a distinguished record of achievement in teaching, research and advocacy to ultimately improve the practice of medicine. Dr. Iago Galdston, a major presence at The New York Academy of Medicine from the 1920s to the 1960s, and a world renowned medical journalist, established this annual lecture to honor Dr. Clark in 1984. This has also been made possible through ongoing support from Mrs. Ida O’Grady Clark as well as Dr. William M. McCormack and the Trustees of the International Foundation.

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The Section on Healthy Aging seeks to improve the health, well-being, and engagement of older people in cities through inter-professional communication and networks; community/public advocacy; leadership development; and education, research, and policy involvement.

Advances in medicine, coupled with reductions in fertility and infant and childhood mortality rates, have led to significant gains in life expectancy in the United States, increasing from 47.3 in 1900 to 78.7 years in 2016. The population aged 65 and over is growing at a faster rate than the total American population. While people aged 65 and over currently comprise 14.5% of the total population, by 2030, they are expected to comprise 20%. Simultaneously, the caregiver ratio is declining, resources are being diverted from institutional care to home and community-based care, and according to a 2008 report from the National Academy of Medicine, “the education and training of the entire health care workforce with respect to the needs of older adults remains woefully inadequate.” Given these factors, maintaining the health and wellbeing of older people to delay or reduce disability and dependence must become a national priority.

The Section on Healthy Aging will convene a multidisciplinary cadre of professionals to examine and advance solutions to address the broader determinants of health for older people to ensure current and future populations age in environments that will keep them healthy, active, and engaged for as long as possible. The Section will work with the Academy to promote an active aging approach to policy and practice; to advocate for access to preventive care; and to attract and cultivate emerging and longstanding professionals to build a culturally competent workforce to support healthy aging.

The Section on Healthy Aging welcomes members from existing sections, including but not limited to social work, nursing, dentistry and oral health, clinical nutrition, health care delivery, and psychiatry, as well as new Fellows.

Section Officers

Tara Cortes, PhD, RN (Vice Chair)

Executive Director, Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing
NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

Martha Sullivan, MSW, DSW (Vice Chair) 
Executive Director
Creedmoor Psychiatric Center

Kim Thacker, MD, MS (Vice Chair) 
Neuro/Bioethicist
New York

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The Section on History of Medicine and Public Health offers programming for Academy Fellows and Members to hear from experts in the field, including an annual History Night at which Fellows present on topics in the history of medicine and public health.

Section Officers

Robert J. Ruben, MD
Distinguished Professor, Department of Othorhinolaryngology
Director of Clinical Research for Communicative Disorders
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The Section on Nursing seeks to advance the nation’s health, and specifically, the health of the people of New York City, through inter-professional communication and networks; community/public advocacy; leadership development, and education, research, and policy involvement.

A Call to Address Systemic Racism in Health, Health Care, and the Nursing Profession

The Section will strengthen the nursing profession’s contribution to the Academy’s commitment of “interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, innovative research, evaluation, education, and community engagement.”

As the largest segment of the nation’s healthcare workforce, the Nursing profession is well positioned to respond to the challenges of the Institute of Medicine’s report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, (2010)”: to play a major role in the transformation of the health system and to contribute to safe, high quality, humanistic health care of all people.

As a Section, professional nurses will serve as full partners along with other disciplines in the Academy to influence community and business leaders, educational and clinical care systems, policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities where they live, work, study, and play.

Nursing Section “Our Story”

The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) established The Nursing Section, approved by the Board of Trustees as the 17th Section in the Academy on April 16, 2015. This evolved from the Nursing Leadership Special Interest Group, formed in 2008 that consisted of representatives from schools of nursing and hospital systems. The group formally organized to be elevated within the Academy as the Nursing Section.  Membership quickly grew to over 200 nurses.  The Section aims to enhance NYAM’s mission of creating healthy cities. Since then, it has grown in its leadership capacity, membership, and involvement in the Academy.

Section Officers

2025-2027: Olga Kagan, Angela Appiah, Ellen McCabe

2019-2024: Allison Squires, Toby Bressler, Maria Vezina

2015-2019: Connie Vance, Donna Nickitas, Veronica Feeg

 Origin of the Nursing Special Interest Group:

2008-2015: The nursing workgroup led by Connie Vance, Suellyn Ellerbe, Elaine Larson, and advisers Maria Vezina, Harriet Feldman, Bobbie Berkowitz, Darlene Curley, Kim Glassman, Barbara Glickstein, Eileen Sullivan Marx, and Diana Mason.

The purpose of the Academy Ophthalmology Section is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field of Ophthalmology. One of the events held annually is Residents’ Night, where top residents from the area’s Ophthalmology programs present their research.

Section Officers

James Tsai, MD, MBA (Chair)
President
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai
System Chair of Ophthalmology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Section on Pediatrics is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field.

One of the events held annually is Residents’ Night, where top residents from the area’s Pediatric training programs present their research.

The section also hosts the Millie and Richard Brock Lecture in Pediatrics.

Section Officers

Vacant (Co-Chair) 

Vacant (Co-Chair) 

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Section on Psychiatry is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field of psychiatry.

The Section, along with the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, hosts the Blank Slate Writing Workshop, which teaches short essay and op-ed writing to health professionals.

Section Officers

Jeffrey A. Borenstein, MD (Chair)
President and CEO
Brain and Behavioral Research Foundation

Stephen B. Billick, MD (Vice Chair)
Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry
New York University

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Section on Social Work is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field.

One of the events held annually is Students’ Night, where top students from the area’s schools of social work present their research. The section also hosts a webinar series about current issues affecting social workers and other health professionals.

For more information about section activity, please contact Elaine Congress, DSW at [email protected]

Section Co-Chairs

Elaine Congress, MSSW, MA, DSW, LCSW
Professor and Associate Dean, Fordham Graduate School of Social Service

Jennifer Schwartz-Crawford, LMSW, ASW-G,CDP
Program Administrator (Aging), Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services

Steering/Executive Committee

Alison Snow, PhD, LCSW-R, OSW-C

Patricia Kolb, PhD

For more information on how to get involved with the Social Work Section, please contact [email protected]

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.

The purpose of the Academy Section on Urology is the study and advancement of knowledge in the field of Urology.

One of the events held annually is the Ferdinand C. Valentine Award Ceremony and Lecture. The section also presents a Mini Board Review for Urology Residents each November.

Section Officers

Matthew Rutman, MD (Secretary)
Associate Professor of Urology
Director, Voiding Dysfunction and Female Urology
Director, Combined Female Pelvic Medicine
Columbia University Medical Center

See the Fellows Directory for a list of all section members.