Pathology’s Role in Liver Transplant Surgery at Montefiore: Offering Patients a New Lease on Life  

 

 

 

 Sidebar:Dr. Qiang Liu Brings 3 Chinese Transplant Surgeons to Montefiore 

 

 

 

 Montefiore’s Clinical Microbiology Lab:Taking Aim at an “Urgent Threat”   

 

 

 

  Profile: Microbiology’s Go-To Guy: Philip Gialanella, MS, Manager, Clinical Microbiology Lab   

Joan W. Berman, PhD, professor of pathology and of microbiology & immunology, and the Irving D. Karpas MD Chair of Excellence in Medical Research at Einstein, has been awarded a $3.5 million R01 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the opioid derivate Bupenorphine as a potential therapy for neurocognitive symptoms in HIV patients.

 

Thanks to antiretroviral drugs, fewer HIV-infected people experience frank dementia, but more than half of those treated with anti-retrovirals suffer from milder, lifelong HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, or HAND. Joan W. Berman, PhD, has been awarded two NIH grants totaling $7.4 million to study the sequence of events that lead to HAND; examine how certain drugs of abuse increase the risk for HAND; and develop strategies for preventing the disorder.  

  

Dr. Berman and Susan Morgello, MD, of Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, were awarded a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study a population of white cells known to be responsible for HAND. The researchers will follow the migration of these cells in HIV-positive patients and study the proteins that regulate the transit of white cells across the blood brain barrier. The research may lead to therapies that block HIV-infected white cells from entering the brain. (1R01MH112391-01A1)

 

  

Dr. Berman and Harris Goldstein, MD, have been awarded a five-year, $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the interactions among methamphetamines and other drugs of abuse, antiretroviral therapeutics and HIV infection. The researchers hypothesize that methamphetamines and some anti-retrovirals weaken the integrity of the blood brain barrier, making it easier for HIV-infected white blood cells to enter the brain. Their research will also use a mouse model of HIV. Dr. Goldstein is professor of pediatrics and of microbiology & immunology and director of the Einstein-Rockefeller-CUNY Center for AIDS Research. He holds the Charles Michael Chair in Autoimmune Diseases at Einstein. (1R01DA044584-01) 

 

Welcome! 

New Faculty 

 

   

 Deborah Nautsch, MD, , has joined the Department of Pathology, in the Division of Surgical Pathology at Montefiore Medical Center, Montefiore New Rochelle and Montefiore Mount Vernon. Dr. Nautsch comes to us from InCyte Diagnostics in Yakima, WA. She earned her medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2011, and completed a Pathology Fellowship in GI/Liver at Montefiore in 2016.

 

 

  

 Jennifer Oliver-Krasinski, MD, has joined Montefiore Einstein as an attending physician in pediatric pathology, division of surgical pathology.

 

 

  

 Shweta Gera, MD has joined Montefiore Einstein as an attending physician in cytology. Dr. Gera completed a fellowship in cytology at Montefiore Einstein in June 2017.

 

 

  

 Randin Nelson, MD, a 2014 graduate of the Montefiore Einstein Pathology Department’s residency program, has joined Montefiore Einstein as director, Stem Cell Processing Laboratory, and assistant director, Transfusion Services. 

 

New Residents  

Ridin Balakrishnan, MD. Dr. Balakrishnan comes to the Montefiore Einstein from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. 

 

 

Angela Baldwin, MD, MPH. Dr. Baldwin earned her medical degree at Howard University College of Medicine and her MPH at University of California San Francisco.

 

 

Mohammad Barouqa, MD. Dr. Barouqa is a graduate of the University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine in Amman, Jordan.

 

 

 

Lin Wang, MD, PhD. Dr. Wang received his medical degree from Heibei Medical University in Shijiazhuange, Heibei, China, and his PhD from the University of California San Francisco.

 

2017 - 2018 Fellows     

Beamon Agarwal, MD, PhD Hematopathology	Abul Azad, PhD Molecular Genetics, ABMGG	Aegean Chan Burnett, MD Dermatopathology	Mohammad Eskandari, MD Molecular Genetics	Sonali Lanjewar, MD Women’s Health
Patricia Raciti, MD  Dermatopathology	Gloria Ramos-Rivera, MD Cytopathology	Saed Sadeghi, MD Hematopathology	Sheila Segura, MD Cytopathology	Wei Zhang, MD, PhD GI/Liver

Welcome Back!  

  

 Bing Han, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in Pathology, Division of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, has joined the Weiss Laboratory. Dr. Han comes to Einstein from the State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, where he earned his doctoral degree. He previously trained in the Weiss Laboratory as a visiting student. 

  

Congratulations! 

Newly Minted PhDs  

The following graduate students successfully defended their doctoral theses:

 Nicole Anayannis PhD   

Mentor: Michael B. Prystowsky, MD, PhD 

Thesis Topic: “HPV-16 E2 Disruption and E6 and E7 Expression in Relation to Clinical Outcome in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma”

 

 Ignacio Guerrero-Ros, PhD 

Mentor:  Fernando Macian-Juan, MD, PhD  

Thesis Topic: “Lipid Challenge Negatively Affects Macroautophagy and Results in Reduced CD4 + T Cell Function” 

 

 Mike Veenstra, PhD  

Mentor: Joan W. Berman, PhD 

Thesis Topic: “Mechanisms of Viral Seeding and Inflammation of CNS: Potential Therapeutics and Biomarkers for NeuroAIDS”

 

 Rama R. Yakubu, PhD   

Mentor: Louis M. Weiss, MD, MPH 

Thesis Topic: “The Arginine Monomethylome of Toxoplasma gondii and an examination of the role of MAG-1”  

Dr. Yakubu, an MD/PhD candidate, is currently working toward his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

 

Recent Programs and Events  

Welcome Breakfast for New Residents - July 5   

The five incoming residents received a warm welcome from the Pathology Department’s faculty, residents and staff. Click to view photo. 

  

Residents Farewell Dinner - June 8   

Outgoing residents Evan Himchak, MD; Etan Marks, DO; Lauren McLemore, DO; Gloria Ramos-Rivera, MD; and Elizabeth Stuart Richards, MD, were honored at a festive celebration held at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY. Michael Prystowsky, MD, PhD, Professor and University Chair of Pathology at Montefiore and Einstein, congratulated the residents, thanked them for their outstanding dedication and service, and wished them well.  

All five residents were accepted to prestigious fellowship programs: Dr. Himchak in hematopathology (ACGME) at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA; Dr. Marks in hematopathology at NYU Langone Health; Dr. McLemore in surgical pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX ; Dr. Ramos-Rivera in cytology at Montefiore. Dr. Richards is currently completing a fellowship in gastrointestinal and hepatopathology, University of Washington, Seattle. She will begin a second fellowship in general surgical pathology at Stanford University.  

The Davidoff Society Student Award went to Drs. Evan Himchak, Etan Marks and Gloria Ramos-Rivera, for their outstanding service as chief residents. Dr. Amy S. Fox presented the Resident Research Award to Dr. Marks. 

Pathology Department Annual Retreat 2017 - May 30  

Highlights of this year’s Pathology Department Annual Retreat included a poster session featuring the work of 30 students, post-docs, residents and fellows; oral presentations by predoctoral fellows Alex K. Ray (Mentor: Dr. Bridget Shafit-Zagardo), Rama R. Yakubu (Mentor: Dr. Louis M. Weiss), Matias Jaureguiberry-Bravo (Mentor: Dr. Joan W. Berman) and Mike Veenstra (Mentor: Dr. Joan W. Berman). Keynote speaker Alex Y. Huang, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics, pathology, BME and general medical sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, gave an inspiring presentation on “Cdk5 and PD-L1: Modulators of Immune Responses.” Click to view photo gallery.     

See, Test & Treat 2017 - May 13   

Funded by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation, See, Test & Treat offers uninsured and underinsured women from the Bronx free cancer screenings, onsite test results and referrals to follow up care. The Pathology Department spearheads this annual program at Montefiore in collaboration with the Departments of Radiology and of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health. Click to read more and view photos.  

 

 Medical Laboratory Professionals Week 2017 - April 23 - 29   

The Montefiore-Einstein community marked this year’s Medical Laboratory Professionals Week with a series of educational programs and social events. Themed All-Stars Laboratory Team: Teaming Up for Patient Care, activities were held on all campuses to honor the diverse and dedicated group of individuals from the Montefiore-Einstein Pathology Department who staff our medical laboratories. Click to view photo gallery.