Annual Meeting Speaker Highlights
Meet Your Faculty:
Louis Aledort, MD, MACP
Moderator, Innovations in COVID-19 Management and Long Hauler Patients
Dr. Louis Aledort is a board-certified internist and hematologist who began his Mount Sinai career in 1966. A former Dean for Faculty and Hospital Affairs at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Aledort has been The Mary Weinfeld Professor of Clinical Research in Hemophilia since 1993. Dr. Aledort earned his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University as a member of its first graduating class, in 1959. He continued his studies as a resident at the University of Virginia and at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, where he also had a Hematology Fellowship. From Rochester, Dr. Aledort joined Mount Sinai, where he has remained for 45 years. A pioneer in the study and treatment of coagulation disorders, Dr. Aledort continues to be the one of the world’s leading authorities on hemophilia. He has long been at the forefront of developing comprehensive care for hemophilia, including creating The Mount Sinai Regional Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Center, which has been designated as a World Health Organization Global Cooperating Training Center in Coagulation Diseases. He has been involved in this field for over 50 years, through his academic research and community and service efforts. Dr. Aledort has been a leader in the design and implementation of several groundbreaking collaborative study groups, including the U.S. Hemophilia Study Group, the Transfusion Safety Study, and the Orthopedic Outcome Study. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals, including Haemophilia, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and the American Journal of Hematology. Dr. Aledort is Master of the College and NYACP Laurate Award winner.
Louis Aronne, MD, FACP
Weighing in on Obesity Management: Diet, Pharmacotherapy and Surgery
Dr. Louis Aronne is a leading authority on obesity and its treatment. He is the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research and the director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center, a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary obesity research and treatment center in the division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Weill Cornell Medicine. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Aronne is a founder and past chairman of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and a past president of The Obesity Society. He is a founder and Executive Chairman of Intellihealth, a cloud-based weight management system for healthcare providers.
He completed his internship and residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Jacobi Medical Center, followed by a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Fellowship in General Internal Medicine at New
York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Aronne has been an investigator on more than 50 trials of obesity treatment modalities including medications, devices, and diets. He has authored more than 100 papers and book chapters on obesity,
and edited the National Institutes of Health’s Practical Guide to Obesity Treatment. He served as a consultant to the VA Weight Management/Physical Activity Executive Council in the development of the
MOVE! Program, the nation’s largest medically based weight control program. Dr. Aronne has won many awards, including the 2015 Atkinson-Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service from The Obesity
Society, and several for medical teaching, including the Davidoff Prize from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Elliot Hochstein Award from Weill Cornell Medical College. Since 2001, he has appeared
annually in Castle-Connolly’s Top Doctors directory as a specialist in obesity and internal medicine.
Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD
Medical Education and Why It's Important to you
Medical education is crucial for training and coaching health care providers, including medical students, residents, and faculty. Med Ed should be recognized as a critical step in developing future generation clinicians, educators and can also serve as a future career choice.
This session will provide medical educators with the skills needed to approach modern learners using creative approaches such as flipped classrooms, virtual learning, simulation, and other instructive methods. We will also discuss making things count twice and how to build your education portfolio, including becoming involved in medical education research.
Why is my topic important?
Med Ed tends to get less attention in academia and is expected to be assimilated through prior training experiences. This one-hour session will allow you to enhance your career by improving skills in teaching, research, and academic advancement as an educator.
Why should members attend this topic?
Dr. Braunstein and Dr. Gambhir are both medical educators in an academic institute and serve as mentors to fellows and residents respectively. They have extensive experience in medical education and have presented prior talks for NYACP on medical education during the pandemic. This concise and interactive session will enhance skills that many NYACP members possess as medical educators but are eager to hone to advance their career and ability to teach the next generation of physicians.
Dr. Braunstein is Assistant Professor of Medicine and an academic Hematologist/Oncologist at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Hospital--Long Island. He serves as Program Director for the Hematology/Oncology fellowship, Co-Directs the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant program at NYU Long Island, and is also a member of the Admissions Executive Committee at NYU Long Island School of Medicine. Dr. Braunstein received his MD and PhD degrees from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, completed his residency at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health, and his hematology/oncology fellowship at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Braunstein is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology.
Dr. Braunstein has a passion for medical education and has received accolades for his work, including being voted Teaching Attending of the Year by his fellowship program, serving as Hematology Organ System Co-Director for the NYU Long Island School of Medicine, as well as being selected for the 2020 American Society of Hematology Medical Educators Institute. In addition, Dr. Braunstein serves on the Board of Trustees for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Long Island Chapter, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Technology Research Group, and NYACP Early Career Task Force. His writing can also be found on OncLive, KevinMD, Healio, and NEJM Resident 360.
Manish Butte, MD, PhD
Immune Responses and Immunomodulation for COVID-19
Manish J. Butte, MD PhD is the E. Richard Stiehm Endowed Chair and Professor with tenure in the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA, and Division Chief of Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology. He studied Physics and also earned his M.D. at Brown University. He then studied structural biology at UCSF and graduated with a Ph.D. in Biophysics. Returning to clinical training, he completed a Pediatrics residency at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a clinical fellowship in Allergy & Immunology at Boston Children's Hospital. He did post-doctoral research at Harvard and worked on T-cell inhibitory pathways and chemistry. He spent his junior faculty years at Stanford University (2009-2016) and moved to UCLA in late 2016.
A major research focus of his lab is to study T cells, the coordinating cells of the immune response, with a specific focus on infections, autoimmunity, vaccines, and cancer. This work has been funded by the NIH, NSF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and philanthropy. Dr. Butte's lab has trained 8 PhD students (5 completed and 3 currently), 6 postdocs (5 completed, 1 currently), and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students. His lab has published over 100 papers with over 14,000 citations. He was awarded the Stiehm Endowed Chair in 2019 and elected into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2021. Dr. Butte was named a Fellow of the Clinical Immunology Society in 2021.
Inderpal Chhabra, MD, FACP
Past, Present and Future of Telemedicine: Small Practice Telehealth
Dr. Inderpal Chhabra earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from Maulana Azad Medical College, University of Delhi, India in 1991. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Brookdale University Medical Center in 1996. Dr. Chhabra is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of The American College of Physicians. He has extensive experience in healthcare as a leader, as President of the Queens County Medical Society in 2005, and as President of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center Medical Staff Society. He has been a Medical director of a major New York Metro area health Plan. Dr. Chhabra is a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York and has served as the President of Queens County Medical Society in 2005-2006. He has also served as the President of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center Medical Staff Society.
Dr. Chhabra and Dalbir Chhabra MD, are the founders of Lefferts Medical Associates PC in 2003 with the vision of creating a medical practice that treats every patient with dignity and first-rate care.
TS Dharmarajan, MD, MACP, AGSF, FRCP(E)
Pandemic and Goals of Life Care: Timely Implementation of Advanced Directives
- Why is this topic important? Based on the Patient Self Determination Act, patients must be offered a right to execute an Advance Directive to enable them to have a right to facilitate their own health care decisions and exercise the right to accept or refuse treatment. In practice, Advance Care Planning does not take place as often as it should, due to several barriers that exist at the patient or provider level. Timely Advance Care Planning (ACP) implementation enables patients to receive health care in accordance to their prior or current expressed wishes.
- Why should members attend? The session will provide members an overview of the concept of ACP, the approach to the process and barriers involved; without an understanding of ACP, providers of care may not provide care that is consistent with the patient's wishes and goals.
T. S. Dharmarajan MD is the Vice-Chairman, Department of Medicine, Clinical Director, Division of Geriatrics and the Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program at Montefiore Medical Center (Wakefield Campus) Bronx, a University Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), Bronx, New York. He is currently Professor of Medicine, AECOM and Adjunct Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College. He was formerly Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York and Chairman, Department of Medicine, at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, until its transition to Montefiore Medical Center.
Dr. Dharmarajan is certified by the American Boards in Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Geriatric Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society, In April 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Mastership of the American College of Physicians (MACP); he received the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh (FRCPE) in November 2018.
Dr. Dharmarajan was instrumental in developing a large inpatient geriatric medicine program at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Bronx (currently Montefiore Medical Center, Wakefield Campus), with recognized clinical, academic and research components, including a fully accredited fellowship program in Geriatrics with a complement of up to10 fellows. Dr. Dharmarajan is a regular speaker at local, national and international meetings. Some of his numerous recognitions and awards in Medicine include: “Teacher of the Year”; “Peer to Peer” recognition by the Bronx County Society; Dedication as Teacher and Mentor to young Physicians in the Bronx (from American Assn. of Physicians of Indian origin), Unparalleled Leadership in the Medical Community for medicine and research (from the Bronx County Society) and others. In April 2013, he was featured on the cover of AgingWell magazine, as one of five noteworthy geriatricians.
Andrew Dunn, MD, MACP
COVID Guidelines for Hospitalists
Dr. Dunn received his medical degree at the New York University School of Medicine. He performed his internship and residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center and stayed on as faculty after completion. He is currently professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine in the Department of Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System. His research interests are in anticoagulation and thrombosis, most specifically in venous thromboembolism, atrial fibrillation, and the perioperative management of warfarin.
Dr. Dunn has collaborated and led national studies in this field, including a multicenter North American study on the perioperative management of oral anticoagulation. He lectures nationally on various topics in anticoagulation and has written numerous journal articles, including perioperative bridging therapy, outpatient treatment of deep vein thrombosis, and the prevention of venous thromboembolism for medical inpatients. His work has been published in the American Journal of Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis, and NEJM. In addition, Dr. Dunn is a co-author of the American College of Chest Physician’s guidelines on anticoagulation and thrombosis. Dr. Dunn is a Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP), Past-Chair of the ACP’s Board of Regents and Fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicine,
Harvir Singh Gambhir, MD, FACP
Medical Education and Why It's Important to your Career
This session will provide medical educators with the skills needed to approach modern learners using creative approaches such as flipped classrooms, virtual learning, simulation, and other instructive methods. We will also discuss making things count twice and how to build your education portfolio, including becoming involved in medical education research.
Why is my topic important? Med Ed tends to get less attention in academia and is expected to be assimilated through prior training experiences. This one-hour session will allow you to enhance your career by improving skills in teaching, research, and academic advancement as an educator.
Why should members attend this topic? Dr. Braunstein and Dr. Gambhir are both medical educators in an academic institute and serve as mentors to fellows and residents respectively. They have extensive experience in medical education and have presented prior talks for NYACP on medical education during the pandemic. This concise and interactive session will enhance skills that many NYACP members possess as medical educators but are eager to hone to advance their career and ability to teach the next generation of physicians.
Dr. Harvir S Gambhir is an Assistant Professor, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine and Associate Program Director for Internal Medicine Residency Program, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York. He serves as Associate Vice-Chair for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Program, Department of Medicine. Dr. Gambhir did his residency, chief residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He is Councilor for Upstate at Large for NYACP and also serves as a Co-Chair for ECTF for NYACP. He has keen interest in improving communication between physicians and patients and his educational interest are in leadership and mentorship.
Eric Goldberg, MD, FACP
Past, Present and Future of Telemedicine: Treatment and Management of Chronic Illness
Telemedicine allowed physicians to maintain connection with patients during the pandemic. It remains a useful tool to manage patients with chronic illnesses. Real world experience at how to leverage technology into the patient experience, utilize staff and ancillary testing will be discussed.
Eric R. Goldberg, MD FACP is a Board Certified General Internist and Fellow of the American College of Physicians. After a 3 year stay in Phoenix, AZ, Dr. Goldberg has returned to New York City and is Senior Medical Director for the Department of Medicine Faculty Group Practices; Section Chief, Tisch/Kimmel for the Division of General Medicine and Clinical Innovation. He practices Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Health Internal Medicine Associates. As an Internist, Dr. Goldberg takes the lead in helping patients indentify risks to future health and well-being; prevent problems, and find the diagnoses that threaten their health today.
Dr. Goldberg has a special interest in autoimmune diseases and athletic training. He has been a clinical leader in Information Technology efforts throughout his career. He served as the Assistant Director of Clinical Informatics at NYU Langone Medical Center, and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine.In addition to his clinical practice and informatics efforts, he was a Board Member and Treasurer of the New York Preventative Cardiovascular Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of physicians to prevent heart disease. Dr. Goldberg was also the Director of Communications for NYCLIX, Inc - the New York Clinical Information Exchange, a non-profit organization working to enable clinical information exchange between most of the hospitals in the in New York Metropolitan area, writing the first NIH funding grant to enable the creation of NYCLIX.
John Hall, MD, FACP
Women's Health: Pre-Conception Counseling in Primary Care
Why is my topic important? Many women of childbearing age have chronic medical conditions. Yet many women enter pregnancy without preconception counseling.
Why should members attend this topic? To understand the important aspects of preconception counseling and basic concepts of medication management in relation to pregnancy.
Dr. Hall graduated from The SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1992 and completed his Internal Medicine Residency, including an Internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology, in 1996
Dr. Hall is Managing Partner at R&B Medical Group, Internal Medicine and Obstetric Medicine practice in Buffalo, NY. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Hall is passionate about teaching Medical Students and Residents in both Internal Medicine and Obstetric Medicine, mainly directed through the Catholic Health System in Buffalo at Sisters of Charity Hospital. Dr. Hall is also on Faculty at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Buffalo, as an Associate Professor of Medicine and a Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Hall serves as an Associate Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. As a member of the Internal Medicine Residency Clinical Competency Committee, he is responsible for Resident education in Women’s Health.
Much of Dr. Hall’s career is related to involvement in Obstetric Medicine, which is dedicated to caring for the medically complex pregnant patient. Dr. Hall continues to be involved in Obstetric Medicine teaching and research. He previously served on the North American Society of Obstetric Medicine Executive Committee from 2008-2011. He is a current member of the NASOM Academic and Research Subcommittee.
Dr. Hall holds a Certificate in Travel Health through the International Society of Travel Medicine. This intersects with Internal Medicine and Obstetric Medicine as it relates to his interest in the care of the pregnant traveler.
Dr. Hall is Governor- Elect for the Upstate Region of the NY Chapter ACP. He serves on the NYACP Council Board and on the Buffalo District Planning Committee. Dr. Hall also serves on the NYACP Member Engagement and Education Committees. Dr. Hall is actively involved as a judge for many National and Chapter research forums and competitions. Dr. Hall is the 2018 NYACP Laureate Award winner.
Viren Kaul, MD, FACP
Pulmonary Medicine: Asthma and COPD
This session will cover evidence-based updates in the diagnosis and management of asthma and COPD, including covering the high yield points from the 2021 GINA guidelines and COPD GOLD updates.
Why is my topic important? Asthma and COPD are two of commonest respiratory conditions encountered both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Appropriate diagnosis is key to ensure the initiation and maintenance of treatment for both conditions.
Why should members attend this topic? The updated GINA guidelines provide the impetus for a shift in the management of asthma while the GOLD guidelines reinforce considerations in the diagnosis and management of COPD. Thus this session will be pertinent for clinicians across a wide practice spectrum.
Viren is a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Crouse Health and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University. His clinical interests include airway management, pleural diseases, ILDs and pulmonary hypertension.
Dr. Kaul has published and actively researches application of technology and social media for enhancement of patient centered care as well as medical education. Dr. Kaul received his FACP from the American College of Physicians and is an active member for the NY Chapter. Dr. Kaul is Chair of the Chapters Member Engagement Committee and Vice Chair of the Residents committee and participates on the Education Committee. Dr. Kaul has produced and spoke on several webinars and education sessions for the NY Chapter ACP and is currently Co-chair of the Chapter's Leadership Academy.
When not at work, he loves spending time outdoors with his family, especially, his wife Lauren and two pups: Shae and Gordon.
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Stanislaw Klek, MD
Managing Osteoporosis
This session will cover evidence based guidelines on the screening, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in post-menopausal females.
Stanislaw P. Klek joined NYU Winthrop Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in August 2016. Following the completion of high school, he attended Poznan University of Medical Science's six-year MD program, graduating in 2009. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at NYU Winthrop Hospital, after which he was selected to serve as Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Klek stayed on at NYU Winthrop Hospital to complete his fellowship training in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Dr. Klek is actively engaged in the education of students, residents and fellows on the hospital treatment of hyperglycemia and DKA management via simulation training. He currently serves as the Associate Program Director for the Endocrine, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship Program, and Medical Director of Diabetes Care at NYU Langone Long Island Diabetes and Endocrinology. He is the course director for the Endocrine and Reproductive organ system and a mentor for students in the Learning Communities at NYU Long Island School of Medicine.
Dr. Klek's clinical and research interests include the treatment of diabetes, where he is studying the management of DKA utilizing Glucostabilizer.
Peter Marks, MD, PhD, FACP
Evidence-Based Management of Long COVID-19
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration. The center is responsible for assuring the safety and effectiveness of biological products, including vaccines, allergenic products, blood and blood products, and cellular, tissue, and gene therapies.
Dr. Marks and center staff are committed to facilitating the development of biological products and providing oversight throughout the product life cycle. Examples of these activities include: reviewing and providing advice during product development; evaluating applications and making approval decisions based on safety and effectiveness data; monitoring the safety of biological products; conducting research that supports product development and characterization
"The center regulates and does research on complex biologic products that touch people's lives on a daily basis," says Dr. Marks. "Many of the products that we regulate are vital for promoting and protecting the public health, including vaccines, blood products, and tissues for transplantation. I'm very proud to lead a team of highly committed individuals whose efforts help to ensure the timely development of safe and effective products to meet important medical needs."
Dr. Peter Marks received his graduate degree in cell and molecular biology and his medical degree at New York University. Following this, he completed an Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Medical Oncology fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he subsequently joined the attending staff as a clinician-scientist and eventually served as Clinical Director of Hematology.
He then moved on to work for several years in the pharmaceutical industry on the clinical development of hematology and oncology products prior to returning to academic medicine at Yale University where he led the Adult Leukemia Service and served as Chief Clinical Officer of Smilow Cancer Hospital. He joined the FDA in 2012 as Deputy Center Director for CBER and became Center Director in 2016. Dr. Marks is board certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Naveed Masani, MD, FACP
NYACP Education Committee and Planning Committee Chair
Naveed Masani, MD, FACP is Assistant Professor of Medicine at SUNY Stonybrook and is Attending Nephrologist, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Winthrop University Hospital.
Dr. Masani serves as Co-Chair for the Winthrop University Hospital Department of Medicine’s Quality Improvement Committee since 2010. Dr. Masani is currently Medical Director for the Outpatient Dialysis Unit at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola and is Acting Medical Director for Dialysis Unit at Glen Gariff Rehabilitation Facility since 2011. Dr. Masani is Board Certified in both ABIM Nephrology and ABIM Internal Medicine. Dr. Masani has written several publications and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member of multiple other organizations.
Dr. Masani earned his Medical Degree from State University of NY at Stony Brook, and completed his residency and fellowship at NYU Winthrop. Dr. Masani won the NYACP Laureate Award in 2015 and is Chair of the NYACP’s Education Committee.
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Parag Mehta, MD, FACP
NYACP Governor, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island Region
NYACP Chapter President
Dr. Parag Mehta, MD FACP is the Senior Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at New York Methodist Hospital, affiliated with New York Presbyterian Hospital System. He is also the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Weil Medical College, a Cornell University affiliate.
He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Hospital Medicine, as well as Hospice & Palliative Care Medicine, Integrative and Holistic Medicine. He is also certified in Health Information Technology. Prior to coming to the United States from India, he was trained in a technical school of engineering. Afterwards, he went onto study medicine at NHL Medical College which is one of the top schools in Gujarat, India. Upon graduating Medical School in 1986, he was trained and board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1989 at Gujarat University, where he received training in microsurgery, laparoscopy, and uro-gynecology. Later, he was a Master Trainer for the US Agency for International Development. He practiced OB/GYN until 1995. He did his residency in Internal Medicine at New York Methodist Hospital. As an internal medicine resident, he was awarded Best Resident and he stayed on the program as a faculty attending.
Dr. Mehta is extremely passionate about teaching and founded the New York Methodist (NYM) Board Review Course in 1999. He has been awarded Best Teacher and Best Research Mentor Award on numerous occasions. He is clearly very well-liked as a NYM faculty member as he is a dedicated and compassionate clinician with a large faculty practice. He is a strong advocate for resident education, patient safety, and quality improvement. His students respect and admire him as a teacher as he continuously strives to help them fulfill their goals. He always pushes his students to reach their full potential and to succeed in the future as physicians.
As CMIO, he has successfully implemented an electronic health record system and his efforts have transformed EHR efficacy and have allowed NYM to be among the top hospitals in the United States with Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) level 6. He is able to find simple, creative and new solutions to complex problems by applying his superb clinical acumen and by using his analytical skills. He was the team leader of several successfully implemented programs.
He is an energetic leader who is active with American College of Physician (ACP), American Medical Association (AMA), American Association of physician from Indian origin (AAPI), Medical Society of state of New York (MSSNY), American College of Physician Executive (ACPE) and many other charitable organizations. He is the councilor of MSSNY and has played a leadership role in many organizations. He was the President of Resident Fellow Section of the NYACP, President of Brooklyn district of the NYACP, Chair of Young Physician Section of MSSNY, President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kings County Medical Society. His many accomplishments include several accolades from different organizations including the most prestigious Laureate Award from the New York chapter of ACP, Healers' hall of fame award, and community award by Town of North Hempstead.
Dr. Mehta has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and is on an endless quest to learn new things. With his years of experience as a clinician, administrator, and teacher, he takes the utmost pride having trained many generations of young and enthusiastic physicians. He feels privileged to have made a difference in the lives of his many patients.
Al Mercado, Esq.
Fager Amsler Keller & Schoppmann
Past , Present and Future of Telemedicine: Medical Liability Risk
The expansion of telehealth has expanded opportunities for patient care, but also expanded potential legal risks. We will be identifying and discussing the legal risks of telehealth including cybersecurity, HIPAA compliance, fraud investigations, and potential malpractice liability. We will discuss telehealth and technical safeguards to minimize these risks.
This topic is important because physicians should understand the varied legal risks associated with the use telehealth. Members will begin to learn what legal risks are associated with telehealth and ways to minimize legal risks.
Al Anthony Mercado is the Managing Attorney of the Downstate Region for Fager Amsler Keller & Schoppmann, LLP. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Mr. Mercado practices in the fields of professional liability, premises liability, insurance litigation, and healthcare law.
Mr. Mercado litigates cases in both the New York state and federal courts involving professional malpractice, general negligence, contractual issues, and insurance coverage. He has successfully litigated insurance coverage cases at the trial and appellate level, and has prepared and successfully argued appeals in various appellate courts in New York State, including motions to the Court of Appeals.
As a counselor-at-law, Mr. Mercado regularly provides risk management advice to physicians, dentists, hospitals, and medical organizations throughout New York State on various risk management topics. In doing so, Mr. Mercado provides practical guidance on many medical-legal and regulatory issues.
Mr. Mercado has presented lectures to various organizations and medical societies, including the Richmond County Medical Society, the Myanmar American Medical Education Society, the Nassau County Dental Society, the New York State Dental Association, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, and the MLMIC Insurance Company, as well as numerous hospitals throughout the New York metropolitan area. Moreover, he was featured with ophthalmologist John Lombardo, MD, in a highly rated risk management module on the medical-legal issues surrounding LASIK procedures. Similarly, Mr. Mercado has authored and published articles on various legal and risk management topics.
Mr. Mercado is admitted to practice law in New York State and the Eastern District of the State of New York (1993). He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, 1989) and Hofstra University School of Law (1992). Mr. Mercado is a member of the New York State Bar Association as well as the Suffolk County Bar Association.
Connie Newman, MD, MACP
Update on Lipid Management
Connie B. Newman, MD is an endocrinologist and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and a graduate of Wellesley College and Weill Cornell Medical College. She is Board certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and by the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She works as an attending physician in the weight management clinic of the New York VA Harbor Medical Center. Dr. Newman has made significant contributions to cardiovascular medicine through her work on the efficacy and safety of the statin class of medications, taken by about 25 million people in the United States. She is Chair of the writing committee for an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline on the management of cholesterol and triglycerides in patients with endocrine disorders, and was Chair of the writing committee for the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Statement on statin safety. Dr. Newman is an appointed member of the FDA Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Newman has a long standing interest in medical education and serves on the Education Committee of the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians.
Committed to the advancement of women in medicine, and health and gender equity, Dr. Newman writes and lectures on equity in the medical profession, and burnout in women physicians. She served as the 2018-2019 President of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), and led the development of a three year strategic plan for AMWA. She is a Founding Member of TIME’S UP Healthcare. Dr. Newman is the 2020 recipient of the AMWA Bertha Van Hoosen Award, named for the founder of AMWA. She is also featured in “20 Women, 20 Years”, an online exhibit of the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation.
Dedicated to helping other women pursue a medical career, Dr. Newman mentors pre-medical and medical students, and young physicians through the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), Wellesley College, NYU, and Weill Cornell Medicine. In 2011, she founded the Wellesley in Medicine Group, a network of over 1000 pre-medical and medical students, and physicians of all ages, that participate in online conversations on topics such as medical training, career paths, work-life balance, and gender discrimination.
Dr. Newman is working with AMWA to incorporate into the medical school curriculum information about sex and gender influences on disease presentation, diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Newman is co-editor of a new clinical textbook related to this topic. The book, “How Sex and Gender Impact Clinical Practice: An Evidence Based Approach to Patient Care”, will be published by Elsevier in 2020.
Oliver Panzer, MD
Point -of- Care Ultrasound
Oliver Panzer, MD, has lead the POCUS initiative in his department at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) since 2007 and has developed perioperative ultrasound workshops and lectures for multiple classes of residents, critical care fellows, faculty, and advanced care practitioners at CUMC, nationally and internationally. Since 2010, he has been the director of perioperative ultrasonography in the CUMC Department of Anesthesiology and leads the Department of Critical Care and Perioperative Ultrasound curriculum.
Dr. Panzer joined the faculty in the Divisions of Regional Anesthesia and Critical Care after his critical care fellowship at CUMC. He has trained many fellows and faculty in other departments at CUMC. Dr. Panzer is particularly interested in using POCUS in cardiac arrest situations and the evaluation of the right heart in LVAD patients, as well as the assessment of volume responsiveness. His goal is to promote the safe and accurate use of POCUS in the field of anesthesiology and critical care to improve patient care and outcomes.
Sahil Parikh, MD
A Sticky Situation: Update on Anti-platelets and Anti-Coagulants in Cardiovascular Disease
Parikh is the Director of Endovascular Services and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. His clinical practice focuses on complex coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease (including claudication and critical limb ischemia), renovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and venous disease and thrombosis. He has won numerous teaching awards locally and co-directs several national educational programs for physicians in training and for continuing medical education in conjunction with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, the American College of Cardiology, and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. His research interests focus on novel endovascular devices for the treatment of vascular disease, and he has been the site and national principal investigator for several clinical trials and has authored more than 50 original manuscripts and reviews.
Dr. Parikh grew up in northern New Jersey and went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard College with an AB in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering; he then earned his MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, completed his internal medicine residency and chief residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and did his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a vascular medicine and intervention fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, vascular medicine, and endovascular intervention.
Anthony Saleh, MD, FACP
Tackling Dry Crackles: Approach to Interstitial Lung Disease for the Internist
We will be discussing the approach to patients with Interstitial Lung Disease, as well as differential diagnosis, management, etc.
This topic is extremely important because these diseases are common and frequently misdiagnosed as other, more common entities like COPD and asthma.
Members should attend this topic because these are common entities and it would serve members well to understand the approach to these patients.
Dr. Saleh, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and Program Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Director, Respiratory Care Unit and Associate Director, Interventional Pulmonology. Dr. Saleh's area of interest are Lung Cancer, Interventional Pulmonary, Interstitial Lung Disease. Dr. Saleh is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine. Dr. Saleh is a member of the Executive Committee of the Medical Board of New York Methodist Hospital and Member of the Board of Trustee's. Dr. Saleh has received numerous academic awards and special achievements along with publishing numerous articles and scholarly activities.
John Sellick, DO, FACP
Things We Learned During the Pandemic
Dr. Sellick is an Infectious Disease expert at University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine, where he is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He is the Infectious Diseases Section Chief and Hospital Epidemiologist for the Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System and Hospital Epidemiologist for multi–hospital Kaleida Health, both in Buffalo. His primary patient care activities involve hospitalized patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VA) in Buffalo and also has an outpatient clinic at UB’s Student Health Center.
Dr. Sellick has served on multiple committees at both hospital systems and currently chairs the Antibiotic Subcommittee at Kaleida Health, the Research and Development Committee at VAWNYHS and the Infection Prevention Committees at both institutions. He chaired the SUNY–wide Ebola Task Force Medical Specialty Subgroup. He has been extensively involved with COVID-19 response at the University of Buffalo and both hospital systems.
Dr. Sellick is faculty for first- and second-year medical students in lectures and small group sessions, primarily in the microbiology, respiration, musculoskeletal and reproductive modules. He also teaches third- and fourth-year medical students, residents, and fellows on the infectious diseases and internal medicine services at the VA. He has provided frequent advice for many media outlets in Buffalo and nationally, particularly related to COVID-19 topics.
Anita Szerszen, DO, FACP
Pandemic and Goals of Care: Telemedicine in Goals of Care
Why is this topic important? Goals of Care (GOC) discussion is an essential component of care for older adults and requires time and focus to fully understand patient’s values and expectations that might be changing as they age. As such, GOC should not be a single conversation but rather a recurring discussion throughout patients’ health and aging trajectories. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, telemedicine use among older adults has increased. Video conferencing platform can serve as a tool to engage patients and their families in GOC discussions at the convenience and privacy of their homes. It can also facilitate access to other members of the interdisciplinary care team improving the quality of shared decision making.
Why should members attend? To receive practical tips to conduct an efficient goals-of-care discussion provided virtually, to understand steps needed to legally document and bill for such services and to learn about current Medicare reimbursement for goals of care/advance care planning.
Dr. Szerszen is Associate Director, Geriatric Medicine, Chair of Institutional Review Board at State Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, Staten Island, NY. Dr. Szerszen is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Szerszen was Councilor for the NY Chapter ACP and currently participates on the Chapter's Geriatric Task Force.
Jeffrey Weitz, MD, FACP
Innovations in COVID-19 Management and Long Hauler Patients: Thromboembolism: A Major Challenge in COVID Management
Jeffrey I. Weitz is a Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University and Executive Director of the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute in Hamilton, Canada. Board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Dr. Weitz now focuses his clinical work in the area of thrombosis. Dr. Weitz holds the Heart and Stroke Foundation J.F. Mustard Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Research and the Canada Research Chair in Thrombosis. He has received numerous awards including the Medal in Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians in 1990, the Innovator Award from McMaster University in 2010, and the Special Recognition Award in Thrombosis from the American Heart Association in 2011. He directs a research laboratory that focuses on the biochemistry of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis as it applies to venous and arterial thrombosis.
Dr. Weitz has authored over 350 peer-reviewed papers and 50 textbook chapters. He is co-editor of Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice, 6th Edition