To honor the legacy of the late Commonwealth Fund president Margaret E. Mahoney, the Commonwealth Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the New York Academy of Medicine, and other founding donors have created a new fellowship program for health professional students, focused on transforming health care delivery systems for vulnerable populations and early childhood development and prevention.
The Margaret E. Mahoney Fellowships will provide stipends to support medical, dental, nursing, public health, and public policy students to participate in eight- to 10-week research and policy projects focused on addressing the health needs of vulnerable urban populations. Projects must be conducted with or supervised by a senior professional mentor in an academic, government, or nonprofit institution in the Greater New York/New Jersey area.
For more information, or to apply to the fellowship, please visit: http://www.nyam.org/awards-grants/student-grants/margaret-e-mahoney-fellowships/.
The 2018 awardees were:
Mateo Mendoza, MD Candidate, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
- Mentor: Lisa Diamond, MD, MPH, FACP, Assistant Attending Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences | Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Project: Language Barriers to Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment: A Systematic Review.
Jeremy Ziring, MD Candidate, New York University School of Medicine
- Mentor: Spriha Gogia, PhD, MPH, Associate Director, Office of Population Health, NYC Health + Hospitals
- Project: The Implementation of Population-wide Risk Stratification
Joseph Geiger, DDS Candidate, New York University College of Dentistry
- Mentor: Richard Niederman, DMD, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, Director, WHO Collaborating Center (WHO CC) for Quality-improvement Evidence-based Dentistry (QED), New York University College of Dentistry
- Project: State Level Variation in Practice acts and the Impact on Access to Health
Kurt Koehler, MD Candidate, Temple University, Lewis Katz School of Medicine
- Mentor: Regina Jacob, MD, MSCE, General Internist and Clinician educator, Temple University, Lewis Katz School of Medicine
- Project: Trauma Alert! How Social Complexity Contributes to Medical Complexity
Cilgy Abraham, PhD Candidate, Columbia University School of Nursing
- Mentor: Lusine Poghosyan, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN Assistant Professor, Columbia University School of Nursing
- Project: Primary Care Provider Burnout and Patient Care for Non-English-speaking minorities in New York.
Annie Yang, MD Candidate, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
- Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Tsui, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
- Project: Characterizing the Quality of Care received by New Jersey Medicaid patients with Advanced cancer and identifying areas for Care Improvement for Patients with Advanced Cancer
Katherine Donovan, MD Candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Mentor: Ray Cornbill, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, East Harlem Community Health Committee (EHCHC).
- Project: Exploration of Specific Interventions to Address Unmet Mental Healthcare Needs in East Harlem.
Arushi Atluri, DDS Candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
- Mentor: Burton Edelstein DDS, MPH, Professor of Dental Medicine and Health Policy & Management at Columbia University Medical Center Chair, Section of Population Oral Health, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
- Project: Assessing the healthcare changes underway in the U.S. and their implications for the careers of today’s dental students
The 2017 awardees were:
James Blum (M.D. Candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) will be identifying quality interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in very low birth weight morbidity and mortality, under the guidance of Elizabeth Howell, MPP MD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Professor of Population Health Science & Policy, Associate Dean for Academic Development, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Daniel Bu (M.D. Candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) will be using the concept of time-driven activity based costing to gauge the cost of transforminal lumbar interbody fusion, under the guidance of Sheeraz Qureshi, MD MBA, Associate Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, Head, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery.
Brielle Cardieri (M.D. Candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) will be studying the impact of small tests of change at the practice level to evaluate how they impact patient experience and provider satisfaction, under the guidance of Stella Safo, MD MPH, Primary Care Physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of Health System Design at the Arnold Institute for Global Health.
Hera Maryam (M.D. Candidate, Washington University School of Medicine) will be investigating strategies employed by student-run free clinics in meeting the needs of the communities they serve, under the guidance of Alexis Pozen, PhD, Assistant Professor, CUNY School of Public Health.
Lilian McKinley (M.D. Candidate, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons) will be analyzing the effectiveness of quality improvement measures for iron deficiency in the children seen at the Charles Rangel Community Clinic, under the guidance of Evelyn Berger-Jenkins MD MPH, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Child & Adolescent Health, Columbia University Medical Center.
Ngobitak Ndiwane (D.D.S. Candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) will be investigating age-related disparities in oral health literacy and dental anxiety at the Harlem United Community Aids Center, under the guidance of Carol Kunzel, PhD, Associate Professor of Dental Community Health and Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Director of research at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.
John Park (M.P.H. Candidate, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) will be characterizing health insurance coverage for AANHPI minorities in the metropolitan New York area, under the guidance of Simona Kwon, DrPH MPH, Assistant Professor, New York University School of Medicine, Director CSAAH.
Tiffany Taylor (M.P.H. Candidate, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health) will be evaluating the clinical alternative to punitive segregation in the New York City jail system, under the guidance of Sherry Glied, Ph.D., Dean, Professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
The 2016 awardees were:
David Boedeker (M.H.A. candidate, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University) will be examining HPV vaccination among minority populations through New York City public health programs, under the guidance of Dr. Ana Esteban, a physician with comprehensive experience in global health programming.
Catherine Dinh-Le (M.P.A. candidate, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University) will analyze the intersection between health literacy, limited English proficiency, and health technology. She will use this analysis to develop the framework for an intervention within the limited English proficiency communities, under the guidance of Regina Lee, Esq., at the Charles B. Wong Community Health Center.
Cooper B. Kersey (M.D. candidate, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) will study and assess if multidisciplinary teams decrease emergency department use in a large ambulatory care network that provides health care to mostly publically insured, low-income patients. She will work under the direction of Dr. Steven Shea and DR. Maria Hamm de Miguel at Columbia University.
Ivan Marquez (M.D. candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) will analyze institutional polices that aim to eliminate racial health disparities in diabetes control, under the guidance of Dr. Neil Calman of the Institute for Family Health.
Sarah McNabb (M.P.H. candidate, University of Washington) will research Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to evaluate and inform practice transformation policies in New York State. She will work under the guidance of Dr. Jason Wang of the Primary Care Information Project.
Samira M Pingali (M.P.H. candidate, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University) will design and develop an innovative and replicable curriculum that provides psychiatrists with the necessary tools to address the social determinants of mental health, under the guidance of Dr. Ruth Shim at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Sobia Rafiuddin (D.D.S. candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) will research and facilitate the inclusion of oral health within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's Home Visiting Program, under the guidance of Burton L. Edelstein, D.D.S., M.P.H., at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.
The 2015 awardees were:
Hewett Chiu (M.P.A. candidate, NYU Wagner School of Public Service) will analyze current community-based care coordination models and perform a gap analysis between the current state of collaborations and opportunities for improved integration and coordination of care, under the guidance of Professor John Billings at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Neal Emery (M.D. candidate, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) will analyze justice and access issues in Hepatitis C treatment under the guidance of Rita Charon, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.
Michael Fogge (D.D.S. candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) will contribute to the development of an operational plan for a comprehensive oral wellness program for Harlem and Washington Heights under the guidance of Dr. Burton Edelstein, Professor of Dental Medicine and Health Policy & Management at Columbia University Medical Center.
Jill Humphrey (M.P.H. candidate, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health) will contribute to an effort to improve access to quality vision services for NYC public school students, under the guidance of Caroline Volel, City Medical Specialist I with the Office of School Health in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Caleb McEntire (M.D. candidate, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) will design training materials for healthcare providers working with elderly LGBT patients, under the guidance of Walter Bockting, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Psychology at Columbia University.
Baho Sidiqi (B.S./M.D. candidate, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education) will contribute to research on the role of effectiveness and engaging members of the public in deliberative processes to guide policy decisions made by health care systems, under the guidance of Marthe Gold, M.D., M.P.H., Visiting Scholar at the New York Academy of Medicine.
Saeyoan Thirunavukkarasu (M.P.H. candidate, Hofstra University) will assess the impact of school district policies and practices concerning the National School Lunch Program on academic outcomes, under the guidance of Dr. Edward Coffield, Assistant Professor, Hofstra University.
Roosa Tikkanen (M.P.H. candidate, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) will assess how health insurance status and income variation contribute to disparities in care access between racial and ethnic minorities and whites across the five NYC boroughs, under the guidance of Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, Professor, CUNY School of Public Health.
The 2014 awardees were:
Johanna Andrews (M.P.H. candidate, Hofstra University) will seek to improve health and quality of life for food pantry clients in Nassau County, New York.
Scott Jelinek (M.D./M.P.H. candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai) will explore health outcomes of patients with a diagnosis of superficially invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SISCAA), particularly those who experience high levels of health care disparities.
Kylie Kang (M.D. candidate, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) will examine the influence of socioeconomic and clinical factors on treatment choice and outcomes for prostate cancer in African American and Caucasian populations.
Leslie Maness (M.D. candidate, Boston University School of Medicine) will seek to identify the impact of low health literacy and limited English proficiency on parent/caregiver medication dosing errors.
Pliceliany Perez (M.D. candidate, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) will seek to implement a smoking cessation education program for low-income Latino patients in Washington Heights-Inwood and the South Bronx.
Alex Sheen (D.D.S. candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) will investigate oral health and dental care in emerging “high performance health systems.”
The 2013 awardees were:
Vikaskumar Patel (D.D.S. candidate, New York University) will explore linkages between NYU Dental School and federally qualified health centers.
Aakash Shah (M.D./M.P.H. candidate, Harvard University) will work on health care reform efforts in New Jersey at the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University.
Bronwyn Fleming-Jones M.S.N. candidate, Yale University) will seek to improve awareness, prevention, and programming around obesity and diabetes at the South Bronx Center for Children and Families.
Martin Casey (M.D. candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai) will examine socioeconomic and geographical obstacles to seeking cancer surgical care at high-volume centers such as Mt. Sinai.
Jason Lin (D.D.S. candidate, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) will look at the potential of student-run dental programs to provide quality care and outcomes as well as impact trainee choice to serve vulnerable and underserved populations.
