The ICTR’s Health Research Implementation Core (HRIC) announces a new faculty leader who will help direct the core, Dr. Michelle Gong.  She joins Dr. Michael Rinke, director of the HRIC, to build innovative research in Learning Health System science. Dr. Gong is an expert in the design and conduct of pragmatic clinical trials, a mentor for several junior investigators, and PI of multiple NHLBI grant awards  https://einstein.pure.elsevier.com/en/persons/michelle-ng-gong Dr. Gong is Chief of the Division of Critical Care and Director of Critical Care Research at Einstein-Montefiore. To learn more about HRIC, click here .

Matthew Abramowitz, MD, MSc , Associate Professor of Medicine, has been named Associate Director of the Clinical Research Center (CRC), directed by Dr. Marla Keller. Dr. Abramowitz received his medical degree from Einstein, completed internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Montefiore, and joined the Department of Medicine as Assistant Professor in 2009. He is a graduate of our Clinical Research Training Program, a former ICTR KL2 scholar and NIH K23 awardee. His research interest is in skeletal muscle physiology in patients with chronic kidney disease. He is an active CRC user of the out-patient unit and intensive procedure suite. See Dr. Abramowitz's research profile here .

Claudia Lechuga MS has joined the ICTR to oversee tracking and evaluation metrics. She is also managing projects for the Community Engagement and Collaboration Core led by Drs. Nicole Hollingsworth and Hal Strelnick. Ms. Lechuga joined Einstein’s Department of Family and Social Medicine in 2009 and has since managed projects dedicated to improving outcomes and decreasing primary care health disparities for marginalized communities. As a researcher, Claudia has experience with mixed methods research, implementation of programs in varied settings, and evaluation of interventions and implementation processes.  

In June 2019 the ICTR opened the doors to the new location of its Clinical Research Center in the 4th floor of the Van Etten Building, B Wing. The facility features 6 patient exam rooms; a procedure suite for intensive protocols which require multiple blood drawings and close patient observation, staff offices, and a full kitchen where the fasting patients can eat. The facility has patient care staff and laboratory specimen handling personnel 5 days a week. To request usage of the CRC, click here, or speak with Minka Chikolareva directly.

Two K Scholars have recently been awarded: Shudan Wang MD , Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Rhematology), on the Complement C9 as a marker of renal injury and poor therapeutic response in patients with lupus nephritis and Nadia Laniado DDS, MPH , Assistant Professor, Department of Dentistry, on the Social capital and oral health among Hispanic adults and adolescents in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Einstein-Montefiore investigators continue to succeed in obtaining funding. Some of these investigators with new grant awards are (from left to right):

Jacqueline Achkar MD, MSc , Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology & Immunology, Rajat Singh MD, MBBS , Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Molecular Pharmacology, Deepa Manwani MBBS , Professor, Department of Pediatrics (Pediatrics Hematology-Oncology), Cristina Gonzalez MD , Associate Professor, Department of Medicine (Hospital Medicine), Daria Shcerbakova PhD , Associate, Department of Anatomy & Structural Biology, Wei Liu PhD , Assistant Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Genetics, Sofiya Milman MD , Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Genetics, Hal Strelnick MD , Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Professor, Department of Family and Social Medicine, Sylvia Suadicani PhD , Associate Professor, Department of Urology, Edith Gurewitsch Allen MD , Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health (Maternal Fetal Medicine), Julia Arnsten MD, MPH , Professor, Departments of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), Epidemiology & Population Health, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Roee Holtzer PhD , Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Robert Kaplan PhD , Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Liise-anne Pirofski MD , Professor, Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Microbiology & Immunology, Betsy Herold MD , Professor, Departments of Pediatrics (Pediatric Infectious Disease), Microbiology & Immunology, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health.