David H. Abramson, M.D. ’69, FACS, chief of ophthalmic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, will receive the Helen Keller Vision Research Prize in May 2026. Jointly awarded by the Helen Keller Foundation and the BrightFocus Foundation, the prize honors groundbreaking scientific discoveries and transformative contributions in vision research. Dr. Abramson is an internationally acclaimed clinician-scientist, ophthalmic surgeon, and pioneer in vision-saving cancer treatments. He is the first Einstein alum ever to receive this award.
Joseph Citron, M.D. ’71, graduated from Georgia’s Kennesaw State University in December 2025 with a bachelor of science degree in anthropology. He looks forward to working in the field of medical anthropology.
Robert Katz, M.D. ’75, reports that he has been retired from the active practice of pathology for several years but remains in touch with medicine, serving as the president of the board of health of Morris Township, New Jersey, where he lives, and as a member of the credentials committee at Morristown Medical Center. He also continues his lifelong fascination with the Sherlock Holmes stories; he has edited several books on the subject while serving as an officer of the international Holmes organization the Baker Street Irregulars.
Sana Louis Bloch, M.D. ’76, was elected chair of the board of trustees of the Medical Society of the State of New York this spring. He currently serves as a neurologist at Urban Health Plan in the Bronx and has 50 years of experience specializing in head and spine dysfunction. He is a clinical assistant professor emeritus in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein and has been a member of the Montefiore Einstein Medical Council for 15 years.
Jonathan M. Silver, M.D. ’79, is the recipient of the 2026 Gary J. Tucker, M.D., Lifetime Achievement Award in Neuropsychiatry, the highest honor bestowed by the American Neuropsychiatric Association. Dr. Silver is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and an internationally recognized leader in neuropsychiatry, traumatic brain injury, and psychopharmacology.
Ron Alterman, M.D. ’86, is completing his 15th year as the chief of the division of neurosurgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. In November he will be the honored guest at the annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in Washington, D.C. He lives in Cambridge, Mass., with his wife, Jackie, daughter, Chloe, and Tibetan terrier, Talulah. His son, Raphael, is married and lives in Dallas. This past year Raphael and his wife, Molly, welcomed their first child, Miles. Dr. Alterman says he is looking forward to the 40th reunion of his class in October.
Jim Kahn, M.D. ’86, is an emeritus professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco. He says that he remains academically active, with interests in the following areas: decision and cost-effectiveness analysis (such as global price setting for lecanemab, an Alzheimer’s disease–modifying drug); the cost-effectiveness of collaborative-care models for dementia; and the health and economic effects of psychedelics for mental health. He also studies and writes on technical issues in implementing universal health insurance with a single government payer, such as funding strategies and net costs for households. He invites Einstein alumni who are interested in these issues to write to him at jgkahn@gmail.com. His wife, Rani Marx, Ph.D., M.P.H., writes on the patient experience as interpreted through the perspective of an epidemiologist. Dr. Kahn and Dr. Marx have two sons: Eli, who is in business school, and Zev, who is a musician.
Judy Yee, M.D. ’87, was elected president of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology for 2025–26. Dr. Yee also received the 2026 Distinguished Educator Award from the American Roentgen Ray Society, recognizing her outstanding achievements in educating and mentoring future generations of radiologists.
Maurice Hale, M.D. ’92, a diagnostic radiologist, reports that he has been performing whole-body-screening MRI at his Beverly Hills (Calif.) 3T imaging center for the past several months and is enjoying an enthusiastic response from his community and interest from the local medical society. He speaks to groups nationally and locally about the benefits of screening MRI and low-dose chest CT.
Etta Eskridge, M.D. ’95, was awarded the 2025 GAIA Global Health Global Citizen Award in New York City in November in recognition of her more than 20 years of volunteer service with the organization. GAIA Global Health was established in 2000 to help combat HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Eskridge participated in and led eight group missions to Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, caring for hundreds of adults and children, as well as instructing clinical officers and nurses in the management of chronic illness.
Marina Reznik, M.D. ’00, M.S. ’05, vice chair of clinical and community-based research at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein and a professor of pediatrics at Einstein, is leading a new Montefiore Einstein study that aims to modernize the asthma medication process so children can more easily access medications at school. The National Institutes of Health granted $4.1 million to this study to enhance collaboration among primary-care providers, patients, their caregivers, and New York City schools.
Chinyere Anyaogu, M.D. ’02, M.P.H, deputy chief medical officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi–North Central Bronx and an assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health at Einstein, says that she is working to improve maternal-health outcomes for Black mothers in the Bronx. Through her clinical leadership and advocacy, she is addressing systemic barriers to care—including communication gaps, lack of access to services, and racial bias in healthcare—while collaborating with community and healthcare partners to reduce maternal mortality and ensure safer births for underserved communities.
Farzin Kabaei, M.D. ’05, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee replacement in Los Angeles, reports that he has expanded his practice to offer the bikini-incision direct anterior approach for hip replacement surgery. This minimally invasive, muscle-sparing technique places the incision along the body’s natural skin crease, helping preserve surrounding tissue and allowing for a more-discreet scar and potentially smoother recovery for appropriately selected patients.
John Paul Sanchez, M.D. ’06, recently co-edited a book, Advancing Latino, Hispanic, or of Spanish Origin+ Leadership in Academic Medicine. The book is available through Springer Publishing.
Mirvat El-Sibai, Ph.D. ’07, won the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for best biomedical scientist in the Arabic world. She is currently a professor of cell and molecular biology at the Lebanese American University and has served as an assistant dean of graduate studies and research, the chair of the faculty senate, and a graduate coordinator. Dr. El-Sibai has published more than 70 papers, mentored dozens of graduate students, and taught undergraduate and graduate cell and molecular biology. She says she owes much to Einstein and her mentor, Jonathan Backer, M.D., the chair and a professor of molecular pharmacology and a professor of biochemistry at Einstein. Dr. El-Sibai, age 48, reports that she lives in Lebanon with her three dogs.
Shaeri Mukherjee, Ph.D. ’07, is a professor and the vice chair of microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, where she leads a pioneering research program on how intracellular pathogens rewire host-cell biology. Her discoveries have uncovered novel post-translational modifications and host-pathogen signaling mechanisms. Dr. Mukherjee has received several honors, including the Julius Marmur, the Pew Scholar, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, and the Bowes Biomedical Investigator Awards. A dedicated mentor, she has trained many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows while serving in key leadership and service roles across UCSF and the broader scientific community.
Nathaniel Nataneli, M.D. ’08, a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in cornea and anterior segment care, recently joined the team at OCLI Vision, where he is seeing patients at locations in Astoria, Garnerville, and West Nyack, N.Y. His expertise includes complex cataract surgery, corneal transplantation, refractive surgery, and minimally invasive glaucoma procedures. Prior to joining OCLI Vision, Dr. Nataneli served as an attending physician in the cornea service at BronxCare Health System and as the residency program director for its ophthalmology program.
Radamés J. B. Cordero, Ph.D. ’12, a research professor in molecular microbiology and immunology, has been named the Gilbert Otto Endowed Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The professorship will help retain and support Dr. Cordero’s research in the groundbreaking field of astromycology, the study of fungi in space.
Georges Ephrem, M.S. ’12, has been appointed the founding section chief of adult congenital heart disease at Westchester Medical Center in New York, the only program of its type in the Hudson Valley. In addition to leading the new section, Dr. Ephrem will serve as the medical director of the program and the director of interventions there.
Michael Szmyga, Ph.D. ’13, is currently a senior vice president of medical and scientific affairs at the Medical Knowledge Group in New York City. He oversees a team that supports clients in medical communications.
Bryan Zarrin, M.D. ’20, and Michelle Zarrin, M.D. ’24, have welcomed their first child, a son. Ezra Cyrus Zarrin was born on June 29, 2025, at the NewYork-Presbyterian Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns.
