Leon Chameides, M.D. ’59, has published two books since retiring as the director of pediatric cardiology at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and as a clinical professor at the University of Connecticut. Strangers in Many Lands: The Story of a Jewish Family in Turbulent Times is a family history and personal memoir of survival in hiding during World War II; On the Edge of the Abyss: A Polish Rabbi Speaks to His Community on the Eve of the Shoah is a translation of his father’s essays written for a Polish newspaper between 1932 and 1937. For more information, visit Amazon.com.
Fred Rosner, M.D. ’59, retired in September 2013 and plans to move to Israel, where all of his children and grandchildren live.
1960’s
Ron Grober, M.D. ’62, writes, “I am retired from my career in orthopedics, which I loved. I am concerned about the growing inability of well-trained and motivated physicians to exercise their best judgment in the best interests of their patients because of insurance companies and government-issued ‘cookbooks’ instructing them how to treat patients. On a lighter note, Dorothy and I enjoy our second home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado as well as ocean sailing, golf and snow skiing. I continue to pursue my interest in jazz with my jazz band. The biggest part of my life now is grandkids. I am sure that is true for most of us!”
Mark A. Hardy, M.D. ’62, F.A.C.S., writes, “I participated actively in our 50th Reunion, which allowed many of us to share once again the esprit de corps that distinguished our class in medical school. The reunion was mostly happy, but with moments of sadness because of the premature loss of classmates. I have been at Columbia New York–Presbyterian Hospital since 1975. I stepped down as director of transplantation in 2004 but continue to see patients. As a residency program director I helped organize a global surgical rotation for our senior surgical residents. Since 2008 I have operated only while on goodwill missions to countries in Africa, Asia and South America. My wife, Ruthie, and I have spent several months a year getting to know each country and its people. At home, we’re busy with our three children: Peter, a lawyer; Arthur, a financial advisor (and his family, including two boys ages 12 and 13); and Karen, a pediatrician (who has a son, 3, and a daughter, 6). They all live nearby and we enjoy being with them without having to use our frequent-flyer miles. We feel lucky and happy with our lives and look forward to hearing from our classmates.”
Ruth E.K. Stein, M.D. ’62, received the C. Anderson Aldrich Award in Child Development at the National Conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2013. The award is given for outstanding contributions in the field of child development. Dr. Stein is a professor of pediatrics at Einstein and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. She is also a past president of the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and has received the APA Research Award and the Society for Pediatric Research’s Douglas Richardson Award. Dr. Stein has worked as a clinician, researcher and advocate, primarily in the areas of chronic pediatric conditions, children’s mental health, health services research and assessing children’s health. She has been published extensively and served in many advisory groups.
Stewart L. Aledort, M.D. ’64, writes, “I am affiliated with the National Group Psychotherapy Institute in Washington, DC, and the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis; I am also a clinical associate professor at George Washington University Medical Center and have a private practice in DC. I was named a fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and have published many journal articles in Group and the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. I focus on the role of excitement in working through conflicted impasses in groups, and run training groups for senior therapists.”
Joseph Berke, M.D. ’64, has a feature film based on his book Mary Barnes: Two Accounts of a Journey Through Madness, which he co-authored with Mary Barnes, in the works.
Les Cohen, M.D. ’64, has had two stories, “Two Doctors” and “Mirage of Health,” published in the Yale Journal of Humanities for Medicine.
Francis A. Forte, M.D. ’64, a hematologist/oncologist and senior medical director at the Institute for Patient Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Hospital, in Englewood, NJ, was quoted in an article about treating a 26-year-old woman whose heart’s mitral valve was leaking and whose family was looking at options for surgery that precluded transfusion. “Englewood Hospital’s cardiac surgeons and I worked together as a team. I worked on getting Tyleah’s blood count up, and the operation was successfully performed without blood.”
Arnold Bresky, M.D. ’65, a preventive gerontologist in the field of behavioral neurology, writes, “As a veteran myself, I am trying to open a nonprofit Veterans’ Wellness Center in Southern California to assist both young vets with PTSD and elderly vets with delayed PTSD. I serve as medical director for the Dorie Miller Memorial Foundation, which assists homeless veterans. I founded Hands with Kindness, which aims to help prevent the progression of dementia in seniors by having them knit blankets for homeless vets. I need assistance and networking to work with the overwhelmed VA system.”
For more information: www.DorieMillerMemorialFoundation.org; www.caregiver411MD.com; www.handswithkindness.org. Or write to
Dr. Bresky at abresky@earthlink.net.
Stuart A. Levy, M.D. ’65,writes, “My latest book, The Medical-Legal Aspects of Occupational Lung Disease, has been published. This fully referenced text represents the culmination of my more than 30 years of experience in the field.” To view Dr. Levy’s book online, go to www.lawyersandjudges.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1320.
Melvin Stern, M.D. ’65, was awarded emeritus status at George Washington University Medical School in June 2012. Dr. Stern retired as managing partner of PsychoGeriatric Services LLC, based in Chevy Chase, MD, in July 2013.
Daniel Nussbaum II, M.D., ’67, F.A.A.P., writes, “I retired in 2011 for medical reasons. While in practice, I was a pioneer of developmental pediatrics. My most enjoyable experience was having my own one-person practice in New Bedford, MA. Due to the machinations and politics of specialty recognition, I took and passed the boards for developmental pediatrics when they were first offered in 2003; I was 62. The prospect of taking them again seven years later helped ease me into retirement. I currently live in Rochester, NY, with my wife of 48 years, Alice, a Judaic needlework designer. We have two children. Yapha, the chief librarian at the Brentwood Lower School in Los Angeles, is married and has a daughter. Joe, a successful film director in Hollywood, is married and has a son. If any alumni are in upstate New York, I will be delighted to host them.”
Robert Hoffman, M.D. ’69, writes, “My firstborn son, Ari Joshua, and his wife, Micah, had their first daughter in September 2013. Ari is an architect specializing in renewable design and works for a start-up, Gobie H2O, which makes a completely compostable filtered-water bottle that replaces the need for more than 1,000 plastic water bottles or a filter. Ari’s brother, Dov, lives near him, so we visit both on our frequent trips to Point Loma, CA, in our small motor home. I’ve had a fifth book chapter accepted for publication in a book on pituitary disease. An integrative medicine practitioner, I’ve also had chapters published on psycho-oncology/breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, heart disease and somatic manifestations of depressive disorders.”
1970’s
Craig Morris, M.D. ’70, writes, “After graduating from Einstein in 1970, I completed my psychiatry and child psychiatry fellowships there in 1976. I presently practice in New City, NY, and am an assistant professor at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the department of child psychiatry.”
David Siegel, M.D. ’73, M.P.H., writes, “I am very pleased that my son, Leon, has joined the Einstein Class of 2017. It was great to go to the most recent reunion for the Class of ’73 and see so many old friends. Nancy and I have three grandsons and are reserving spots for them at Einstein for about 20 years from now.”
Steven P. Rosenberg, M.D. ’75, a board-certified dermatologist, has been practicing in West Palm Beach, FL, since 1980. In June 2013, Governor Rick Scott appointed him to the Florida Board of Medicine. He was appointed to the board in 2006—the first dermatologist to serve on the 12-physician board in more than 30 years—and was reappointed by Governor Charlie Crist in 2007. The board is responsible for licensing, disciplinary action, regulating and rule-making for more than 150,000 licensed practitioners in the state of Florida. Dr. Rosenberg has served as chair of the rules and legislative committee and currently is chair of the probable-cause panel. He is a clinical professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenberg works to improve access to quality healthcare and actively participates in state and federal healthcare-related politics. He has been listed in “Best Doctors in America” since 1996.
Stuart Orenstein, M.D. ’78, reports that his acting career is advancing: he now has two listings in the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) for films in which he has had an acting role.
Rubin Silverman, M.D. ’78, has moved his cardiology practice to 1250 Waters Place in the Bronx. Dr. Silverman practices at Montefiore’s Weiler Hospital and is chief of cardiology at St. Barnabas Hospital, also in the Bronx. He has five children, one of whom took the MCATS, and nine grandchildren (none of whom, so far, has taken the MCATS).
Stephen Goldstone, M.D. ’79, reports, “Both of my twin sons are now happily married. Andrew, a cardiac surgery resident at the University of Pennsylvania, married Arielle Goren in June 2012; Robert, a general surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, married Cornelia Griggs in September 2013. I’m a very happy and proud papa.”
1980’s
Eileen Wolf Feldman, M.D. ’80, writes, “I retired from my academic practice of nephrology several years ago, after being diagnosed with transverse myelitis in 1996. I remain vicariously involved in medicine through my husband of 33 years, James Feldman, M.D. ’80, who still has the stamina to do those overnight shifts in the ER at Boston Medical Center; my daughter Stephanie, now in her senior year at Boston University Medical School; and my daughter Hope, who kept me entertained with the narratives of her medical school applications. (Trust me, my children were not coerced to follow this pathway.) I am focused on volunteering in a local elementary school, trying to keep the plaques and tangles at bay by working with advanced students in enrichment mathematics and other subjects. I’m sure Dr. Purpura would be pleased.”
Dorothy Levine, M.D. ’80, Stamford, CT, was elected secretary of the Fairfield County Medical Association. Board certified in pediatrics, Dr. Levine is a pediatrician at New England Pediatrics (based in Stamford and New Canaan, CT) and an attending physician at Stamford Hospital. She served on the board of directors of Stamford Hospital and has authored several medical papers, published in Pediatrics, the Journal of the American Medical Association and Connecticut Medicine.
Lynne Carmickle, M.D. ’81, Ph.D. ’81, writes, “I continue to practice neurology in New Jersey. Recently, in addition to my private office, I set up a charity-care neurology clinic through the Zufall Center in Dover, which is immensely rewarding. Our son, Eric Mittelmann, age 27 (his dad was the late Alex Mittelmann, M.D. ’76), is now a first-year neurology resident at Einstein! I am counting the days until he can join me in the practice. He married his wife, Lauren, in 2012, on the beach in Amagansett, where we have spent summers since the kids were small. Our daughter, Laurie Mittelmann, age 25, graduated from Sarah Lawrence in 2011 and, with a friend, is co-founder and co-director of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, a radical-history museum in the East Village. They host tours and events, and the museum is well on its way to becoming an East Village landmark (www.morusnyc.org).”
Steven K. Mishkin, M.D. ’81, is the managing partner of Millennium Eye Care, which has six locations in central New Jersey. He is pleased to announce that his daughter, Talia Mishkin, O.D., a recent graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, has joined the practice and is working at their offices in Freehold, Marlboro, Hightstown and Monroe.
Brian Rubin, M.D. ’81, and Rhonda Rubin, M.D. ’84, are proud to announce the birth of their granddaughter.
Marsha Seidelman, M.D. ’83, has launched with a group of her colleagues in Maryland. She writes, “It’s a fun website designed to provide information about exercise, nutrition, wellness and inspiration.”
Jo A. Hannafin, M.D. ’85, Ph.D. ’85, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, was honored in March 2013 by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. as a Physician of the Year. Dr. Hannafin was among three physicians who received the Clinical Excellence Award. A three-time national rowing champion and silver medalist at the 1984 World Championships, she is vice president of the National Rowing Foundation’s board of trustees, a physician for the U.S. Olympic Rowing team and head team physician for the WNBA’s New York Liberty. In July 2013, she became the first female president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Dr. Hannafin is married to John Brisson. They have three children: Andrew, Caitlin and Connor.
Joseph Maldonado, M.D. ’85, is working on his M.Sc. thesis in major programme management at the University of Oxford in England. In recent years he received two other degrees from Oxford: a diploma in evidence-based healthcare and an M.B.A. Dr. Maldonado recently completed a two-year term as president of the New York State Urological Society and currently serves as vice president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. He is an assistant clinical professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City, where he previously served as assistant clinical dean. He welcomes emails from classmates and friends at jrmaldonadojr@mguc.org.
Deena R. Zimmerman, M.D. ’88, has published her second book, MiDor LeDor—Genetics and Genetic Diseases: Jewish Legal and Ethical Perspectives (Ktav/OU Press); the book is available at Jewish bookstores and online.
1990’s
Jose A. Ortiz Jr., M.D. ’92, was appointed chief of medical staff at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, WI, in June 2012. He writes, “I find my position fulfilling and feel that my role as co-president of the class of 1992 has helped prepare me for my current responsibilities.”
Eric Rose, M.D. ’93, has been appointed to the Health Information Technology Standards Committee (HITSC) by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. HITSC is a federal advisory committee that provides guidance to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information (www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/03/20130301a.html).
Nicole Schreiber-Agus, Ph.D. ’94, is the program director for the Program for Jewish Genetic Health of Yeshiva University and Einstein. It recently launched a Jewish genetics online education series called GeneSights; see www.GeneSights.com.
2000’s
Alissa Burge, M.D. ’06, a radiologist, recently joined the staff of the department of radiology and imaging of the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City. She also is an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and is board certified in radiology. Dr. Burge focuses on musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging. She has received the HSS Radiology and Imaging Fellow Research Award as well as a number of Radiological Society of North America research awards. Dr. Burge has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has given many presentations at local and national scientific forums.
Casey Barbaro, M.D. ’07, writes, “I have been having an incredible time in Cape Town, South Africa. This experience has been just what I was looking for. The time off I had before starting work here doing trauma surgery turned out to be a blessing in disguise: I explored the city, went on countless hikes, met many cool people, learned how to kite surf and played a ton of guitar. It’s been such a good feeling to be back in the fray, doing what I have been trained to do. I’ve been posting a blog every one to two weeks, so check in from time to time, if you get a chance. The address is http://capetowntrauma.blogspot.com/.”
Sheref E. Hassan, M.D. ’07, recently joined the Mount Sinai Brooklyn Heights Medical Group as an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist.
Ira Taub, M.D. ’07, completed a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. He has been a clinical pediatric cardiologist at Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, OH, since July 2013.
Michelle Ruth Yasharpour, M.D. ’07, recently completed a fellowship in allergy and immunology at the University of California, Irvine, and had her second child in September 2013, “just in time for my fellowship boards!” She completed a residency in internal medicine at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in 2010. Dr. Yasharpour lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, Shahram Yasharpour. She writes:“Our son Jacob, age 3, will tell anyone who asks that his mommy is a doctor and that he’s going to be a doctor too. (We’d love it if he went to Einstein!) I recently joined a private allergy and immunology practice in Beverly Hills. I am grateful for the solid foundation that Einstein provided for me to build upon, and always look back with the fondest of memories.”
Dana Kotler, M.D. ’09, completed her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago/Northwestern University. She began a sports medicine fellowship at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Harvard University in August 2013. Dr. Kotler competes in bicycle races with XXX Racing-Athletico in Chicago, and recently premiered a new film, #bikewinter, at the Bicycle Film Festival in New York. To view the film online: https://vimeo.com/59622297.
