Institutional

More than 350 expected graduates – 104 medical doctors, 86 with doctorates and 190 with Master of Science degrees – in the Class of 2023 received their degrees from Weill Cornell Medicine during the institution’s annual commencement ceremony at Carnegie Hall on May 18.

Dr. Cheryl Dreyfus, a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been awarded the 2023 Weill Cornell Graduate School Alumni Award of Distinction.

Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Bia, M.D. ’72, professor emeritus of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine, has been awarded the Weill Cornell Medical College Alumni Association Award of Distinction.

On May 5, Rubin was one of the 47 students in the Class of 2025 to receive their short white coats, gathered before an audience of faculty, family and friends at Griffis Faculty Club as part of the annual white coat ceremony.

After excluding Black physicians from its ranks for more than 100 years—a policy that wasn’t overturned until the civil rights era in the 1960s—the American Medical Association (AMA) is now painstakingly working to embed health equity across the organization and has declared racism a public health threat, said Dr. Aletha Maybank, the AMA’s inaugural chief health equity officer and senior vice president.

In a celebration of Weill Cornell Medicine’s commitment to fostering inclusivity in academic medicine, the institution on April 25 honored nearly a dozen faculty, students and staff who exemplify excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Weill Cornell Medicine is celebrating more than a century of excellence in medical education, scientific discovery and patient care, commemorating 125 years since its founding. The institution is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the renaming of its medical and graduate schools on April 30, 1998, in deep appreciation for the exemplary leadership of longstanding supporters Sanford I. Weill and his wife, Joan Weill.

In July 2020, two months after George Floyd was murdered while in police custody, a group of students, faculty and staff at the Cornell Center for Health Equity gathered to search for racial allyship resources online.

Dr. Natalya Chernichenko, a leading otolaryngologist who specializes in tumors of the head and neck, has been named site chief of otolaryngology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

A Cornell University alumnus, Meyer ’49, along with his beloved wife Sandra, was a generous and committed champion of Weill Cornell Medicine, with an enduring passion for medical research and philanthropy.

 The program's enduring goal during the past half century has been to create the next generation of leaders in biomedical research.

Dr. Fauci shared 10 lessons from the global health crisis on March 29 in a packed Uris Auditorium. His grand rounds presentation was part of the 2023 Ralph L. Nachman, MD Visiting Professorship, sponsored by the Weill Department of Medicine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci returned to Weill Cornell Medicine March 13 to reflect on his unparalleled career before fellow alumni, current fourth-year medical students and faculty during a pre-premiere screening of “American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci.” 

Dr. Omar Abdul-Rahman, a leading specialist in pediatric genetic medicine, has been named chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital, effective March 1.

Interim Dean Dr. Francis Lee sent the following message Jan. 26 to the Weill Cornell Medicine community....

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the month of December.

Dr. Curtis L. Cole, M.D. ’94 has been appointed the university’s inaugural vice president and chief global information officer.

Dr. Sandhya K. Balaram, a leading adult cardiac surgeon in New York City, has been named chief of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, plans to return to his research at the end of the calendar year, following his tenure as dean. In this Q&A, Dr. Choi discusses the ways the institution had evolved under his six years of leadership.

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the month of November.