Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chair of Emergency Medicine for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System, and Judy H. Cho, MD, Dean of Translational Genetics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. With their election, Mount Sinai has 25 faculty members in the NAM.
"The recognitions of Dr. Carr and Dr. Cho are well deserved for their groundbreaking contributions to emergency medicine and translational genetics," says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Dr. Carr's research has focused not only on improving the emergency care system for time-sensitive conditions such as trauma, stroke, cardiac arrest, and sepsis, but also on creating a more distributed and innovative approach to increasing access to acute care. Likewise, Dr. Cho is committed to improving care through personalized medicine and the understanding of each patient's unique genes. She has enhanced genetic research, clinical implementation, and data platforms to ensure Mount Sinai remains at the forefront of genetic discoveries and implementation."
Emergency Medicine
A leading voice in emergency medicine, Dr. Carr played a central role in coordinating Mount Sinai's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has dedicated his career as an emergency medicine physician and health policy researcher to seamlessly combining research, policy, and practice to advance acute care delivery. Before joining Mount Sinai in February 2020, Dr. Carr held faculty positions at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Outside academia, Dr. Carr has worked within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during both the current and previous administrations to improve trauma and emergency care services at the national level. His roles have included Senior Advisor and Director of the Emergency Care Coordination Center within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, focusing on integrating the emergency care system into the broader health care delivery system. He previously supported the Indian Health Service's initiatives to improve emergency care delivery, and worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to integrate military and civilian health care response during disasters and public health emergencies. Dr. Carr has advised and supported major not-for-profit foundations, the World Health Organization, and the National Academy of Medicine.
He conducts health services research that connects disciplines including epidemiology, health care policy, business, economics, and health care delivery system science. His work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He has published and lectured widely on systems of care for trauma, stroke, cardiac arrest, and sepsis.
"I've spent my career focused on improving access to high-quality emergency care and am extremely humbled to be recognized by my peers with this honor. The recent COVID-19 surge reminded us of the importance of building robust systems that meet the needs of the communities that we serve. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunities I've been given and the mentors that have helped to guide my career," says Dr. Carr. "I am particularly grateful to be honored alongside my Mount Sinai colleague."
Translational Genetics
Dr. Cho is an internationally recognized expert on the genetics and genomics of inflammatory bowel disease. As Dean of Translational Genetics, she leads strategic planning and integration of translational genetics research and care across school departments and institutes, with a focus on the rapid application of genetic and genomic discoveries to improve patient care. She also holds the Ward-Coleman Chair in Translational Genetics as well as professorships in Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Medicine.
In 2013, Dr. Cho joined the Icahn School of Medicine faculty following appointments at the Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. For the past five years, she has been Director of The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine and overseen the BioMe Biobank program, a pioneer in the movement toward diagnosis and classification of disease according to the patient's molecular profile.
"Science generally, and genetics especially, is a team sport; this recognition reflects many, many close collaborations over the years," says Dr. Cho. "It is a privilege to try to advance science to help patients, and genetic discovery provides a particularly powerful means of prioritizing novel therapeutic targets."
Dr. Cho also leads an independent research program that is generously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other extramural sources, and chairs the External Advisory Committee of the Wellcome Trust Centers for Human Genetics and Cellular Genetics. She has been Principal Investigator of the Data Coordinating Center for the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) since 2002 and chaired its Steering Committee for 16 years. Previously, she served on the American Society for Clinical Investigation Council and the NIDDK External Advisory Council, and chaired the Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section at the NIH. In 2014, Dr. Cho received the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award in Basic Science.
New members are elected to the NAM by current, active members through a selective process that recognizes leaders making major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, NAM is a national resource that provides independent, objective analysis and advice on health issues.
The elections of Dr. Carr and Dr. Cho bring Mount Sinai's total membership in the prestigious group to 25 current and emeritus faculty members: Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD * Neil S. Calman, MD, MMS * Dennis S. Charney, MD * Kenneth L. Davis, MD * Robert J. Desnick, MD, PhD * Angela Diaz, MD, MPH * Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD * Bruce Gelb, MD * Alison M. Goate, DPhil * Kurt Hirschhorn, MD * Yasmin L. Hurd, PhD * Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc * Helen S. Mayberg, MD * Diane E. Meier, MD * Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD * Maria Iandolo New, MD * Peter Palese, PhD * Ramon E. Parsons, MD, PhD * Lynne D. Richardson, MD * Hugh A. Sampson, MD * Albert Siu, MD, MSPH * Barbara G. Vickrey, MD, MPH * Rachel Yehuda, PhD.
###
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality care--from prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in the country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty by U.S. News & World Report.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.