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About NYSTEM

Funding Committee

Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H. (Chair), is the fifteenth New York State Commissioner of Health. His nomination by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was confirmed by the State Senate on January 24, 2011, making him the first Indian-American to serve as State Commissioner of Health as well as the youngest person named to the post. An expert in the use of systems-based methods to improve patient outcomes, Dr. Shah has been a leading researcher in the use of large-scale clinical laboratories and electronic health records to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of care. He is a nationally recognized thought leader in the methods needed to transition to lower-cost, patient-centered health care for the 21st century. Before his government service, Dr. Shah was attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, associate investigator at the Geisinger Center for Health Research in central Pennsylvania, and assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine in value and comparative effectiveness. Dr. Shah also has conducted research into advancing preventive care for patients with cardiovascular disease and improving cardiovascular disease surveillance and public health. A native of Buffalo, Dr. Shah is an honors graduate of Harvard College and received his medical degree and master's degree in public health from the Yale School of Medicine. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at UCLA and a National Research Service Award Fellow at New York University. Dr. Shah is a fellow of American College of Physicians and the New York Academy of Medicine. He has served on the editorial boards of medical journals, has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, and has received more than $4.5 million in research funding. He is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., is the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Rochester and CEO of the Medical Center and Strong Health. Dr. Berk received his medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Rochester. He has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School, Emory University, and the University of Washington. He previously was Chairman of Medicine (1999-2006) and Chief of the Cardiology Unit (1998-2003) at the University of Rochester. In addition, he was Director of the AB Cardiovascular Research Institute. Dr. Berk is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Berk is past-president of the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO). He is Consulting Editor for Circulation and Circulation Research and is on the editorial boards of ATVB and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He serves on the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Stem Cell Clinical Trial Network and Gene and Cell-Based Therapies Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). Dr. Berk has published more than 250 articles, chapters and books. His research interests include: molecular biology of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system; regulation of endothelial cell function especially by shear stress; the role of oxidative stress in vascular injury biology and the genetic mechanisms of vascular remodeling.

Robin Anthony Elliott, M.A., has been Executive Director of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Inc. since October, 1996.  He has been active in development, communications and not-for-profit management in New York City for more than 35 years, serving as Vice President for Development and External Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University (1988-95) and at Hunter College, The City University of New York (1982-88); as Deputy to the Chancellor for University Relations at the City University of New York (1979-82); and as Director of Information and Education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (1971-79).  Mr. Elliott grew up in southern England and received his B.A. from Magdalen College, Oxford University and his M.A. in American Government and Politics from Columbia University. Avocationally, he is active in reproductive health and rights, including as Member of the Board of Directors of Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based organization he co-founded in 1980, and has served on the vestry of St. Michael’s Church on West 99th Street and the boards of directors of the St. Cecilia Chorus and Community Health Charities.  Until recently, he was Chair of New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research, a pro-stem cell research coalition of disease advocacy groups, scientists and universities and citizens’ groups. 

Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., is the Scientific Director of The Simons Foundation, where he oversees the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. Formerly Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences at Columbia University, and former Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1998-2001, he received his M.D. degree in 1965 from Cornell University Medical School and interned at the University of Washington Hospital in Seattle. He began his research career at the NIH, serving from 1966 to 1973. He subsequently served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, first as Associate Professor of Pharmacology from 1973 – 1978, and then as Professor until 1981. He then was the Edison Professor of Neurobiology and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine. In 1990, he returned to Harvard where he was the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology and Chairman of the Neurobiology Departments of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital until 1998. Throughout his career, Dr. Fischbach has studied the formation and maintenance of synapses, the contacts between nerve cells and their targets through which information is transferred in the nervous system. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a non-resident Fellow of the Salk Institute, and past-President of the Society of Neuroscience.

Richard M. Gronostajski, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biochemistry at the University at Buffalo (UB), Founder and Head of the Developmental Genomics Group at the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and Director of the Western New York Stem Cell Culture and Analysis Center at UB. He also holds an adjunct faculty position in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Dr. Gronostajski received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his Ph.D. in Physiology from Harvard University. His doctoral studies investigated the role of intracellular proteolysis on cell cycle regulation and his postdoctoral work at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of Toronto addressed mechanisms of adenovirus and cellular DNA replication and mechanisms of FLP-mediated site-specific recombination, respectively. Prior to joining UB in 2001 he held academic positions in the Ontario Cancer Institute and University of Toronto department of Medical Biophysics (1985-92) and in the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Lerner Research Institute department of Cancer Biology and Case Western Reserve University department of Biochemistry (1992-2001). He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Bioinformatics, a member of AAAS and the Society for Developmental Biology and has performed reviews for various journals, the NIH and the Wellcome Trust. He has authored over 75 peer-reviewed articles, most on the role of the Nuclear Factor I (NFI) transcription factors in animal development. His laboratory uses mouse Embryonal Stem Cells to generate mutant mice for studying lung and brain development and is currently investigating the role of Nfib in fetal and postnatal lung development and the role of Nfix in adult neural stem cell homeostasis.

David C. Hohn, M.D., is President Emeritus and Executive Director of Health Policy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), where he served for 10 years as President and CEO. Dr. Hohn continues his national leadership role in health policy issues, especially as they relate to cancer research and treatment and training the next generation of cancer specialists. During his tenure as RPCI President, Dr. Hohn was widely credited with re-establishing the Institute as a leader in the national cancer community. He implemented the Institute’s first strategic plan focused on making RPCI internationally and nationally competitive in cancer science; led the restructuring of RPCI as a public benefit corporation; stabilized funding and increased revenue; recruited over 160 senior leadership faculty, top-tier clinicians and scientists; completed the $250 million renovation and rebuilding of the Institute campus; and implemented an innovative managed care strategy which opened regional access to RPCI. As Principal Investigator of the National Cancer Institute Cancer’s Center Support Grant, Dr. Hohn led the successful renewal of Roswell Park’s designation as a comprehensive cancer center – a designation the Institute has held continuously since 1974. Dr. Hohn came to RPCI from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where, as Vice President for Patient Care from 1993 to 1997, his responsibilities included oversight of all clinical departments, clinical research programs and the protocol office.

Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., FACOG, is the Associate Dean in the Office of Diversity and a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hutcherson is a fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the National Association of Medical Minority Educators, National Medical Association, North American Menopause Society and the American Medical Women’s Association.  She is the former director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Program and Co-Director of the Center for Women’s Health at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Hutcherson serves on the Advisory Boards of the Columbia University Summer Research Fellowship Program, the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program, the Associated Medical Schools Diversity and Community Affairs, and the New York City Health Literacy Fellowship.  She has received numerous awards for teaching and patient advocacy. Dr. Hutcherson has maintained a clinical practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 1985.

Mario G. Loomis, M.D., F.A.C.S., has practiced in clinical plastic surgery for 20 years and has been in the Greater New York area since 1995. He is Vice Chairman of Surgery at Orange Regional Medical Center and performs a wide range of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He received a degree in Biology from Cornell University and a medical degree from the University of Vermont. He underwent residency training at Northwestern University and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. Previously, he worked in research laboratories studying neuroanatomy and Alzheimer’s disease, and has served as an expert reviewer for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct of the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Loomis lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife and four children. In 2008, the family was named "International Family of the Year" by the Knights of Columbus, and they were subsequently invited by the Vatican to represent North America at the World Meeting of Families in Mexico City. Dr. Loomis is on the board of the San Benito Jose Mission Hospital in Comayagua, Honduras, and makes annual trips to Nicaragua and Honduras to perform plastic surgery procedures free of charge to the poor.

Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., has been Dean of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University since June 1, 2006. Prior to joining Einstein, he was Director of the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive Diseases & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Spiegel earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1967. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1971 and completed his clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He began his career at the NIH in 1973 as a Clinical Associate in its Endocrinology Training program, and then served as a Senior Investigator in the Metabolic Disease Branch. In 1985 he was appointed Chief of Molecular Pathophysiology, and then Chief of the Metabolic Diseases Branch. In 1990, he was appointed Director of the NIDDK's Division of Intramural Research, and in 1999, Director of the NIDDK with a staff of 625 full-time employees and a $1.7 billion budget. Dr. Spiegel is a widely renowned physician-scientist and endocrinologist with extensive experience in translational research programs. His research has centered on G-protein-regulated signaling dysfunction in human disease, and his work on signal transduction helped to clarify the genetic basis of several endocrine diseases. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and 100 reviews, as well as two books on G proteins.

Michael A. Stocker, M.D., M.P.H., is Chairman of the Board of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield from 1994 until 2005, when Empire was acquired by WellPoint, a company composed of 14 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the country. Dr. Stocker retired from WellPoint in April of 2007. Prior to joining Empire, Dr. Stocker was President of CIGNA Health Plans. He also served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Healthcare for the New York market. He was Medical Director at ANCHOR, a staff model HMO at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke´s Medical Center in Chicago for five years. He also was Associate Chairman and Program Director of the Department of Family Practice at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and practiced medicine in Chicago for 12 years. Dr. Stocker earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He received his residency training at the Mayo Clinic and at the University of California and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Family Practice. He also received a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan. Dr. Stocker is a member of several boards and organizations including the New York Stem Cell Foundation and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health.

Madelyn Wils is Executive Vice President of the Planning, Development and Maritime Division of the New York City Economic Development Corp. She is responsible for most of the city´acute;s area- wide revitalization plans throughout the five boroughs. Prior to joining NYCEDC, Ms. Wils served as President of the Tribeca Film Institute. She managed the expansion of the organization, from programming a 10-day film festival into a diverse institution offering year-round cultural and educational events. From 2000 to 2005, she served as Chair of Community Board One in Lower Manhattan, where she played an integral role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Ms. Wils led the development of the Master Concept Plan for the East River Waterfront, and was awarded &The Visionary Award" from the New York League of Conservation Voters for her efforts. She negotiated significant capital projects for her community, including new schools and parks, community facilities, Little League fields and a library in Battery Park City. Ms. Wils was a founding board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and The Hudson River Park Trust. She has served on other boards, including the Alliance for Downtown New York, the Battery Conservancy and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.