Susan Lane, MD, MACP. Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine
The program is dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in academic medicine
Susan Lane, MD, MACP, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Professor of Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, has been named to the 2025-26 Class of Fellows for the Hedwig van Amerigen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. An initiative at Drexel University College of Medicine, the program is dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy.
According to Drexel, the ELAM program is specially developed for senior women faculty at the associate or full professorship level who demonstrate the greatest potential for assuming executive leadership positions at academic health centers within the next five years. To be accepted into the program, each fellow much be nominated and supported by the dean or another senior official at their institution. Dr. Lane received multiple senior level nominations and support.
ELAM centers on developing both the professional and personal skills for women to lead and manage in a complex healthcare environment, with a particular focus on the unique challenges of women in leadership positions.
“I am honored to be selected to this 2025-26 Class of ELAM Fellows, and during my career at Stony Brook Medicine I have endeavored to support women in their individual academic journeys and pave the way for them to serve in educational leadership positions,” says Dr. Lane, also Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Medicine and Associate Dean for Clinical Faculty Development for the RSOM.
Work for the incoming class of ELAM fellows begins in June 2025 with online assignments and community-building activities. Each fellow will be expected to develop an Institutional Action Project. A symposium in 2026 will feature the various projects completed from around the nation.
A resident of East Setauket, Dr. Lane, a RSOM faculty member since 2000, says she hopes to create a longitudinal development program for junior faculty at Stony Brook Medicine during their pivotal transition from the role of trainee to faculty member, with the goal to help them thrive as they juggle professional and personal responsibilities.
The effectiveness of ELAM’s distinctive approach to leadership preparation is broadly recognized within the academic health community. ELAM alumnae number more than 1,600 and serve in leadership positions at some 300 academic health centers worldwide.
Tara Huston, MD, Professor of Surgery and Dermatology in the RSOM’s Department of Surgery, is a current ELAM fellow.
For more about the ELAM and its curriculum, see this link.
In the typical process of developing cures for medical problems or diseases, researchers explore the processes and causes and then spend years searching for remedies.
Ke Jian Liu. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine
Sometimes, however, the time frame for finding a solution is cut much shorter, particularly when the Food and Drug Administration has already approved a drug treatment for another problem.
This could be the case for hemorrhagic stroke. Caused by a burst blood vessel that leads to bleeding in the brain, hemorrhagic stroke represents 13 percent of stroke cases, but accounts for 50 percent of stroke fatalities.
That’s because no current treatment exists to stop a process that can lead to cognitive dysfunction or death.
A researcher with a background in cancer and stroke, Ke Jian “Jim” Liu, Professor of Pathology and Associate Director or Basic Science at the Stony Brook Cancer Center who joined Stony Brook University in 2022, has found a mechanism that could make a hemorrhagic stroke so damaging.
When a blood vessel in the brain bursts, protoporphyrin, a compound that attaches to iron to form the oxygen carrying heme in the blood, partners up with zinc, a similar metal that’s in the brain and is released from neurons during a stroke. This combination, appropriately called zinc protoporphyrin, or ZnPP, doesn’t do much under normal conditions, but could be “highly toxic” in hypoxic, or low-oxygen conditions.
“We have done some preliminary studies using cellular and animal stroke models,” said Liu. “We have demonstrated on a small scale” that their hypothesis about the impact of ZnPP and the potential use of an inhibitor for the enzyme that creates it ‘is true.’”
These scientists recently received a $2.6 million grant over five years from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which is a branch of the National Institutes of Health.
Focusing on a key enzyme
After Liu and his colleagues hypothesized that the ZnPP was toxic in a low-oxygen environment, they honed in on ways to reduce its production. Specifically, they targeted ferrochelatase, the enzyme that typically brings iron and protoporphyrin together.
Iron isn’t as available in this compromised condition because it has a positive charge of three, instead of the usual plus two.
Liu discovered the role of zinc in research he published several years ago.
When a hemorrhagic stroke occurs, it creates a “perfect storm,” as the enzyme favors creating a toxic chemical instead of its usual oxygen carrying heme, Liu said. He is still exploring what makes ZnPP toxic.
The group, which includes former colleagues of Liu’s from the University of New Mexico, will continue to explore whether ZnPP and the enzyme ferrochelatase becomes an effective treatment target.
Liu was particularly pleased that currently approved treatments for cancer could be repurposed to protect brain cells during a hemorrhagic stroke. Indeed, with over 80 approved protein kinase inhibitors, which could work to stop the formation of ZnPP during a stroke, Liu and his colleagues have plenty of potential treatment options.
“We’re in a unique position that a clinically available drug that’s FDA approved for cancer treatment” could become a therapeutic solution for a potentially fatal stroke, Liu said.
To be sure, Liu and his colleagues plan to continue to conduct research to confirm that this process works as they suggest and that this possible therapy is also effective.
As with other scientific studies of medical conditions, promising results with animal models or in a lab require further studies and validation before a doctor can offer it to patients.
“This is an animal model, based on a few observations,” said Liu. “Everything needs to be done statistically.”
At this point, Liu is encouraged by these preliminary studies as the subjects that received an inhibitor are “running around,” he said. “You can see the difference with your own eyes. We’re excited to see that.”
Earlier hypotheses for what caused damage during hemorrhagic stroke focused on the release of iron. In research studies, however, using a chelator to bind to iron ions has produced some benefits, but they are small compared to the damage from the stroke. The chelator is “not really making any major difference,” said Liu.
The Stony Brook researcher did an experiment where he compared ZnPP with the damage from other metabolic products.
“ZnPP is several times more toxic than all the other things combined,” which is what makes them believe that ZnPP might be responsible for the damage, he said.
Proof of principle
For the purpose of the grant, Liu said the scientists were focusing on gathering more concrete evidence to support their theory. The researchers are also testing a few of the protein kinase inhibitors to demonstrate that they work.
In their preliminary studies, they chose several inhibitors based on whether the drug penetrates the blood brain barrier and that have a relatively high affinity for ferrochelatase.
“This opens the door for a new phase of the study,” Liu said. “Can we find the best drug that provides the best outcomes? We are not there yet.”
Removing zinc is not an option, as it is a part of 2 percent of the proteome, Liu said. Taking it out would “screw up the entire biological, physiological system,” he added.
Liu speculates that any future drug treatment would involve a relatively small dose at a specific time, although he recognized that any drug could have side effects.
In an uncertain funding climate in which the government is freezing some grants, Liu hopes that the financial support will continue through the duration of the grant.
“Our hope is that at the end of this grant, we can demonstrate” the mechanism of action for ZnPP and can find a reliable inhibitor, he said. “The next step would be to go to a clinical trial with an FDA-approved drug, and that would be fantastic.”
For many local health care workers, the pandemic transitioned from triggering uneasiness about reports of a respiratory illness coming out of China to a significant threat to area residents.
Dr. Susan Donelan, Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
Health care workers were in an all-out scramble to save lives even as information about the disease, its course and treatment, changed.
Five years after the start of a world-altering pandemic, infectious disease experts and emergency medicine specialists shared a range of thoughts about their initial reactions and concerns about this illness as well as insights about lessons learned and readiness to manage through future significant health threats.
Dr. Susan Donelan, Medical Director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine, remembers raising questions about this virus towards late December of 2019. People urged her to go home and have a nice Christmas.
When Hospital CEO Carol Gomes called her on a Sunday and told Donelan she had an hour to get back to her, she recognized the approaching storm.
“I remember saying, ‘It’s a Sunday and she needs me in an hour,’” Donelan recalled. “We’re in it.”
Indeed, over the following months and, as it turned out, years, doctors dealt with numerous unknowns amid a fluid situation that threatened the population and, in particular those who were immunocompromised, had diabetes or respiratory or cardiac issues.
“People forget how bad things were,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. “So many people were dying” that hospitals needed to figure out where to put the deceased.
Residents also lined up to get the scarce tests for the presence of the virus and often waited days or longer for a result.
Fluid situation
Health care professionals were reacting to a fluid situation in which best practices in terms of treatment and prevention changed even as the virus was mutating.
“It seems like a blur, going back and thinking about those moments,” said Dr. Jennifer Goebel, emergency room doctor at Huntington Hospital. “It was very surreal, taking care of a disease process you knew nothing about and attempting to be the expert when we were still learning.”
Federal, state and county health officials were unsure of the best guidance for a range of safety measures, including the use of masks.
Additionally, health care experts struggled with the level of contagion based on different environments.
“I don’t think anyone really knew about the continuum that could occur depending on the ambient circumstances,” said Donelan. “I think we probably could have done a better job of letting the public know that our communications would evolve as our knowledge evolved.”
Sharing safety messages
During the worst of the pandemic, health care professionals struggled to share messages that would help people make informed decisions about protecting themselves, their families and their communities.
Dr. Sharon Nachman. Photo frm SBU
“Trust in public health was completely undermined,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital “That hurt all of us.”
Nachman also listened to health care professionals on national TV who were discussing the health crisis. These pundits were sharing information that included far too many inaccessible words and concepts.
“Smart professionals were talking” but people weren’t understanding them, she said.
Additionally, the echo chamber of social media distorted messages, often questioning the developing science and best practices, suggesting conspiracy theories as well as treatments that were either unproven or ineffective.
Having local professionals from area hospitals made a difference on Long Island, Nachman said.
Whenever Nachman went to ShopRite, people who knew she was a part of their community saw her and asked questions.
“When it’s someone local from Northwell, Stony Brook, NYU Winthrop or others, [local communication] really works better,” she said.
Goebel added that she continues to share her medical knowledge not only with patients, but also with family members who have come to the hospital to provide support.
Hospitals, for their part, learned their lesson about stocking personal protective equipment.
“People have learned their lessons” at hospitals, said Pigott. “We need a more adequate stock of PPE.”
Health care provider PTSD
During the worst of the pandemic, one in five doctors who responded to an American Medical Association poll in 2022 said it was likely they would leave their practice within two years.
Dr. Jennifer Goebel. File photo from Northwell Health
“It was so staggering to hear some of these numbers,” said Goebel. Doctors go through over a decade of training. Seeing so many people leave was difficult.
Health care workers struggled, and continue to struggle, with memories and experiences in the midst of a crisis that killed millions around the world.
“I remember going to room nine, intubating a patient and being called to bed 12 and intubating another patient, within a matter of minutes,” said Goebel.
As the director of wellness in the Emergency Medicine Service Line, Goebel has created new initiatives to help reduce burnout and provide support.
She developed a peer to peer pilot program that started in September in which new physicians, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners were matched with a more experienced professional from day one.
The effort is designed to help new staff navigate the health system and address any questions or concerns.
“We’re looking to put these processes in place” throughout Northwell, Goebel said.
Remote medicine
While remote medical choices, such as telehealth, predated the pandemic, these options have become increasingly common, particularly for residents who might struggle to get to a medical visit.
“Because people were forced to use it, with practice, they got better at it,” said Pigott.
Many organizations invested more in telehealth, which also reduces the burden on Emergency Departments.
Teleheatlh has its “risks and benefits,” said Goebel, as it can keep patients who might be vulnerable out of an environment where they might otherwise be exposed to other pathogens.
Goebel appreciates the importance of a visit with a doctor, who can differentiate between an ear ache and a potential indication of shingles.
Fortunately, for many people, Covid has become a much more manageable infection.
Pigott contracted Covid in September. He took Paxlovid, which helped knock out the symptoms within three days.
Pigott is also grateful for vaccines, which provided a dramatic reduction in mortality during the worst of the pandemic, particularly for people who are over 65.
The vaccine was “saving lives,” said Pigott. “There was real evidence that these are doing their jobs and are working out.”
Clare Whitney, Assistant Professor of Nursing. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine
Clare Whitney, PhD, MBE, RN, Assistant Professor in the Stony Brook University School of Nursing, has been selected as a 2025 Macy Faculty Scholar, a national program that identifies and develops early-career nursing and medicine educators to become more effective leaders.
Dr. Whitney is Stony Brook’s first Macy Faculty Scholar, and she is one of five educators nationwide to make up this distinguished class of 2025. Macy Scholars develop a project and have access to professional development programs, formal mentoring, and educational opportunities. The program begins on July 1.
Dr. Whitney’s Macy Faculty Scholars project is centered around the Alda Healthcare Experience for Nursing (AHE-N), an interprofessional communication skills training designed for nurses. She will work to develop, implement, and evaluate the AHE-N, which aims to advance sustainable solutions for burnout prevention while enhancing interprofessional collaboration for student nurses.
Her nursing research at Stony Brook is focused on reducing burnout and improving the well-being of healthcare professionals. She established an interdisciplinary research program that addresses pressing relational and ethical issues for the healthcare workforce.
“This is an exciting honor and a meaningful recognition of my passion for advancing nursing education,” says Dr. Whitney. “As I continue to grow in my career, this will allow me to collaborate with and receive mentorship from other educators and leaders, strengthening my ability to educate the next generation of nurses and hopefully make a lasting difference in the profession.”
“We are proud to have Dr. Whitney selected as a Macy Faculty Scholar,” says School of Nursing Dean Patricia Bruckenthal. “Given her expertise in bioethics and health communication science, she will no doubt make an impact on promoting collaboration among health professionals and preparing future nurse leaders to deliver ethical patient-centered care in our complex healthcare environment.”
At Stony Brook, Dr. Whitney is also an affiliated faculty member in the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics in the Renaissance School of Medicine.
“As an early career faculty member, Dr. Whitney has an impressive body of scholarship related to addressing relational and ethical issues among health professionals,” adds Dr. Holly J. Humphrey, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the organization that sponsors the program.
Stony Brook Medicine participates in the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" campaign to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease.(2/7/25)
On Friday, February 7, National Wear Red Day®, staff from Stony Brook University Hospital wore red to help raise awareness of women’s No. 1 killer – cardiovascular disease. The annual #WearRedDay during American Heart Month honors those we have lost to heart disease and aims to raise awareness of the actions we can all take to prevent it.
StonyBrook Medicine (SBM) has received the highest level of achievement from Healthgrades, as one of America’s 50 Best for 2025. This achievement places StonyBrook Medicine among the top 1% nationwide for overall care excellence. StonyBrook University Hospital, StonyBrook Southampton Hospital, and StonyBrook Eastern Long Island Hospital are collectively assessed by Healthgrades and share the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award™.
“This distinction reflects our shared commitment across StonyBrook Medicine to bring exceptional care to our patients,” says William A. Wertheim, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President, StonyBrook Medicine. “This is only possible when we collectively maintain the highest standards of quality throughout the organization.”
“I am grateful to all of our healthcare professionals for their dedication to excellence,” says Carol A. Gomes, MS, FACHE, CPHQ, Chief Executive Officer, StonyBrook University Hospital. “Our steady increase in rankings — from the top 250 since 2015, to the top 100 since 2019, and now the top 50 for three years in a row — can give patients the confidence in knowing that StonyBrook delivers consistent, high-quality care.”
To determine the top hospitals for 2025, Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for more than 30 conditions and procedures at approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades’ annual analysis revealed significant performance gaps between the nation’s highest- and lowest-achieving hospitals, making it increasingly important to seek care at a top-rated facility. From 2021-2023, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to America’s 50 Best, 173,516 lives could potentially have been saved.*
“As one of America’s 50 Best, StonyBrook Medicine is elevating the standard for quality care nationwide,” says Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades. “Healthgrades commends StonyBrook Medicine for their leadership and ongoing commitment to providing the best possible care for all patients on Long Island.”
The Best Hospitals Award comes on the heels of receiving numerous specialty awards this past fall, underscoring StonyBrook‘s dedication to exceptional patient care. These include:
The only in New York State to be recognized as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care for 10 years in a row (2016-2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Attack (2022-25)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Failure (2014-25)
Five-Star Recipient for Cranial Neurosurgery (2020-2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Stroke (2015-2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of GI Bleed (2024-2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Sepsis (2015-2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure (2021-2025)
Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™ (2025)
Five-Star Recipient for Outpatient Prostate Care Excellence (2025)
Outpatient Prostate Care Excellence Award™(2025)
As care variation grows, consumers can find and select a top-rated hospital to maximize their outcome. Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for guidance on how to find best-in-class care in 2025, with additional resources on how Healthgrades rates hospitals and why hospital quality matters available here.
*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2021 through 2023 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.Click here to view the complete 2025 America’s Best Hospital Awards Methodology.
About StonyBrook Medicine:
StonyBrook Medicine integrates and elevates all of StonyBrook University’s health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools — Renaissance School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Social Welfare — as well as StonyBrook University Hospital, StonyBrook Southampton Hospital, StonyBrook Eastern Long Island Hospital, StonyBrook Children’s Hospital and more than 200 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visitwww.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
About Healthgrades:
Healthgrades is dedicated to empowering meaningful connections between patients, doctors, and hospitals. As the #1 platform for finding a doctor and a leader in healthcare transparency, we help millions of consumers each month find and schedule appointments with their healthcare professional of choice and prepare for their appointments with best-in-class, treatment-focused content.
Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) is partnering with the Suffolk Academy of Medicine to host a Galentine’s Women’s Health Fair aimed at empowering women in Suffolk County with valuable health resources and information. The free, community-focused event will take place on Wednesday, February 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Long Island Aquarium, 431 East Main Street in Riverhead.
“Stony Brook Medicine is proud to support the well-being of women in our community and provide them with the resources they need to thrive,” says Carol Gomes, chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Hospital. “Initiatives like this —whether aimed at prevention, education, or care—strengthen the foundation of healthier families and a healthier future.”
“We are thrilled to bring this resource to the women of our community,” said Nicole Gerberg, Executive Director of Suffolk Academy of Medicine. “Women play a pivotal role in shaping healthy families and communities, and this event is a way to give back and support their well-being.”
The fair is open to all Suffolk County residents, 16 years and older and will feature:
Educational wellness demonstrations
Talks with Stony Brook Medicine health professionals, as well as other medical institutions, including experts in breast cancer, breast imaging, radiology, massage therapy, nutrition, exercise physiology and LGBTQ* healthcare services
Sweet treats in honor of Valentine’s Day
Raffles
A cash bar
And more!
*To attend the Valentine’s Women’s Health Fair, the public must RSVP. The form can be found at this link.
About Stony Brook Medicine:
Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook University’s health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools — Renaissance School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Social Welfare — as well as Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and more than 200 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
About Suffolk Academy of Medicine:
The Suffolk Academy of Medicine is dedicated to promoting the health and wellness of Suffolk County residents by providing education, resources, and community outreach.
Small particles from the raging wildfires in Los Angeles that have killed residents, destroyed homes and businesses and have caused massive evacuations have crossed the country, reaching Long Island.
Arthur Sedlacek, III Aerosol Processes Group leader at Brookhaven National Laboratory
“Our instruments are picking up evidence detecting California wildfires already,” said Arthur Sedlacek, III, Aerosol Processes Group leader in the Environmental & Climate Sciences Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. “What’s happening 3,000 miles away can impact us” just like the fires in Quebec did.
The amount and concentration of particles on Long Island from these particles doesn’t present a health risk to many people in the population.
“For those who are sensitive to inhalation irritation, it opens up the possibility” of developing breathing difficulties or adding particles that could irritate their lungs, Sedlacek continued.
To be sure, the majority of people on Long Island and the east coast may not react to levels of particulates that are considerably lower than for residents of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.
Local doctors suggested that these particles can trigger a range of health problems for those who are closer to the flames and smoke.
“The general rule is the larger the exposure, the greater the effect,” said Dr. Norman Edelman, apulmonologist at Stony Brook Medicine.
Researchers have shown that the exposure doesn’t have to be especially high to affect health.
‘We more we look, the more we see that lower and lower doses will have negative effects,” said Edelman.
If and when particulates build in the air where patients with lung challenges live, pulmonologists urge residents to take several steps to protect themselves.
First, they can adjust their medication to respond to a greater health threat.
In addition, they can wear a particle mask, which is not an ordinary surgical mask.
Over time, continued exposure to particulates through pollution, wildfires or other emissions may have a cumulative health effect.
Dr. Norman Edelman. Photo courtesy of SBU
In the South Bronx, about 40 percent of children have asthma, compared with closer to 10 percent for the rest of the country. While genetics may contribute to that level, “we believe it’s because they are exposed to intense, continuous air pollution from motor vehicle traffic,” said Edelman, as cars and trucks on the Cross Bronx Expressway pollute the air in nearby neighborhoods.
The cumulative effect on people with existing disease is more pronounced.
Even when exposure and a lung reaction end, people “don’t quite come back to where [they] started,” said Edelman. “They lose a little bit of lung function.”
Particulates not only can cause damage for people who have chronic lung issues, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but can also cause problems for people who have other medical challenges.
“We do know that this kind of pollution generates heart attacks in people with heart disease,” said Edelman. “That’s relatively new knowledge.”
A heating cycle
The ongoing fires, which started on Jan. 7 and were exacerbated by the Santa Ana winds of 70 miles per hour, have been consuming everything in their path, throwing a range of particles into the air.
These can include organic particles, black particles, which is akin to something that comes out of the tailpipe of a school bus and all sorts of particles in between, Sedlacek said.
These particles can form condensation nuclei for clouds and water droplets and they can absorb solar radiation and light.
Heating the upper troposphere with particles that absorb radiation alters the typical convention dynamic, in which hot air usually rises and cool air sinks
These changes in convection, which can occur with each of these major wildfires, can affect local air currents and even, in the longer term, broader air circulation patterns.
Sedlacek suggested that some areas in California and in the west may have reduced the use of controlled burns, in part because of the potential for those fires to blaze out of control.
“With the absence of range management and controlled burns to clear out the understory, you don’t have those natural fire breaks that would otherwise exist,” said Sedlacek. “In my opinion, you have to do controlled burns.”
Wildfires, Sedlacek added, are a “natural part of the ecosystem,” returning nutrients that might otherwise be inaccessible to the soil.
Without wildfires or controlled burns, areas can have a build up of understory that grows over the course of decades and that are potentially more dangerous amid a warming planet caused by climate change.
Indeed, recent reports from the Copernicus Climate Change Service indicate that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures reaching 1.6 degrees Celsius above the average in pre-industrial revolution levels. The Paris Climate Accord aimed to keep the increase from the late 19th century to well below 2 degrees, with an emphasis on a 1.5 degree limit.
The fires themselves have become a part of the climate change cycle, contributing particulates and greenhouse gases to processes that have made each of these events that much worse.
“These fires generate greenhouse gases and aerosol particles in the atmosphere that can then further increase or contribute to a warming of the globe,” said Sedlacek. “We have this positive feedback loop.”
In the climate change community, researchers discuss feedback, which can be positive, pushing an event or trend further in the same direction, or negative, which alters a process.
Sedlacek likens this to driving in a car that’s heading to the right towards the shoulder. In negative feedback, a driver steers the car in the other direction while positive feedback pushes the car further from the road.
Wildfires, which contribute and exacerbate global warming, can push the car towards a ditch, Sedlacek said.
Some scientists have urged efforts to engage in geoengineering, in which researchers propose blocking the sun, which would cause negative feedback.
“That might be a great idea on paper, but I don’t know if you want to play chemistry on a global scale,” said Sedlacek. Considering efforts to reduce solar radiation has merit, he suggested, but requires a closer analysis under controlled circumstances to understand it.
“I sincerely hope that the powers that be will appreciate the importance of what we do to understand” these processes, Sedlacek said. Understanding the models researchers have created can inform decisions.
Dr. Wiiliam Wertheim. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Medicine
By Daniel Dunaief
When Dr. William Wertheim visited Mozambique, where Stony Brook University has created the Global Health Institute, he was on a boat that got stranded in low tide.
The convivial and supportive Wertheim, who is Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine, immediately climbed out of the boat and helped push it closer to shore, waiting for the tide to come in.
Stony Brook University’s Dr. William Wertheim with Malakhi Washington. Photo by Dr. Sierra Washington
“When he was out on the Indian Ocean with some fisherman, myself and my eight-year-old son, he was very quick to roll up his sleeves and start pushing the boat ashore,” said Dr. Sierra Washington, the director of the Stony Brook Center for Global Health Equity.
Indeed, Washington suggested that pushing the boat forward became a theme for Wertheim’s visit.
TBR News Media is pleased to recognize Wertheim as a person of the year for his leadership, his deep listening skills and his ongoing commitment to the university and the surrounding communities.
For a few weeks in the spring, Wertheim’s roles and titles changed, even if the manner and his focus did not.
In June, former SBU President Maurie McInnis named Wertheim executive vice president for Stony Brook Medicine, as he shed the interim label he had taken on starting the previous October.
A few weeks later, Wertheim effectively took over for McInnis, who resigned after four years to become president of her alma mater, Yale University, when he became officer-in-charge at Stony Brook University.
“Having Wertheim named as officer-in-charge gave everybody a sigh of relief,” said Dr. Todd Griffin, vice dean for clinical affairs and vice president for clinical services.
Justin Fincher, interim chief deputy to the president and senior vice president of government and community relations, said that Wertheim, who has been at Stony Brook for 28 years, “is the epitome of the university citizen. He’s the person we all think about as a leader among leaders.”
While Wertheim was in charge of the university for about six weeks until current Interim President Richard McCormick arrived in August, he supported leadership across the campus, offering to listen or provide advice.
“He was trusting the team in place to lead,” said Fincher. “He takes his ethic of care from his training as a medical doctor and applies that in every setting and in every decision.”
Indeed, first and foremost among Wertheim’s many responsibilities and roles, he continues to serve as a practicing physician with several hundred patients.
Finding the time to see patients requires taking some extra hours. He also relies on support from other physicians and nurse practitioners who work as a team whenever he is unavailable to see his patients.
“Seeing patients is at the core of what I do,” said Wertheim. “I did go to medical school for a reason.”
A graduate of Harvard University, Wertheim earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine.
Through his medical practice, Wertheim not only helps the patients who come see him, but also recognizes and can offer solutions to challenges patients or doctors face.
“It’s one thing to hear about a problem, but another thing to have that sense that this really does affect what happens, when you’re going through the care of patients,” Wertheim said.
This year, doctors had trouble setting up appointments in one particular department, and Wertheim struggled to schedule appointments for his patients. Griffin, one of the senior leaders on Wertheim’s team, was able to assess the challenges for doctors in seeing new and follow-up patients. Under the guidance, nurse practitioners now see follow-up patients. This change cut the delay time in half in under a year.
Pulling in the same direction
Griffin has known Wertheim for 25 years and appreciates the way Wertheim has brought various efforts and initiatives together.
From left to right: Scientific and Pedagogic Director Professor Cesaltina Ferreira Lorenzon, Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine Dr. William Wertheim and Dr. Sierra Washington. Photo courtesy Stony Brook University
“We are a number of different entities: the hospital, the school, physician practices,” said Griffin, suggesting that Wertheim helps all those people “pull the oars in the same direction.”
One of Wertheim’s directives that has been particularly effective involved developing a new governance structure for Stony Brook Medicine. Whereas groups had been creating strategic plans for one year, Wertheim asked them to develop a three- and five-year plan.
Wertheim also unified service lines, combining such areas as ambulatory care and hospital expertise.
By understanding how patients transition from ambulatory to hospital care, Stony Brook Medicine can ensure a smoother and more patient-centric experience.
As a leader, Wertheim makes a concerted and ongoing effort to interact with staff throughout the system, including medical assistants, front-desk representatives and janitors, to name a few.
“All those people in those services get to see him and know him,” said Griffin. “He’s not some leader in an ivory tower.”
Role reversal
Wertheim was a vice dean of the medical school a few years ago when Dr. Peter Igarashi, dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine, first arrived.
“He worked for me,” Igarashi said. “I now work for him. There’s a lesson there about be careful how you treat people who work for you.”
Igarashi is delighted that Wertheim supports the work he and others do throughout Stony Brook Medicine.
After Wertheim became interim executive vice president, he visited several clinical sites and met personally with providers.
Through these interactions, Wertheim has built “authentic personal relationships,” Igarashi said.
As a primary-care physician, Wertheim has also communicated effectively to residents and students about the importance of having a fundamental foundation of excellence.
Igarashi, who is a physician researcher, values the complementary nature of Wertheim’s strength as a clinician and educator.
Wertheim “makes it easier for us to bring the benefits from a research discovery or research program to the clinical setting so patients have access to the latest expertise,” Igarashi added.
Carol Gomes, chief executive officer/chief operating officer of Stony Brook University Hospital, has worked with Wertheim for over 20 years. She never feels like “I’m reporting to him. He always says I’m his partner.”
Dr. Bill
In addition to connecting with medical professionals, Wertheim has an ability to connect with people of different ages and in different stages of life.
When he was in Mozambique, Wertheim lived with Washington and her son Malachi, who called him “Dr. Bill.”
Wertheim was “like one of the family,” said Washington. “He’s very down to Earth and was just as easily able to have a stimulating conversation with my son as with hospital directors.”
During his visit, Wertheim and Malachi both shared their passion for the Mets.
Wertheim has been a “great ally” to the Center for Global Health Equity, Washington said, and is always available to discuss core strategic planning.
Wertheim recognized that the limitations on health care workers in Mozambique had less to do with their knowledge and skills than with supplies.
“What they lack are resources,” said Wertheim.
A talented baker
At Harvard, where he was a history and literature major, Wertheim wrote his thesis on the influence of the philosophy of William James on the literature of Robert Penn Warren, author of “All the King’s Men.”
The first time Wertheim read the book, he was on a plane flying to St. Louis. He recalls reading the first chapter, which described the governor’s driver maneuvering down a highway.
“The description is so brilliant, I paused and looked out the window and realized that I was flying over the country that was not dissimilar from what he was describing. It was an incredibly powerful moment,” he said.
As if all of his skills weren’t enough, Wertheim, who is the fifth of five brothers, is also a passionate baker.
“I’m of an age where the kitchen might have been thought of as a place for girls or women,” Wertheim said. “That wasn’t the case in my house.”
He made several mistakes, particularly with his sourdough bread, but has learned from those earlier experiences.
“It’s fun and relaxing,” Wertheim said. “When you spend a lot of time thinking about very serious things, it can be gratifying to focus in on a small task” such as kneading dough.
Gomes recalled recently receiving a croissant. She loved the “very buttery” taste.
Griffin sees overlaps between Wertheim’s medical duties and his baking abilities.
“The precision needed, following recipes being detail oriented, having the patience to bake and make it come out the way you want” is also evidence in how “careful and precise [Wertheim] is in how he engages with others. Big complicated things don’t happen overnight. He’s methodically and carefully putting down the ingredients.
Take small, manageable steps towards a healthier life in 2025.
That, among other things, is the advice of area doctors as residents transition from purchasing presents and making meals to writing lists of New Year’s resolutions about their mental and physical health.
“Scale down what you want to do to make it feasible,” said Dr. Raja Jaber, Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine. “Don’t say you want to lose 50 pounds. It’s not going to happen. Do it step by step. Choose one or two things you want to change.”
Indeed, several local health care professionals urged people to consider setting goals that are not only achievable but can also offer residents the belief that they can continue building on their successes.
Creating smaller goals can help people “see successes more quickly and build up confidence in meeting those goals,” said Dr. Adam Gonzalez, Vice Chair of Behavioral Health and a psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine.
Gonzalez urged people to practice a relaxation response daily, where they focus on their breath, a positive image, or a word or a phrase.
For Gonzalez, the words that he uses are “persistence” and “perseverance,” which offer him encouragement to believe that things can and will get better.
Doctor visits
People who haven’t seen their doctors in a while, particularly parents who are more focused on the health of their children than on their own physical and mental health, should take the time to see a general practitioner and, if necessary, specialists.
Annual physicals provide doctors and their patients with the kinds of information that provide a baseline for how the body as a whole and specific organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys, are doing.
Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
In some households, mothers dismiss any concerns about their own health, as they focus on their children, their spouse and extended family.
“They put their health last,” said Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners in Huntington. “They should not be pushing everything off. They should be putting themselves first. If they feel well and are healthy, they can help those around them.”
Staples of good health include eating well, with reduces processed foods, exercising, staying hydrated, getting sunlight, which provides vitamin D, sleeping seven to eight hours and reducing stress, Kalabacas said.
Researchers have been studying what kind of exercise and diets might work for men and women.
While intermittent fasting can help women to some degree, it is not as effective as it is for men.
It’s better, Kalabacas suggested, for women to eat breakfast as a part of three balanced and nutritious meals each day, than to skip meals in the morning.
“I tell all my patients, the two biggest things you can do to help yourself, are to reduce alcohol intake and to eat breakfast,” she said.
Skipping breakfast often comes back to haunt people later in the day, as they binge eat foods later at night that can cause heartburn and affect their sleep.
In addition to caring for her patient’s physical health, Kalabacas and her partners ask questions through a PHQ-9, or Patient Health Questionnaire, which offers indications of depression.
Kalabacas has a therapist in her office, to whom she refers patients who need help with psychological issues.
Be kind to yourself
Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine, Dr. Raja Jaber. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
Jaber suggested that people be “gentle and kind” to themselves as they set goals for the new year, without feeling the need to judge themselves constantly.
Setting a goal of only eating healthy more often than not leads to failure and disappointment.
“Being 100 percent super committed to healthy choices is so impossible to follow,” said Jaber. “That’s how people fail.”
When residents resolve never to eat sweets again, they wind up succeeding for a while and then binge. Controlling a diet requires eating a smaller piece of cake and savoring every bite, she suggested.
Becoming healthier can start by working with a supportive group who can offer encouragement.
As people age, Jaber suggested that physical fitness is the “key to longevity” or to preventing disease.
Healthier lives often start by building in specific times when people can focus on their mental health, through mindfulness exercises, or physical health, by exercising.
Mind-body connection
Doctors recognize the connection between the health of our bodies and minds.
“We know our mental and physical health are directly connected and impact one another,” Gonzalez said.
The Stony Brook psychologist urged people to make genuine social connections and engage in healthy and enjoyable activities.
“We take for granted some of these strategies that we think everyone knows,” Gonzalez said. “We might not actually be putting them into practice.”
Citing decades of research on the health benefits of the relaxation response, Gonzalez urged people to listen to an album that brings them joy, watch a funny movie, take a hot bath with a lit candle, or any of an array of actions that improve their mental health.
Some residents may also need to connect with a health professional.
Gonzalez pointed to gold-medal winners such as gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Michael Phelps, who have shared their mental health struggles and their ways of coping with them.
Practicing relaxation response helped these athletes regulate their emotions and control their mental state before engaging in competition.
Amid uncertainty around the globe and anxiety about the future, residents can benefit from focusing on their self care and their connectedness to people around them.
“We can control our presence in the community,” Gonzalez said.
