Shout Outs
By Office of the President | Sep 9, 2025
Downstate Joins 28th Annual Unity Walk and Community Festival
l-r: Melissa Rojas, Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman, Shani Audain, and Betty Jung.
We were honored to join Rev. Terry Lee of the Community Concerns Network and partner with LiveOnNY at the 28th Annual Unity Walk and Community Festival. It was a bright summer day of family fun and community connection, bringing together faith-based leaders, elected officials, anti-violence advocates, organizations, and healthcare agencies to promote healing, unity, and a safer Brooklyn.
Downstate’s Betty Jung, RN, Center for Community Health Promotion and Wellness, Melissa Rojas, Volunteer, and Shani Audain, MBA, PMP, LiveOnNY, provided health screenings and education to festival attendees. Their outreach focused on stroke prevention through hypertension management, healthier eating, weight management, and organ donation awareness. By engaging directly with community members, they helped raise awareness. They provided resources to support better health outcomes across Central Brooklyn.
Dr. Marylin Pierre-Louis Selected for National ABIM Geriatric Medicine Panel
Congratulations to Marylin Pierre-Louis, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor and Medical Director of Suite B, on her American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) selection to participate in a national standard-setting meeting for the Geriatric Medicine Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®).
This honor is extended to only a small group of board-certified physicians nationwide who have demonstrated exceptional clinical expertise and professional excellence. As a panel member, Dr. Pierre-Louis will play a key role in shaping the national passing standard for the Geriatric Medicine LKA®. This responsibility will directly influence the future of board certification in this vital specialty.
Dr. Pierre-Louis’s selection reflects her achievements and our department and institution’s collective strength and impact.
MPH Student Paige Lederman Publishes Op-Ed on Climate Justice in Rockaway
Congratulations to Paige Lederman, MPH student and Research Support Specialist, for giving Rockaway a clear public health voice. In an op-ed, Hurricane Sandy’s Lasting Effects Leave Rockaway Vulnerable to Climate Change, Paige links lived experience to evidence showing that low-income and minority The Wave (Rockaway) neighborhoods bear the brunt of flooding and delayed recovery.
Thirteen years after Sandy, the Rockaways still feel the lag. In May 2025, the EPA cancelled an $11.2M grant to restore dunes and defend against rising seas. Citing research that ties post-disaster infrastructure inequities to social injustice, Paige calls for equity-first resilience, prioritizing Rockaway’s most vulnerable communities.
College of Nursing Earns Top 100 National Ranking
Downstate’s online master’s program ranked #81 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs. The recognition highlights our faculty excellence, rigorous curriculum, and flexible online learning that helps busy nurses advance their careers.
Downstate Docs Screen for Skin Cancer
Kudos to Downstate’s dermatology team for serving Yankee fans and stadium staff at
the annual pregame skin cancer screening event held this summer at Yankee Stadium.
Representing Downstate were newly graduated and current derm residents Justin W. Marson, M.D., Natasha Masub, M.D., Ben Swaby, M.D., and Manan Mehta, M.D., who joined colleagues from NYU and Mount Sinai in providing quick, walk-up screenings.
Thank you to our Downstate clinicians for advancing early detection and bringing community-minded care to a broader public!
The Emerald Isle Uncovers a Brooklyn Gem
We are thrilled to celebrate Barbara Krawczuk, and bid a warm, “See you soon!” to former APEX intern in the Office of Government and Community Relations, on the next bold leap in her journey. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology (with a minor in Anthropology) from Emory University, she conducted notable research at NYU. This spring, she earned her MPH in Community Health Sciences & Epidemiology at Downstate.
As an intern with the Office of Government and Community Relations, Barbara attended on-campus symposiums, community meetings, supported event logistics, and helped streamline the office’s outreach database to enhance community engagement. She also contributed to the Patient Family Advisory Council and conducted research to support ongoing initiatives and partnerships both internally and externally.
Barbara has relocated to Ireland to begin the four-year BM BS Graduate Entry Medical Programme at the University of Limerick, an accelerated pathway explicitly designed for graduate students.
She is enrolled in a highly innovative curriculum that blends foundational medical and clinical sciences (Years 1 and 2 on campus with 33 weeks of instruction per year) with immersive clinical rotations across major hospital departments and general practices in Years 3 and 4. Barbara shared that orientation is underway and she’s “getting more and more excited.”
We are proud of Barbara’s drive and accomplishments, and look forward to celebrating her return home as a physician.
Downstate's Vasocure Secures S4 Recognition for Innovation to Keep Dialysis Access Flowing
SUNY’s Startup Summer School (S4) is a competitive program with the most promising, groundbreaking, and life-saving research emerging from SUNY laboratories. This year’s program drew 222 SUNY students, faculty, and staff from 30 campuses, with only 15 teams advancing to the highly anticipated Demo Day pitch event.
Congratulations to Moro Salifu, M.D., MBA, MPH, MACP, Chair of Medicine and Chief of Nephrology, representing Vasocure, among just three awardees. Demo Day winners were: REMIX (Binghamton University), receiving $50,000; and sxRNA (University at Albany) and Vasocure, receiving $25,000.
Founded by Dr. Salifu and Anna Babinska, Ph.D., Associate Professor, and Elizabeth Kornecki, MS, Ph.D., Professor, Vasocure is translating Downstate research from bench to bedside. Their discovery of novel peptides that suppress smooth muscle cell growth, an underlying pathway of atherosclerosis and dialysis vascular access occlusion, has shown extraordinary promise. In pre-clinical models, these peptides restored vessel function without surgery, marking a potential breakthrough for patients.
Announced by SUNY in early August, the award provides funding and access to mentoring, strategic guidance, and commercialization expertise from accomplished entrepreneurs and executives. With this recognition and support, Vasocure is poised to advance its mission of keeping dialysis access open longer with fewer interventions, while opening new doors for treating heart disease and stroke.
This recognition highlights the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and excellence that defines SUNY research and celebrates Downstate’s leadership in advancing discoveries that can change lives.
Honoring A Model of Teaching and Mentorship
At our recent PA White Coat Ceremony, we celebrated nearly 50 students as they stepped into their future as healthcare professionals, marking the completion of their Physician Assistant education and their preparation for national certification. We also celebrated the power of teaching and mentoring by honoring Samuel Marquez, Ph.D., FAAA, Professor & Co-Director of Gross Anatomy, with the Distinguished PA Professor Award.
Dr. Marquez is an exemplary educational leader. This honor recognizes faculty who embody the very best of academic excellence, mentorship, and student success. He is known for his rigorous yet supportive approach and inspiring his students as skilled clinicians and compassionate healthcare providers.
Dr. Marquez’s impact reaches beyond the classroom, from innovative curriculum development to nationally acclaimed teaching. He was a 2024 Fellow of the American Association for Anatomy, one of only 18 selected from more than 2,400 members worldwide! Students and residents consistently praise his clinically relevant teaching and engaging leadership. His work sets the bar for teaching, mentoring, and leading.
Congratulations, Dr. Marquez; your dedication continues to shape the future of healthcare.
No Shadows Here—Downstate Radiology Residents Shine Bright at vRad
Regarding imaging excellence, our Radiology residents lit up the screen! Downstate has placed in the top three for the fifth consecutive year, a remarkable streak of excellence reflecting our residents’ and faculty’s talent, dedication, and preparation.
Downstate radiology residents delivered a flawless performance, bringing home top honors at this year’s event, the nation’s largest teleradiology competition.
- First Place Individual Winner: Abdul Olushekun, M.D., wowed the competition, scoring 2,100 points, a full 500 points ahead of the runner-up.
- Second place Individual Winners: Mina Al-Ani, MBBCh; Ruben Oliver-Garcia, M.D., and Matthew Pavlica, DO
- Third place Individual Winner: Adrian Kong, M.D.
- First Place Team Winner:The Downstate team dominated with 5,600 points, more than double the score of the second-place finishers from HCA Florida Trinity.
This year’s event, hosted by vRad’s Chief Medical Officer Ben Strong, M.D., drew 632 residents and fellows nationwide.
Congratulations to Dr. Olushekun and the Radiology Residency team on a crystal-clear victory! Their success showcases our program’s strength, our learners’ passion, and our commitment to keeping Downstate at the forefront of medical education.