Robert Abrams, M.D., retired in November 2023 after serving as a Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and Attending Psychiatrist in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, with an outpatient and consulting practice in Geriatric Psychiatry at the Center on Aging. He has published numerous research and review articles on depression and aging, personality disorders, suicide, elder abuse and the humanities. Dr. Abrams remains a courtesy faculty member and dear friend of the division.
Abrams, Robert, M.D.
Adelman, Ronald, M.D.
Ronald D. Adelman, M.D., is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Adelman is the Co-Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is the Emilie Roy Corey Professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology. Dr. Adelman is also the Executive Medical Director of the Center on Aging, Director of the Center for Aging Research and Clinical Care and Directs Adult Palliative Care at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Adelman’s research interests are in older patient-physician communication, caregiving and a range of palliative care topics.
Asprec, Lawrence, M.D.
Lawrence Asprec, M.D., completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and his Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center. His interests focus on integrating palliative care within the field of rehabilitation medicine.
Boot, Walter, PhD
Walter R. Boot, PhD, is Professor of Psychology in Medicine within the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Associate Director of the Center on Aging and Behavioral Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is one of five principal investigators at the multi-disciplinary Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE), a long-standing and award-winning National Institute on Aging-funded center dedicated to ensuring that the benefits of technology can be realized by older adults. He is also Co-Director of the ENHANCE (Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, & Community Engagement) Center, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, with a focus on how technology can support older adults living with cognitive impairment. His research interests include how existing and emerging technologies can support the health, wellbeing, quality of life, and social connectivity of older adults with and without cognitive impairments. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Gerontological Society of America.
Chang, "Iggy" E-Shien, PhD
E-Shien “Iggy” Chang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Gerontology in Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Using health equity and social justice lenses, Dr. Chang’s research focuses on prevention of elder mistreatment in diverse community and health care settings while supporting older persons, family caregivers, and the direct care workforce. Her research goals are to further understand the significant role of structural mechanisms, including ageism and racism, in shaping the risks and responses to violence against older persons. Dr. Chang currently holds a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to investigate the role of race/ethnicity in resident-to-resident aggression among ethnically diverse long-term care residents to inform a novel staff education intervention. Dr. Chang received her Ph.D. degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Yale School of Public Health, M.A. degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and completed a NIA-funded T32 postdoctoral research fellowship in behavioral geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Cummings, Kelly, M.D.
Kelly Cummings, M.D., is a graduate of SUNY Upstate Medical University. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Stony Brook University Hospital and her Geriatric Medicine fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai. Dr. Cummings joined the Department of Medicine/Division of Geriatrics at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2020 and serves as Director of Quality Improvement for the Division of Geriatrics. She is particularly interested in improving the quality and safety of care for hospitalized older adults through quality improvement (QI) projects and education.
Czaja, Sara, PhD
Sara J. Czaja, PhD, is Professor of Gerontology and the Director of the Center on Aging and Behavioral Research in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has extensive experience in Aging research both theoretical and applied, and coordination and leadership of multi-site collaborations. She is the PI of the NIA funded multi-site Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) . Her research interests include: aging and cognition, aging and healthcare informatics, caregiving, older workers, human-computer interaction, training, and functional assessment. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the Gerontological Society of America. She is also a member of the National Academy of Science Board on Human Systems Integration. She is the Immediate Past President of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of APA and recently served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Healthy Cognitive Aging and the Institute of Medicine Committee on Family Caregivers of Older Adults.
Del Carmen, Tessa, M.D.
Tessa Del Carmen, M.D., graduated from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (Philippines) and completed her residency and chief residency at New York Medical College-Richmond Program and her Geriatrics fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. After completing her fellowship, she served as Chair of Geriatrics and Director of Palliative Care Services at Richmond University Medical Center before joining the Weill Cornell Medicine Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine faculty in September of 2011 as Assistant Professor. She is Medical Director of the Center on Aging. Her interests focus on HIV & Aging, community medicine and palliative care.
Diamond, Randi, M.D.
Randi R. Diamond, M.D., is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center and at Montefiore Medical Center where she also completed her geriatrics fellowship. Dr. Diamond joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2009. She is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Founding Director of the Liz Claiborne Center for Humanism in Medicine, and Director of the Program for Global Palliative Education in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Diamond is an active clinician educator, practicing inpatient palliative medicine consultation and working with medical students, residents and fellows in palliative care, reflective practice, medical humanities, and global palliative care. She serves on the NYPH Ethics Committee and is a faculty advisor to the WCMC student humanities journal, Ascensus. She is committed to her work in global health, traveling regularly to rural Uganda to provide and teach palliative medicine in collaboration with her palliative care colleagues there to broaden awareness and expertise in palliative care among health care workers and the general population.
Eiss, Brian, M.D.
Brian Eiss, M.D., is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine. After completing his geriatrics fellowship in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, he joined the medical faculty. Dr. Eiss is interested in quality improvement and patient safety, serving on several committees and participating in quality improvement initiatives and research projects.
Fessler, Emily, M.D.
Emily Fessler, M.D. is a graduate of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed both her Internal Medicine residency and geriatrics fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a year at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center as a Chief Resident in Quality and Safety and geriatric primary care physician. She joined the Weill Cornell Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in 2021 as an Assistant Professor. In addition to her clinical focus on primary care for older adults, she serves as the associate program director for the geriatrics fellowship.
Finkelstein, Emily S., M.D.
Emily S. Finkelstein M.D., is a graduate of Princeton University where she studied Art History. After working at the Whitney Museum of American Art, she obtained a medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. She completed both a residency and a chief residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford Medical Center. After completing her fellowship in geriatric medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, she joined the medical faculty in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She has a clinical interest in preventive medicine and nutrition as it informs health and has a certificate in nutrition science. She has an academic interest in connecting art and medicine.
Jhaveri, Sonya, D.O.
Dr. Sonya Jhaveri, D.O., graduated from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Lewisgale Montgomery Hospital and her Geriatrics fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Jhaveri then joined the Department of Medicine/Division of Geriatrics at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Currently, she serves as the Site Director for the Long-Term Care Rotation overseeing fellows' longitudinal patient care at Mary Manning Walsh skilled nursing facility. She also serves as the Rotation Director for a local Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE), emphasizing primary care and interdisciplinary collaboration, and providing the opportunity for fellows to learn the program’s history, regulations, and payment structure. Her academic focus centers on Aging in Place and Optimizing Care for Institutionalized Older Adults.
Kwok, Ian B., M.D.
Ian B. Kwok, M.D., is a graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He completed internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Kwok joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in 2021 as Director of Community Outreach and Education and as an attending physician on the Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service. He is also the Director of the Palliative Care House Call Program. Dr. Kwok is interested in communication strategies and team models bridging communities and health systems, as well as the integration of creative arts therapies for patients with serious illness.
Lachs, Mark, M.D., MPH
Mark Lachs, M.D., MPH, graduated medical school from NYU School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania and was on the faculty at Yale before joining the geriatrics program at Cornell’s Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Lachs is the Irene and Roy Psaty Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College and Co-Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and the Director of Geriatrics for The New York Presbyterian Health Care System. His major area of interest is the disenfranchised elderly, and he has published widely in the areas of elder abuse and neglect, adult protective services, the measurement of functional status, ethics and the financing of health care.
Lien, Cynthia, M.D.
Cynthia Lien, M.D., is a graduate of SUNY Upstate Medical University and completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Chief Residency at Hofstra NS-LIJ School of Medicine. In 2015, Dr. Lien completed her fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Her educational and research interests focus on community medicine, vulnerable populations and geriatrics education and curriculum development.
Lo Faso, Veronica, M.D.
Veronica Lo Faso, M.D., is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Lo Faso's experience as a nurse practitioner before attending medical school gives her a broad and valuable range of experience in patient care. Dr. Lo Faso, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in 1997 and has a great interest in medical education to protect older adults from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
Maciejewski, Paul K., PhD
Paul Maciejewski, PhD, received his master’s and PhD degrees from Stanford University. He joined the Division in February of 2014 as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics in Radiology and the Co-Director of the Center for Research on End-of-Life Care. Dr. Maciejewski’s research activities are focused on the design, analysis and interpretation of studies to better understand psychological, social and cultural processes that influence end-of-life medical decision-making and care, and of studies to channel those processes toward improving end-of-life outcomes in ways that reflect the values and preferences of patients and their families.
McDonald, William, M.D.
William McDonald, M.D., is a graduate of the Emory University School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Yale Primary Care program in New Haven, Connecticut, where he also served as Chief Resident. He is now excited to provide primary care at the Center on Aging while maintaining active research in deprescribing and the appropriate use of medications as we age.
Mehta, Sonal Subhash, M.D.
Sonal Subhash Mehta, M.D., is a graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center and at New York University Medical Center. In 2008, Dr. Mehta joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine after completing her fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Currently, Dr. Mehta is Associate Program Director of the Geriatrics Fellowship and serves as the Managing Director of the Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service. She is particularly interested in managing symptoms related to chronic diseases, caring for older adults with dementia and other chronic conditions.
Ouchida, Karin, M.D.
Karin Ouchida, M.D., is a graduate of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency and geriatrics fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. At Montefiore Medical Center Dr. Ouchida served as the Medical Director of Montefiore Home Health Agency and the Co-Director of the Geriatrics Home Visiting Program. In 2011, Dr. Ouchida joined the Division and currently serves as the Co-Director of the Geriatrics Fellowship and the Clinical Director of the Geriatrics House Call Program. Her educational and research interests focus on improving the safety of care transitions.
Phongtankuel, Veerawat, M.D.
Veerawat Phongtankuel, M.D., is a graduate of SUNY Downstate Medical College and completed his residency at Temple University Medical Center. Dr. Phongtankuel joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine as an Assistant Professor after finishing his geriatric medicine fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2014. Dr. Phongtankuel is an AFAR/Hartford Foundation COE Scholar and an Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program Scholar. His areas of expertise are geriatrics, transitions of care and palliative medicine. His research interest focuses on improving quality of care for patients at the end of life.
Prigerson, Holly, PhD
Holly Prigerson, PhD, received her graduate degrees in History and Sociology from Stanford, was a postdoctoral fellow in the epidemiology of aging at Yale, and received an honorary master’s degree from Harvard. She was approved for tenure as a faculty member at Yale and Harvard Medical School (HMS); she was recently promoted to Professor of Psychiatry at HMS. In 2014, Dr. Prigerson joined the Division as the Director for Center for Research on End-of-Life Care, Irving Sherwood Wright Professor of Geriatrics, and Professor of Sociology in Medicine. The theme of her research across studies has been on examining psychosocial and behavioral influences on medical care and care outcomes for patients and families confronting life-threatening illnesses and death.
Reid, Cary, Ph.D., M.D.
Cary Reid, Ph.D., M.D., is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Reid completed his residency in Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and fellowships in both Clinical Epidemiology and Geriatrics Medicine at Yale University. He is the Irving Sherwood Wright Professor in Geriatrics. Dr. Reid has received many research awards over the years, including a Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Scholar Award and a highly coveted Paul Beeson Faculty Scholar on Aging Research Award. He is also a section editor of the journal Pain Medicine. Dr. Reid’s work at TRIPLL supports translational research on pain and aging in New York City. He joined the faculty of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in January 2003.
Riffin, Catherine, Ph.D.
Catherine Riffin, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist who studies family relationships in later life. She received her master's and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University and completed a T32 research fellowship in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Riffin is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her research focuses on family management of chronic illness, patient-caregiver communication, and the interpersonal processes that facilitate or undermine older adults’ chronic illness care. Her current work examines family involvement in older adults' chronic illness care, with a specific focus on caregivers’ interactions with the health care system.
Shalev, Daniel, M.D.
Daniel Shalev, M.D., is a graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College. He completed his psychiatry residency and consultation-liaison psychiatry fellowship at Columbia before completing his hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Cornell and Columbia. He joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in 2021 as an Instructor while completing his T-32 post-doctoral research training in behavioral geriatrics and stayed on as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medicine in Psychiatry. In the division, he leads a research and clinical program focused on meeting the mental health needs of patients with serious medical illnesses. He has published widely and speaks nationally on issues at the interface of psychiatry and palliative medicine and serves as the psychosocial associate editor for the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
Siegler, Eugenia, M.D.
Eugenia Siegler, MD is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency at Bellevue and New York University Hospitals, and her geriatrics fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Siegler is an Attending Physician and the Medical Director of the Geriatrics Inpatient Services at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is also Mason Adams Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, whose faculty she joined in 2000. Dr. Siegler's clinical interests include inpatient geriatric care, aging with HIV, and the effective use of the electronic medical record (EMR). She is also involved in house staff geriatrics education and improvement in quality of care for hospitalized elders.
Silva, Milagros D., M.D.
Milagros D. Silva, M.D., is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Northwestern University-McGaw Medical Center. In the summer of 2014, Dr. Silva completed her fellowship training in Palliative Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Silva is developing an outpatient palliative care practice and serves as Assistant Attending physician in the Palliative Care Consultation Service. Her educational and research interests focus on palliative care in the cancer population and improving end-of-life care to Limited English Proficient patients.
Singh, Navendra, M.D., MPH
Navendra Singh, M.D., MPH, is a graduate of The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education and New York Medical College. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital. In 2020, Dr. Singh completed his fellowship training in Palliative Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and joined the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. He currently serves as an attending physician on the inpatient palliative medicine consultation service as well as the outpatient service. His interests focus on postgraduate medical education and immigrant health.