The Institute for Innovations in Medical Education works with distinguished faculty to foster advances in medical education. Tapping into our affiliated faculty’s expertise in various areas of medicine allows us to produce meaningful solutions to challenges in healthcare and medical education.

Steven B. Abramson, MD, Department of Medicine

Dr. Abramson is the executive vice president and vice dean for education, faculty, and academic affairs, chief academic officer; chair of the Department of Medicine; and the Frederick H. King Professor of Internal Medicine, Departments of Medicine and Pathology. He oversees faculty affairs, including appointments, promotions, and tenure; undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate education; and continuing medical education, precollege programs, the admissions process, and NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s accreditation. Learn more about Dr. Abramson.

Patrick Cocks, MD, Department of Medicine

Dr. Cocks is the Abraham Sunshine Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine and director of the Department of Medicine’s residency programs. He has received numerous awards for his work with students and residents. His research focuses on evaluating trainee development. He was accepted into the Merrin Master Clinician Fellowship program to develop a bedside observation and feedback program. Learn more about Dr. Cocks.

Karen M. Duncan, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Duncan is an assistant professor and the medical student clerkship director in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an attending physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. She is a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s medical student education committee. Learn more about Dr. Duncan.

Eugene A. Grossi, MD, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. Grossi is the Stephen B. Colvin Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, director of the thoracic surgery residency program, and director of cardiac surgery research. He specializes in the surgical treatment of valvular heart disease and robotic mitral valve repair surgery. Dr. Grossi and his colleagues were instrumental in training dozens of surgical teams around the world to use new techniques and specially designed equipment for minimally invasive valvular surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting. Learn more about Dr. Grossi.

Larissa Laskowski, DO, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Laskowski is an assistant professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine, a medical toxicologist, a consultant for the New York City Poison Control Center, and director of the Prevention Education Partnership (PEP), an initiative dedicated to decreasing the incidence of preventable illness and injury commonly seen in the emergency department (ED). Through PEP Talks, a harm-reduction drug education program, she deploys doctors into local schools to educate middle and high school students, teachers, and parents in an effort to keep New York City youth safe, healthy, and out of the ED. Due to the rapidly evolving threat of teen fentanyl overdose, she is currently working to ensure that every student, teacher, and parent know how to recognize an opioid overdose and save a life by administering naloxone. Learn more about Dr. Laskowski.

Michael LoCurcio, MD, Department of Medicine

Dr. LoCurcio is an associate professor and associate chair for undergraduate medical education in the Department of Medicine and director of the medicine clerkship. He chairs the education council that oversees the delivery of medical student education programs, including core medicine, ambulatory care, critical care, and advanced medicine clerkships. His research and fellowship interests include communication during transitions of care, asynchronous educational activities, faculty feedback, and student evaluation. Learn more about Dr. LoCurcio.

Toni M. McLaurin, MD, MMI, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. McLaurin is an associate professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and associate director of orthopedic surgery and chief of orthopedic services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Twice a recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award at NYU Langone, she has been actively involved in mentoring women and underrepresented minorities who are interested in orthopedics. Learn more about Dr. McLaurin.

Michael Mojica, MD, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine and Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Mojica is an associate professor and the director of the pediatric emergency medicine fellowship program in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine, as well as the director of education for the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. He is the developer and editor of PEM Guides, a syllabus site and ebook that provides concise reviews of pediatric emergency medicine topics for use in the clinical setting. He has developed and published curricula in critical appraisal of medical literature, research design, and statistics. He completed a series of online “teach the teacher” modules for residents and faculty that seek to improve their teaching skills. Learn more about Dr. Mojica.

Joseph Nicholson, MLIS, MPH, NYU Health Sciences Library

Mr. Nicholson is the chair and director of the NYU Health Sciences Library. His research interests focus on teaching and assessing evidence-based medicine practices for medical students. He has been awarded a PrMEIR grant to investigate how medical students and residents use technology at the point of care.

Donna Phillips, MD, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Phillips is the director for professional development in medical education, a clinical professor and the assistant director of the orthopedic surgery residency programs, and the director of resident assessment for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. She develops and implements innovative methods to teach and assess residents. Learn more about Dr. Phillips.

Adam H. Skolnick, MD, Department of Medicine

Dr. Skolnick is an associate professor in the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine. He serves as the associate director of the telemetry service at NYU Langone and director of NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s cardiovascular pathophysiology course. In 2013 he was named the Department of Medicine teacher of the year. He is implementing a program for internal medicine residents to use pocket ultrasound during bedside physical examination. Learn more about Dr. Skolnick.

Phillip Ross Smith, MD, PhD, Department of Cell Biology (1945–2017)

The late Dr. Smith was an associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology and scientific content editor for NYU Langone’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute website. Dr. Smith contributed to numerous educational software projects that have been, and continue to be, used by thousands of students at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and nationally. Among these were the KeySearch system that uses natural language processing to evaluate student assessments, instructional design of the NYU Virtual Microscope, and dozens of online learning modules and quizzes that teach the fundamentals of histology and microscopy. In recognition of his enduring interest, commitment, and dedication to medical education and technology, Dr. Smith was inducted as an affiliate faculty member of the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education. He will be greatly missed.

Silas Smith, MD, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Smith is a clinical associate professor and chief of Quality, Safety, and Practice Innovation for the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine. He directs the Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Fellowship in Emergency Department Safety and Quality. Dr. Smith also serves as associate director of the medical toxicology fellowship and is a member of the core faculty for the emergency medicine residency. He is evaluating emergency department and imaging utilization, adaptive learning tools, provider feedback, and healthcare errors. Learn more about Dr. Smith.

Patrick Ying, MD, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Ying is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry. He oversees one of the outpatient rotations for the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s psychiatry residency training program and serves as a course director for the biological psychiatry curriculum for residents. He also lectures on psychopharmacology for second-year medical students and has developed measures to assess the effectiveness of a mentoring program for junior faculty. He specializes in the treatment of refractory conditions with neuromodulation techniques, such as electroconvulsive therapy and deep brain simulation. Learn more about Dr. Ying.