These dedicated alumni demonstrate the innovative spirit of Mount Sinai, wherever their varied paths of exploration and discovery may lead.
Blake Gurfein, PhD ’09
Blake Gurfein, PhD ’09 is a neuroscientist, immunologist, and neurotechnology entrepreneur committed to delivering breakthrough, nondrug therapies to patients in need. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Humanity Neurotech, which is developing a noninvasive magnetic treatment to reduce neuroinflammation and restore mitochondrial function in neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Gurfein earned his ScB in Neuroscience from Brown University and his PhD in Neuroscience from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Upon completing postdoctoral training in neuroimmunology at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Gurfein joined the faculty. He continues to serve as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery.
As a National Institutes of Health-funded investigator, Dr. Gurfein has been cited in more than 1,000 scientific publications, and he is an inventor on more than 15 patents for medical technologies. “My time at Mount Sinai provided me with deep expertise in both neuroscience and immunology,” he says, “the intersection of which has been the focus of my research and device development ever since.”
Dr. Gurfein has developed novel magnetic and electrical medical devices targeting the trigeminal nerve, the vagus nerve, and the brain. He previously served as Chief Scientific Officer at Tivic Health Systems, where he led a pivotal clinical trial at Stanford University and oversaw regulatory clearances for a first-in-class medical device for sinus inflammation. Recognized for blending scientific rigor with entrepreneurial execution, Dr. Gurfein was named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” in 2019.
“I believe I have a responsibility to use my skills to bring about positive change, which for me is focused on reducing patient suffering and developing new therapies,” Dr. Gurfein said in a 2022 interview with Authority Magazine. “This service mindset naturally shifts the focus from you and your accomplishments to something much greater and full of purpose.” That mindset is also reflected in his mentoring of junior scientists and aspiring entrepreneurs as well as his volunteer work with HomeRise, which aims to reduce homelessness in the Bay Area.
Joseph Leanza, MD ’17, MPH
An emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, Joseph Leanza, MD ’17, MPH, is also Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Global Health Programs at the Boston University School of Medicine. Additionally, he is a Medical Director for Global Response Medicine, an organization whose crisis response team delivers emergency care to those caught in war, conflict, or disaster around the world, while also training local clinicians.
Dr. Leanza completed his undergraduate degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University and earned his MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He subsequently trained in emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a Fellowship in Global Health and a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
Reflecting on his career, Dr. Leanza says his experiences at the Icahn School of Medicine directly influenced the path he chose. Between his first and second years, for example, Mount Sinai funded and facilitated a rotation and research project in the Dominican Republic—his first exposure to international medical research and programming. “Mount Sinai’s modern curriculum and progressive culture pushed me to learn about structural inequities, social justice, and the politics and economics of medicine at home and abroad,” he adds. “I owe my decision to pursue emergency medicine and to work in local and global health equity to those lessons.”
In his roles at Boston University, Dr. Leanza educates medical students and residents, mentors those interested in global health careers, and works on international academic partnerships. As a part of Global Response Medicine, he focuses on providing humanitarian care and strengthening emergency care systems. For example, he has worked on programming for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, and his current projects in Iraq and Ukraine involve emergency medicine education and systems strengthening. Dr. Leanza has also worked on projects in Pakistan and Bangladesh with the Certification Program in Emergency Medicine, in Uganda with Global Emergency Care, and in Ecuador and Vietnam with the University of Pennsylvania.
Sharon Singh, MD ’01
Sharon Singh, MD ’01 is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and serves as Director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program. She is also Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan and directs her own independent basic science research laboratory focused on finding new therapies for inherited anemias.
Dr. Singh’s research focuses on the rare ribosome disease, Diamond-Blackfan anemia syndrome (DBAS), which she first learned about during a pediatric hematology/oncology elective as a first-year student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“During this rotation, I became inspired by my faculty mentor, Jeffrey M. Lipton, MD, PhD,” she says. “He took me to visit his patients on the wards and also discussed the important basic science research he was doing in the field.”
Her own basic science research is aimed at understanding the mechanisms that underpin inherited anemias such as DBAS with the goal of developing novel therapeutics for these disorders. The National Institutes of Health have provided funding for Dr. Singh’s investigation into the mechanism of bone marrow failure in DBAS.
When she advises medical students, Dr. Singh encourages them to expand their activities beyond seeing patients as an important way to advance health care. “A career in medicine is truly a privilege, and it involves juggling many disparate responsibilities,” she says. “Within a given day at work, I function as a physician, a scientist, a teacher, a writer, and a health care advocate, among other roles.”
Born in Guyana, South America, Dr. Singh moved to the United States when she was 15 years old. She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from New York University and earned her medical degree at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed a pediatrics residency and a clinical fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology with Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, New York. Dr. Singh then joined the faculty at Cohen Children’s and served as Director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program there before moving to Michigan in 2016.
Alumni Speakers Inspire Mount Sinai's Newest Students at the White Coat Ceremony and Lab Coat Ceremony at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Rachael Bedard, MD, a 2010 graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine who also completed a fellowship in geriatrics and palliative medicine at Mount Sinai in 2016, delivered the Hans Popper, MD, PhD Keynote Address at the 2025 White Coat Ceremony. She specializes in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care serving homeless and housing-insecure in New York City.
Alec C. Kimmelman, MD, PhD, Dean of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of NYU Langone Health, a 2003 graduate of the MD-PhD program, was the keynote speaker at Mount Sinai’s Lab Coat Ceremony.
