Time’s Up Sinai: A Call for Action

May 6, 2019

To the Mount Sinai Board of Trustees:

Misogyny, discrimination, and bullying are never acceptable in interpersonal and professional settings. As students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we are deeply disturbed by the allegations of such behavior at our own institution, specifically at the Arnhold Institute of Global Health. We believe that Mount Sinai’s leadership must immediately take steps to investigate these allegations, prevent further perpetuation of an abusive culture that enables these types of behaviors to occur, and empower those who seek justice.

We are compelled to speak out by the shocking acts of discrimination on the basis of gender, age, and race described in the lawsuit filed on April 26, 2019 by former and current employees of Mount Sinai. The lawsuit details how leading women at the Arnhold Institute of Global Health were systematically denigrated and intimidated to the point of being forced out of the institution. Such actions include discriminatory pay reductions, intimidation tactics that produced a hostile working environment, and the imposition of a culture of silence. Furthermore, these abuses appear to have occurred with the administration’s knowledge, including Dr. Dennis Charney, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The described events are particularly upsetting when the accused are leaders at our school who are supposed to be role models.

We stand in solidarity with the group of predominantly women who are courageously pursuing justice: Dr. Holly Atkinson, Dr. Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, Dr. Stella Safo, Mary Caliendo, Humale Khan, Geraldine Llames, Amanda Misiti, and Emilie Bruzelius. In publicly reliving these traumas, they are exposing themselves to further harm in their personal and professional lives. However, they seek justice not only for themselves but also to improve conditions for women at Mount Sinai so they can learn, work, and lead in a safe environment.

We admire the commitment of these plaintiffs to empowering medical students through direct mentorship and building our curriculum on human rights. What is particularly impressive is that they established many of these curricula and programs in the face of deep adversity and workplace abuses. Many of us are better clinicians and advocates because of the opportunities we had to learn from and partner with these leaders. Their strong commitment to human rights and equity provides an example of how we can build better institutions that reflect a more diverse, inclusive, and humane future of medicine. We are deeply saddened that future students will not have the opportunity to learn from these women who have been intimidated to the point of resignation; it is a true disservice to our education at this school.

As students at this institution, we pride ourselves on our commitment to equity and social justice. It is particularly important to apply this commitment to our own institution. We call on our school leadership to live up to their promise, as outlined in the Faculty Hippocratic Oath, to have the “courage to stand up for the oppressed and vulnerable and against prejudice and racism in all that we do.”

In this spirit, we call on the Mount Sinai Board of Trustees to immediately:

• Investigate these claims in a more transparent and open process than has occurred to date, including investigation into the culture of harassment perpetuated by school leadership.
• Take decisive action to correct these issues and hold appropriate parties responsible. As investigations proceed, Dr. Prabhjot Singh and Bruno Silva cannot be allowed to remain in their roles and continue to represent our institution. As Dean of the school, Dr. Dennis Charney is responsible for enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against harassment and should be held accountable if he is found to have played a role in allowing these events to occur, including perpetuating a culture of discrimination.
• Commit to building a culture at Mount Sinai where misogyny, discrimination, and bullying are unacceptable, using the recommendations put forth by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to address and prevent the harassment of women in the workplace.
• Become a signatory organization to Time’s Up Healthcare, a national organization aiming to end bias, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace.

We sign this letter because we care deeply about our institution and specifically our mentors, educators, and staff. We are outraged by their mistreatment and the culture of abuse that has flourished at Mount Sinai. We believe in the work these women have dedicated themselves to in the pursuit of health and human rights in our own communities and around the world. More broadly, we believe in and trust women.

Click here to sign this letter, which will be delivered to the Mount Sinai Board of Trustees.

(Note: Signatures are in alphabetical order.)

Sincerely,

1. Unwana Abasi, MD Class of 2022
2. Jennifer Acevedo, MPH Class of 2019
3. Joshua Acklin, PhD candidate
4. Alexandra Agathis, MD Class of 2021
5. Danielle Agpalo, MPH Class of2019
6. Zainab Ahmed, MD Class of 2020
7. Amy Ahn, MD Class of 2021
8. Monica Amoo-Achampong, MD Class of 2019
9. Kweku Ampem-Darko, MD Class of 2022
10. Cesar Andrade, MD Class of 2020
11. Catalina Angel, MD Class of 2020
12. Bree Arditi, MD/MSCR Class of 2019
13. Alaina Aristide, MD Class of 2019
14. Annie Arrighi-Allisan, MD Class of 2021
15. Benjamin Asriel, MD Class of 2020
16. Imaz Athar, MD Class of 2021
17. Emily Bachner, MD Class of 2022
18. Jennifer Bailey, MD Class of 2020
19. Japjot Bal, MD Class of 2022
20. Elisabeth Ball, MSBS Class of 2020
21. Evan Bardot, PhD Class of 2019
22. Christina Beck, MD Class of 2019
23. Lucia Bederson, MD Class of 2022
24. Anastasia Beldovskaya, MD Class of 2020
25. Eva Berlin, MD Class of 2019
26. Caroline Beyer, MD Class of 2019
27. Lucy Bicks, PhD Class of 2020
28. Anna Blazejowskyj, MD Class of 2020
29. James Blum, MD Class of 2021
30. Raia Blum, MD Class of 2021
31. Priyanka Boddu, MD Class of 2022
32. Benjamin Boodaie, MD Class of 2019
33. Adam Bossert, MD Class of 2019
34. Biobele Braide, MD Class of 2022
35. Andrew Breglio, MD Class of 2019
36. Erin Bresnahan, MD Class of 2020
37. Julia Brown, PhD Class of 2019
38. Libbey Brown, MD Class of 2019
39. Mariela Cabrera, MD Class of 2022
40. Brielle Cardieri, MD Class of 2020
41. Oscar Carrillo, MD Class of 2021
42. James Carter, MD/PhD Class of 2024
43. Christian Cayon, MD Class of 2021
44. Alison Celello, MD Class of 2019
45. Mark Chan, MSBS Class of 2019
46. Sandhya Chandrasekaran, MD/PhD Class of 2022
47. Emily Chapman, MD Class of 2021
48. Kieley Chapman, MD Class of 2019
49. Dudley Charles, MD Class of 2021
50. Deepa Chellappa, MD Class of 2019
51. Steven Chen, MD/PhD Class of 2023
52. Julia Cheng, MD Class of 2022
53. Rossana Cheng, MD Class of 2021
54. Kevin Cheung, MD Class of 2022
55. Emma Chew Murphy, MD Class of 2019
56. Mariah Chingee, MPH Class of 2019
57. Leela Chockalingam, MD Class of 2019
58. Sayeeda Chowdhury, MD/MPH Class of 2021
59. Natalie Cohen, MD Class of 2019
60. Phillip Cohen, MD/PhD Class of 2023
61. Courtney Connolly, MD Class of 2021
62. Alanna Cote, PhD Class of 2023
63. Arielle Coughlin, MD Class of 2022
64. Amanda Craig, PhD Class of 2019
65. Cati Crawford, MD Class of 2019
66. Ashley Cunningham, MSBS Class of 2020
67. Eddie Cytryn, MD Class of 2020
68. Megan D’Andrea, MD Class of 2021
69. Dennis Dacarett-Galeano, MD/MPH Class of 2020
70. Priya Dave, MD Class of 2022
71. Jessica De Freitas, PhD Class of 2022
72. Adrienne Dean, MPH Class of 2020
73. Pamela Del Valle, PhD Class of 2023
74. Eva DeLappe, MD Class of 2021
75. Alexandra Dembar, MD Class of 2019
76. Kristina Deonaraine, MSBS Class of 2019
77. Fiona Desland, MD/PhD Class of 2021
78. Kavya Devarakonda, PhD Class of 2021
79. Francesca di Domenico, PhD Class fo 2021
80. Jennifer Diaz, MD/PhD Class of 2021
81. Rae Dong, MD/MPH Class of 2019
82. Katherine Donovan, MD Class of 2021
83. Eleni Drivas, MD Class of 2020
84. James Duehr, PhD Class of 2019
85. Sarah Duncan, MD Class of 2020
86. Alexandra Dunn, MD/MPH Class of 2023
87. Madison Edens, MD Class of 2020
88. Anastasia Efthymiou, PhD Class of 2021
89. Julie Eggenberger, PhD Class of 2021
90. Chinasa Ekweremuba, MPH Class of 2020
91. Randy Ellis, PhD Class of 2021
92. Rebecca Ellis, MD Class of 2019
93. Benjamin Ely, PhD Class of 2019
94. Axel Yannick Epie, MD Class of 2022
95. Meghana Eswarappa, MD Class of 2019
96. Charlotte Ezratty, MD Class of 2020
97. Isaac Faith, MSBS Class of 2020
98. Jordyn Feingold, MD/MSCR Class of 2021
99. Alec Feuerbach, MD Class of 2020
100. Clara Fischman, MD/MSCR Class of 2019
101. Katherine Foudy, MGC Class of 2020
102. Conner Fox, MD Class of 2020
103. Gabriela Frid, MD Class of 2022
104. Emmeline Friedman, MD Class of 2020
105. Jonathan Gabbay, MD Class of 2020
106. John Gaipa, MD Class of 2020
107. Harper Gany-Beitler, MD Class of 2021
108. Katherine Garvey, MD Class of 2021
109. Emma Geduldig, MD Class of 2020
110. Jesse Gelles, PhD Class of 2019
111. Caroline Gellman, MD Class of 2020
112. Caroline Gentile, MD Class of 2021
113. Helya Ghaffari, MD/PhD Class of 2020
114. Sarah Gilbert King, PhD candidate
115. Jana Gjini, MSBS Class of 2020
116. Brittany Glassberg, MD Class of 2020
117. Marisa Goff, PhD Class of 2023
118. Brooke Gogel, MD Class of 2021
119. Carla Golden, PhD Class of 2019
120. Jingqi Gong, PhD Class of 2019
121. Lucy Goodson, MD Class of 2019
122. Sindhura Gopinath, PhD Class of 2021
123. Aliza Green, MD Class of 2020
124. Jeanie Gribben, MD Class of 2020
125. Phillip Groden, MD Class of 2021
126. Jennifer Grom, MD Class of 2019
127. Nikita Gupta, MD Class of 2021
128. Syed Haider, MD Class of 2019
129. Rollie Hampton, MD/PhD Class of 2025
130. Stephanie Hanchuk, MD Class of 2019
131. Alisse Hannaford, MD Class of 2019
132. Yonis Hassan, MD Class of 2020
133. Leah Haykin, MD Class of 2020
134. Gavriella Hecht, MPH Class of 2020
135. Daniel Henrick, MD Class of 2022
136. Derek Hilgers, MD Class of 2019
137. Melissa Hill, MD Class of 2021
138. Leeza Hirt, MD Class of 2022
139. Melissa Ho, MD Class of 2020
140. Daisy Hoagland, PhD Class of 2023
141. Steph Hojsak, MD Class of 2021
142. Benjamin Hong, MD Class of 2019
143. Margaret Hung, PhD Class of 2022
144. Zina Huxley-Reicher, MD Class of 2020
145. Sigal Israilov, MD Class of 2020
146. Chioma Iwelumo, MD Class of 2022
147. Samantha Jacobs, MD Class of 2020
148. Suraj Jaladanki, MD Class of 2022
149. Ericka Jaramillo, MD Class of 2019
150. Stephanie Jeong, MD Class of 2022
151. Rui Jiang, MPH Class of 2020
152. Lillian Jin, MD/MPH Class of 2019
153. Carly Jones, MSBS Class of 2019
154. Stefanie Joseph, MPH Class of 2020
155. Denise Jurczyszak, PhD candidate
156. Allison Kann, PhD candidate
157. Derek Kao, MD/MSCR Class of 2023
158. Catharine Kappauf, MD Class of 2020
159. Alex Karol, MD Class of 2022
160. Samuel Kase, MD Class of 2020
161. Khushmit Kaur, MD Class of 2020
162. Murad Khan, MD Class of 2019
163. Farrah Khan, MD/MPH Class of 2019
164. Sara Kiani, MD/MPH Class of 2023
165. Monica Kim, MS Class of 2019
166. Yoni Kirsch, MD Class of 2021
167. Sophie Kligler, MD Class of 2022
168. Clara Koo, MD Class of 2020
169. Benji Kornbluth, MD Class of 2021
170. Anna Kramer, PhD Class of 2022
171. Adam Kraus, MD/MPH Class of 2020
172. Hannah Krystal, MD Class of 2021
173. Anirudh Kumar, MD/MPH Class of 2019
174. Vedika Kumar, MD Class of 2021
175. Meygan J Lackey, MD Class of 2020
176. Michelle Lai, MD Class of 2021
177. Marcia Lange, MD/MPH Class of 2022
178. Andrew Leader, MD/PhD Class of 2022
179. Irene Lee, MD Class of 2019
180. Emma Lehmann, PhD Class of 2023
181. Tin Leong, MD Class of 2022
182. Rachel Levantovsky, MD/PhD Class of 2025
183. Michael Leventhal, PhD Class of 2023
184. Hazel Lever, MD/MPH Class of 2019
185. Isaiah Levy, MD Class of 2019
186. Letitia Li, MD Class of 2021
187. Becky Li, MSBS Class of 2020
188. Whitney Lieb, MSCR Class of 2020
189. Tiffany Lim, MD Class of 2022
190. Matthew Lin, MD/PhD Class of 2026
191. Tracey Liu, MD Class of 2019
192. Clifford Liu, MD/PhD Class of 2025
193. Benjamin Liu, MD Class of 2021
194. Sean Llewellyn, MD/PhD Class of 2019
195. Katleen Lozada, MD Class of 2020
196. Kelsey Lucerne, PhD Class of 2023
197. Zoe Luscher, MD Class of 2019
198. Hayley Lynch, MD Class of 2020
199. Giselle Lynch, MD Class of 2019
200. Seshat Mack, MD/PhD Class of 2022
201. Sarah MacLean, MD Class of 2021
202. Pratima Maharjan, MSCR Class of 2019
203. Allison Mahon, MD Class of 2019
204. Emma Makoba, MD Class of 2020
205. Yash Maniar, MD Class of 2021
206. Emily Markovic, MD Class of 2020
207. Ivan Marquez, MD Class of 2019
208. Kelsey Martin, MD Class of 2022
209. Tyler Martinson, MD Class of 2022
210. Anandita Mathur, MD Class of 2021
211. Tucker Matthews, MD Class of 2020
212. Maria Mavrommatis, MD Class of 2021
213. Noor Maza, MD Class of 2020
214. Tyler McChane, MD Class of 2021
215. Joshua McGough, MS Class of 2019
216. Rena Mei, MD Class of 2019
217. Anthony Mell, MD Class of 2019
218. Michael Miller, MD Class of 2021
219. Angelica Minier-Toribio, PhD Class of 2023
220. Anna-Luisa Mirto, MD/MPH Class of 2020
221. Sarah Montgomery, PhD Class of 2021
222. Claire Morley, MD Class of 2022
223. Joe-Ann Moser, MD Class of 2019
224. Grace Mosley, MD/PhD Class of 2022
225. Jairo Munoz, MSBS Class of 2019
226. Soo Jung Na, PhD Class of 2021
227. Bar Nachmani, PhD Class of 2020
228. Devika Nadkarni, MD Class of 2022
229. Reema Navalurkar, MD Class of 2021
230. Shikha Nayar, PhD candidate
231. Erin Nekritz, PhD Class of 2020
232. Daniel Newman, MD Class of 2021
233. Christie Nguyen, MD/PhD Class of 2024
234. Danielle Novack, MD Class of 2022
235. Gloria Novikova, PhD Class of 2021
236. Jeremy Nussbaum, MD Class of 2021
237. Ted Obi, MD Class of 2022
238. David Octeau, MD Class of 2022
239. Elizabeth Odom, MD Class of 2019
240. Haroun Ogun, PhD Class of 2021
241. Yvonne Okaka, MD Class of 2019
242. Kemi Okome, MD Class of 2022
243. Akila Pai, MD Class of 2021
244. Theodore Pak, MD/PhD Class of 2019
245. Erica Palladino, MPH Class of 2019
246. Jonathan Pan, MD Class of 2021
247. Christopher Panebianco, PhD Class of 2022
248. Andrew Pastor, MD Class of 2022
249. Nidhi Patel, MPH Class of 2020
250. Shravani Pathak, MD Class of 2021
251. Aster Perkins, PhD Class of 2023
252. Abby Pianelli, MD Class of 2020
253. Sam Platt, MD Class of 2022
254. Amara Plaza-Jennings, MD/PhD Class of 2024
255. Natalie Plick, MD Class of 2022
256. Samuel Powell, MD/PhD Class of 2023
257. Cassandra Pruitt, MD Class of 2022
258. Taylor Pullinger, PhD Class of 2023
259. Lucia Qian, MD Class of 2019
260. Rayees Rahman, PhD Class of 2019
261. Julio Ramos, MD Class of 2021
262. Aarti Rao, MD Class of 2020
263. Molly Ratner, MD Class of 2019
264. Peradeba Raventhirarajah, MPH Class of 2019
265. Sanchita Raychaudhuri, MD Class of 2021
266. Jamil Reja, MD Class of 2020
267. Brian Rice, MD Class of 2020
268. Felix Richter, MD/PhD Class of 2021
269. Robert Rifkin, MD/PhD Class of 2019
270. Rebecca Rinehart, MD Class of 2021
271. Jessica Rizzuto, MD Class of 2019
272. Ricardo Rodriguez Colon, MD Class of 2021
273. Jacqueline Roig, MD Class of 2022
274. Denisse Rojas, MD/MPP Class of 2021
275. Christopher Root, MD Class of 2020
276. Lucy Rose, MD Class of 2020
277. Emma Rosenbluth, MD Class of 2020
278. Isobel Rosenthal, MD Class of 2019
279. Stephen Russell, MD Class of 2021
280. Cindy Saenz, MD Class of 2020
281. Miti Saksena, MSCR Class of 2020
282. Allison Salk, MD Class of 2019
283. Lodoe Sangmo, MD Class of 2021
284. Nivedita Saxena, PhD Class of 2021
285. Mollie Schear, MSBS Class of 2019
286. Lilli Schussler, MD Class of 2021
287. Steven Seegobin, MSBS Class of 2019
288. Chirag Shah, MD Class of 2019
289. Dhruv Shankar, MD Class of 2022
290. Abdul Sheikh, MD Class of 2021
291. Jennifer Shmukler, MD Class of 2023
292. Devki Shukla, MD Class of 2021
293. William Shuman, MD Class of 2021
294. Alina Siddiqui, MD Class of 2022
295. Neha Sikka, MD Class of 2020
296. Lara Sokoloff, MD Class of 2021
297. Sulaiman Somani, MD Class of 2021
298. Anna Stacy, MD Class of 2022
299. Lauren Stalbow, MD/PhD Class of 2024
300. Emma Stanislawski, MD Class of 2021
301. Samantha Stein, MD Class of 2021
302. Hayley Strasburger, PhD Class of 2023
303. Maria Suprun, PhD Class of 2021
304. Wayne Sy, MD Class of 2020
305. Lilly Taing, MD Class of 2022
306. Jessica Tan, MD/PhD Class of 2023
307. Dani Taubman, MD Class of 2019
308. Collin Teague, PhD Class of 2023
309. Jimmitti Teysir, MD Class of 2020
310. Sahityasri Thapi, MD Class of 2021
311. Jared Tishelman, MD Class of 2021
312. Emily Tixier, MD Class of 2020
313. Amanda Tomlinson, MD Class of 2021
314. Michelle Tong, MD Class of 2022
315. Rodrigo Torres, MD Class of 2019
316. Michelle Tran, MD/PhD Class of 2026
317. Jessica Tran, MD/MSCR Class of 2023
318. Ugo Udogwu, MD Class of 2019
319. Nick Upright, PhD Class of 2022
320. Girish Valluru, MD/MSCR Class of 2022
321. Camille Van Neste, MD/PhD Class of 2024
322. Ruben Vega Perez, MD Class of 2022
323. Lauren Vetere, PhD Class of 2023
324. Helena Villalobos, MD/MSCR Class of 2019
325. Stephanie von Csiky-Sessoms, MD Class of 2020
326. Ariella Wagner, MSCR Class of 2019
327. Eileen Wang, MD Class of 2021
328. Leslie Warren, MD Class of 2020
329. Colton Welch, MD Class of 2020
330. Nadeera Wickramasinghe, PhD Class of 2020
331. Rachel Wilkinson, MD Class of 2021
332. Lauren Williams, MD Class of 2020
333. Masrai Williams, MD Class of 2021
334. Teddy John Wohlbold, MD/PhD Class of 2019
335. Hope Xu, MD/MSCR Class of 2020
336. Emmy Yang, MD Class of 2021
337. Dong-han Yao, MD Class of 2019
338. Hannah Young, PhD Class of 2023
339. Sarah Zarrin, MD Class of 2019
340. Bosi Zhang, MD Class of 2020
341. Julia Zhao, PhD Class of 2022
342. Anqi Zheng, MD Class of 2019
343. Allen Zheng, MD/PhD Class of 2023
344. Davis Zhou, MD Class of 2020
345. Jacob Ziff, MD Class of 2021
346. Gregory Zilberg, PhD Class of 2024