February 21, 2020—(BRONX, NY)—Michelle Ng Gong, M.D., M.S., an internationally renowned clinician and researcher, has been named chief of the division of pulmonary medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. Dr. Gong is currently chief of the division of critical care medicine at Einstein and Montefiore, as well as leader of the unified Jay B. Langer Critical Care Network.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity to grow these two divisions within the department of medicine,” said Dr. Gong, who is also professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health, and director of critical care research in the department of medicine. “I recognize the current strength of many faculty within each division, clinical excellence they provide to patients in the hospital, and the potential of both divisions to grow synergistically to become stronger and even more prominent independently and together.”

Over the course of her career, Dr. Gong has made significant contributions to the fields of critical care medicine and pulmonary medicine. She completed a combined fellowship in the two specialties at Harvard Medical School and is board certified in both. Prior to joining Montefiore, she worked in the pulmonary and critical care divisions at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at Mount Sinai in New York.

I recognize the current strength of many faculty within each division, clinical excellence they provide to patients in the hospital, and the potential of both divisions to grow synergistically to become stronger and even more prominent independently and together.

Michelle Ng Gong, M.D., M.S.

“Dr. Gong is an exceptional leader, role model for trainees and faculty, outstanding educator, and an innovative and creative researcher,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., professor and chair of medicine at Einstein and Montefiore. “Leading both pulmonary and critical care will enable seamless collaboration; combining and harmonizing the strengths of each division will improve patient care, research operations, and training of critical care and pulmonary fellows.”

As chief of critical care medicine, Dr. Gong increased critical care supervision and nighttime staffing at the Jack D. Weiler Hospital while increasing revenue and cutting expenses. She has also recruited new faculty, focusing on improving diversity, and was instrumental in opening the Neuroscience Progressive Care Unit to support the Comprehensive Stroke Center.

During her tenure as director of critical care research, Dr. Gong built a clinical research program that generated over $21 million in funding and published in top journals including JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. Under her leadership, Montefiore and Einstein were selected to join the NHLBI Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Clinical Trials Network, which marked the first representation of a medical center in New York and the tri-state area. She is co-leader of the Health Research Implementation and Informatics Core in the Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore. Dr. Gong also has fostered the application of informatics and artificial intelligence approaches to drive improvements in healthcare delivery and research.

Dr. Gong succeeds interim-chief Eric Epstein, M.D., associate professor of medicine, and the previous division chief, Simon Spivack, M.D, M.P.H.