October 21, 2021—(BRONX, NY)—Jill Biden, Ed.D., the First Lady of the United States, visited the Einstein campus yesterday to film a segment for Good Morning America (GMA). Dr. Biden, who was welcomed by Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein, was interviewed as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In Einstein’s Central Courtyard, near the koi pond, Dr. Biden spoke with GMA host Robin Roberts, who is a breast cancer survivor; Amanda Rivera, M.D., an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Einstein and a radiation oncologist at the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center; and Sandra Cruz, who was recently diagnosed with stage 1 cancer after being urged by her Montefiore physician to go in for her mammogram after she delayed it due to the pandemic.

Dr. Rivera, who also conducts research on cancer screening, noted that mammograms dropped 25% during the pandemic, exacerbating existing health disparities. She emphasized the need to increase diversity in cancer clinical trials, noting that patients of color must be appropriately represented to ensure that they are properly assessed in studies evaluating new diagnostics and treatments.

After leaving Einstein, Dr. Biden visited Montefiore’s Center for Radiation Therapy. There she was greeted by Philip O. Ozuah, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine. Dr. Biden and Ms. Roberts continued their conversation on breast cancer and touched on other topics.

The GMA segment aired on ABC affiliates Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.