News Release
Five Einstein Faculty Members Elected to Prestigious Medical Societies
April 30, 2026 (BRONX, NY)
Five members of Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s faculty were elected to two leading honorary societies earlier this month. Three were inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP), which is dedicated to advancing medical knowledge through basic and clinical science, and two into the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), which promotes medical research, education, and training of young scientists.
The AAP honorees were Nir Barzilai, M.D., Marina Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D., and Amit Verma, M.D.; the ASCI honorees were Myles Akabas, M.D., Ph.D., and Keisuke Ito, M.D., Ph.D. All were inducted at the joint AAP/ASCI scientific meeting on April 19 in Chicago.
“Our faculty is composed of extraordinary researchers, physicians, educators, and mentors—and these individuals exemplify its excellence,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein. “Our entire community is proud of their contributions to Montefiore Einstein and their fields, and applauds their inspiring commitment to excellence, innovation, and service.”
Dr. Akabas is professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of medicine, and the Dr. George Y. and Catherine H. Wu Director of Einstein’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), which results in a joint M.D./Ph.D. degree. His research has focused on developing novel antimalarial drugs aimed at malaria transport systems and he has made important contributions to the understanding of the role of purines in the disease. He also has conducted research on the impact of physician-scientist training in the United States and MSTP outcomes. He has led Einstein’s MSTP, which is one of the nation’s oldest and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1964, for 22 years.
Dr. Barzilai is professor of medicine and of genetics, the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair in Aging Research, and co-director of the Institute for Geroscience at Einstein. His lab investigates the biology and genetics of aging. He discovered one of the first “longevity genes” in humans and has demonstrated that centenarians have protective genes that delay aging or protect against age-related diseases. He also is investigating the physical and mental declines associated with aging and how they affect longevity. Dr. Barzilai currently leads an international effort to identify biomarkers for aging that also respond to drugs that delay aging, such as metformin, SGLT-1 inhibitors, and GLP-1 agonists. He is the President of the Academy of Geroscience and recently launched the Batia and Idan Ofer program for Validation of Interventions Targeting Aging and Longevity at Einstein.
Dr. Ito is professor of cell biology, director of scientific resources for the Ruth L. and D. S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and a member of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC). His lab studies the biological pathways that control the balance of healthy and cancerous hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, with an emphasis on how the body maintains stable tissue function by coordinating cells’ self-renewal and differentiation. He is also working to develop treatments that target cellular metabolism and mitochondrial function to improve transplantation techniques and discover cures for blood disorders.
Dr. Konopleva is the Miriam Mandel Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research at Einstein, and director of the Leukemia Program and co-director of the Blood Cancer Institute at MECCC. Her research focuses on advancing treatments for people with hematologic malignancies, with an emphasis on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL). Among her key contributions are the identification of dependency of AML cells on the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2 and the FDA approval of the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy in elderly patients unfit for standard chemotherapy. Dr. Konopleva is professor of oncology and of cell biology at Einstein. She was previously inducted into ASCI.
Dr. Verma, chair of oncology at Montefiore Einstein and co-director of the Blood Cancer Institute at MECCC, has contributed to the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of blood cancers, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and AML and to identifying targetable pathways for treatment. His research has helped demonstrate that MDS and AML are caused by aberrant leukemic stem cells, and he has identified novel targets that are being tested in studies and clinical trials. He is associate director for translational research at MECCC, and professor of oncology and of developmental & molecular biology and the Susan Resnick Fisher Academic Chair in Brain Cancer Research at Einstein. He was previously inducted into ASCI.
Twenty-one other Einstein faculty members have been elected as members of the AAP, including the following current active faculty members: Ulirich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D; Thomas Hostetter, M.D.; Richard Kitsis, M.D.; Liise-anne Pirofski, M.D.; David Rosenstreich, M.D.; Luciano Rossetti, M.D., Jayanta Roy-Chowdhury, M.B.B.S.; Victor Schuster, M.D., and Allan Wolkoff, M.D. Twenty-six other Einstein faculty members have been elected to ASCI, including current active faculty members Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D, Ph.D.; Nikolaos Frangogiannis, M.D.; Kira Gritsman, M.D., Ph.D.; Meredith Hawkins, M.D., M.S.; Richard Kitsis, M.D.; Marina Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D., Joshua Nosanchuk, M.D.; Steven Porcelli, M.D.; Michael Prystowsky, M.D., Ph.D.; Victor Schuster, M.D.; Allen Spiegel, M.D.; Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D.; Yaron Tomer, M.D.; Amit Verma, M.D.; and Allan Wolkolf, M.D.
