Department Leadership
Joshua Aron, MD
Chief of Gastroenterology
Joshua Aron joined Mount Sinai Elmhurst faculty in 2004 as Chief of Hepatology and Fellowship Program Director. He has been the Regional Director of Gastroenterology since 2013. He completed medical school at Georgetown University, Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess, and GI & Hepatology Fellowship at NYP-Columbia. His areas of specialty interest include GI infection, oncology, hepatobiliary disease, and health care equity. He is the CMIO for GI Council at H+H and currently chairs the NYS Viral Hepatitis Guideline Committee for the NYSDOH/AIDS Institute.
Alfredo Astua, MD
Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Alfredo Astua has been Chief of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine since 2018. He was born in Nicaragua to a family of bakers. Since youth, his mother instilled in him the importance of education and helping others in the community. He left Nicaragua for Costa Rica in 1976 when the revolutionary war broke out and moved to New York in 1979. He has been here ever since, living and working in the Elmhurst/Jackson Heights area. He studied medicine abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico and graduated at the top of his class, allowing him to apply for residency in the United States. He completed Elmhurst Hospital Center Internal Medicine Residency in 2004 and stayed working with the Pulmonary division until 2006, when he left to complete fellowships in Pulmonary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at St. Luke’s - Roosevelt Hospitals (Columbia University School of Medicine ) and Sleep Disorders Institute in Manhattan New York (New York Medical College).
Gabriel Brandeis, MD
Chief of Geriatrics
Gabriel (Gary) Brandeis joined the faculty of Icahn School of Medicine in 2016. He completed medical school at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Internal Medicine Residency at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, and Geriatrics fellowship at the Division on Aging, Harvard Medical School. He was appointed Chief of Geriatrics at Elmhurst Hospital Center in 2019. His research has focused on pressure injuries, urinary incontinence, and the medical problems of nursing home patients.
Tita Castor, MD
Chief of Palliative Care
Tita Castor has been on faculty at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai since completing her Geriatrics fellowship there in 1994. She is a graduate of St. George’s University School of Medicine and completed her residency training at St. Vincent’s Hospital. She served as Site Director for the Geriatrics fellowship at Jewish Home and Hospital and later as their Director of Medical Education. She moved to Elmhurst Hospital in 2000 to Co-Direct the Geriatrics Unit and in 2007 developed the Palliative Care Service. She is Chief of Palliative Care at Elmhurst and Director of Medical Education for the St. George’s medical student program at Elmhurst and Queens Hospitals. Under her leadership, the Palliative Care Service at Elmhurst earned and maintained TJC Advanced Certification in Palliative Care.
Emilie Chan, MD
Chief of Rheumatology
Emilie Chan received her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Chan is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology in both the United States and Canada. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Chief of Rheumatology at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Angelica Singh, MD
Co-Chief of Hematology and Associate Chief of Oncology
Angelica Singh joined the faculty of Icahn School of Medicine in 2024. She is a lifelong New Yorker and Queens native. She earned her medical degree from St. Matthew's University School of Medicine. She then pursued her Internal Medicine residency, served as Chief Resident, and completed fellowship in Hematology/Medical Oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital- Weill Cornell Medicine, where she also held the position of Chief Fellow. She specializes in the treatment of both benign and malignant hematologic disorders as well as solid tumors. Her research and clinical interests focus on addressing disparities in hematologic malignancies and oncologic care, and advancing cancer treatment through precision medicine, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy.
Maurice Policar, MD
Chief of Infectious Diseases
Maurice Policar completed medical school at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico and his Internal Medicine residency training at City Hospital Center at Elmhurst (now NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst). He completed his Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Now the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 1991. A large portion of his academic and medical career has been focused in the area of HIV.
Carlos Salama, MD
Director of Global Health
Carlos Salama received his undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College and completed medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. After medical school, he completed Internal Medicine residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, followed by an Infectious Diseases fellowship at Montefiore/AECOM. He has worked his entire career at Elmhurst Hospital Center (except one brief year at Jacobi Medical Center as HIV clinic director). During his time at Elmhurst, he has served as ID attending, HIV clinic director, ID clinic director, medical director of A4 Stepdown unit, Assistant Director of Department of Medicine, and currently, he is the fellowship site director for the Mount Sinai ID fellowship and Acting Director of Global Health at Elmhurst.
Linda M. Mundy, MD, PhD
Chief, Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Linda Mundy joined Mount Sinai Services at NYC Health + Hospitals /Elmhurst in August 2024. She is a physician, epidemiologist, and executive coach committed to patient-centric care, medical education, and clinical research. She began her career with humanitarian work in southeast Asia with the International Rescue Committee which led to both a career in medicine and a commitment to meditation practice. Dr. Mundy completed medical education, internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD and her public health doctoral degree at Saint Louis University School of Public Health. She has over 200 peer-review publications and book chapters and extensive experience with infectious diseases, healthcare epidemiology, public health inclusive of infection prevention, and the pharmaceutical sciences.
Robert Thompson, MD
Chief of Medicine Consult Service
Bob Thompson joined the faculty of Icahn School of Medicine in 2002. He completed his medical school at the University of Rochester and Internal Medicine residency training at Mount Sinai Hospital. He is Chief of Medical Consultation Service at Elmhurst Hospital. His areas of focus are medical education and consult medicine.
Other Select Faculty
Mohamed Abdelghffar, MD
Hospital Medicine
Mohamed Abdelghffar joined the Mount Sinai / Elmhurst faculty in 2023. After attending the Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, he completed his internal medicine residency training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai / Elmhurst. His areas of focus are medical education, medical consultation, and high value patient care.
Omar Abdelghffar, MD
Hospital Medicine
Omar Abdelghffar joined the faculty of Mount Sinai / Elmhurst in 2021. He completed medical school at Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, Egypt, and Internal Medicine Residency training at Elmhurst Hospital Center. He was recruited to stay on as a teaching hospitalist after completing residency. His academic interests include medical education and quality improvement.
Elizabeth Awerbuch, DO
Program Director, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Elizabeth Awerbuch is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine. She joined the faculty after completing her Internal Medicine residency training at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship training at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. She went to medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is currently the Program Director for the Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Alex Conant, MD
Hospital Medicine
Alex Conant joined the Mount Sinai / Elmhurst faculty in 2023. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a bachelor's in biology and a minor in French before spending four years doing basic and clinical research at the NIH and Children's National Medical Center. He then attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and subsequently completed his internal medicine residency at Montefiore. His interests include medical education, research, and cardiology.
Arun John, MD
Hospital Medicine
Program Wellness Champion
Arun John is an academic hospitalist at Elmhurst Hospital Center. He completed his medical training at St. George’s University and Internal Medicine residency at Elmhurst Hospital Center in 2019. He is passionate about working with and teaching medical residents, and currently serves as the Wellbeing Champion for the residency program. His interests outside his passion for medicine include spending time with his wife Rinsu and family, teaching Sunday school, reading, and exercising, especially bicycling.
Joy Kim, MD
Hospital Medicine
Joy Kim joined the faculty in 2021. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors in Biology and Sociology. She then completed medical school at Morehouse School of Medicine and Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University Hospital. She now attends as a teaching hospitalist on general inpatient wards at Elmhurst. Her interests include quality improvement, social determinants of health and point of care ultrasound.
Jessica Lichter, MD
Hospital Medicine
Before pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Lichter graduated from Duke University and received a master's degree in neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. She completed medical school at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, and then residency in internal medicine at New York University. She joined the Mount Sinai/Elmhurst faculty in 2021. In addition to working as an academic hospitalist at Elmhurst, she is currently a fellow at the H+H simulation center, through which she is hoping to bring more simulation education to the medicine department. An avid yogi with a thirst for adventure, Dr. Lichter also enjoys rock climbing, scuba diving and immersive theater.
Guangdong Liu, MD
Hospital Medicine
Guangdong Liu joined the Faculty of Icahn School of Medicine in 2006. He completed medical school at Shanghai Medical School (China) and Internal Medicine Residency at St Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center at Staten Island. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hospice & Palliative Medicine, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. He was the medical director for the Special Needs Medical Shelter (SNMS) during Hurricane Sandy and the designated medical director for such SNMS in the future. He is certified in advanced disaster life support. His other academic interest is mechanical ventilation.
Dawn Maldonado, MD
Hospital Medicine
Nephrology & Critical Care Medicine
Dr. Maldonado received her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University and medical degree at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed residency at Elmhurst during the peak of the pandemic, and went on to complete two specialty fellowship programs: Nephrology at Elmhurst Hospital and Critical Care Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is the author of various publications and her passion for teaching has won her numerous awards for teaching excellence. Outside of work she is an avid runner, and has run ten marathons so far including the Berlin marathon and the London marathon. She has a menagerie at home consisting of a dog, three cats, and her husband.
Nitzy Muñoz Casablanca, MD
Nephrology Associate Program Director
Nephrology
Dr. Muñoz Casablanca is a dedicated board-certified nephrologist and internist, currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Division of Nephrology at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Dr. Muñoz Casablanca graduated from Ponce Health Sciences University - School of Medicine before relocating to New York to complete an Internal Medicine Residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. With a passion for patient care, Dr. Muñoz Casablanca pursued Fellowship training in Nephrology and Geriatric Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Specializing in the prevention, evaluation, and management of kidney disease in older adults, Dr. Muñoz Casablanca remains committed to making a positive impact in the field of nephrology and improving the health outcomes of individuals with renal conditions.
Jasmeet Sandhu, MD
Hospital Medicine
Jasmeet Sandhu joined the Mount Sinai / Elmhurst faculty in 2020. She graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a bachelor’s in psychology and philosophy. After attending Ross University School of Medicine, she completed her internal medicine residency at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. Her interests are in public health, graduate medical education, and point-of-care ultrasound.
Jean Singh, MD
Hospital Medicine
Director of POCUS Curriculum
Jean Singh joined the faculty of Icahn School of Medicine in 2021. Jean was born and raised in NYC. She received her undergraduate degree in English Language Arts at CUNY Hunter College and obtained her medical degree at the American University of Antigua. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Weil Cornell NYP Brooklyn Methodist. She is interested in medical education, public health and quality improvement. She is excited to be serving a diverse community close to home. Outside of medicine, she enjoys eating her way through the bakeries and cafés of New York with her husband and her toddler son.
Aaron Stern, MD
Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship
Aaron Stern is currently an Attending Nephrologist at Elmhurst Hospital Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is the Director of Research and the Medical Director of the Broadway Dialysis Unit. Originally from San Francisco, he pursued his premedical work at University of California at Berkeley with a double major in neurobiology and Middle-Eastern Studies. After attending the University of Vermont for Medical School, he completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Nephrology Fellowship at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and has been an attending nephrologist at Elmhurst since 2001. He served as Nephrology Fellowship program director for many years. His research interests are in antimicrobial stewardship in hemodialysis and home dialysis. In his free time he enjoys hiking, bird-watching, and reading.