The Primary Care Core Faculty are role models and mentors to the residents, intimately involved in their education and training. Each faculty member has dedicated their career to clinical primary care and to medical education, shaping the next generation of primary care leaders.
Dr. Lauren Acinapura is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of Chicago followed by a fellowship in general internal medicine at Mount Sinai. She leads the Ambulatory Curriculum Committee and is the Educational Site director at Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates at the Wright Center where she practices. Her interests focus on enhancing medical education through curricular innovations, precepting improvements and providing more meaningful feedback to residents in their outpatient practice.
Dr. Judy Tung is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed her residency training in the Primary Care Program at the University of California, San Francisco. She served as a Primary Care Chief Resident at Bellevue Hospital/New York Medical Center prior to joining the faculty at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She was the Director of the Primary Care Residency at Cornell between 2005-2012. She is currently the Section Chief of Ambulatory Internal Medicine within the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Associate Dean of Faculty Development at Weill Cornell. She remains involved in residency teaching and is dedicated to the cultivation of academic general internists. She particularly enjoys mentoring the Primary Care senior residents in their leadership and teaching roles as Assistant Chief Residents.
Andrea Card is a graduate of the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine and completed her Medicine-Pediatric Residency training at Jackson Memorial Hospital-University of Miami. She then completed a General Internal Medicine Fellowship at Columbia University. She is Co-Director of the Psychosocial Curriculum which fits right in line with her interests in medical education focusing on relationship-centered communication, curriculum development, and health equity. She divides her clinical time seeing patients at the Long Island City practice and precepting residents.
Dr. Pamela Charney is a primary care Internal Medicine physician and medical educator whose academic interests include medical education and how patient diversity impacts on medical care. Dr Charney is the Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Community Clinic, a student run clinic that provides care to uninsured adults. She graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago in 1978, completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Cook County Hospital, Chicago and the University of Connecticut, and graduated from the Primary Care Fellowship at the University of Connecticut. She worked for many years at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, one of the public hospitals in NYC, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, was the Series Editor for the American College of Physician's Women's Health Book Series, and received the NYS Laureate award for her teaching physicians about Women's Health for the American College of Physicians. Her publications include articles in the Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Dr. Byron Demopoulos graduated from Cornell Medical College in 1991, completed residency at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital from 1991-1994, and has been an attending at Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates ever since – in other words, he is a "lifer." He has dedicated his career to clinical education of both medical students and residents. He directed the Primary Care Clerkship for the medical college for many years, co-directed the Primary Care Residency Program, and spearheaded the creation of the Ithaca rotation for primary care residents to provide residents an opportunity to explore more rural and community medical care delivery to complement their urban education. He has developed generalist curricula for the medical college and residency for the past 20 years, with a particular emphasis on evidence-based medicine, clinical controversies, and guideline critique. In addition to his outpatient work, he continues to direct one of the inpatient hospitalist units which is staffed entirely by WCIMA faculty, particularly those who have an interest in inpatient/outpatient continuity of care. He has been a champion for the underserved and has lectured extensively on the role of primary care in facilitating cost economy and improved medical outcomes.
Dr. Brian Eiss is a Geriatrician and primary care Internal Medicine physician whose academic interests include Medical Education and Quality Improvement. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell followed by fellowship in Geriatrics also at Cornell. He served as Quality Improvement Chief Resident for the Weill Cornell Internal Medicine residency program, thereafter joining the faculty. He currently splits his clinical time between Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates and the Wright Center Geriatrics practice. Since 2017 he has directed the medical student Ambulatory Clerkship. He acts as a QI research mentor for the Primary Care research projects.
Dr. Alexandra King earned her undergraduate degree at Vassar College and her medical degree at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. She completed her Primary Care - Internal Medicine residency and subsequently served as the Ambulatory Chief Resident at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is currently full-time faculty at Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates and is closely involved in the Primary Care - Internal Medicine residency track. She leads the residency’s Women in Medicine group and her interests lie in gender equity in medicine, women’s health, and medical education.
Dr. Cecilia Nicol received her undergraduate degree in International Health at Georgetown University and her medical degree at Weill Cornell Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine with a primary care focus at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. After residency, she served as the Ambulatory Chief Resident for the Internal Medicine program. Dr. Nicol is currently full-time faculty at Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates. She is committed to fostering meaningful relationships with her patients and residents and her specific interests are in global health, women's health, and medical education.
Dr. Keith Roach went to medical school and did his residency at the University of Chicago. He joined the faculty at Cornell in 2000. He was Director of the Primary Care Residency Program from 2001-2009. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Roach works on creating patient education materials and mentoring faculty. His research interests are in prevention and screening. He teaches on many subjects in general medicine and acts as a research mentor for primary care research projects.
Dr. Madeline Sterling is a general internist and a health services researcher in the Division of General Internal Medicine. She received a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.D./M.P.H. from Rutgers University. She completed both internal medicine residency (primary care) and a T32-health services research fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine. The focus of her research is to improve health and healthcare delivery for adults with heart failure, and other chronic conditions, such that they can remain at home and avoid unnecessary hospitalization. To do this she focuses on improving the care that our patients receive at home. In addition to evaluating the impact of home health care services on patient outcomes using observational research methods, she also designs, tests, and implements novel interventions that leverage the home care workforce, specifically home health aides, to improve patient care and their integration into primary care. Dr. Sterling is deeply committed to mentoring trainees towards careers in GIM and research.
