The stars were out Saturday night as the Department of Anesthesiology celebrated its 20 graduating residents with a virtual ceremony hosted by department Chair Dr. Hugh Hemmings, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs Dr. Kane Pryor, and Residency Program Director Dr. Eric Brumberger. The online event, held June 20, featured a lineup of faculty, friends and celebrity guests.
Saturday Night Live alumna Tina Fey kicked off the festivities.
“I have always wanted to host this event and frankly for years I’ve been kind of mad that you never asked me,” she joked in a taped monologue. Fey’s remarks included a roast of the three chief residents, and concluded with a message to the class of 2020.
"When everybody else in the world was trying to hide from this virus and to hoard toilet paper, you guys ran into a burning building and put yourselves at risk every day to save the lives of your fellow New Yorkers," she said. "It’s more than just being a doctor. All of us who didn’t have to do that admire you, we appreciate you, and we are incredibly thankful for what you've done."
Tina Fey and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, two of the special guests who offered tributes to the residents. Sanjay Gupta: "You're going to hear the word 'hero' a lot and maybe some of that makes you feel uncomfortable. But just know that it's true, it's genuine, it's authentic."
The celebrity lineup continued with tributes to the graduates from CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon; CNN chief medical correspondant and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta; and actor and comedian Steve Martin, who treated the audience to a banjo tune. There were also shout outs from faculty and junior residents, and a performance of the Goldberg Variations by the department's own Dr. Miles Dinner.
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of awards by Drs. Pryor and Brumberger.
Dr. Eric Brumberger: "The Class of 2020 can handle anything. You embody resiliency. Please take this message with you for the rest of your careers." Dr. Kane Pryor: "I know that I speak for so many of our faculty in telling you how much our lives are enhanced by you guys just being around. I want to thank you for what you give to us."
Congratulations to the department's 2020 graduates and award winners. They are:
Class of 2020 Anesthesiology Residents
(All of the graduates are pursuing fellowships next year)
Evelyn Bae, MD
Pediatric Fellowship at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Nitin Bansal, MD
Tri-Institutional Pain Medicine Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Kashmira Chawla, MD
Paul Farmer Global Surgery/Health Fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital
Cindy Cheung, MD
Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Stanford Medicine
Iris Chu, MD
Regional Fellowship at UC San Diego
Meghan Daly, MD
Adult Cardiothoracic Fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center
Angelica Delgado, MD
Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Jenessa Job, MD
Adult Cardiothoracic Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Chistina Lee, MD
Adult Cardiothoracic Fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center
Tae Lee, MD
Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai West
Corinne LeVine, MD
Pediatric Fellowship at Children's National Medical Center at George Washington University
Brian Like, MD
Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery
Siyao Liu, MD
Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery
Danielle Nadav, MD
Tri-Insitutional Pain Medicine Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Thomas Ng, MD
Pain Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai St. Luke's
Matthew Perlstein, MD
Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery
Abdullah Rasheed, MD
Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
John Rubin, MD
Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Matthew Spiegel, MD
Pain Medicine Fellowship at Northwell Health
Daniel Thomson, MD
Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship at Northwestern Medicine
2020 Award Winners
Excellence in Research Award
Kashmira Chawla, MD
Ronald A. Leff Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Resident
John Rubin, MD
Sadel Wortis Klein Award for Clinical Excellence
Cindy Cheung, MD
Joseph F. Artusio Award for Outstanding Performance
Cindy Cheung, MD
Hospital for Special Surgery Award for Outstanding Clinical Performance
Evelyn Bae, MD
Hospital for Special Surgery Teacher of the Year
Stephanie Cheng, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Teacher of the Year
Lisa Barr, MD
NewYork-Presbyterian Teacher of the Year
Mahendra Samaru, MD
Faculty Role Model
Zachary Turnbull, MD
Professionalism Award (Weill Cornell Main Campus)
Zachary Turnbull, MD
Professionalism Award (Lower Manhattan Hospital)
Jason White, MD
Mentorship Award
Kane Pryor, MD
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