Marina K. Holz, Ph.D., M.P.H. '23, Dr. P.H. ’24, dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and professor of cell biology and anatomy, came to NYMC from Stern College of Yeshiva University where she served as the Doris and Dr. Ira Kukin Chair in Biology, chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and holder of a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her B.Sc. in microbiology and immunology with Great Distinction from McGill University and completed her Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology at Harvard Medical School.

Bringing to NYMC her passion and leadership in biomedical research and education, Dr. Holz leads an NIH-funded laboratory studying the mechanisms of signaling by hormones and growth factors in breast cancer and lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM)—a rare lung disease. Her work spans basic science and clinical applications, and has been published in leading journals. The Holz lab has been previously funded by grants from the American Cancer Society (ACS), LAM Foundation, Wendy Will Case Cancer Fund, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Mindlin Foundation, National Cancer Center, and Atol Foundation. Dr. Holz also serves as a peer reviewer for multiple journals and participates in grant review study sections for the NIH, Department of Defense, ACS, LAM Foundation, and many international funding agencies.

Dr. Holz was also appointed to a three-year term of the Women in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to advocate for women in biochemistry and molecular biology, both in academia and in industry. 

View the GSBMS Dean's Report.

Dana G. Mordue, Ph.D., performed her postdoctoral work with L. David Sibley, Ph.D. (National Academy of Sciences) in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a focus on Toxoplasma gondii cell biology and host immunity. She worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine with Laura Knoll, Ph.D. to gain additional expertise in molecular biology and forward genetics.

Dr. Mordue came to New York Medical College in the School of Medicine in 2005 as an assistant professor. She is recognized for her work on host-pathogen interactions predominantly focused on the human diseases toxoplasmosis and babesiosis. Studies in Dr. Mordue's laboratory integrate microbiology, immunology, cell biology, and systems biology and our funded by the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense. Current studies are focused on translational research aimed at understanding key host and pathogen determinants that underlie differences in disease severity in babesiosis. Dr. Mordue was the PI on a National Institute of Health Shared Instrumentation Grant in 2020 that resulted in an award to NYMC for a state-of-the-art Zeiss LSM 980 plus Airyscan II Confocal System and is the assistant director for the NYMC Histopathology and Immunology Core where the new instrument is housed.

Dr. Mordue has served as a leader in faculty governance at NYMC for more than 15 years and received multiple teaching awards from SOM and GSBMS students. Additional administrative service includes chair and co-chair for strategic planning initiatives, interim dean for the NYMC GSBMS, vice chancellor for MSCHE Accreditation, and currently vice chancellor for NYMC accreditation and student support.

Francis L. Belloni, Ph.D., is a professor of physiology and has been a member of the College's faculty since 1981. He has served as dean of the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences at New York Medical College from 1997 - 2018, and as acting dean from 1993 - 1997.

An author or co-author of numerous book chapters and articles in scientific journals, Dr. Belloni is a scientist whose research has focused on cardiovascular physiology, particularly the study of the mechanisms of adenosine's effect on vascular tissue. He has been an editorial consultant for such publications as the American Journal of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research, Circulation Research, and the Journal of Applied Physiology and Science.

Among his honors are the National Institute of Health (NIH) Research Career Development Award and the NIH National Research Service Award which was presented to him when he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He was also an Alexandrine and Alexander L. Sinsheimer Scholar. He has served as a member of grant review study sections for the NIH, the National Science Foundation, and the Veteran's Administration.

A member of New York Medical College's faculty in the basic sciences, Dr. Belloni is often cited by students for his gift of teaching. During his tenure with the college, he has been active in numerous planning committees and councils and has served as vice president of the Faculty Senate.

Dr. Belloni is a member of the American Physiological Society and has served as chairman of that organization's Education Committee. He is also a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and the American Heart Association, for which he was a fellow of the Council on Circulation.

Dr. Belloni was awarded his Ph.D. degree in physiology from the University of Michigan and holds a B.S. degree in biology from Providence College, Rhode Island.

Charles E. Ford, Ed.D., came to New York Medical College in 1980 to serve concurrently as dean of the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and as the founding dean of the Graduate School of Health Sciences (the precursor to the School of Health Sciences and Practice). He held the latter position until 1990 when he was appointed vice president of academic development at the College, concurrent with his responsibilities as dean of the basic medical sciences.

Before joining the College, from 1971-1980, Dr. Ford served as academic vice president and dean, then as acting president, and ultimately as academic vice president and provost at Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, Conn.

A lifetime educator, Dr. Ford has held appointments at the University of Detroit and at Saint Louis University where he served as associate professor and director of the Center for Higher Education. He taught at Washington University and the University of Missouri in Saint Louis. Dr. Ford has held numerous professional and civic appointments including chairman of the Standing Committee on Accreditation for the Board of Higher Education for the state of Connecticut. He also chaired seven accreditation commissions for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. 

A lifetime educator, Dr. Ford has held appointments at the University of Detroit and at Saint Louis University where he served as associate professor and director of the Center for Higher Education. He taught at Washington University and the University of Missouri in Saint Louis. Dr. Ford has held numerous professional and civic appointments including chairman of the Standing Committee on Accreditation for the Board of Higher Education for the state of Connecticut. He also chaired seven accreditation commissions for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. 

A New Jersey native, Dr. Ford earned a B.S. in education from Temple University, and completed graduate studies in American intellectual history and higher education at Saint Louis University and Washington University in Sant Louis, Missouri, from which he received his M.S. and Ed.D. degrees, respectively.

Charles Ford passed away on May 23, 2000.

Born and raised in the Netherlands, Johanna Hagedoorn, Ph.D., left medical school in 1940 to join the underground Dutch resistance movement to the Nazi invasion. Along with a group of fellow resistance fighters, she was responsible for sparing the lives of innumerable Jewish children by hiding them in her house and sailing them to safety on her family’s boat in the middle of the night. Years later, she was honored by a Jewish organization as a chasidah, or “Righteous Among the Nations”—non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the holocaust.

After coming to the United States, Hagedoorn received a B.S. degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in anatomy from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She joined the College faculty in 1968. Countless alumni remember her as a beloved and highly esteemed member of the anatomy faculty who skillfully initiated them to the study of medicine and instilled in them a passion for inquiry and caring for the human condition. Eventually, a scholarship fund was established in her name, awarded annually to a second-year medical student who exemplified the concern for fellow students that was a hallmark of Dr. Hagedoorn’s life.

Around 2000 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and, with no surviving relatives, spent her final years in an assisted living community in Bradenton, Fla. Yet before her memories had completely left her, she was interviewed and her story recorded by a rabbi at a nearby temple she supported, and eventually by a newspaper reporter who revealed many more details of Dr. Hagedoorn’s remarkable past. It was the congregation at this synagogue, Temple Beth El in Bradenton, that engraved a headstone and arranged for the burial and memorial service for Johanna Hagedoorn 18 months after her passing.

Milton Tabachnick, Ph.D., served as the first dean of the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences. Dr. Tabachnick, dean from 1973 to 1980, rose to prominence as a biochemist by applying, what was then a new technique, radioimmunoassays, in his studies of the binding of thyroxine and growth hormone to albumin and their effects on glucose metabolism. Students at New York Medical College voted Dr. Tabachnick as “funniest professor” on several occasions. 

Born in the New York City borough of the Bronx, He earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the City University of New York (CUNY)-City College of New York, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Tabachnick and his wife, Elizabeth Tabachnick, were active supporters of many New York City cultural institutions. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin, after his wife died in 2005.

Dr. Tabachnick passed away at his home in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 27, 2014, after a brief illness. He was 91.