NYMedTalks Highlights Unique Medical Careers for First-year Medical Students
The Annual Interdisciplinary Conference Planned by Student Senators Brought Several Speakers to Campus to Share Their Unique and Inspiring Perspectives
First-year medical students heard firsthand from medical professionals who have taken their careers beyond traditional clinical roles during the 11th annual NYMedTalks on April 4. The interdisciplinary conference has taken place annually since 1986 and was renamed NYMedTalks in 2014. The School of Medicine (SOM) Class of 2028 student senators who organized the event—Patricia Curtin, Atikul Miah, Dhruba Podder, Haley Pascal, and Ryan Mohepbour—debated several themes for the conference before settling on “Beyond the White Coat: Healthcare Innovation and Unique Medical Careers."
“This year's theme was chosen from a community-wide survey and reflects the growing interest in how we as future medical professionals can make an impact, not just in clinical settings, but also in fields like technology, media, and entrepreneurship. We hope that you leave today feeling inspired, empowered, and excited about the limitless possibilities for our future,” said Mohepour, as he welcomed students to the event.
“NYMedTalks was a huge team effort, with bi-monthly meetings and constant communication with the Office of Student Affairs during the spring semester,” says Curtin. “Our members worked as a unit to present and select a list of themes and potential speakers, created promotional materials and emails, organized decorations and food, and eventually fine-tuned the logistics of audio-visual equipment and out-of-state travel.”
The day opened with remarks by Neil W. Schluger, M.D., SOM dean. “We live in a very exciting time where things like artificial intelligence (AI) and developments in basic science can transform everything we do with medicine and health care and public health. Our job as physicians, as guardians of the public's health, is to do what we know is grounded in science, knowledge, and fact to safeguard the lives and well-being of the people we care for.”
Throughout the day, several speakers shared their unique and inspiring perspectives on what a medical career can look like, including Akshay Syal, M.D., an internal medicine physician at UCLA Health and a member of the NBC News Health Unit, who spoke on media and medicine; Prem Premsrirut, M.D., Ph.D., executive director and CEO of Micoy Therapeutics and CEO at Mirimus, who shared insight into her life as a biotech entrepreneur; Philippe Douyon, M.D., founder of The Inle BrainFit Institute, who offered his perspective on how AI transforms medicine; and Paul Tran, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist, who spoke on innovations as a doctor as well as a medical educator. David Klimstra, M.D., a globally recognized leader in cancer pathology and health care innovation, delivered the keynote address on digital transformation and AI in medicine.
"Studying day in and day out is so much of what being in med school is, and it’s so much of what we’re going to do for the rest of our lives as the prototypical ‘lifelong learner,’ but it's only one part of what being a clinician is. NYMedTalks really puts what we are doing here in school into context. It shows us all the other parts of what being a doctor can look like: a medical journalist, a start-up entrepreneur, an AI and neuro expert. It was really the perfect way to end intercession and get excited about our next block and the next three years here at NYMC,” said Alexis Silvera, SOM Class of 2028.
"NYMedTalks was both inspiring and grounding. I’m so grateful to our M1 senators for putting together such a thoughtful and well-crafted event — it truly reflected the depth and direction our generation is bringing to medicine. As a first-year student, it was powerful to see how innovation and equity can go hand-in-hand. The discussions around AI and health disparities reminded me that we’re not just here to learn how to treat patients, but how to reshape systems to serve them more justly. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a student doctor,” said Isabella Perea Caicedo, SOM Class of 2028.
