(HSU). They are the first to enroll in the new Chuck Lorre Allied Health School, Health Artificial Intelligence PhD program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Master of Science in Regenerative Medicine program.

“Regardless of their chosen discipline, students in the Health Sciences University will be immersed in the healthcare environment and our clinical care continuums,” said Jeffrey Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education, director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute, and the Linda and Jim Lippman Distinguished Chair in Academic Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. “Students will train side by side with experts to advance basic, translational and clinical sciences, then witness how their efforts help shape the care Cedars-Sinai delivers.”

The students’ experience will include hands-on training from prominent experts and access to advanced technologies and innovative clinical trials.

The Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School was established in 2022 with a $30 million gift from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. The vocational school offers training in allied healthcare roles, starting with clinical laboratory scientists, pharmacy technicians, respiratory therapy and radiation therapy technicians.

“When the opportunity presented itself to provide training and certificates for underserved individuals in our community, which in some instances would double their salaries, I was all in,” Lorre said. “Partnering with Cedars-Sinai to create the school of allied health will allow us to see long-term impacts in our communities.”

Students in the allied health programs will receive hands-on training in a clinical setting through rotations at Cedars-Sinai and its affiliates Huntington Health and Torrance Memorial Health. The programs lead to associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees or certificates. Graduates are eligible to obtain licensure and take certification exams in their chosen fields.

“The transformational gift made by The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation meets a tremendous need for allied health specialists, both at Cedars-Sinai and in the broader Los Angeles community,” Golden said.

Alexia Furbert, a 21-year-old Los Angeles resident, is one of the first students to enroll in the pharmacy technician program in the Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School.

“When I learned about the program, I was finishing my last semester at West Los Angeles College to complete my associate degree,” Furbert said. “Feeling uncertain about my career goals, I questioned whether transferring to a four-year university was the right decision for me. This program offered an opportunity to explore potential career paths and contribute to chronically understaffed areas of healthcare.”

Also new to the Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is the PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offers rigorous training in AI algorithms and methods, with a focus on analyzing clinical data to enhance patient care.

“We are elated to welcome our incoming students, who will experience a hands‑on, active approach to teaching that reinforces AI concepts through clinical rotations and scholarly collaboration with physicians and medical staff,” said Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, PhD, director of the Graduate Program in Artificial Intelligence. “Graduates will be positioned to directly improve healthcare and patient outcomes through the rigorous development and deployment of AI algorithms and software.”

Another new offering is the Master of Science in Regenerative Medicine, a 20-month program where students focus on stem cell research that can be used to both model and treat human diseases. The curriculum will focus on three professional paths: cell biomanufacturing, academic research into stem cell biology and learning about how stem cells can be used with different clinical specialties.

“We designed the master’s program to teach students about regenerative medicine and how stem cells hold an interesting promise for medicine,” said Wafa Tawackoli, PhD, director of Education and Training at the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. “We are focused on giving these students an advantage as they move forward in their chosen career paths through a carefully designed curriculum. Everything we do is tailored to the future.”

The university offers other graduate degrees, including a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, that merges scientific and translational medicine curricula with mentoring by researchers and clinicians, a Master of Science in Health Systems and a Master of Science in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

The university also is home to several professional training programs, including nondegree educational certifications, formal trainings, internships and other ongoing opportunities to benefit students and professionals at all levels of their careers.

“We are eager to welcome our new and returning students,” Golden said, “and for them to begin their journey of understanding human diseases, how to diagnose them and how to determine the best treatments for individual patients.”

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

“This innovative allied health school contributes to regional economic development by offering career advancement opportunities that significantly increase earning potential for individuals, particularly those transitioning from lower-wage positions,” said Nicole Anderson, JD, vice president and executive vice dean of Academic Affairs. “These efforts align with Cedars-Sinai’s broader mission to elevate community health through training and providing career paths.” 

When Laurence Katznelson, MD, joined Cedars-Sinai as vice dean of Medical Education, he teamed up with Anderson to make the project a reality. The vocational school was established in 2022 with a $30 million donation from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation and will offer training for healthcare careers, particularly aiming for students from underserved communities throughout Southern California.   

The allied health school is part of the newly established Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, an integrative training program to prepare the next generations of academic scientists, healthcare leaders and allied health professionals.

Katznelson and Anderson sat down with the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom to share their vision for the Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School.

What are the program’s goals?  

Katznelson: Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University integrates clinical, basic and translational research with education in an academic medical center environment, offering a breadth of advanced research and vocational programs for future healthcare and science leaders.

One of the university’s pillar programs is the Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School—a program intended to create a pipeline of healthcare professionals in areas that are understaffed, while simultaneously creating opportunities through nontraditional pathways for candidates with diverse backgrounds who are interested in careers within the medical field.

How do these goals align with Cedars-Sinai’s mission?

Anderson: As a leading academic healthcare organization, Cedars-Sinai’s mission is to elevate the health status of the communities we serve. The more intuitive ways we achieve our goals are by delivering exceptional healthcare enhanced by research and education, and by prioritizing high-quality care for all with equity and compassion.

Beyond our clinical priorities, we also transform biomedical discoveries and innovations, and educate tomorrow’s physicians, nurses, researchers and healthcare professionals. Training is at the heart of our mission and immeasurably contributes to our excellence—which is why our allied health school is centered on guiding new students and trainees.

Who is the ideal student?

Katznelson: Ideal students and trainees are individuals who are curious and eager to excel and may or may not have considered a career in a medical field. Our program aims to provide career mapping and opportunities for existing Cedars-Sinai employees who are interested in additional training and career paths, as well as intensive training for those without access to traditional college opportunities. In doing so, we can enhance their career prospects in medical fields.

Students may also come through Cedars-Sinai’s Youth Employment and Development (YED) Health Careers Academy, an initiative made possible by The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. The two-year program allows students from Fairfax High School to earn 10 high school credits as well as a paycheck, with many graduates going on to become Cedars-Sinai employees or students.

Anderson: Part of what sets apart the Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School is our learner population. Traditionally, we have taught college-graduate-level learners, whereas this vocational program is intended to foster growth in learners who perhaps have a high school diploma or even a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.

In recruiting, we acknowledge that different learner populations will have distinct needs when compared to traditional graduate-level learners. The allied health school will ensure students can successfully complete their programs and transition into higher-earning allied health careers. 

What types of training will students receive?  

Katznelson: In the first phase, the allied health program is set to provide industry-leading training for emerging healthcare professionals in four areas of work that are chronically understaffed. Professionals who complete the training programs will advance their technical skills in respiratory therapy, pharmacy technician training, clinical laboratory science, and radiation therapy technician training—areas identified as having the most in-demand staffing needs in hospitals throughout the U.S. In the near future, we plan to grow the allied health program to include additional programs.

Five years from now, what impact do you hope the school has made?   

Katznelson: We hope to see success demonstrated by employing graduating classes within the Cedars-Sinai Health System and supporting pipeline needs in the region—all with the goal of enhancing healthcare to our community in Southern California. By doing so, we look to enhance career opportunities in the medical field and wage-earning potential by candidates from diverse backgrounds in the medical field.

Anderson: While we have several short-term goals aimed at enrollment and career succession, our long-term vision includes graduating several classes, hiring graduates within the Cedars-Sinai Health System, and elevating practice disciplines across the region and state. We strongly believe that the allied health school will contribute to regional economic development by offering career advancement opportunities that significantly increase earning potential for individuals, particularly those transitioning from lower-wage positions.

Learn more about the Cedars-Sinai Chuck Lorre Allied Health School.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

The university will integrate clinical, basic and translational scientific research education in an academic medical center, offering a breadth of advanced research and vocational programs aimed at creating healthcare and scientific leaders. These programs will also spur innovation and nurture thought leaders in medical education. 

“The new Health Sciences University builds on Cedars-Sinai’s legacy to foster continual learning as a way to improve the health of communities,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Health System. “We are proudly committed to developing high-achieving academic investigators and educators in disease-focused science.”

Students will gain a better understanding of human disease, how best to treat individuals and populations, enhance disease prevention and elevate the overall health of communities.

“This milestone moment in Cedars-Sinai’s history will provide students with a unique opportunity to enrich and advance their careers as they receive the highest level of training in the medical sciences and healthcare delivery,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Medicine and Health Sciences and dean of the Medical Faculty. “We are building a university that will offer meaningful career paths that align with Cedars-Sinai’s mission to elevate the health status and wellbeing of patients and communities.”

Cedars-Sinai already is home to more than 315 graduate students and postdoctoral scientists and 540 medical residents and fellows. Current students can earn a PhD in biomedical and translational sciences and master’s of science degrees in health systems and magnetic resonance in medicine.

A new PhD program in health artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025 will build on this foundation.

The PhD in health AI will offer rigorous training in AI algorithms and methods, with a focus on analyzing clinical data to enhance patient care. The hands‑on, active approach to teaching will reinforce AI concepts through clinical rotations and scholarly collaboration with physicians and medical staff. Graduates will be positioned to directly improve healthcare and patient outcomes through the rigorous development and deployment of AI algorithms and software.

Also new is the Chuck Lorre Allied Health School, established with a $30 million gift from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation to offer allied healthcare careers for individuals in historically marginalized groups in Los Angeles and beyond. In the first phase of this program, students will earn a bachelor of science degree in respiratory therapy or certification in one of three other high-demand technical specialties that are chronically understaffed in hospitals: pharmacy technician, clinical laboratory scientist and radiation therapy technician. 

Regardless of the discipline or area of research, students in the university will be matched with clinical partners who will provide mentorship and training throughout the duration of their programs. 

“We want Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University to attract the best and brightest—both in medicine and outside of medicine—individuals who want to devote their careers to making a profound impact on patient lives,” said Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education and director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute. “Our goal is for every student to realize an invaluable training opportunity and enriching experience for their growth as a healthcare professional.”

For more information, visit Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.

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At home in Puerto Rico during college breaks, she perfected her rowing technique in the island’s familiar waters.

Less than a decade later she was in Japan, rowing the Sea Forest Waterway in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games as the first-ever female rower to represent Puerto Rico.

With the 2024 Summer Olympics now underway in Paris, Veronica Toro Arana, MD, a Cedars-Sinai cardiothoracic surgery resident, is reflecting on what she learned from the elite sports world and how those lessons are helping fuel her surgical training.

“Rigorous and deliberate practice, the ability to handle high-pressure situations, technical expertise, an openness to coaching and a continuous pursuit of improvement were all important parts of training for the Tokyo Olympics,” Toro Arana said. “And now I’m applying those learnings as I train to be a heart surgeon.”

Joanna Chikwe, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery and the Irina and George Schaeffer Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, is Toro Arana’s mentor.

“Exceptional surgical residents like Dr. Toro Arana are recruited for their intellect, passion for the medical profession and commitment to saving lives,” Chikwe said. “They also are recruited because they are well-rounded individuals who enrich Cedars-Sinai with their valuable life lessons, experiences and accomplishments.”

A Competitive Path

In the medical residency application she submitted to Cedars-Sinai, Toro Arana wrote: “It took me nine years of daily practice to make it to the Olympics, and I could spend many more years in search of the most powerful stroke that causes the least disruption to the velocity and balance of the boat.

“Similarly, the cardiothoracic surgeons I have worked with are constantly searching for more effective techniques to operate on the heart and its vasculature, limiting the intrinsic damage caused by their intervention. This pursuit of precision and excellence, combined with a constant push towards innovation, drove me to surgery from an early age.”

Growing up, Toro Arana dabbled in sports. But academics were her sweet spot.

“The only Olympics I thought about were the Math Olympics,” she said, “which I competed in every year, starting in seventh grade.”

When the local hospital’s chief of Trauma Surgery came to speak at Toro Arana’s school when she was 15, she quizzed him about experiences in the operating room.

“What do you do when one of your patients dies in your OR?” she asked, unintimidated. A few days later she was watching him operate on a patient with a gunshot wound, attempting a new lifesaving procedure. She took that experience to MIT, determined to join the ranks of people pushing the boundaries of medical innovation.

No Room for Intimidation

Although Toro Arana didn’t learn to row until college, she was not intimidated by teammates who had been recruited to join the team. She was motivated by them, driven to work even harder.

When she learned about opportunities to represent Puerto Rico at national and international rowing competitions, motivation kicked in again. Coaches told her she should consider training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was excited, but medical school also was on her agenda. She would need to balance both.

After two years of medical school at Stanford University, Toro Arana put education on a three-year hold to train full time with premier coaches—training that would get her to the Olympics.

“The opportunity to compete as the first woman to row in the Olympics for Puerto Rico was a big incentive for me, and I made many sacrifices to make that happen,” she said.

Important Takeaways

Toro Arana placed 21st out of 32 competitors; what she won was priceless.  

As she wrote in her residency application: “I envision standing on the right side of my patient, my scalpel poised on the skin over their sternum, feeling the same way that I felt when I heard the announcer at the start line of my first Olympic race: confident that I have planned and prepared to the extent of what was possible, humbled by the uncertainty of what truly awaits, standing on my toes ready to respond to whatever may arise down the course, with absolute commitment to perform my best at the task at hand.”

Toro Arana has a packed schedule these days—12-hour shifts at Cedars-Sinai, six days a week—but she still rows and competes when she has time. Next month she will participate in the World Rowing Beach Sprints Finals in Italy.

“I don’t want to lose that part of myself,” she said.

At dawn on a recent weekday, Toro Arana was at the water’s edge in Marina del Rey, just off a night shift. Oars in hand, she sat down in her boat and rowed. 

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Navy Veteran Gets Lifesaving Heart Surgery

Medina-Kauwe will oversee and support trainees who are advancing basic, translational, clinical and health services research across the organization. She will oversee administrative processes, graduate student admissions, education, evaluation and progress of all PhD programs. 

Medina-Kauwe, who holds the Carol Moss Foundation Chair in Medical Discovery, will continue to serve as associate director of Basic Research at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. 

“With Dr. Medina-Kauwe’s more than 30 years of experience in molecular engineering, her laboratory creates nanoparticle therapies engineered to target and halt cancer growth,” said Joshua I. Goldhaber, MD, vice dean of Graduate Education at Cedars-Sinai. “Under her leadership, her team has advanced technologies that deliver therapeutic agents to triple-negative breast cancer cells that metastasize to the brain. We are confident these skills will seamlessly translate to the students she will now help lead.”

Medina-Kauwe is a leading authority in harnessing the cell penetration functions of pathogen proteins to develop novel cell-targeted nanotherapeutics. She is an inventor on more than 25 biotechnology patents and has helped build two startup biotechnology companies.

As a mentor and teacher, Medina-Kauwe has developed cancer-focused curricula, chaired a review committee on graduate programs and served on Cedars-Sinai’s committee shaping graduate program strategic plans.

“Dr. Medina-Kauwe’s leadership is well known outside of Cedars-Sinai, having served on several advisory panels for the National Institutes of Health, including the Director’s Transformative Research Award review,” said Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education and director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai. “She will agilely build upon Cedars-Sinai’s strong foundation and accelerate the growth and distinction of our academic enterprise.”

Medina-Kauwe earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Occidental College and a PhD in molecular biology from UCLA. She later pursued postdoctoral training at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, where she was honored with the National Cancer Institute’s CURE Minority Faculty Scholar. She is a two-time recipient of Cedars-Sinai’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

“My training and career path have led me to this opportunity, and I am thrilled to contribute more meaningfully to our research and academic enterprise,” Medina-Kauwe said. “My goal is for our trainees to feel prepared, supported and energetic about the challenging, yet rewarding, fields of science they’re entering.”

Read more from the Cedars-Sinai Blog: The Wide World of Cells

At a May 14 hybrid event, four finalists presented their work to a panel of judges, who later announced the two winners of the annual award.

“This award aims to foster clinical and translational research, enrich knowledge and encourage the development of our clinical fellows as investigators,” said Mariko Ishimori, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, committee chair for the Clinical Fellows Research Award Program and associate director of the Cedars-Sinai site of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Akbarshakh Akhmerov, MD, a cardiac surgery fellow mentored by Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, executive director of the Smidt Heart Institute, received the award for his study “Long Non-Coding RNA From Extracellular Vesicles Enhances Regulatory T Cells.”

Akhmerov wanted to understand the mechanism through which cells called cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs), heart-derived progenitor cells developed in the Marbán Lab, modulate the body’s immune response and could help prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.

“Many transplant patients are placed on immunosuppressive therapies that have serious side effects,” Akhmerov said. “There is always a push to find new ways to prevent rejection. The CDCs themselves have limitations because, as whole cells, the body’s immune system can recognize them as foreign and have an immune reaction against them.”

In his study, Akhmerov and collaborator Ke Liao, PhD, showed that tiny particles called extracellular vesicles, produced by the CDCs, boosted proliferation of regulatory T cells, which work to control immune response and inflammation. They then looked at the “cargo” of molecules carried by the extracellular vesicles and found that the most prevalent RNA molecules, called long noncoding RNA, were responsible for this effect. 

“This is what will help move our work from bench to bedside,” Akhmerov said. “It is much more feasible to develop therapies based on small molecules, such as long noncoding RNA, than on whole cells, or even EVs.”

Akhmerov said that these therapies could be helpful not only for transplant patients, but also for patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders.

“Dr. Marbán is an ideal mentor in that you get autonomy, but you also get a tremendous amount of guidance,” Akhmerov said. “This project wasn't something that the lab was working on at the time, but he was open to it and mentored me through it.”

Matthew Ebia, MD, a hematology-oncology clinical fellow mentored by Arsen Osipov, MD, program lead of the Cedars-Sinai Pancreas Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic and Precision Medicine Program, received the award for his study “Exploring the Role of CXCR4 and Immunotherapy in Immune Cell Modulation in Pancreatic Cancer.”

Ebia and co-investigators sought to improve outcomes for patients with pancreas cancer by improving the immune system’s ability to penetrate these tumors.

“The microenvironment around pancreas cancer tumors blocks immune cells called effector T cells from entering and attacking them. That makes them resistant to immunotherapy,” Ebia said. “We’re seeking ways to get those effector T cells into the tumor to improve patient outcomes.”

Ebia focused on a protein called focal adhesion kinase (FAK), which keeps effector T cells out of tumors.

In an ongoing randomized Phase II clinical trial, Ebia compared biopsies from pancreas cancer patients who received chemotherapy and immunotherapy with those from patients who also received medication to block the action of FAK.

Preliminary results indicate that blocking FAK did increase infiltration of effector T cells into tumors, and pointed to the CXCR4 pathway as a potential immune resistance mechanism that can be targeted in future studies to improve patient outcomes.

Ebia, whose focus is on gastrointestinal oncology and hepatobiliary cancer, said that he would ultimately like to be a clinical trialist and clinical investigator who also sees patients.

“Working with Dr. Osipov has been a great learning experience because of the mentorship, but also the exposure to laboratory work and clinical trials,” Ebia said. “Pancreas cancer is very aggressive and there's a lot of work that needs to be done in this space, but we are slowly but surely making a difference.”

Ebia and Akhmerov each received a $3,000 cash prize funded by the Burns and Allen Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai and the Cedars-Sinai site of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

The two additional award finalists were Michelle Koh, MD, who presented “Improved Glucose Homeostasis With Hormone Replacement Therapy Use,” and Debbie Teodorescu, MD, who presented “Taking Back the Right to Stand Up: POTS in the COVID Era.”

Follow Cedars-Sinai Academic Medicine on X for more on the latest basic science and clinical research from Cedars-Sinai.

, a nationally regarded physician-scientist who has devoted much of his career to physician training and mentoring, has been named vice dean of Graduate Education.

In his new role, Goldhaber is overseeing Cedars-Sinai’s PhD and master’s degree programs, postdoctoral research scientists, clinical scholars, physician-scientist training programs, and collaborative training and education with Cedars-Sinai’s affiliate universities. 

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Goldhaber lead our mission to train scientists who will push the boundaries of basic, translational, clinical and health services research,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Medicine and Health Sciences and dean of the Medical Faculty. “Dr. Goldhaber has been a longtime contributor to our academic enterprise and a leader driving our planning for graduate research education.

Goldhaber, the Dorothy and E. Phillip Lyon Chair in Laser Research and professor of Cardiology and Biomedical Sciences, brings a wealth of experience in training, mentoring and scientific scholarship to his new position.

He joined Cedars-Sinai in 2010 as director of Basic Research Programs in the Smidt Heart Institute and associate director of the Coronary Intensive Care Unit. In 2012, he took on the role of Cardiology Fellowship Training Program director.

Goldhaber is co-director of the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 Training Program in Advanced Heart Disease Research. He also leads the Division of Applied Cell Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. His laboratory focuses on studying regulation of cardiac rhythm and contractility using high-speed laser devices.

“Dr. Goldhaber has a strong history of leading, mentoring and supporting trainees through their academic and medical education,” said Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education at Cedars-Sinai. “We are confident there is no better professional suited for this important role, and we are eager to see how Dr. Goldhaber helps develop our pipeline of future physician-scientists and scientists.”

Goldhaber’s contributions to the field are reflected in his continuous funding by NIH since 1996. He has served as president of the Western Society of Clinical Investigation and the Western Association of Physicians. He is an elected member of the Association of University Cardiologists and a fellow of the International Society of Heart Research. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Harvard College and graduated from Harvard Medical School. He completed his training in internal medicine and cardiology at UCLA, where he directed the Inpatient Cardiac Unit. As the inaugural director of the Human Biology and Disease curriculum in Cardiovascular, Renal and Respiratory Diseases at UCLA, he won a record seven Golden Apple Teaching Awards and multiple faculty awards for excellence in education.

“It is an honor to expand Cedars-Sinai’s growing graduate research education programs to ensure that we build a robust advanced training enterprise to ensure our students’ success in their translational medicine careers,” Goldhaber said.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Cedars-Sinai and Tsinghua University Collaborate for Impact

Katznelson will oversee Cedars-Sinai’s Graduate Medical Education, Continuing Medical Education, the Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills, the Chuck Lorre School of Allied Health and the Medical Library.

“In the newly created role, Dr. Katznelson will expand and strengthen Cedars-Sinai’s interdisciplinary education and training for physicians, academic clinicians and allied health professionals while fostering the integration of medical education with research,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the Medical Faculty.

Katznelson comes to Cedars-Sinai from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he serves as professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine and as associate dean of Graduate Medical Education. He also serves as chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee for Stanford Health Care, where he is medical director of the Pituitary Center.

In his capacity as associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, Katznelson centralized access to innovative curricula, enhancing education in quality improvement and fostering grassroots engagement among residents and fellows. He established the Resident Safety Council to develop high-impact quality improvement projects, spearheaded the Stanford GME Diversity Committee to expand recruitment and opportunities, and championed wellbeing and safety initiatives to cultivate a healthier clinical learning environment.

“Dr. Katznelson is known to lead by example with kindness, grace, humility, professionalism and humor, and we look forward to him bringing these wonderful characteristics to Cedars-Sinai,” said Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, executive vice dean of Research and Education at Cedars-Sinai. “We look forward to his many contributions as a key leader in our growing education enterprise.”

Katznelson has published research in the highest-impact peer-reviewed journals and has been recognized for his academic education leadership. He is the recipient of the Laureate Award for Educator of the Year from the Endocrine Society and the H. Jack Baskin, MD, Endocrine Teaching Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

He received his bachelor’s degree in genetics from the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical degree from UCLA. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

“Cedars-Sinai is a national leader in medical education,” Katznelson said. “I am eager to join the team and advance this exciting work. I look forward to developing new strategies and programs to train and educate new generations of clinicians and investigators.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: U-GROW Program Prepares Future Scientists for Graduate School

Building on its visionary investment in Cedars-Sinai’s neurosurgery scholarship program, The Ray Charles Foundation has donated a second gift of $1 million to support critical training and research to advance the neurosciences.

The Ray Charles Foundation Scholars Fund in Neurosurgery is overseen by highly respected neurosurgeon Keith Black, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience.

Each year, a cohort of exceptional students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities is mentored by researchers personally selected by Black. The scholars also shadow him as he treats patients and develops groundbreaking therapies in Cedars-Sinai’s neuroscience laboratories.

“The students chosen for this program are destined for greatness in the world of medicine,” Black said. “What the scholars program aims to do, as a shared mission between Cedars-Sinai and The Ray Charles Foundation, is build the students’ scientific acuity as they establish their medical careers. This valuable funding is as much a catalyst for the program’s forward momentum as the students’ steadfast work ethic and the mentors’ expertise.”

Valerie Ervin, president of The Ray Charles Foundation, said Black’s leadership drives the foundation’s commitment to help future generations of neurosurgeons. “This program trains and mentors students from historically Black institutions, providing exposure and opportunities they may not otherwise have,” Ervin said. “That’s why it was so important for The Ray Charles Foundation to make a second $1 million gift.”

The scholars fund promotes diverse representation, specifically in neurosciences, and more broadly as part of Cedars-Sinai’s continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion across all medical specialties.

“Cedars-Sinai is resolute in its mission to create pathways of success for future medical professionals,” said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai and the Warschaw Law Chair in Health Care Leadership. “We’re honored and grateful that The Ray Charles Foundation has chosen our institution to collaborate with in this important effort.”

The iconic musician first showed his support for Cedars-Sinai some 20 years ago, naming the Ray Charles Cafeteria and Conference Center. He died in 2004.

Past and current scholars say participating in the program has changed their lives, introducing them to complex lab techniques and providing the focus and discipline required to take on a rigorous workload with precision.

When asked what guidance the legendary late entertainer would have imparted to scholars chosen for the coveted program, Ervin was quick with an answer: “If Ray Charles were with us today, he would tell the NeuroScholars, ‘Do your best practice, stay focused and keep on your journey.’”

Read more in Discoveries: Women in Neurosurgery