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Research and Medical Advisory Board
Ron Alterman, M. D.
Dr. Alterman joined the department of Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai in 2004. He is the Director of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery. He held previous academic positions at New York University School of Medicine (1995-1997), University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1997-1998), and Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1998-2004) where he was Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Medical Center. Dr. Alterman is well known for his work on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease, torsion dystonia, and tremor. His clinical interests also include image-guided surgery for brain tumors and benign spine disease. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps.
Stephanie Falcone Bernik, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Stephanie F. Bernik, MD, FACS, is Chief of Breast Surgery for the comprehensive breast program at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City. A board certified surgeon specializing in breast diseases, Dr. Bernik has been at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2000. In that time, she has developed a specialty in treating young women under 40 diagnosed with the disease.
Dr. Bernik was recently honored with the 2005 Top Doctor recognition from research firm Castle Connelly. In 2004, she received Columbia University's John Jay Award for Professional Achievement, and in 2001, Columbia University's Alumna Achievement Award. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Bernik has authored numerous articles published in medical journals, including The Breast Journal, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Annals of Surgical Oncology and The American Surgeon. She is a principal investigator for breast disease research at St. Vincent's, and has presented her research at symposia across the country, most recently at the American Society of Breast Surgeons 2006 annual meeting in Baltimore, and the American Society of Breast Disease 2006 annual symposium in Las Vegas.
Dr. Bernik graduated from Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, in 1993, and completed her internship and residency at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. She was awarded fellowships at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in breast surgery and St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in surgical oncology. Dr. Bernik also received two research fellowships from Yale University School of Medicine in 1990 and 1992. She received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Columbia University in 1989.
Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, M.D.
Dr. Carney is an internist, geriatrician and hospice/palliative care physician practicing in Long Island, New York. She is an attending physician and voluntary staff member at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York and the Director of the Palliative Care Program at Glengariff Health Care Center in Glen Cove, New York. Dr. Carney is also the Medical Editor of Voices of Alzheimer’s.
Ooi-Thye Chong, R.N., M.P.H. L. Ac
Ooi-Thye Chong is the Director of Complementary Therapies at St. Vincent’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City. Her career spans the USA and United Kingdom (UK). Chong is a Registered Health Visitor (UK), Licensed Intensive Care Nurse (UK,) and Registered Nurse (UK, USA). She earned a Master's Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor's Degree with honors in Social Psychology from Sussex University (UK). She is also a New York State Licensed Acupuncturist.
Chong’s background is rooted in health promotion and integrative medicine. In London, she was a key team member of a primary health care practice that had the first integrative program, opened in 1980 by the late Princess Diana. She has also served as a researcher for the World Health Organization and a nurse educator for the United Nations. She has appeared on the PBS live broadcast "Reach Out to Heal" among other programs and she has been featured in several journals and news reports.
In the earlier stages of her career, Chong was the Director of Program Development of Hælth, a center that had a novel concept in integrative medicine. She created and currently oversees an innovative integrative medicine program at The St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City. Her focus is in enhancing the patients' sense of wellbeing and making a significant difference in their experience of their illness. She has a private practice in personal health consultancy and acupuncture.
April Roberts, Psy.D
Dr. Roberts is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy. Her work focuses on geriatrics, substance abuse, rehabilitation and end-of-life issues. Dr. Roberts works in central Florida with the Platka Health Care Center, Windsor Manor, the Health Care Center of Lake City and BAYA Pointe Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Dr. Roberts also provides evaluations for juveniles in detention.
Michael S. Wolfe, Ph.D.
Dr. Wolfe is Associate Professor of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School where his work has focused on understanding the molecular basis of Alzheimer’s disease and identifying therapeutic strategies. In January 2006 he founded the Laboratory for Experimental Alzheimer’s Drugs at Harvard Medical School, which is dedicated to developing promising molecules into drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
