MSK Bioethics Ambassadors Program (BAP): Instructor Bios 2022/2023

Yesne Alici, MD, a psychiatrist, is Clinical Director of Psychiatry Services and has clinical expertise in psychiatry of geriatric patients. She treats cancer patients in both MSK’s in-patient and out-patient settings. Dr. Alici is a member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and Ethics Committee. She also works on communication skills programs for doctors who treat older adults with cancer and supervises fellows, residents, nurse practitioner students, and medical students who rotate through the Psychiatry Service.

Nancy Berlinger, PhD is a Hastings Center research scholar whose work focuses on ethical and societal challenges arising from population aging, and the role of health practitioners, systems, and policymakers in the care and well-being of migrants. She is the lead author of The Hastings Center’s Covid-19 Ethical Framework for Health Care Institutions, including guidance on vaccine allocation (January 2021) and conducts qualitative and mixed-method research on experiences of health care workers and responses to the needs of older adults and immigrants during pandemic. She serves on the bioethics committee of Montefiore Medical Center and teaches at Lehman College, CUNY.

Liz Blackler, MBE, LCSW-R is the Program Manager for the Ethics Committee and Consultation Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She is an experienced Clinical Ethics Consultant with a Master of Science in Bioethics from Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. Her clinical interests involve working with staff to enhance end-of-life communication and decision-making and navigate conflicts and ethical concerns that can arise around the end of life, including the use of life-sustaining therapies. Her academic focus is in bioethics education and training of clinical staff.

Martin Chin, MD, HEC-C is a Clinical Member at MSK and Attending Psychiatrist in the Psychiatry Service at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases. Dr. Chin is a New York State and New Jersey State licensed psychiatrist, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, General Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine/Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, and in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Chin completed his Healthcare Ethics Consultant certification in 2019 and he also joined the Ethics Committee in 2019.

Michelle Colletti, MS, PA-C is a board-certified Physician Assistant working in MSK’s Colorectal Service. Her clinical duties include the diagnosis and treatment of patients with colon and rectal cancer. She is a member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and Ethics Committee.

Elizabeth M. D’Elia, JD is the Associate General Counsel and Chief Litigation Counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Her primary areas of focus include litigation – healthcare professional, general liability and OCIP; insurance and claims, risk management, and quality assurance. Before her legal career, she gained invaluable experience working as a registered nurse, which included the direct care and treatment of oncology patients as well as in nursing leadership.

Francesca Gany, MD is the Chief of the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Director of the Center for Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities, and a Director of the community based participatory South Asian Health Initiative. She works to bridge immigrants, minority community members, and the medically underserved with the healthcare system, and to eliminate health disparities. Her groundbreaking work has led to an improvement in health outcomes and to the development of long-term clinical, health policy, and programmatic changes.

Maryanne M. Giuliante, DNP, MBA, RN, GNP, ANP-C, NEA-BC, HEC-C is the Advanced Practice Provider Manager with MSK Westchester Regional Network in West Harrison, NY. Dr. Giuliante has over two decades of experience in areas of nursing sciences including oncology, medicine, cardiology, kidney transplantation, and post-surgery acute care. She is the author of several publications, most recently a chapter in the book entitled Ethical Competence in Nursing Practice; where she discussed ethical issues encountered with the older adult. She is a member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and Ethics Committee.

Megan Harlan Fleischut, MS is a board certified senior genetic counselor with extensive experience in clinical cancer genetics. In her role as manager of the genetic counselors in the Clinical Genetics Service, she communicates and implements operational processes while acting as a liaison between the clinical, administrative, laboratory, and research teams. Her group continually seeks to expand the provision of genetic counseling and testing services which includes ensuring access to care for patients and their at-risk relatives. She is dedicated to supporting her team to optimize success and pursue fulfilling and rewarding careers.

Margot Hedlin, MD, is a nocturnist and member of the MSK Ethics Committee. She is interested in medical education in the humanities; she is a producer on the podcast CoreIM, where she develops episodes about the ethics and emotions of clinical care in a segment called "At the Bedside".

Martee L. Hensley, M.D., M.Sc., FASCO is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of gynecologic cancers. Her clinical research and academic oncology practice are dedicated to improving the lives of women with gynecologic sarcomas. She is currently an Attending Physician in the Gynecologic Medical Oncology service, and Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College. Since January 2016, she has served as Chair of the Interdisciplinary Quality Assurance Committee for MSK. She was named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2018.

Monique C. James, MD is an Adult Psychiatrist who specializes in care of those having acute and chronic illness courses. She is the Assistant Clinical Director of the MSK Psychiatry Service and a member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and Ethics Committee. She has a background in women’s mental health, psychotherapeutic work, and medical education.

Kimarie Knowles, LCSW-R is a licensed clinical social worker with clinical interests including working with cancer survivors as they make the transition from active treatment to post-treatment, as well as working with bereft family members after the death of a loved one. She works with the Resources for Life After Cancer program, and co-coordinates the Department of Social Work’s Bereavement Program. She also has specialized training in cognitive-behavioral techniques, psychodynamic psychotherapy, group therapy, and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy.

Jacqueline LaGrassa, LCSW is a Manager in the Patient Representative Department. She is a social worker by training and is deeply passionate about advocating and supporting patients and families, as well as staff, as they navigate through their cancer experience. Jackie completed the Bioethics Ambassador Program in 2022 and is a new member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and Ethics Committee.

MaryEliza McEachen BSN, RN, CPHON, CNIV has been a nurse on the inpatient pediatric unit of MSK Kids since the start of her career in 1998. She has been a member of the Ethics Committee since 2014 and has a special interest in burn out and moral distress. MaryEliza embraces the demands and complexities of oncology nursing especially the varied and individual physical, psychosocial, ethical, religious and cultural qualities of each patient and family she encounters.

Kenneth Offit, MD is a medical oncologist and Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service, Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics, and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Medicine. His clinical expertise is in genetic predispositions to cancer, lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease, and cancer risk counseling. Dr. Offit’s research focuses on defining genetic factors that cause an increased susceptibility to cancer and tailoring interventions for families at hereditary risk for cancers of the breast, ovary, colon, prostate, and lymphoid organs.

Kenneth Offit, MD is a medical oncologist and Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service, Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics, and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Medicine. His clinical expertise is in genetic predispositions to cancer, lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease, and cancer risk counseling. Dr. Offit’s research focuses on defining genetic factors that cause an increased susceptibility to cancer and tailoring interventions for families at hereditary risk for cancers of the breast, ovary, colon, prostate, and lymphoid organs.

Jamie Riches, DO, is board-certified internal medicine physician who specializes in caring for people who have been admitted to Memorial Hospital. Dr. Riches received her medical degree from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Certification of Professional Achievement in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Bioethics at Columbia University. Research interests include ethics of cancer and end-of-life care, truth-telling/patient-physician communication, moral injury, and exploring narratives of illness and death.

Leonard Saltz, MD, is an oncologist with clinical specialties in multiple gastrointestinal cancers, and is the Executive Director for Clinical Value & Sustainability and the Head of Colorectal Oncology Section. Dr. Saltz the Chair of MSK’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, co-leader of the Colorectal Disease Management Team, and a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Amy Scharf, MBE has been a member of the MSK Ethics committee since 2018 and works directly with Ethics leadership on programming, publications, and the advancement of Ethics both within MSK and externally. Amy is one of the co-directors of the Bioethics Ambassador Program. She received her Masters in Bioethics from Columbia University in 2016.

Johanna Schoen, PhD is professor of history at Rutgers University where she teaches about the history of medicine and medical ethics. She has written two books on the history of women's reproductive health and abortion and is now working on a book on the history of neonatal intensive care units. At MSKCC, she is a caregiver advisor, co-chair of PFACQ, and a member of the ethics and the LGBTQ committee.

Stacy Stabler, MD, PhD, is an internist with additional clinical expertise in palliative care and pain management. Dr. Stabler specializes in Supportive Care and is the director of MSK’s Palliative Medicine Fellowship. She is also a member of the MSK Ethics Committee.

Zsofia Stadler, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers. She has a special interest in caring for patients with an inherited risk for colorectal cancer. She works very closely with a team of surgeons, oncologists, gastroenterologists, and radiation therapists to provide the best treatment and care for each patient. In addition, she has a separate genetics clinic where she provides clinical counseling and genetic testing for people who may have an inherited predisposition to gastrointestinal or other cancers. Based on genetic test results and family history, she helps men and women with cancer incorporate genetic information into their treatment plan and the surveillance of cancer after treatment.

Deborah Stein BSN, MSN, ACNP-BC has over 20 years of experience working with oncology and critically ill patients. She has varied experience working as an ICU Nurse Practitioner, NP education specialist, APP Fellowship Director, COMSKIL program content developer and facilitator, and most recently, an Ethics Consultant. In addition to her work at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Ms. Stein serves as adjunct clinical faculty for the University of Pennsylvania, presents on various critical care, oncology, and adult education topics for local, national, and international organizations, and has various publications.

Louis P. Voigt, MD, MBE is the Chair of the MSK Ethics Committee. He is an intensivist with his clinical expertise in Critical Care Medicine, launching from a background in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases. Dr. Voigt is committed to helping his patients and their families during the most life-threatening moments of their hospital course. In addition, he provides weekly workshops on cardiopulmonary ventilation and bronchoscopy procedures. He also teaches and supervises fellows, residents, and students and is involved in several critical care medicine-related research projects.

Lisa Wall, PhD, RN, CNS, HEC-C is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in MSK’s Outpatient GI Surgery Service. She has been a nurse at MSK for the 35 years having previously served in the role of Nurse Leader. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Research from New York University, and completed the Psychosocial Palliative and Community Research in Cancer Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at MSK. She is a member of the MSK Ethics Consultation Service and the Ethics Committee.