Residency Program — Resident Profiles
Learn more about our current residents and their remarkable work in the Public Health/Preventive Medicine Residency Program by reading their profiles below.
You can also check out the most recent edition of our Residency Program Newsletter (PDF) for more information about the physicians who are working to prevent disease and promote health in the city.
Valerie Vassor (First year)
Dr. Vassor completed her B.A. at Swarthmore College, her M.D. and M.A. at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine and trained as a primary care resident at Yale. She recently also served as a Yale/Stanford Johnson & Johnson Global Health Scholar in Tugela Ferry, South Africa where she provided clinical care in the medical and tuberculosis wards, antiretroviral clinic and on home visits. Her research interests include health equity, violence prevention/reduction, nutrition and obesity medicine.
Irfan Azam (First year)
Dr. Azam completed his B.S. at Stony Brook University, his M.D. at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, and trained as an internal medicine and primary care resident at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. He most recently served as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Hospital Medicine at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Pennsylvania. He is the incoming American Cancer Society track resident with our program and is open to the breadth and depth of research opportunities here at the agency.
Abi Pinheiro (First year)
Dr. Pinheiro obtained her B.S. at New York University, her M.D/Ph.D./M.H.S at the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and her M.P.A at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs as a Global Leaders Fellow. She trained as a family medicine resident at the Institute for Family Health/Mount Sinai Hospital in Harlem. Abi completed postdoctoral fellowships in Ghana and Namibia, and has worked on projects based in the U.S. Africa, Asia and Europe. Most recently, she was an independent public health research consultant focusing on gender and health. Her professional interests center on a multidisciplinary approach to improving the health of disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
Emma Ruderman (Second year)
Dr. Ruderman completed her Bachelor of Arts in biology at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University and her M.D. at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She recently completed an internal medicine residency in the primary care track at Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Emma has prior experience exploring the social determinants of health and is interested in mental health among vulnerable populations, violence and public health, and food security.
Scherly Leon (Second year)
Dr. Leon completed her Bachelor of Science in respiratory care as well as her M.D. at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. She completed a Nephrology Fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. As a former Public Policy Fellow with the American Society of Nephrology, Scherly has experience in health policy and leadership in the field of Nephrology. She is interested in addressing health disparities and equity in a government public health setting.
Rebecca Florsheim (Second year)
Dr. Florsheim completed her B.S. in molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin and her M.D. at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. She completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Rebecca worked as a hospitalist for several years and has experience in global health and human rights work. She recently founded a medical education company focusing on interactive and adaptive learning. Rebecca is currently taking courses toward her M.P.H. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.