Inaugural Weill Cornell Medicine Global Symposium

Andrea Dacquino is the Director of Operations and Business Development for Global Patient Services (GPS) at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). In this role since 2013, he has supported NYP’s mission by promoting world-class clinical care, groundbreaking research, and education and training opportunities. Mr. Dacquino manages the day-to-day operations and strategy of GPS, which coordinates care for over 5,000 international patients annually, and he is responsible for strategic global business development efforts. Mr. Dacquino has more than 20 years of experience in international patient care programs. He has extensive business development experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and China. Mr. Dacquino is fluent in Spanish and Italian and holds an Executive MBA and Certificate in Healthcare Administration from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston as well as a B.A. from Wake Forest University.

Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald is a Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine and Director of the Weill Cornell Center for Global Health. The Center has 20 full-time faculty members dedicated to health equity in lower-income countries, with programs in Brazil, Haiti, India, Tanzania, and Uganda. Dr. Fitzgerald conducts NIH- and CDC-supported research on HIV and tuberculosis in Haiti and Tanzania. His HIV research includes implementation trials to optimize antiretroviral therapy, with a current focus on adolescents living with HIV. His tuberculosis research includes clinical trials to improve diagnosis and treatment of latent and active TB. Research training and institutional capacity building in lower-income settings are integral to Dr. Fitzgerald’s work. He leads three NIH Fogarty International Center training programs for international physician-scientists.

David Wyman is the Vice President of Network Integration, Regulatory Planning, Global Services, and Executive Health at NewYork-Presbyterian. He is responsible for overseeing programs that provide access, care coordination, and relationship management services for approximately 6,000 international and domestic patients annually. Mr. Wyman also supervises the Office of Regulatory Planning at NewYork-Presbyterian, which is responsible for the development, formulation, and implementation of plans for clinical, administrative, and facility projects in accordance with established federal and state policies and procedures.

In addition, Mr. Wyman serves as the president of the Rogosin Institute, an affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Gracie Square Hospital, where he successfully led Gracie Square’s redevelopment, revitalization, and alignment with NewYork-Presbyterian. Mr. Wyman brings over 20 years of expertise in healthcare operations and management to his varied roles. He holds a Master of Public Administration, Health Policy, and Management degree from New York University as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida.

Dean Javaid Sheikh is an internationally renowned medical executive and creative thought leader in global academic medicine and population health. Since beginning his tenure as Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q) in 2010, Dean Sheikh has pioneered and implemented innovative biomedical educational and research programs, enabling WCM-Q to become widely acknowledged as a leading institution preparing “Global Physicians” for the 21st century. He co-founded Innovations in Global Health Professions Education, a globally interconnected forum providing an international platform for profiling conceptual and technological innovations in health professions education. Prior to joining WCM-Q in 2007, Dean Sheikh built a distinguished career as a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Associate Dean, and Chairman of the Board at the Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine and affiliated hospitals in California.

Dr. Jennifer Downs is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine who conducts her research and teaching at the Weill Bugando School of Medicine in Mwanza, Tanzania. She received her M.D. from Weill Cornell Medicine and her Ph.D. in Parasitology from Leiden University, and she is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Downs has worked in Tanzania since 2007. Her research focuses on the relationship between genital schistosomiasis and mucosal immunity in girls and women. She also conducts community-based implementation science studies to improve the uptake of healthy behavior by rural Tanzanians. An additional area of major focus is training and mentoring students interested in global health careers, including undergraduate students from Cornell University, graduate students from Weill Cornell Graduate School and Weill Bugando in Tanzania, and medical students from Weill Cornell. Dr. Downs is particularly interested in fostering the careers of women scientists in global health.

Dr. Lisa Newman is a surgical oncologist with a practice dedicated to breast cancer management. In August 2018, Dr. Newman was appointed to oversee the breast program for the Weill Cornell Medicine-NewYork Presbyterian Hospital Network, serving its Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn sites. She is also the founding Medical Director for the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, currently headquartered at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Newman maintains a very active community service record and currently serves as Chief National Medical Advisor for the Sisters Network, Inc., a national support organization for African American breast cancer survivors. She also oversees an international breast cancer research and training program involving a network of physicians and facilities in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Dr. Newman holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University and obtained her undergraduate education at Harvard as well.

Dr. Michael Stewart is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Senior Associate Dean for International Affairs and Affiliations at Weill Cornell. Dr. Stewart received a B.E. degree summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed residency training at Baylor College of Medicine and received his MPH degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston. Dr. Stewart joined the Otolaryngology faculty at Baylor after residency training, before coming to Weill Cornell as chair. He is the author of two textbooks and more than 30 book chapters and 120 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Stewart is the former editor-in-chief of The Laryngoscope journal and a past president of the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery as well as other national societies. He currently serves as executive vice president of the American Rhinologic Society.

Dr. Mohamed Sulaiman is an American Board-Certified pediatric cardiologist with over 15 years of experience in pediatric cardiology. Currently, he is serving as a consultant pediatric cardiologist at Kids Heart Medical Center (Dubai – Abu Dhabi – Al Ain). He studied medicine, winning a government scholarship in Syria’s top-ranked, Damascus Medical University and went on to earn a Pediatric residency at Columbia University, NY, a Pediatric Cardiology fellowship from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Pediatric MRI fellowship from Harvard University, Boston.
Dr. Sulaiman has authored and co-authored multiple research publications in national and international journals. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University NY. He also served as assistant professor at Chicago University, Illinois, and Rainbow Children hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Robert Lorenz is the Executive Medical Director of Market and Network Services for the Cleveland Clinic, leading all aspects related to Cleveland Clinic’s contracting for specialty care, including innovative payment models. He is an active head and neck surgeon in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Lorenz received his undergraduate degree from Yale University with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, earned his medical degree with Honors at the University of Rochester, and completed his residency in Otolaryngology at the Cleveland Clinic and his fellowship at Vanderbilt University. He received an MBA with Distinction from London Business School. In 2008, Dr. Lorenz became the first Chief Medical Officer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and served in that post for three years. As CMO, he was responsible for creating the first-ever transfer of the Cleveland Clinic business and medical services model and culture to a non-Western country.

Dr. Wolfgang Aulitzky is the Medical Director of the American Austrian Foundation. He is Associate Dean for International Medicine and Distance Learning, Adjunct Prof. of Clinical Urology and Adjunct Prof. of Clinical Reproductive Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York Presbyterian Hospital. In 2016, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics in the Associated Faculty of the Perelman School of Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. As Director of the Medical Program of the American Austrian Foundation he has initiated the Open Medical Institute, a scientific and educational collaboration of Weill Cornell and the NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, the Children Hospital of Philadelphia, Duke University, Columbia University, the Cleveland Clinic, and leading hospitals in Austria. Dr. Aulitzky earned his medical degree at the University of Innsbruck in 1977, was a research associate at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and the Rockefeller University, New York. He received his training as a urologist at the University of Innsbruck and the General Hospital of Salzburg. He is the author of more than 140 publications on Urology, Andrology and Health Care issues.