Taubman Tapped to Chair AMSNY
Mark Taubman, M.D., CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center, has been selected as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY). The 3-year appointment became effective at the end of October.
“AMSNY is an important voice in Albany and Washington in support of medical education, health care, and biomedical research,” said Taubman. “The collaboration and dialogue that the organization fosters among the deans of medical schools is essential and is one of the reasons why New York State is leading the way in scientific innovation, high quality and cost-efficient care, and producing the next generation of physicians trained in team-based medicine.”
“Medical education is facing significant pressure from changes in state and federal policy, the escalation of health care costs and the rapid pace of technological development,” said Jo Wiederhorn, president and CEO of AMSNY. “At the same time, we’re in the midst of major advances in biomedical research and the ability to treat and cure complex diseases. The medical education community needs to ensure we are educating and training the best physicians to treat diverse populations and researchers to drive innovation. Dr. Taubman’s deep knowledge of and commitment to education and science will ably guide AMSNY’s priorities over the coming years.”
AMSNY, which was created 50 years ago, is a consortium of the 16 public and private medical schools in New York State, which collectively enroll 10,743 medical students and receive more than $2 billion in annual research funding from the National Institutes of Health. New York State is home to the largest number of medical schools in the U.S. and trains approximately 11 percent of the nation’s medical students and 16 percent of its residents.
AMSNY plays a critical advocacy role in state and federal health policy. The organization’s list of legislative and policy priorities include universal access to health care, funding for graduate medical education, medical education debt forgiveness, and biomedical research. AMSNY was instrumental in the creation of the Empire State Stem Cell Program (NYSTEM), continued funding for the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, and the state’s recent decision to invest $320 million in capital funding to support life sciences, a portion of which is specifically targeted to recruit and retain scientists in bioscience research labs and academic medical centers.
One of the organization’s top priorities is to increase diversity in the state’s health care workforce and expand the pool of students from underrepresented groups that choose a career in medicine. This includes support for the Diversity in Medicine Program, which provides a pathway for middle school, high school and college students to careers in the health professions.
For more information about AMSNY and its advocacy efforts, visit www.amsny.org
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