Several faculty members at NYU Langone Health have recently received national and international recognition for their work in medicine and research.
Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD, who serves as the Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, was awarded the Castroviejo Medal by the Cornea Society during the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting held in Orlando from October 17 to 20. The medal is given annually for significant contributions to ophthalmology, especially regarding corneal research and care. Dr. Colby delivered the event’s Castroviejo Lecture on advances in managing endothelial dysfunction on October 19. She developed a treatment called Descemet stripping only (DSO) for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy that enables patients’ own cells to regenerate their corneas instead of relying on donor tissue. Dr. Colby also leads the NYU Langone Eye Center.
Kepal N. Patel, MD, professor in several departments at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrine Surgery as well as co-director of the Thyroid Program at NYU Langone Health, has been elected to serve on the board of directors for the American Thyroid Association (ATA) for 2025–26. Dr. Patel is recognized for his expertise in treating thyroid diseases and his research into new therapies such as thermal ablation techniques. Under his leadership and collaboration across multiple specialties including endocrinology and oncology, NYU Langone’s Thyroid Program provides comprehensive care from diagnosis through advanced minimally invasive treatments not widely available elsewhere. His election highlights his commitment to collaborative research and innovation within thyroid health.
Rachel K. Zwick, PhD, from the Department of Cell Biology, and Shuo Chen, PhD, from Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health have each received an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award worth $475,000 per year over five years. This award supports early career investigators pursuing innovative projects who have not previously received major independent NIH funding since completing their degrees or residencies in the last decade.
Dr. Zwick’s lab studies how adult tissues regenerate throughout life by identifying molecular patterns that organize metabolism in mouse and human intestines. Her team aims to uncover unique features during pregnancy that stimulate stem cells and remodel digestive organs to support maternal physiology and fetal development.
Dr. Chen’s laboratory focuses on understanding how memory is encoded and retrieved within brain networks while also studying neural mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease with an eye toward developing targeted therapies using tools from bioengineering and materials science.
Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil—H. Leon Pachter Professor of Surgery; chair of Surgery at NYU Grossman School; director of NYU Langone Transplant Institute—was elected nearly unanimously as a foreign correspondent member (“correspondant étranger”) to France’s Académie Nationale de Médecine Second Division (Surgery). He presented his experiences with heart disease—including receiving a hepatitis C–positive heart transplant—and innovations he has led in xenotransplantation during a recent address to the academy introduced by Alexandre Loupy, MD, PhD from Paris Institute for Transplantation and Organ Regeneration—a partner institution with NYU Langone Transplant Institute on pig-to-human transplantation research.
Additionally, both NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island and NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn were recognized by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) for achieving strong outcomes in surgical patient care during 2024 based on composite scores derived from eight surgical outcomes tracked preoperatively through 30 days post-surgery across inpatient and outpatient settings nationwide.
NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island earned spots on both “All Cases” and “High Risk” Meritorious lists among hospitals nationwide; Brooklyn was named on the “All Cases” list alone.
