Advancing Women in Science and Medicine Awards Luncheon Speaker Biographies
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Advancing Women in Science and Medicine Awards Luncheon Speaker Biographies Ali Wentworth Actor, Comedian and New York Times Best-Selling Author A multitalented performer, Ali Wentworth brings a wealth of experience to all her endeavors, including writing movie scripts, her column in Marie Claire magazine, and acting in notable movies and television shows. Wentworth made a name for herself as a regular on two seasons of In Living Color. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno over 100 times. Other television credits include her memorable role as Jerry Seinfeld’s girlfriend, Schmoopie, in the series’ classic “Soup Nazi” episode. She is the creator, star and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Starz series Head Case. Wentworth was a regular on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also portrayed Meryl Streep’s best friend in the Nancy Meyers film It’s Complicated. Also an author, Wentworth’s first book, The WASP Cookbook (Warner Books), details the lack of taste in the puritanical culinary history with hilarious commentary on WASP culture. Her second book, Ali in Wonderland (HarperCollins), a comedic look at bad advice her mother has given her, was a New York Times best seller. Her latest book, also a New York Times best-seller, Happily Ali After, premiered June 2015. Wentworth is the founder of BabyLove DC and is a devoted children’s advocate. She also sits on the boards of the Children’s Defense Fund and Good Plus Foundation. She resides in New York City with her husband George Stephanopoulos and their two daughters Elliott and Harper. Wentworth recently created and is the star of Nightcap, a new TV series that will premiere in November 2016. Renée Pekmezaris, PhD Professor, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research Renee Pekmezaris is Vice President for Community Health and Health Services Research at Northwell Health and serves the Zucker School of Medicine as Professor with a dual appointment in the Departments of Medicine and Population Health. Operating at the Department of Medicine’s Center for Health Innovations and Outcomes (CHIOR), her research and teaching activities have focused upon improving quality of care for patients living with chronic illness. Dr. Pekmezaris joined Northwell Health in 2005 as Research Fellow of the Institute for Medical Effectiveness Research, with the charge of building a health services research division at Northwell. During her 15 years at Northwell, Dr. Pekmezaris and her team have acquired over $23 million in funding for chronic care management research. An applied research psychologist trained in multimethods research, Dr. Pekmezaris has a strong background in experimental and quasi-experimental research design, and has served as principal investigator for a number of studies funded by federal and state health agencies and private foundations. During the last five years, she has served as principal investigator for 3 mixed methods studies funded by PCORI to study home telemonitoring of patients from disparity communities. Working in the New York metropolitan area for over 25 years, she began her health care career as executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk Health Systems Agency, where she was responsible for operating the New York State-legislated health planning agency overseen by a 30-member, consumer-majority governing board comprised of health consumers, providers, advocates and payers. Since joining Northwell Health in 2005, she has authored over 90 peer-reviewed articles focused upon chronic care management approaches to improve patient quality of life for patients living with chronic illness. Rachel-Maria Brown, MD, FACC Director, Inpatient Cardiac Services, Lenox Hill Hospital Dr. Rachel-Maria Brown Talaska earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History of Science, History of Medicine from Yale University. After working as a researcher in the field of molecular biology, she earned an MD from Tufts University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Following residency she completed her fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease and was appointed Chief Fellow during her final year of fellowship. Dr. Brown Talaska joined the Cardiology faculty at Northwell Health- Lenox Hill Hospital as Director of the Cardiac Care Unit and has transitioned to Director of Inpatient Cardiac Services and Director of Consultative Cardiology. Additionally, Dr. Brown Talaska is the Lenox Hill Hospital Site Director for two NIH trials, TRANSFORM-HF and SPIRRIT-HFpEF. She has completed the Six Sigma DMAIC program as a Black Belt and continues to apply her expertise working on various Cardiology QI projects. .