Meet Our Team
Our dedicated providers at the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery are committed to providing you with the care you need for any medical issue that you are facing. Through our programs, we are committed to improving the health and lives of transgender and gender non-binary people. Our compassionate team of providers offer world-class care in our outpatient and inpatient settings. We treat you using a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to care with physicians specializing in many areas of transgender care.
Executive Director
Joshua D. Safer, MD, FACP, Executive Director, Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery (he/him)
Dr. Safer is the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery’s first executive director and Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Safer earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He completed his internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and his endocrinology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Dr. Safer is a past president of the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH). He also serves on the Global Education Initiative committee for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and on the Standards of Care revision committee for WPATH. Dr. Safer has been scientific co-chair for WPATH’s international meeting and was a co-author of the Endocrine Society guidelines for the medical care of transgender patients. In addition, he is a past president of the Association of Specialty Professors, the umbrella organization for leaders in internal medicine subspecialty education, and a former secretary-treasurer of the national endocrinology program director organization, the Association of Program Directors in Endocrinology and Metabolism, (APDEM).
Dr. Safer’s research focus is on demonstrating the health and quality of life benefits for transgender patients from increased access to care. His current and past sources of funding support include the NIH and a number of private foundations.
Emergency Medicine
Erick A. Eiting, MD, MPH, MMM (he/him)
Dr. Eiting is Vice Chair of Operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown, which includes the Emergency Department at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and the Urgent Care Center at Mount Sinai Union Square. He has focused on improving access to care for incarcerated patients using innovative care models and medical technology. His research interests include emergency department usage and patient experience for transgender patients. He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Eiting received his Masters of Public Health from Columbia University, with a focus on Health Policy and Management, and his Masters of Medical Management degree from the University of Southern California. He is also an alumnus of AmeriCorps, where he did HIV counseling and testing in Brooklyn. He is Co-Chair of the Healthcare Disparities Committee for the Medical Society of the State of New York, and he previously served on the American Medical Association Advisory Committee for LGBTQ Issues and was the inaugural Chair of the California Medical Association Technical Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.
Primary Care
Antonio E. Urbina, MD (he/him)
Dr. Urbina is the Medical Director for the Mount Sinai Institute for Advanced Medicine/Spencer Cox Clinic and the Mount Sinai Downtown clinic in New York City. Dr. Urbina is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and serves as Medical Director for the Clinical Education Initiative of the New York State Department of Health (DOH) AIDS Institute. Since completing his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan, Dr. Urbina has pioneered innovative educational programming for community-based clinics, hospitals, and public health departments. He has directed more than 10 HIV clinical trials research protocols and serves on the NYS DOH AIDS Institute Clinical Guidelines Committee. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Urbina served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and from 2014 to 2015 served on Governor Cuomo’s Task Force to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State.
Soman Sandeep, MD (he/him)
Soman Sandeep, MD practices at Mount Sinai Doctors 23rd Street. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Sandeep earned his medical degree at New York Medical College. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Endocrinology
Tamar Reisman, MD (she/her)
Tamar Reisman, MD is a general endocrinologist with a commitment to providing inclusive, high quality care for LGBT people. Dr. Reisman completed her Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and her Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism fellowship at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her areas of focus include transgender hormone therapy, sexual health, and testosterone disorders.
Emily Nosova, MD (she/her)
Emily Nosova, MD, is a general endocrinologist with interests in endocrine conditions that can affect fertility and pregnancy, as well as transgender care. Dr. Nosova graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where she also pursued a yearlong NIH-sponsored research fellowship. She completed her residency in internal medicine at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, receiving a certification in Women’s Health, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology at Mount Sinai. Dr. Nosova has been caring for transgender patients as part of her general endocrine practice at Mount Sinai since 2020.
Cesar Abuchaibe, MD (he/him)
Dr. Cesar Abuchaibe is an endocrinologist who earned his medical degree from Rosario University in Bogota, Colombia. He performed his internal medicine residency at the Jewish Hospital affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Abuchaibe completed his medical training with a fellowship in endocrinology at the University of South Florida, Tampa.
Dr. Abuchaibe’s medical practice provides broad coverage of all routine endocrine related disorders such as diabetes (types 1 and 2), thyroid disorders, transgender hormone therapy, obesity, and bone disorders such as osteoporosis. The care that Dr. Abuchaibe provides is patient-centered and combines expert medical management with monitoring and guiding healthy lifestyles with regards to diet and exercise, which are vital components to treating many endocrine disorders. Dr. Abuchaibe is fluent in English and Spanish.
Social Work
Laura Stein, LCSW (she/her)
Ms. Stein is a social worker with the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. She received her Master of Social Worker from New York University's Silver School of Social Work as well as clergy ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Her career has focused on advocacy within the LGBTQIA+ population and the integration of spiritual and mental health intervention into patient care.
Alison Sharp, LCSW (she/her)
Alison is a social worker at the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery who provides trauma-focused mental health treatment through the THRIV grant – the Trauma Healing and Resilience Initiative for Transgender Survivors of Violence. Alison is from Toronto, Canada and has worked in community health centers in Canada, Malta and New York City. Alison’s career has focused on anti-oppressive psychotherapy for trauma and substance use recovery, both within and outside of LBGTQ health centers.
Ash Rearick, LCSW (they/them)
Ash Rearick is a licensed clinical social worker at The Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital. Ash graduated from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in New York and has nearly 10 years of experience working with individuals and families in various clinical settings including outpatient mental health centers and community-based organizations with social justice missions.
Ash has completed post graduate training in sexuality and gender from the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and in spiritually integrated psychotherapy from NYU Silver School of Social Work. Ash is passionate about empowering trans and nonbinary patients to meet both their medical and mental health goals.
Behavioral Health
Max Lichtenstein, MD (he/him)
Dr. Lichtenstein is the Director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Institute for Advanced Medicine and the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai, Director of the Mount Sinai Transgender Psychiatry Fellowship, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Max Lichtenstein, MD, completed medical school at St. Georges University and his Ggneral psychiatry residency and chief residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY. He then performed a consultation-liaison psychiatry fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai specializing on HIV psychiatry, transplant psychiatry, psycho-oncology, and transgender psychiatry. Throughout his career, Dr. Lichtenstein has focused on providing psychiatric services to LGBTQ+ people and those who are living with HIV. Dr. Lichtenstein has been integral in providing ongoing education, locally and nationally, on HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and transgender health. His published work aims to reduce barriers to access to care for transgender persons seeking gender-affirming medical and surgical treatment. Dr. Lichtenstein is board certified in adult psychiatry and consultation liaison psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.”
Ralph Fader, MD (he/him)
Dr. Ralph Fader is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Institute for Advanced Medicine and Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai. He completed medical school at Rutgers--Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He completed an adult psychiatry residency training and served as a chief resident at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He completed a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training and served as a chief fellow at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell/Columbia. Dr. Fader has worked for many years with LGBTQ+ patients and has a focus in psychiatric care for transgender and gender non-conforming youth and LGBTQ+ adults. He is board certified in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.
Plastic Surgery
Jess Ting, MD (he/him)
Jess Ting, MD attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he graduated first in his class, and completed post-graduate training in plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Hand Surgery/Microsurgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He is Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and is a board-certified Plastic Surgeon. He specializes in reconstructive microsurgery, gender affirming facial feminization surgeries, gender affirming chest/breast surgeries, and gender affirming genital reconstruction surgeries.
Bella Avanessian, MD (she/her)
Bella Avanessian, MD is a plastic surgeon specializing in gender affirming genital reconstruction, chest reconstruction, and facial surgery for both transgender men and transgender women. Dr. Avanessian is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and was the inaugural fellow in the first ever comprehensive Transgender Surgery Fellowship Program under the supervision of Drs. Jess Ting and Marci Bowers at Mount Sinai. Dr. Avanessian received her medical degree from the Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, RI. She completed her residency in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital. She is fluent in English and Russian. In her clinical practice, she has additional interests in adolescent care and surgical innovation.
Elan Horesh, MD (he/him)
Elan Horesh, MD, MPH (he/him) is an Assistant professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He joined the faculty after completing the comprehensive Transgender Surgery Fellowship at Mount Sinai. He received his medical degree and Master of Public Health degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Dr. Horesh offers gender affirming genital reconstruction (vaginoplasty, metoidioplasty and phalloplasty), microsurgical reconstruction, gender affirming chest/breast surgery, and gender affirming facial feminization and masculinization surgery.
He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. He maintains interest in medical student and resident surgical education as well as clinical outcomes research.
Ann Tran, MD (she/her)
Ann Tran, MD, holds dual appointments as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Tran graduated from Hunter College with a degree in Special Honors & Anthropology as part of the Thomas Hunter Honors program. She then spent one year as a research assistant in the Vascular Surgery Department at Mount Sinai.
Following her research year, Dr. Tran attended New York Medical College and completed a four-year residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She then went on to complete a three-year fellowship in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Northwell Health in Long Island. Dr. Tran is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Upon completion of her training, she joined the Faculty Practice Associates at Mount Sinai as a Urogynecologist. She offers a wide range of surgical services to reconstruct the pelvic floor including minimally invasive techniques involving robotic, laparoscopic, and vaginal approaches. During this period, she developed an interest in gender affirming surgery and became committed to improving the health and wellbeing of transgender and gender diverse communities. She reinforced this commitment by joining the Division of Transgender Surgery under the direction of Dr. Jess Ting in 2022.
Dr. Tran is dedicated to teaching and mentoring trainees in her field and serves as the Assistant Program Director of the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship at Mount Sinai. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and has made numerous presentations at national meetings. Throughout her career she has consistently won teaching awards including the CREOGs National Faculty Award which recognizes excellence in resident education.
Dr. Tran also volunteers her services in the Global Surgery Program at Mount Sinai which is committed to addressing the lack of surgical services available in underserved areas around the world. Under the leadership of Dr. Michael Marin, Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System, she is part of the core team at Mount Sinai that has pioneered a new model of sharing surgical knowledge using innovative technology.
Dr. Yasmina Zoghbi (she/her)
Dr. Yasmina Zoghbi is a plastic surgeon who specializes in gender-affirming surgery. She excels in providing compassionate care to transgender/gender non-binary patients and adeptly guides them on a journey to realize their authentic gender expressions. Dr. Zoghbi also specializes in body contouring and reconstructive breast surgery.
She received her medical degree from the University of Miami – Miller School of Medicine in Miami, FL., and completed her plastic surgery residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and its affiliates.
Dr. Zoghbi is a patient-centered surgeon who takes the time to listen to her patient's goals and concerns. In her philosophy, she recognizes the distinctiveness of every individual and crafts personalized treatment strategies tailored to their specific needs. Dr. Zoghbi is committed to providing high-quality, individualized care, and she strives to make her patients feel comfortable and confident throughout the entire process.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Zoghbi is also a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She has co-authored more than 20 publications and book chapters. She remains invested in medical student and resident education as well as clinical research.
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Zoe Rodriguez, MD (she/her)
Zoe Rodriguez, MD received her medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and at Metropolitan Hospital Center in Manhattan. Board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Rodriguez serves as Vice Chair of Operations of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Medical Director of the Women’s Health Center of Phillips Ambulatory Care Center. Dr. Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In her clinical practice, she is a pioneer in the delivery of culturally and clinically appropriate health care to transgender men and performs a high volume of complex minimally invasive gynecologic procedures, offering vaginectomy and gender affirming surgeries.
Tia Jackson-Bey MD, MPH (she/her)
Tia Jackson-Bey MD, MPH, is a reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and board certified obstetrician gynecologist who cares for patients at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York’s Brooklyn office. Dr. Jackson-Bey’s professional interests include physician-patient education, in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome improvement, global public health, and mentoring underrepresented college and medical students on careers in medicine.
Lucky Sekhon MD, (she/her)
Dr. Lucky Sekhon is a reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who cares for patients at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York’s Manhattan and Downtown (SoHo) Offices. She specializes in diagnosing and treating reproductive issues and has particular expertise in fertility preservation (egg freezing), LGBTQ family building, and IVF with preimplantation genetic testing of embryos. She also uses minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and hysteroscopy to treat a variety of surgical conditions including endometriosis and uterine factor infertility.
Rachel Gerber MD, (she/her)
Rachel Schwartz Gerber, MD, is a reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who cares for patients at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York’s East Side and Westchester offices. In addition to her medical expertise, Dr. Gerber prides herself on treating every patient with compassion, empathy, and respect.
Dr. Gerber is a distinguished clinician and researcher. She has presented her research at numerous national conferences and has published extensively in top journals of the field. Her current research focuses on using the national database of assisted reproduction technology to understand the neonatal benefits of single embryo transfer and optimize ovarian stimulation in IVF.
Jovana Lekovich MD, (she/her)
Dr. Jovana Lekovich is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, reproductive endocrinologist, and infertility specialist who cares for patients at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York’s Brooklyn and Manhattan Offices. She is the Director of the Oncofertility Program at the Blavatnik Family- Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. Dr. Lekovich is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where she treats all aspects of reproductive medicine and infertility, including conditions such as amenorrhea, polycystic ovary syndrome, and diminished ovarian reserve with ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination, IVF, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and preimplantation genetic testing of embryos. She also uses minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and hysteroscopy to treat conditions including endometriosis and uterine factor infertility.
Emily Schmidt-Beuchat. MD (she/her)
Emily Schmidt-Beuchar, MD, is an obsterician-gynocologist at Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside, and Mount Sinai Beth Israel and an instructor in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Schmidt-Beuchat focuese on general obstetrics and gynecology, with special interest in transgender medicine.
Dr. Schmidt-Beuchat received her medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Whle there, she was awared the Dr. Harold and Mrs. Judy Kaye Award Merit Scholarship for students pursuring obstetrics and gynecoloty. Dr. Schmidt-Beuchat when on to complete her residency in obstetrics and cynecology at Mount Sinai West, where sh was commended for her outstanding teaching of medical students.
Dr. Schmidt-beuchart is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the U.S. professional Association for Transgender Health (UPATH). She has presented at both ACOG and USPATH on Testosterone Dosing Requirements in Transgender Males Post-Oophorectomy: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.
Urology
Miroslav Djordjevic, MD, PhD (he/him)
In addition to his work at Mount Sinai, Dr. Djordjevic is a Professor of Urology and Surgery at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia, where he completed his medical studies, including his urology residency. He continued his professional education at numerous universities worldwide, but the greatest impact on his professional education was experience obtained by working with Professor Sava Perovic, the renowned urologic reconstruction expert. Dr. Djordjevic has published multiple papers on the surgical treatment of hypospadias, epispadias, Peyronie's disease, adult hypospadias, buried penis, urethral reconstruction, pediatric reconstructive urology, penile enhancement surgery, and transgender-specific surgeries.
Dr. Djordjevic is a member of the European Society of Pediatric Urology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Urological Association, European Association of Urology, International Urological Association, Society for Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons, German Urological Association, American Academy of Phalloplasty Surgeons, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and International Volunteers in Urology.
Dr. Djordjevic leads the Belgrade Center for Genital Reconstructive Surgery, where the mission includes both clinical care and training other surgeons.
Aaron Grotas, MD (he/him)
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Grotas attended Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed a surgical internship and Adult and Pediatric Urology training at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. He is board certified by the American Board of Urology. Dr. Grotas specializes in minimally invasive and reconstructive urologic procedures, including gender affirming surgeries. Dr. Grotas is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Rajveer Purohit, MD (he/him)
Dr. Rajveer Purohit, MD is a reconstructive urologist and associate professor of Urology.
Dr. Purohit earned his medical degree (MD) and Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University before completing his surgical internship and urology residency at the University of California in San Francisco and a fellowship in pelvic reconstruction.
Dr. Purohit is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons, and the American Urological Association and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Ear, Nose, and Throat
Mark Courey, MD (he/him)
Mark Courey, MD attended medical school and completed his residency training in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed a fellowship in Laryngology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In 2016, he moved to the Mount Sinai Health System to direct the Division of Laryngology and Speech-Language Pathology Programs. He is currently Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Director of the Grabscheid Voice and Swallowing Center, and the system-wide Division Chief of Laryngology. Dr. Courey has particular interest and expertise in transgender-related voice issues. He evaluates patients with gender-related vocal difficulties, follows them through behavioral changes, which often helps to make their voice and communication, style congruent with their desires, and performs surgery to alter pitch and laryngeal appearance when indicated. The primary surgeries offered are pitch elevation surgery (Wendler Glottoplasty), and reduction of the Adams Apple or thyroid cartilage shave. For trans women, pitch elevation surgery can raise vocal pitch by several semitones into a gender neutral range or into a truly feminine range.
Joshua D. Rosenberg, MD (he/him)
Dr. Rosenberg completed fellowship training in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University and in microvascular reconstruction at the University of Miami. He received his medical degree and completed his residency training in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Chief of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System. He has special interests in both facial feminization and facial masculinization surgery including scalp advancement, brow lifting, brow contouring and reduction, feminizing rhinoplasty, cheek augmentation and implants, chin and jaw reduction, face-lifting, facial liposuction, blepharoplasty, and non-invasive, office-based treatments such as fillers and lasers. For patients interested in a more masculine appearance, Dr. Rosenberg offers a variety of procedures including mandibular angle and chin implants.
Pediatrics and Adolescent Health
Mabel Yau MD, (she/her)
Dr. Yau is a pediatric endocrinologist dedicated to caring for young transgender and gender diverse patients. Dr. Yau completed her pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her clinical practice and research focus on intersex conditions and endocrine disorders of puberty and growth.
Matthew Oransky, PhD (he/him)
Dr. Oransky received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Fordham University and completed his doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center/Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Oransky’s career has focused on providing mental health services to marginalized populations. Dr. Oransky spent five years at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, where he coordinated mental health services for transgender youth and young adults and served as the Director of Psychology Training. Dr. Oransky has authored papers on the mental health care of transgender youth and has given presentations at conferences around the country on working with transgender youth.
Dermatology
Andrew Para, MD (he/him)
Dr. Para is a board certified dermatologist and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. He went to medical school at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed residency training in both internal medicine and dermatology at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. He is now an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and practices medical dermatology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Dr. Para’s clinical focus is primarily on skin, mucosal, and hair issues related to gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy.
International Teaching Faculty
Marci Bowers, MD, Professorial Lecturer, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (she/her)
Marci Bowers, MD, a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon with over 25 years of experience in Women’s Healthcare, is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of Genital Reconstruction Surgeries and is the first transgender woman to perform gender-affirming surgery. She is a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate and went on to practice in the Polyclinic and Swedish Medical Center at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2003, she moved to Trinidad, Colorado to join the practice of the legendary Dr. Stanley Biber, considered the “Father of Transgender Surgery.” In 2010, she relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and has now performed more than 1,250 primary genital reconstruction surgeries for both transgender women and transgender men. She is sought after as a speaker and surgical educator worldwide.
Thanks to generous initial funding from Dr. Bowers, Mount Sinai established a Surgical Fellowship in the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in 2017. Open to fully trained plastic surgeons, the surgical fellowship is a 12-month program with exposure to the full range of gender confirmation surgical procedures, including chest wall, facial feminization, and genital procedures.
In addition to her financial support, Dr. Bowers has devoted countless hours in the operating room mentoring surgeons in the Mount Sinai program.
For more information on Dr. Bowers' San Francisco practice, please continue via this link: https://marcibowers.com/
Inpatient Care Team
At Mount Sinai, we provide patient-centered, comprehensive care through a team of medical professionals who are highly skilled in the care of transgender patients. In addition to our surgeons, our team consists of nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and social workers who provide individualized patient care.
Sangyoon Jason Shin, DO (he/him)
Sangyoon Jason Shin, DO is an Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Shin serves as Medical Director of Preoperative Services and Perioperative Quality/Safety for Mount Sinai Downtown, including the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEE) of Mount Sinai. Dr. Shin is also a hospitalist for the Division of Hospitalist Medicine and served as a lead hospitalist of the co-management service providing medical care to surgical patients in vascular surgery, general surgery, ENT/head and neck, orthopedics, urology, and neurosurgery. He serves as Medical Director of Inpatient Services, Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery (CTMS) of the Mount Sinai Health System.
Prior to joining the Mount Sinai Health System, Dr. Shin was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and an Academic Hospitalist in the Northwell Health System
James Eckert, PA-C (he/him)
James Eckert, PA-C, assists our surgeons in the operating room and treats patients in the surgical clinic. Jim is a 1992 graduate of the Hahnemann University (now Drexel University) Physician Assistant Program in Philadelphia and received his master’s degree in Pastoral and Spiritual Care from Loyola University Maryland in 2010. Jim joined CTMS in 2017.
Kenneth Ashley, MD, FACLP, DFAPA (he/him)
Dr. Ashley completed his psychiatric residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, followed by a two-year research fellowship in consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and New York University Medical School/Bellevue Hospital Center focused on diversity and clinical care in HIV. He is the Director of Mental Health Services at the Peter Krueger Clinic at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, a division of the Mount Sinai Institute for Advanced Medicine. He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Fellow of the Academy of C-L Psychiatry. He is board certified in general psychiatry and C-L psychiatry. In addition to his clinical work primarily with people infected and affected by HIV, he teaches, presents, and writes on issues in HIV, LGBTQ, cultural diversity, and the intersectionality of these issues at local, national, and international levels. He is also active in professional organizations addressing these issues.
Rabbi Jo Hirschmann, BCC, ACPE Certified Educator (she/her)
Rabbi Hirschmann is a board certified chaplain and an educator certified by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. She serves as the director of spiritual care and education for Mount Sinai Downtown, a role that includes overseeing spiritual care for Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery patients. A chaplain with experience in hospital and behavioral health settings, Rabbi Hirschmann has been with the Mount Sinai Health System since 2014. In partnership with Mount Sinai’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, she co-created a series of training videos on best practices in spiritual caregiving with transgender and non-binary persons. She is also a co-author of Maps and Meaning: Levitical Models for Pastoral Care, published by Fortress Press in 2014, and the author of a number of articles on chaplaincy practice.
Andrea Dunn, LCSW (she/her)
Ms. Dunn is the Senior Social Worker at NYEE. She joined the Social Work team in 2009. She attended Guilford College in her home state of North Carolina for her undergraduate studies and received her Masters of Social Work degree from Fordham University. As a team member of the hospital’s Gender Affirmation Surgery Program she enjoys providing patients with the best care possible before, during, and after their hospital stay.