Mount Sinai Physician Pays It Forward: $5 Million Bequest Promised to Support the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology
The Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is delighted to announce a $5 million bequest promised by Kenneth L. Edelson, MD, Clinical Professor of Dermatology. This gift represents Dr. Edelson’s commitment to advancing dermatologic medicine and giving back to the Department and Mount Sinai, where he has served as a physician for the past 14 years.
Bequests and estate gifts, which fall under the umbrella of planned giving, have a lasting impact and help to sustain the mission of Mount Sinai and the Department. “Dr. Edelson’s gift will be extremely beneficial to the Waldman Department of Dermatology and its groundbreaking skin cancer research and treatments,” according to Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Waldman Professor and System Chair of Dermatology.
Dr. Edelson has long been associated with Mount Sinai. He received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine as a member of the first four-year graduating class, in 1972. Dr. Edelson credits his transformative medical school experience to the faculty, who “were just phenomenal, giants in their fields.” Fenton Shaffner, MD, Hans Popper, MD, Henry Janowitz, MD, Burrill Crohn, MD, Leon Ginzburg, MD, and Rosalyn Yalow, PhD, among others, inspired him to pursue a career in dermatology. This experience was the motivation to pay it forward to the next generation since his education had a huge impact on his life and career.
Dr. Edelson has taught monthly workshops for Mount Sinai’s dermatology resident physicians for which he has won numerous awards including Teacher of the Year. He is internationally recognized as one of the first to use the bolus technique of injecting calcium hydroxylapatite for hand rejuvenation and has published journal articles and textbook chapters on the subject.
Dr. Edelson’s legacy gift to the Waldman Department of Dermatology will fund an endowed professorship; a need-based medical student scholarship; a research fund for skin cancer research; annual lectureships in two specialties: cosmetic dermatologic surgery and psoriasis; and a dermatology exam room and a patient room at The Mount Sinai Hospital. “It's a way of giving back to what Mount Sinai has done for me, which is everything, and I hope others will follow my lead,” says Dr. Edelson.
Dr. Edelson has worn many hats throughout his career. In 2015, Dr. Edelson was sworn in as an Honorary Police Surgeon by the New York City Police Commissioner. This is the highest rank a civilian physician can achieve within the NYPD. Additionally, Dr. Edelson has enjoyed a second career as a comedic actor, and he has appeared in more than 20 films.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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