Meet Our Team

The FAMILIA Project of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital is made up of a premier, multidisciplinary team of leading physician-scientists, researchers, educators, and staff carrying out the pioneering early childhood heart health intervention program in New York City preschools for children and their caregivers. Our team includes:

Leadership Team

Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator, FAMILIA Project
Director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital
Physician-in-Chief, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Sameer Bansilal, MD, MS
Co-investigator, FAMILIA Project
Assistant Professor, Medicine (Cardiology)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Rajesh Vedanthan, MD, MPH
Co-Investigator, FAMILIA Project
Assistant Professor, Medicine (Cardiology)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Risa Jaslow, MS, RDN
Program Director, FAMILIA Project
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Maribel Santana
Project Coordinator, FAMILIA Project
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Monali Fatterpaker, PhD
Project Coordinator, FAMILIA Project
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Alexa Schulman
Project Coordinator, FAMILIA Project

Andrea Clarke, BSBM
Administrative Coordinator, FAMILIA Project
Icahn School Of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Andrew Kasarskis, PhD
Subproject 3 (Genomics) Principal Investigator, FAMILIA Project
Co-Director, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Zahi Fayad, PhD
Subproject 2 (Adult) Principal Investigator, FAMILIA Project
Professor of Radiology and Medicine (Cardiology)
Director, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study Team Members/Contributors

Parent Ambassadors

We would like to offer a special thanks to all the volunteers, adult assessors, child assessors, lifestyle coaches and community support that we have and are receiving to make FAMILIA happen.

  • Natalia Leal
  • Torrie Brunson
  • Judith Jordan
  • Laura Espinosa
  • Laura White
  • Haley Valez
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