Dr. Valceanu trained in Internal Medicine at Queens Hospital Center. She is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and is presently a teaching attending in the Department of Ambulatory Care at QHC. Her major interests include resident teaching, health literacy and cultural diversity.

Dr. Ahmed trained in Internal Medicine at Monmouth Medical Center and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He is active on the in-patient Hospitalist Teaching Service and loves to teach and to involve residents in clinical research.

Dr. Bakshi trained in Internal Medicine at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where he was named “Internal Medicine Resident of the Year”, and in Cardiovascular Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Nuclear Cardiology. He has been named “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” at Queens Hospital Center; his primary interests are in heart failure, arrhythmias, cardiac imaging and resident education.

Dr. Bandagi trained in Internal Medicine at Queens Hospital Center, where she was Chief Medical Resident. She completed her Rheumatology fellowship at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Bandagi is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology. She is actively involved in research, mentors residents participating in research, and has published many articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr.Bandagi’s area of interest is systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis.

Dr. Bashir graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College and went on to receive her M.D. at SUNY Downstate. She trained in Internal Medicine at Long Island Jewish and then in Hematology and Oncology at North Shore University Hospital, where she was Chief Fellow. Her primary interests are concentrated around breast cancer and gynecologic malignancies. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, Dr. Bashir currently holds the academic title of Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. She has published extensively in peer review journals.

Dr. Basith trained in Internal Medicine at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, his primary interest is in academics and in resident and medical student education; he teaches QHC residents as well as students from Mt. Sinai, the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and St. George’s School of Medicine.

Dr. Berman attended MIT and then received his medical degree from the NYU School of Medicine. He trained in Internal Medicine at Westchester Medical Center and in Infectious Diseases at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. An accomplished clinician and teacher in all areas of Infectious Diseases, he is presently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.

Dr. Collura received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, graduating magna cum laude, and was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Collura went on to complete her Internal Medicine training at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and her Cardiovascular Medicine fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center and at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Dr. Collura specializes in non-invasive cardiac imaging. Dr. Collura is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Echocardiography, Vascular Ultrasound and Cardiac CT. Her clinical interests include echocardiography, cardiac stress testing and general cardiology.

Dr. De La Cruz trained in Internal Medicine at Raritan Bay Medical Center in New Jersey, in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and Queens Hospital Center, and in Sleep Medicine at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Dr. De La Cruz is an active participant in the Internal Medicine residency program, teaching residents and students during their rotations in the Critical Care Unit and the Pulmonary Consultation Service. He has a special interest in diseases such as sepsis with shock, acute respiratory failure, asthma, COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome and narcolepsy. He is fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Eskaros trained in Internal Medicine at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where he served as Medical Chief Resident, and in Gastroenterology at Brooklyn Hospital Medical Center. He is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. His major interests are in endoscopic procedures and in resident education.

Jean Fleischman, M.D., FCCP is a graduate of the NYU School of Medicine; she completed her Internal Medicine residency at NYU at the Manhattan VA and her fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine at Bellevue Hospital Center. Over the years, Dr. Fleischman has served Queens Hospital Center as Chief of the Division of Critical Care and Pulmonary Medicine and as Associate Director of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Fleischman has most recently been appointed to the position of Deputy Medical Director for Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement. Dr. Fleischman’s interests are focused on quality assurance, performance improvement and patient safety. Her efforts have lead to enhancements in intensive care unit management and improvements in hospital-wide quality of care and patient safety. Dr. Fleishman has been a respected mentor for both residents and medical students.

Dr. Leelavathi Kasturi received her medical degree from Mysore Medical College, India. She completed her residency training and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University Hospitals for The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY. Dr. Kasturi is board certified in Internal Medicine & Gastroenterology. Her clinical interests include General Gastroenterology including ERCP. She is especially interested in increasing colorectal screening awareness leading to an increase in colorectal screening rates in the community.

Dr. Lopez trained in Internal Medicine at the Catholic Medical Centers of Brooklyn and Queens and then stayed on to serve as Chief Medical Resident and as Pulmonary Fellow. Dr. Lopez then trained in Critical Care at Saint Vincent’s Hospital. Dr. Lopez serves as Director of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care at QHC and is Director of the Medical Intensive Care, the Pulmonary Consult and Bronchoscopy Services, the PFT Laboratory, and the outpatient Chest and Tuberculosis Clinics. Dr. Lopez is a key educator in the medical residency program at Queens Hospital Center. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care, and is fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Mamoon trained in Internal Medicine at the Brooklyn Hospital Medical Center and in Geriatrics at Flushing Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. He is active on the in-patient Hospitalist Teaching Service. His major interests are in the fields of Geriatrics, diabetes mellitus in minority populations, and resident education.

Dr. Osei trained in Internal Medicine at Queens Hospital Center and has over 10 years of experience teaching residents primary care medicine. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, she is also an athlete.

Dr. Pearlstein completed her residency and Chief Residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Vincent’s Hospital. She presently serves as Medical Director of the Queens Hospital Center Palliative Care Service and Director of the Preoperative Medical Clinic. She has a strong interest in medical bioethics; she completed the Certificate Program in Medical Ethics and Medical Humanities and is a member of the Ethics Committee. Dr. Pearlstein is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine and has been twice awarded the Teaching Attending of the Year Award by the QHC housestaff.

Dr. Reich graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical School and completed his residency, Chief Residency and Endocrinology fellowship at Winthrop University Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine as well as in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Reich is actively involved in the Diabetes Center of Excellence and in housestaff and medical student education. His clinical interests include general endocrinology, diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome, the dyslipidemias and endocrine-related hypertension.

Dr. Sachmechi is the Chief of the Division of Endocrinology at Queens Hospital Center and Director of the Diabetes Center of Excellence. He is Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Sachmechi is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Endocrinology, American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinology, and is a member of the American Diabetes Association and the Endocrine Society. He has authored numerous abstracts, a book and book chapter, and many articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

Born in Sioux Falls, Dr. Sahibzada trained in Internal Medicine at the University of South Dakota and then did his Critical Care fellowship at the Oregon Health and Science University and his Pulmonary fellowship at New York Hospital Queens. His major interest, aside from Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, is in teaching residents.

Dr. Valeus is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, having trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Connecticut. Prior to coming to Queens Hospital Center, Dr. Valeus helped run the Ambulatory Medicine Clinic at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. He is presently on the hospitalist teaching faculty at QHC and a visiting lecturer at the York College Physician Assistant Program. Dr. Valeus helps organize annual health fairs in Hollis Queens and health seminars in churches in the community. He is fluent in Creole, French, and Spanish. ”A good day for me is a day when I am certain that I have helped some one less fortunate than me.”

Dr. Giaccio received his MD from the Universita’ Degli Studi G. D’Annunzio in Chieti, Italy and went on to train in Internal Medicine at Flushing Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident and later Director of Hospitalist Medicine. Before coming to QHC, Dr. Giaccio served on the teaching faculties of NYHQ and Lutheran Medical Centers where he won countless awards for resident and student education, including the Award for Teaching Excellence from the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He has authored numerous journal articles and recently released the USMLE Step 3 White Coat Pocket Guide through Kaplan Medical.

Dr. Ferman graduated from the Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Biology. She was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated with General Honors. She graduated from the New York University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in internal medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was the recipient of the Humanism and Professionalism Award. She completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at North Shore University Hospital. She is the author of two book chapters on thrombocytopenia. She supervises the adult Sickle Cell Program at QHC. Her clinical interests include cancer prevention, solid tumors, and benign hematology.

Dr.Theo Trandafirescu is an attending in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care at Queens Hospital Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Society of Internal Medicine. He is also the President of Romanian Medical Society of New York. He received Best Resident Award, Certificate of Appreciation in June 2000 and March 2001. In addition, Dr. Trandafirescu has authored or coauthored abstracts and published in peer-reviewed, and has given several Grand Rounds lectures.