Academic SIGs
Addiction, Awareness, and Prevention (AAP)
Mission Statement
The ongoing opioid epidemic has taken America, and much of the Western world, by storm. It raises the question of how to properly prescribe medication and how physicians create a balance in that realm. The Addiction, Awareness, and Prevention (AAP) SIG will focus on pain and drug addictions, with a focus on the opioid crisis, and discuss how to prevent them, notice them, and treat them as a physician. The meetings will consist of talks from guest lecturers in the field, past and current addicts, visits to the methadone clinic, and learning how to interact with pharmaceutical companies.
Executive Board
Talia Kamdjou – Co-president
Devora Eisenberg – Co-president
Meetings
Will meet once a month.
AMWA
Mission Statement
American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is an international organization that focuses on women’s health and women in medicine. Our chapter offers volunteer opportunities, clinical workshops, an annual panel of women physicians from a variety of specialties, and social events centered around current events in women’s health. We are in the process of creating a mentorship program which would pair students with female physicians in the Tel Aviv area.
Executive Board
Olivia Devillers – President
Michelle Florentine – Vice President
Melissa Bendayan – Secretary
Emmy Hamilton – Treasurer
Cecilia Paasche – PR
Meetings
We have three major events each year and smaller activities throughout the year.
Medical Ethics
Mission Statement
Should physician-assisted suicide by legal? Is abortion an ethical procedure? We spend all day studying medicine but we never really stop and put this knowledge in a real-life context or question if what we are doing is right/wrong. Super casual, small group meet-ups with the opportunity to lead your own discussions or sit quietly and listen in.
Executive Board
Michelle Florentine
Meetings
Once a month, we pick a topic, share some info, and meet to discuss/debate the ethics of hot topics in medical ethics.
Medical Spanish SIG
Mission Statement
Familiarize students with the world of medical Spanish, including the language, culture, and beyond. Meetings will include practicing mock interviews with patients in Spanish, reading journal articles in Spanish, guest lecturers, and more. The Medical Spanish SIG was founded by Mika Naor and Ellen Pikus.
Executive Board
Mika Naor – Co-founder
Ellen Pikus – Co-founder
Meetings
There will be weekly meetings in addition to occasional events (such as guest lecturers and volunteer opportunities).
Medical Russian
Medical RussianMission Statement
The purpose of the Russian Medical SIG is to learn and practice Russian-language interviews, clinical skills, and engage in cultural sensitivity. Russian is spoken by 20% of the population of Israel, and is an indispensable skill to have when working within the medical system. The Russian Medical SIG will meet every two weeks, for approximately one hour each time. During the biweekly meetings we will conduct standard patient interviews and discuss medical terminology. Throughout the year we will host cultural events to create a deeper understanding of Eastern European practices and we will also discuss regional medical practices. All levels are welcome.
Executive Board
Leonid Gozman – President
David Vyshedsky – Vice-President
Meetings
Bi-weekly one hour meetings
ObGyn SIG
Mission Statement
The SIG focuses on women’s health, fertility, and reproductive topics. We are looking to create a space that will provide mentoring, leadership, and research opportunities for those interested in Ob/Gyn. Our hope is to become affiliated with The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, for even greater opportunities for our members.
Executive Board
Rachael Sverdlove – President
Yael Frank – co-Vice President
Zoe Aspitz – co-Vice President
Meetings
Once a month at a set location, with a Zoom option available.
Sackler Journal Club
Mission Statement
The Sackler Journal Club was created in order for students to become more comfortable reading, presenting, and discussing scientific literature. Being a well-rounded and competent physician involves being well versed in recent scientific advances and new theories. We hope to introduce important discussions and topics, while increasing the depth of knowledge of our members. During our meetings, we discuss two journal articles that were picked beforehand. We take turns presenting figures and data, and try to answer each other’s questions about the articles. The Sackler Journal Club was founded by Karen Jia, Rochelle Fayngor, and Christina Sun.
Executive Board
Karen Jia – Co-president
Rochelle Fayngor – Co-president
Christina Sun – Vice President
David Vyshedsky – Secretary
Leonid Guzman – Treasurer
Meetings
The Sackler Journal Club meets once every month in a classroom on campus to discuss two journal articles that are picked by the group in the weeks beforehand.
Sackler Surgery SIG
Mission Statement
The Sackler Surgery SIG is the official organization for Sackler students at all levels interested in surgery, officiated by the Global Surgery Student Alliance (GSSA) and affiliated with the International Student Surgical Network (InciSioN). The Surgery SIG meets monthly and offers programs including speakers, suture workshops, OR tours, and assistance with pre-clinical and clinical planning. The affiliation with the GSSA provides an emphasis on the field of Global Surgery within the SIG and creates opportunities to learn more about surgical disparities worldwide and participate in medical mission trips. Sackler students are given the tools to undergo research projects revolving around surgery and/or global health. Being a part of GSSA allows Sackler students to be at the forefront of the global initiative to expand access to surgical procedures. The GSSA chapter was founded by Taylor Ibelli and its founding members are Tomer Stadler-Lagziel, Hailey Adler, Julia Katz, David Goldmeier, and Stav Leibou.
Executive Board
Taylor Ibelli – Founder and President
Tomer Stadler-Lagziel – Speaker Coordinator
Hailey Adler – Writer and Content Strategist
Julia Katz – Digital Communications Specialist
David Goldmeier – Fundraising Coordinator
Stav Leibou – Surgical Skills Coordinator
Meetings
The Surgery SIG meets once per month in the context of a group meeting or an event (speakers, workshops, etc.) For more information on our 2019-2020 Kickoff Event please see SEMINAR SPEAKER DR. MARK SOBEL. Learn about our first of several surgical skill workshops that are planned this year for Surgical SIG members.
Volunteering SIGs
Dr. Dog SIG
Mission Statement
Going to medical school and living far away from home is hard. We miss our families, friends, and maybe most importantly, our pets. We decided to start volunteering with a dog shelter in Tel Aviv in order to give back to the community, help the large population of homeless dogs in Tel Aviv, and decrease our stress levels by being with and taking care of dogs. We travel to the dog shelter in pairs, with each pair volunteering about once a month, and we walk, play with, and take care of dogs at the shelter. The Dr. Dog SIG was founded by Ellen Pikus and Rochelle Fayngor.
Executive Board
Ellen Pikus – Co-founder and President
Rochelle Fayngor – Co-founder Vice President
Meetings
We meet once a month at the dog shelter. We communicate to our whole group via Whatsapp, which includes announcements and making schedules.
Healthy Heart Project
Mission Statement
The Healthy Heart Project is a Sackler School of Medicine student run group that promotes preventative and positive health education to the refugee communities of Tel Aviv-Yafo and the surrounding cities. With the assistance of the Terem Emergency and Refugee Clinic, located in Tel Aviv, student volunteers provide health education to individuals suffering from chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes who do not qualify for Israeli health insurance coverage and do not speak Hebrew, Arabic, or English. This is primarily done through the creation of simplified health information sheets, health programs, and personable interactive lectures properly translated into their mother tongue (typically Tigrinya). The Healthy Heart Project provides Sackler students weekly opportunities to be proactive in healthcare for the greater community.
Executive Board
Jonathan Sadeh – President Graphics and Design
Sagie Haziza – President Lectures and Curriculum
Jake Debroff – Vice President
May Igawa – Lecture Organizer and Patient Educator
Tamar Amar – Terem-Sackler Liaison
Zoe Aspitz, Ariela Haimovich, and Josh Pankin – Student Volunteers
Meetings
Executive board meets three times a month. Lectures held once monthly.
Homeless Project SIG
Mission Statement
The Homeless Project is a student run volunteer group! We meet about once a month in Tel Aviv. At these meetings we first make sandwiches. We then take the sandwiches and hand them out around central Tel Aviv. There is a large homeless and refugee population in Tel Aviv and it is important to us to help out, give them some nutritious food and learn more about their lives. The mission of the homeless project is two-fold. Firstly we want to help the population and we do that via the sandwich distribution. Secondly, as medical students we believe it is important to have exposure to this population, as they are often stigmatized. We think it is important to speak with them and learn their stories.
Executive Board
Lakota Cleaver – Co-president
Nicole Taylor – Co-president
Meetings
Meetings are held once a month in Tel Aviv.
Music in the Wards
Mission Statement
Music in the Wards is all about bringing music to patients in Ichilov hospital. We go from room to room and play and sing songs to the patients and their families in order to brighten their spirits! Sometimes we practice in advance and sometimes we improv. All instruments and voices are welcome (even a person on the maracas counts)!
Executive Board
Devora Eisenberg
Michelle Florentine
Meetings
We have events twice a month on Thursdays at 5:30pm.
Physician for Human Rights
Mission Statement
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a group that, with the assistance of the medical field’s best physicians, strives to promote health, a basic human right, within Israel and Palestinian territories. Working as a branch of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, we as medical students, provide professional volunteer medical services to individuals with little to no access to health care – particularly to the residents and refugees of the West Bank and Gaza. Through these mobile clinics, we hope to lessen the suffering of these stricken communities and promote policy change against human rights violations. Being a part of Physicians for Human Rights allows us, future medical professionals, to leave our comfort zone from within hospitals, to aid the greater community in a unique and exciting way. Physicians for Human Rights is one of the few humanitarian groups at the Sackler School of Medicine and offers students monthly trips to surrounding communities in need of medical aid.
Executive Board
Sagie Haziza – President
Jonathan Sadeh – Vice-President
Meetings
One executive board meeting per month. One West Bank relief mission per month.
Sackler ARDC SIG
Mission Statement
The African Refugee Development Centre (ARDC) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2004 by African asylum seekers and Israeli citizens, in order to protect, assist and empower African refugees and asylum seekers in Israel.
As part of this SIG, Sackler students will provide one-on-one English tutoring to refugees and asylum seekers, enabling them to improve language acquisition and prepare to undertake certified exams.
Most asylum-seekers work in low-paying, low-skill jobs without opportunities for advancement, and with little regard to their academic background or professional skills. This SIG aims to bridge this occupational and educational gap by offering refugees and asylum seekers the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills that will help transform their lives by contributing to their social and economic development.
Executive Board
Samuel Morgan, President
Meetings
Tutoring sessions will be held once to twice a month. No previous experience is required.
Save a Child’s Heart
Mission Statement
Save a Child’s Heart is an organization founded here in Israel that offers life- saving cardiac surgeries to children from countries that cannot provide adequate care. The children receiving surgery stay at the Legacy Heritage Children’s Home of Save a Child’s Heart located in Holon, for months at a time. Sackler student volunteers visit the home 4 days a week, every week, spending time with the and organizing games and activities for the children
Executive Board
Julia Katz – President
David Goldmeier – Vice President
Meetings
4 days a week with morning and afternoon volunteer shifts. 4 volunteers per shift.
Teddy Bear Clinic
Mission Statement
Always wanted to be a doctor? Well now you can pose as a doctor, volunteering to help make pediatric patients more comfortable in a hospital setting. As a doctor, you will treat the kids’ teddy bears for all their ailments by taking an x-ray, checking their blood pressure, and giving them some shots– all the equipment is fake but the kids are excited nonetheless!
Executive Board
Michelle Florentine – Co-president
Talia Kamdjou – Co-president
Meetings
Events are bimonthly at Ichilov’s pediatric center.
Terem Pregnancy Project
Mission Statement
The Terem Pregnancy Project is a student led effort to educate pregnant refugee women in Israel about various aspects of pregnancy. We hold workshops every three weeks at the Terem Refugee clinic in south Tel Aviv. Workshop topics include labor and delivery, what to expect post-partum, maternal nutrition, infant nutrition and post-partum depression. Member responsibilities include creating workshop content, scheduling and logistical planning, leading workshops and facilitation discussions with participants. The founders of this project are Cecilia Paasche, Emily Hamilton, Hannah Cohen, Hilary Gortler, Melissa Bendaya, and Noga Rogel.
Executive Board and Co-founders
Cecilia Paasche
Emily Hamilton
Hannah Cohen
Hilary Gortler
Melissa Bendayan
Noga Rogel
Meetings
Once a month
Terem Volunteer SIG
Mission Statement
The Terem Volunteer SIG is an opportunity for Sackler medical students to volunteer at a refugee clinic in southern Tel Aviv. Volunteers provide education and medical care to those who do not qualify for medical coverage under the Israeli National Health Care Act. Volunteers are educated on how to interact with and perform basic vital signs on their patients. After multiple training sessions, volunteers are given one-on-one opportunities to work with patients, allowing the community to better understand their chronic illnesses and students to practice their doctor-patient relationship. The Terem Volunteer SIG is one of the most regular volunteer opportunities for Sackler medical students and was founded by Roni Rosen.
Executive Board
Roni Rosen – Founder
Alex Halpern – Co-president
Jacqueline Padlipsky – Co-president
Taylor Ibelli – Volunteer Coordinator
Afek Kodesh – Terem Clinic Coordinator
Olivia Keller-Baruch – Patient Follow-up Coordinator
Noga Rogel – Outreach/HR Coordinator
Meetings
The Terem SIG requires two orientation meetings and shadowing with upperclassmen before given the opportunity to volunteer once a month. The executive board meets once a month to discuss operations.
Health, Sports & Recreation SIGs
Culinary Medicine
Mission Statement
Culinary Medicine is a revolutionary field that combines the art of cooking with the science of medicine. Dietary modifications have been shown to effectively prevent or treat certain diseases and help maintain health. The Culinary Medicine Student Interest Group (CMSIG) plans to explore the relationship between diet and disease through a variety of activities including guest lectures, themed cooking classes, food pantry visits, and Shuk shopping excursions.
Executive Board
Arber Sejdiu– Co-founder
Caroline Brauner – Co-founder
Meetings
We hope to meet biweekly (first and third Thursday of each month) and all are welcome regardless of cooking background.
Sack and Field SIG
Mission Statement
Sack and Field is a collection of Sackler students who want a group of people to commiserate with as they run. We are of varying skills, knowledge, and ability, but open to anyone interested in running, learning more about running, or just looking for new routes and workouts to run on their own. Coordinated workouts are done up to once a week (depending on interest and availability) in three categories: Sprints, Middle Distance, and Long Distance.
Executive Board
Ben Pomerantz – Head Coach
Eliot Parascandolo – Sprint Coach
Emmy Hamilton – Middle Distance Coach
Aaron Dank – Long Distance Coach
Meetings
Workouts are held once a week, or more if there is interest, and coordinated by individual members as well as designated organizers.
Sackler Basketball SIG
Mission Statement
Hold weekly basketball games throughout the year. Games feature students from different classes and of all skill levels, enjoying the beautiful HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv.
Executive Board
Alex Halpern
Daniel Jake Harrington
Meetings
Games are held once a week. Yearly 3 on 3 basketball tournament.
Rock Climbing SIG
Mission Statement
Our mission is to engage in exercise that strengthens the body and trains the mind to respond to stressful situations in the setting of a fun hobby. We will be going on climbing excursions to destinations in Israel that will be organized during breaks/long weekends. We will also be meeting at one of the local Tel Aviv climbing gyms every week to either boulder or sport climb, depending on weather and attendee preference.
We’re excited to see you at the wall!
Board
Ethan Feig, Co-founder
Joe Leonard, Co-founder
Tom Trifon, Bouldering Coach
Kelly Pavel, Bouldering Coach
Alyx Strawn, Sport Climbing Coach
Sabrina Divekar, Sport Climbing Coach
Angelina Blyufer, Social Chair
Meetings
TBA
Pictures from our Pesach trip:
Sackler Soccer SIG
Mission Statement
To hold organized weekly soccer meets which are open to everyone (No prior experience required).
Executive Board
Hamdi Abdeen – President
Benjamin Russell – Vice President
Meetings
Location: TBD. Communication via Whatsapp & Facebook.
Sackler Urban Gardeners
Mission Statement
The urban gardening SIG is all about spreading the love plants so graciously give to the world. Our main focus is to develop a community of plant-lovers at Sackler and teach others how to “propagate.” We will exchange advice for plant care and how to properly cut a plant, root it, and plant it to grow lush and beautify your home. Over time you will learn how to understand what your plant needs and why you need them!
Executive Board
Lital Avni-Singer, MS2
Dean Decter, MS2
Anais Di Via Ioschpe, MS2
Meetings*
Meetings will be bi-monthly and will fall under three categories: (1) propagation preparation and tutorials, (2) excursions around Tel Aviv, and (3) trips to gardens or conservatories to admire plants in their glory. Additionally, there will be two occasions where everyone will have the chance to trade cuttings and or plants.
*During this era of Corona, it is essential to stay safe by bringing some of the outdoors inside with us. We will exchange advice for plant care and how to properly cut a plant, root it, and plant it to grow lush, bringing life into your home.
Our plan is to have bi-monthly meetings/events via Zoom that will fall under three categories: (1) propagation preparation and tutorials, (2) excursions around Tel Aviv, and (3) trips to gardens or conservatories to admire plants in their glory. Additionally, there will be occasions where everyone will have the chance to trade cuttings and or plants. In accordance with COVID regulations, excursions will be discussed and organized on zoom and will take place in small groups of 2-3 (at distance and with masks). Typically, the gardens are located within public parks and not subject to closures. We are hopeful that a plant trade can occur at the end of the year, but this is contingent on the continued updates regarding COVID regulations.
Sackler Wilderness Medicine Society
Mission Statement
Hone your medical skills in the austere environments of wild Israel. Learn how to tie a tourniquet, treat a snake bite, purify water, deal with diarrhea, apply stitches, and survive in the desert. We will host lectures by experts in the field, as well as excursions to all corners of the country— from the Golan to the Negev. Examples of excursions include hiking, camping, scuba diving, skiing, rafting, and rappelling. The Sackler Wilderness Medicine Society was founded by David Zonshayn and Elana Kleinman.
Executive Board
David Zonshayn – Co-founder
Elana Kleinman – Co-founder
Meetings
Once a month.
Volleyball
Mission Statement
Come out every Saturday evening and play some volleyball with Sackler students of all years! Tel Aviv Beach, a little exercise, and some interclass mingling– what more could you ask for?
Executive Board
Leah Shapiro
Michelle Florentine
Madhu Govindaswamy
Meetings
Events are every week, on Saturday evening.
Yoga and Meditation SIG
Mission Statement
Create a space for students to practice and learn about the benefits of yoga and meditation. The Yoga and Meditation SIG was founded by Mika Naor.
Executive Board
Mika Naor – Founder
Meetings
Practices will be once a week or more, depending on interest. Each practice will include a guided meditation, a physical practice, and at times a guided discussion pertaining to a specific yogic teaching or technique.
Upcoming SIGs (in the making)
LASER Tel Aviv
Mission Statement
LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) Talks is Leonardo’s international program of evening gatherings that bring artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversations. LASER Talks were founded in 2008 are in more than 30 cities around the world. The mission of the LASERs is to provide the general public with a snapshot of the cultural environment of a region and to foster interdisciplinary sharing of ideas, networking and collaboration. Each LASER talks event, hosted in a casual academic setting, free of charge and open to the public, features up to four artists, scientists, philosophers, historians, inventors and scholars who are working on paradigm shifts. Each evening also allows the audience to socialize and encourages people in the audience to briefly introduce their work. LASER-Tel Avivis the newest addition to the LASER international.
Executive Board
Michael Chodakiewitz – Founder and Chair
Ron Shemtov – Officer
Meetings
Quarterly LASER Talks beginning in September/October 2019. LASER talks will be free and open to the public.