George Slade Mellgard

About Me
George Slade Mellgard
Meet 2022 Award Recipient

George Slade Mellgard

George came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai from Duke University, where he majored in Classical Studies and minored in Chemistry and Spanish. Before attending ISMMS, he worked in Care Transitions at NYU Langone -Brooklyn and received initial mentorship from Jordan Solop, Dr. Charles Okamura, and Dr. Himali Weerahandi.

While at ISMMS, George participated in the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), the ISMMS student-run free clinic as a Spanish Interpreter, Ambulatory Referrals Chair, Chronic Care Senior, and Teaching Senior. He is most proud of his work with the EHHOP Executive Board as EHHOP Consulting Group (ECG) Chair. In this role, he built friendships with his committee members and worked with them to implement a telehealth teaching curriculum, design a database of EHHOP patient quality metrics, and perform a scoping review of clinical outcomes at SRFCs. Beyond EHHOP, George co-led the ISMMS Health Policy Program, served as student representative for the Ambulatory Care-Geriatrics clerkship, and published or co- published seven peer-reviewed works in topics including cancer immunotherapies, Medicaid Long Term Services & Support spending, and ethical considerations at the end-of-life and for patients with dementia.

George is indebted to his incredibly supportive family, friends, and mentors. He would like to thank Dr. Yasmin Meah, Dr. Vaibhav Patel, Dr. Thomas Marron, Dr. Nada Gligorov, Dr. Jacob Appel, Dr. Harish Jasti, Dr. Rainier Soriano, Dr. Ravishankar Ramaswamy, Dr. Manjil Chatterji, Dr. David Thomas, and Lauren Linkowski. None of his accomplishments would have been possible without their steadfast support and leadership.

In the context of this award, George would like to specifically acknowledge his mentors in Geriatrics and Palliative Care. He would like to thank Dr. Amy Kelley and Dr. Claire Ankuda for their patient and methodical mentorship, Dr. Lindsey Dow for her enthusiasm and joy in teaching, and Dr. Diane Meier for her bold mission to change the perception of and access to palliative care. Their commitment to older adults and those with serious illness is an inspiration to us all.

George will graduate with a MD degree and continue his residency training in Internal Medicine at NewYork - Presbyterian: Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He hopes to eventually pursue fellowship training in both Hematology/Oncology and Palliative Care.

George Slade Mellgard is receiving:

The Milton C. Engel, MD, Award for Excellence in Geriatric Medicine