Ana Berlin, MD

Michael J. Pitman MD is Chief of the Division of Laryngology at the Columbia University Medical Center and the Director of The Center For Voice And Swallowing. Dr. Pitman is an internationally recognized expert in voice restoration, conservation and care of the professional voice as well as in the care of swallowing and airway disorders. Dr. Pitman is also a NIH funded clinician scientist who has performed and published extensive research. Dr. Pitman has received numerous grants and patents for pioneering research in the field of Laryngology. Dr. Pitman has been voted by his peers as one of the “Best Doctors in America”, as well as to New York Magazine “Top Doctors” and New York Times “SuperDocs”. He has served as President of the New York Laryngological Society and Secretary of the American Broncho-Esophagological Society and he lectures extensively both nationally and internationally. Dr. Pitman’s areas of clinical expertise include illnesses such as vocal fold paralysis, early laryngeal cancer, cricopharyngeal dysfunction, spasmodic dysphonia, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, laryngotracheal stenosis, vocal fold polyps, nodules and cysts. Dr. Pitman is also known for the treatment of many of these disorders with minimally invasive, in-office procedures without the need for general anesthesia. Dr. Pitman received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he graduated as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He completed his otolaryngology residency at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and was a fellow in Laryngology and Care of the Professional Voice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Dr. Gomes is a board-certified neuroradiologist with specific clinical and research interests in the neuroimaging of children and patients with epilepsy. He is an associate professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Gomes received his MD, as well as a PhD in neuroscience, through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed a medical internship at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, followed by diagnostic radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship training at Montefiore Medical Center. He has previously served as assistant professor of radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center and associate professor of radiology at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center.

Dr. Ana Berlin is a dually-trained general surgeon and palliative care physician who thrives on the diagnostic, therapeutic, and ethical dilemmas that so commonly accompany urgent, emergent, and high-stakes surgical problems. Her interest in prognostication, communication, and decision-making in the surgical setting has driven her to forge a unique path at the intersection of surgery and palliative care. Throughout her career, she has worked to promote the incorporation of ethics, professionalism, and palliative care into surgical education and practice. Her research on surgical outcomes, palliative care utilization, and communication in surgical decision making has helped define triggers to aid in the identification of vulnerable patients for whom early concurrent palliative care is most appropriate, and to guide the development and evaluation of tools that help patients, families, and surgeons navigate difficult treatment decisions and formulate goal-concordant care plans. Dr. Berlin’s interest in pursuing systems-based approaches to promoting cultural change and quality improvement in health care has shaped her efforts to develop curricular interventions and clinical pathways to help surgeons provide compassionate, patient-centered care that minimizes the hazards and maximizes the value of surgical treatment.