Ronald Arthur Lehman, MD

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.

Dr. Justin A. Neira, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery, Specializing in all aspects of spinal surgery with a particular interest in spinal oncology, spinal cord tumors, degenerative spine disease (cervical, thoracic, lumbar), and spinal cord injury. Dr. Neira has spearheaded the cross-campus surgical spinal oncology program with his colleagues from oncology and radiation oncology at NYP-Columbia, NYP-Och, and NYP-Westchester. His goal is to provide easily accessible and streamlined multi-specialty expertise to patients with spinal metastases as well as primary spine and spinal cord tumors. In addition to spinal oncology, Dr. Neira treats a variety of surgical spinal issues including disc herniations in the neck and back, sciatica, spondylosis, cervical myelopathy, as well as all forms of intradural spinal issues. Dr. Neira began his medical career at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he graduated with the Alfred M. Markowitz Endowment for Scholars, for his dedication to patient care, teaching, and scholarship in surgery. For his post-doctoral training, Dr. Neira remained at Columbia to complete his residency in neurological surgery, pursuing a 6-month International Neurosurgery Fellowship at Canterbury District Health Board/Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand. Dr. Neira's research interests include improving outcomes following spinal cord injury and regaining function through the use of stimulation and nerve transfer. He is also interested in improving the safety of spinal tumor surgery as well as understanding the biological nature of spinal cord tumors.

Amanda Guardado, MD is a general obstetrician/gynecologist providing comprehensive women's health care. She went to Harvard University for her undergraduate degree and then Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY to obtain her medical degree. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland. She has a special interest in adolescent health and preventative care.