OUR LEADERS
Thomas Perera, Program Director
When not terrorizing tourist boating parties in the Caribbean, Dr. Perera serves as the Program Director of one of the largest residencies in the country. He is a graduate of Albany Medical School, completed residency at Jacobi/ Montefiore and is one of the longest serving program directors in the business, having been program director at Albany, Jacobi and now Zucker NS/ LIJ. Dr. Perera is a career EM educator, working to graduate 20 years of residency classes.
He is the self proclaimed “trope of an emergency Doc” with more interests than time to pursue them.
When asked “Why do you love what you do?” “Because it is the closest I could get to being Buckaroo Bonzai”( Buckaroo Bonzai was a character in a movie from the 80’s who was a rock star, neurosurgeon and particle physicist”
Marianne Haughey, Associate Program Director
Dr. Haughey is perpetually limited by her skin’s inability to take in UV rays, requiring sunglasses and SPF 60, even on cloudy days. Despite this limitation, she has travelled to multiple South American countries, to be bedazzled by her daughter’s Spanish language skills as she stumbles to try to keep up. (Not really fair as Dr. Haughey’s husband is Colombian, so her children have a real leg up on the language.) A full Professor of Emergency Medicine, she chairs national and international organizations and serves as Associate Program Director for the residency. She is the Director of Faculty Development which allows her to use her talent for mentorship and ability to connect people (mostly just helping people make friend groups over shared interests). She is a graduate of Einstein Medical School, was trained and an attending at Jacobi for many years and left the position of PD at St. Barnabas (in the Bronx) to join this amazing team.
She also likes dogs.
When asked “Why do you love what you do?” she answered: “This job is built exactly for me. I love meeting new people and helping them with what they need to get them through their day. Could be as easy as teaching them to care for a sore throat or caring for a complex unit player and helping their family understand what is going on.”
Pik Mukherji, Site Director
While examining this elephant with allergies who then sneezed all over the dedicated Dr. Mukherji, he was exhibiting his relentless curiosity in all things. As the former PD of LIJ and current Site Director for the residency at LIJMC and the Teaching and Education fellowship director, he continually learns in ways others try to emulate. His dual training in EM and IM provides a solid knowledge base he uses to continually win wagers with the residents on their diagnostic accuracy. He has been active in Global EM and Simulation and has an interest in PI, Cognition and Errors.
He, as a general rule, will not shut up.
He spends most of his time explaining things to patients in a way they can understand, and to residents in a way that they cannot.
When asked “Why do you love what you do?” he beckoned and whispered: “They PAY me to help people, and I get to see cool new things.”
Mat Nelson, Site Director
Dr. Nelson is a proud product of North Shore’s educational system. Having graduated NYIT in 2001, he went on to complete residency at North Shore, and then also did an ultrasound fellowship here. He has served in the department since, and was the Program Director of the North Shore residency prior to the merger of LIJ/ North Shore. He now serves as the Site Director of the residency at North Shore as well as Chief of the Division of Emergency Ultrasound.
The self- described “foodie” and “wine snob” is also a lifetime Mets fan. He is a connoisseur of fine whiskey and tequila, and has been reported to make the best meatballs outside of Italy. He is a devoted family man, and also considers the extensive group of residency graduates he has taught “family”. He enjoys his travel, especially to Aruba and Sonoma. It is instantly apparent that providing and teaching how to provide excellent care is Mat’s work passion. And of course, the use of ultrasound usually helps to improve their care!
When asked: “Why do you love what you do, Mat responded: “By teaching residents I feel that I am giving back to the system that made me who I am as a clinician. If every resident I teach becomes an attending who teaches new residents the field will continue to grow and I kind of believe that I am responsible for a little piece of that!”
Lisa Santoriello, Program Director, EM/IM/CC
Dr. Santoriello is the Program Director for the Emergency and Internal Medicine combined residency, one of only 3 programs nationwide to offer double or triple board eligibility adding Critical Care. A Long Island woman, she attended college at Stonybrook, went to medical school in Brooklyn at Downstate and completed her combined residency at LIJ as a triple boarded physician practicing in the ED and ICU. She loves to travel, and the top 3 places she suggests visiting are Nice, Aruba and Tanzania. She has yet to see the penguins in Antarctica to finally complete visiting all 7 continents.
She loves doing Critical Care, enjoys acid base disorders (weirdo) and strives to provide compassionate care to the dying.
When not working clinically she can be found doing Crossfit or at the beach.When asked, “Why do you love what you do?” She answered: “I can help people get through the worst day of their life and am privileged to see their strength.”
David Foster, Associate Program Director
Dr. Foster attended medical school at Indiana University, (also achieving a Masters in in cellular and integrative biology at Indiana), did residency at MetroHealth/Cleveland Clinic, and then did a Pediatric EM fellowship at Kings County/ Downstate.Dr. Foster is an avid skateboarder and musician. He skates vert ramps and pools. His love of heights dates to his rock-climbing days and he is certified in high angle rescue ropes.
David got his first guitar with the money he earned from mowing lawns as a teenager and learned how to play from books at the library since there was no internet back then. He has been in multiple bands, enjoying the camaraderie and performing onstage. His guitar collection has increased to 16 that he conveniently has on the wall during interviews. He keeps one in the office for impromptu tunes. (Please refrain from requesting) His passions in medical care include being judicious with resources, recognizing the limits of diagnostic testing and advocating for quality care.
When asked “Why do you love what you do?” He replied: “This is the best job in the world. Personally, I love providing the best possible care in tough situations with a great team of people also there to do the same thing”.
Danielle Turrin, Associate Program Director
Dr. Turrin is a California transplant, but has been East Coast based since she was 14. She attended Rutgers University for undergrad, then NYIT for medical school. She completed her residency at Good Samaritan and then did a Palliative Care Fellowship at Northwell and stayed on as faculty. She has served as APD since 2019.
Her passions outside of medicine include children (occasionally hers) and Peloton (shared passion with Mat Nelson). Pre-children, travel was also a passion with her favorite trip being Seville in Spain which she loved for its cobblestone streets as well as the wine and cheese availability. She dreams of trips now with her children, she knows Disney is NOT in her immediate plans, but will warm up to travel with Aruba. Her work passion is palliative care education. She specifically wants residents to learn not all palliative care is end of life care. A real goal permeating palliative care is having the patient optimize the time they have.
When asked “Why do you love what you do?” she answered: “I like being around people and a team, every day is different and I am always learning from patients and colleagues. I enjoy the collaborative and fun work environment.”
Well, you made it this far. Want to see some more pictures?
