Nathalie Moise, MD, MS (current faculty advisor)

Nathalie Moise received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and completed medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine before completing her residency and general internal medicine fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She went on to receive an MS in epidemiology from Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a Certificate in Implementation Science from UCSF. She is currently a physician scientist at the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health and PI several grants focused on using informatics approaches to improve the implementation of team based care in patients with co-existing physical and mental illness.

Adetola Alonge

Adetola Alonge is a second-year medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Health, with minors in Sociology and Health Disparities in Society, from the University of Florida. During her gap year, she worked in Washington, D.C., focusing on pediatric health policy and advocacy. Her research interests include health disparities and care for underserved populations. At VP&S, she serves as the AAMC Representative for the Class of 2028 and as External Quality Improvement Chair for the Columbia-Harlem Health and Medical Partnership student-run free clinic.

Geat Ramush

Geat Ramush is a medical student at Columbia VP&S. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and public health, along with a Master of Public Health (MPH), from Brown University. His research interests include the intersection of dermatology and public health, particularly skin cancer prevention and treatment, and community health. At VP&S, Geat is a project lead at Sun Protection Outreach Teaching by Students (SPOTS), co-coordinator of the Lang Youth Medical Program educating and mentoring middle school students in the Washington Heights Community, and research coordinator at the Columbia-Harlem Health Medical Partnership.  

The Public Health Commute is composed of a team of medical and dental students at Columbia University. Numerous other students have been involved over the years and have done an incredible job advocating for more public health education at Columbia VP&S.

Founders and Former Faculty Advisers

Gregory Karelas, MSc (co-founder, current member)

Gregory Karelas is a faculty lecturer at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a graduate of Columbia VP&S. Since 2001, he has worked to develop health systems in South Asia, East Africa and the US. His work has included directing a free district hospital in rural Nepal, developing HIV policy in the US and Rwanda, and building community health programs in inner-city New York. Gregory has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, and was a Clarendon Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he received a MSc in Medical Anthropology. 

David Edelman, MD, MPH (co-founder, former leader)

David Edelman is a PGY3 in internal medicine, in the Program for Social Medicine, at Montefiore Hospital. He is a graduate of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Mailman School for Public Health at Columbia University. Prior to graduate school, David attended Washington University in St. Louis where he studied Biology and Spanish. David is interested in primary prevention and increased access to primary care services for underserved and uninsured communities.

Sarah Godfrey, MD, MPH (co-founder, former leader)

Sarah Godfrey is a cardiology fellow at UT-Southwestern. She completed her internal medicine residency at Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian. She attended Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health for her MPH. Before medical school, she attended Harvard University where she studied African and African American Studies. Her clinical interests include social determinants of health, underserved communities, and incorporating public health into medical education.

Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, MS (former faculty advisor)

Dr. Lebwohl is a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist specializing in celiac disease, colorectal cancer prevention, and quality of care. He is heavily involved in medical education and lectures regularly to medical trainees on topics including celiac disease, public health, clinical decision making, pseudoscience, diarrhea, the Beethoven string quartets, and colorectal cancer screening.

Spencer Dunleavy, MD, MSc, MSc (former leader)

Spencer Dunleavy is a current medical student at Columbia University VP&S. He completed a bachelor’s in Chemistry at Harvard College before attending Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. At Oxford, he first completed a master’s in education with a focus on research design and methodology followed by a master’s in global health science and epidemiology. His areas of research and interest include medical attitudes toward individuals experiencing homelessness, social/medical service networks for people living with HIV/AIDS, educational interventions to reduce bias and discrimination in the medical environment, and the role of health professionals in civic engagement. He will be entering family medicine residency in 2023.

William Gardner, MPH (former leader)

William Gardner is a medical student at Columbia VP&S. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Harvard University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington. Before medical school he worked as a Researcher on the Global Burden of Disease Study Neonatal and Child Health team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. His research interests include global maternal and child health, health metrics, and the social determinants of health and health inequality. At VP&S William is the co-coordinator of the Columbia-Harlem Health and Medical Partnership student-run free clinic, co-President of the Global Health Organization, and co-President of the Infectious Disease Interest Group.