The Jacobi Division of Emergency Medicine Simulation & Education is a powerhouse of experiential learning, clinical innovation, and patient safety. Working in direct, prestigious collaboration with NYC Health + Hospitals’ Institute for Medical Simulation and Advanced Learning (IMSAL)—one of the premier simulation training centers in the country—our division delivers world-class simulation training to medical students, physician assistants, residents, fellows, and faculty.
Our growing division has expanded to include two full-time faculty members, two part-time faculty members, and one fellow this year.
The Simulation & Education Fellowship
Established in July 2021, our Emergency Medicine Simulation and Education Fellowship is designed to produce elite educators, researchers, and simulation leaders:
- Proven Track Record: By June 2026, our program will have graduated its 8th fellow and many of our graduates have gone on to achieve director positions throughout the country.
- Dual-System Expertise: Fellows gain invaluable administrative, curriculum design, and debriefing experience running sessions at both our dedicated department sites and the corporate IMSAL facility.
- Academic Productivity: Our division’s cutting-edge simulation research is regularly presented at major national and international medical conferences and published.
Innovative Residency Curriculum
Simulation is not an occasional specialty event at Jacobi—it is a core, weekly component of our residency training:
- PGY-Specific Small Groups: Every week, residents participate in intimate, small-group simulation sessions tailored specifically to their Postgraduate Year (PGY) level milestones, ensuring developmentally appropriate clinical challenges.
- Monthly “Grand-Rounds” Simulation: Once a month, we conduct large-scale, hybrid simulation scenarios that bring all PGY classes together to practice communication, procedures, and multi-patient management while learning from our diverse faculty members in the debrief.
- Interprofessional In-Situ Simulations: We conduct monthly, unannounced “in-situ” (on-shift, in the actual clinical space) simulations at both Jacobi and NCB. This allows interdisciplinary teams of residents, nurses, techs and consultants to practice high-stress scenarios in their actual working environment.
- Dedicated Education Block: During this rotation, senior residents transition from learners to educators. Under the direct guidance of simulation faculty, residents learn how to design/author clinical cases, program/run high fidelity simulators, learn debriefing architecture and receive targeted feedback on their teaching style.
Clinical Safety & Interdepartmental Collaborations
We use simulation as an active tool to improve real-world hospital operations and patient outcomes:
- Latent Safety Threat Detection: Our in-situ simulation sessions are strategically designed to identify “latent safety threats” (hidden system or equipment vulnerabilities) before they can cause patient harm, with findings directly driving ED and hospital policy.
- Cross-Department Resuscitations: We collaborate with other high-acuity services—including Trauma Surgery, Obstetrics, and Neurology—to run joint simulations, refining hospital-wide protocols (such as stroke or massive transfusion pathways) and breaking down clinical silos.
Medical Student & Faculty Development
Our educational reach extends across the entire academic spectrum:
- CUNY School of Medicine Bootcamps: We designed and have been running two high-impact, school-wide programs for the City University of New York (CUNY) Medicine class since 2021: the Transition to Clerkship bootcamp at the end of their second year, and the Transition to Residency bootcamp for graduating MS4s.
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (E-SIM Course): We designed and have been running a MS2 course called E-SIM (Einstein Simulation in Medicine) to help prepare and reinforce skills medical students are learning in their clerkships.
- Faculty Mastery: We lead regular faculty development sessions focusing on advanced clinical debriefing techniques and procedural refresher courses to standardize teaching and supervision across the department.
Faculty
- Maninder Singh, MD: Dr. Singh is the Director of Healthcare Simulation at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx and serves as the Fellowship director. He is the Assistant Director of the Emergency Department at H+H//Jacobi Medical Center. He is an Associate professor of emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
- Oark Ahmed, MD: Dr. Ahmed is the Assistant Fellowship Director. He is an Assistant professor of emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an adjunct faculty at the Harvard Macy Institute. Dr. Ahmed was recruited by the medical school to join the inaugural Einstein Learning Communities Program.
- Debayan Guha MD: Dr. Guha is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and was recruited by the medical school to join the inaugural Einstein Learning Communities Program.
- Stefanie Biondi MD: Dr. Biondi trained at NYU Bellevue for her residency and completed her simulation fellowship at NYU/Bellevue as well and has now joined the Jacobi Simulation Division.
- Michael Meguerdichian, MD: Dr. Megeurdichian is the Senior Assistant Vice President of the H+H Simulation Center. He is also the Medical Director of the simulation center at Harlem Hospital. He is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Columbia University School of Medicine and an attending physician at NYC Health and Hospitals//Harlem Hospital.
- Andrew Restivo, MD: Dr. Restivo is the Program Director of the Montefiore Emergency Medicine Residency. He is an Associate professor of emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine//Jacobi and Montefiore Emergency Medicine residency. He is an adjunct teaching faculty member at H+H/Simulation Center. He is an Associate professor of emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Heidi Baer, MD: Dr. Baer is the patient safety officer at Jacobi Medical Center | North Central Bronx. She is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and was previously the Director of Simulation at Mount Sinai West and Morningside. Her previous roles include Medical Director of the Patient Safety Institute at Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
Adjunct Education Faculty Mentors
Ariella Gartenberg, Jeremy Sperling, Joshua Silverberg, Jason D’Amore
Fellows
Jacobi Emergency Medicine Simulation Fellows:
- Jacob Greenspan, MD | 2026-2027
- Nicky Chung, MD | 2025-2026
- Anjali Cherukuri, MD | 2025-2026
- Jennifer Melgar, MD | 2024-2025
- Thomas Kardashian-Sieger, MD | 2024-2025
- Debayan Guha, MD | 2023-2024
- Jonathan To, MD | 2022-2023
- Oark Ahmed, MD | 2021-2022
Prior Jacobi IMSAL Fellows:
- Maninder Singh, MD | 2019-2020
- Jerome Balbin, MD | 2018-2019
- Lillian Wong, MD | 2015-2016