Born while his family was on the run from South Sudan and raised in a Uganda refugee camp, Lual Mayen is now CEO of his own video game company. In this podcast, he tells the story of his mother’s love, and his own creativity, determination, and luck. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical …

For many men, the twin ideas of compromised prostate health or erectile dysfunction is terrifying. A diagnosis of cancer is enough to handle, without having to thininkg about a future of diminished or nonexistent sex. But medical science offers several options to treat ED and bring people back to their pre-cancer functionality. Urologist and men’s …

Caroline Austin-Maddison is a nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai Hospital, specializing in cardiac care. Her work in Harlem and the Caribbean Island of Monserrat reveals innumerable case studies in resilience—in her patients, in the nurses, and in herself. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clin…

Kevin Hines devotes himself to advocating for suicide prevention. He knows what he’s talking about, having survived a jump off the Golden Gate Bridge when he was 19. These days, he uses his storytelling skills to build resilience—within himself and others. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a cli…

On this special episode, a panel of sports superstars—including NBA legends Allan Houston and Derek Anderson—as well as mental health professionals and Harlem community leaders discuss the role of resilience in their upbringings, careers, and approaches to mental and community health. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you'r…

Healing-centered engagement is a new way to think about healing youth trauma and fostering resilience, says Harvard professor and community activist Dr. Shawn Ginwright. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System. Check out more episodes of Road to Resi…

A breast cancer diagnosis can be a frightening wake-up call. Breast surgeon Elisa Port, MD, brings her years of patient care and research to help patients develop realistic optimism. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System. Check out more episodes of…

Substances affect older adults differently than others. Geriatrician Lauren Kelly, MD, MPH, discusses how she helps her older adult patients address addiction, noting that treatment is a matter of helping them gain control over their substance abuse. This can mean stopping use altogether, or it can mean using substances in a safer or more moderate …

People who are obese face a number of physical, emotional, social, and even professional challenges. In this podcast, we speak with Subhash Kini, MD, who is the Director of the Institute of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enro…

From depression to trauma, singer-songwriter turned behavioral scientist Dr. Tasha Golden has found strength through creativity. In this podcast, she talks about how you can tap into your own creative resources to heal your own mental health challenges. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinic…

In this special episode, Dr. Yasmin Meah, co-founder and director of the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), sits down with Martina Lopez May, a dedicated medical student and practitioner at EHHOP. Together, they explore the unique challenges and rewards of providing compassionate, community-based healthcare in East Harlem, one of New …

Author Fred Plotkin brings his background in opera, food, and all things Italian to providing emotional, intellectual, and physical support for four close family members over several decades. In this podcast, he shares the joys and challenges of respectful caregiving. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enr…

As a young doctor, Diddier Prada wanted to bring his medical skills to cocoa planters in the Colombian Amazon. But then he and his fellow doctors were kidnapped by a group of paramilitary guerillas and required to treat hundreds of patients a day—at gunpoint. Today, Dr. Prada brings the skills of resilience and flexibility he learned in South Ameri…

Doctor burn-out can result in emotional exhaustion, an inability to show or feel empathy, and a sense that you aren’t accomplishing enough—or anything at all. In this podcast, Gail Gazelle, MD, and Mount Sinai’s Lauren Peccoralo, MD, discuss how to deal with burnout and how coaching can help. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see …

Individualized care is key in transgender medicine. There are multiple surgeries and multiple hormone treatments. In this podcast, Joshua Safer, MD, Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, discusses the role of medical care. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enro…

Cooking isn’t just for sustenance; it’s also an act of love and, sometimes, courage. These are lessons professional chef James Kelly knows all too well, having fed first responders on 9/11, faced off against Bobby Flay on Iron Chef, and undergone a double-lung transplant linked to his time at Ground Zero. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-t…

Most films and books follow the narrative of a main character, our hero, and show us how the hero confronts and overcomes a challenging situation. We’re accustomed to seeing the Hero’s Journey narrative across popular media. In this podcast, Benjamin Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at Boston College’s Carroll School …

Building your resilience can affect many aspects of your life, from career to home to school. In this podcast, psychologists Sarah Bannon, PhD, and Jonathan M. DePierro, PhD, discuss the importance of one-on-one relationships and resilience both personally and in their professional work with neurology patients. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clin…

Trying to fit in can be a real challenge for autistic children. They may want to be social but lack the necessary skills. Or they may be happy to go it alone but feel tremendous pressure from family and school to be more social. Physician and researcher Alexander Kolevzon, MD, discusses his efforts to help autistic children and their families as we…

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that carries physical, emotional, and intellectual concerns. But with proper health care, and a dose of realistic optimism, patients and their families can live happy and fulfilling lives. Geneticist Elsharkawi, MD, maintains that collaboration among healthcare providers and an attitude of realistic optimism is …

Intimate partner violence can involve various physical injuries —including repeated concussions and strangulations—as well as emotional abuse. And when you add in misconceptions and stigma, it’s a real resilience challenge. On this episode, Neurologist Kristen Dams-O'Connor, PhD, and domestic abuse survivor Elizabeth DeJesus discuss the effects of …

The heart and mind are intertwined, as cardiologist Marc Miller, MD, knows in treating and researching heart conditions. Recuperating from a heart attack, for example, requires modification of both medicine and lifestyle—and emotional resilience. The same goes for mitral valve prolapse, a heart disease that affects millions globally and for which D…

Genetics is an increasingly vital part of medical prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. But as findings increase, so do the challenges. Brian Brown, PhD, discusses the roles of resilience and perseverance in overcoming obstacles in scientific research. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinica…

Lessons in resilience may be found in all walks of life— who knew some of the best would come from mouse behaviors? Dr. Scott Russo leads the Center for Affective Neuroscience and the Brain Body Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. On this special edition of Road to Resilience, Dr. Russo explains how his team's studies of…

Schizophrenia brings both psychological and societal challenges. Medication can help but resilience, says psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Charney, is another key element of learning to live with the disease. In this podcast, Dr. Charney discusses the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, and how to persist to their challen…

Addiction can always come with stigma and setbacks. For pregnant people, the physical, psychological, and social strains can feel even more challenging. The Bridge Program at Mount Sinai, led by Leah Habersham, MD, provides integrated prenatal care and substance-use treatment that can put you on the path to recovery. In this episode, Dr. Habersham …

What do a triathlon and All Quiet on the Western Front have in common? Answer: Lesley Paterson, and her stamina and perseverence. An actor, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and 5-time world champion triathlete, Lesley discusses how her chosen fields tested her resilience— and how each of those journeys helped influence the other. Visit https://www.mou…

Having managed the challenges of paraplegia since childhood, Alessa Ramos uses her language skills and experience to help Mount Sinai patients develop and sustain their own resilience. In this podcast, she shares her journey. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sina…

Working in healthcare can sometimes be a ruff job, but for Mount Sinai's trained facility dogs, each day is absolutely fetching. Mount Sinai's three facility dogs —Professor, Amos, and Moby— are a part of the trailblazing Paws & Play Facility Dog Program at Kravis Children's Hospital at Mount Sinai, The program is run by Ali Spikestein, a Program M…

What can children and young adults teach grown-ups about resilience? Barbara Sahakian, PhD, has some answers. Dr. Sahakian is a Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge and has authored and coauthored multiple studies over the years, including a 2023 study on how parents may build resilience and creativity in kids with o…

The fight for greater research into women's health means greater rights and knowledge for everyone, as our guest on this episode illustrates. Michal Elovitz, MD, is the Dean of Women's Health Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also the Director of the Women's Biomedical Research Institute, devoted to understanding the f…

When seasonal affective disorder (SAD) —also called seasonal depression—gets you down, your own resilience skills can help. On this episode of Road to Resilience, we hear resilience strategies on how to cope with SAD from Dr. Jelena Kecmanovic, PhD, a practicing clinical psychologist. Dr. Kecmanovic is the founder and director of the Arlington and …

Leslie Schlachter, a physician’s assistant in the neurosurgery department at Mount Sinai, witnessed the murder of her sister by a jealous ex-boyfriend. She discusses her long journey to recovery from PTSD and the impact on her work, in this special interview with Jonathan Depierro, PhD, Associate Director of the Center for Stress, Resilience, and P…

On this podcast, Grant Mitchell, MD, describes the new Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center, a radical reimagination of how to deliver mental health care. From the welcoming physical environment with natural light and outdoor spaces, the Center inspires hope when each patient comes through the door. Dr. Mitchell stresses how the Center strives to e…

On Valentine's Day, 2000, Carolyn Moor and her husband were in a car accident that took his life. Over the coming decades Carolyn channeled her grief into a career providing solace to —and advocacy for— the world's widows. On this special edition episode of Road to Resilience, Carolyn discusses the resilience lessons she learned and honed following…

Tiffany Wedekind is an artist and professional candlemaker living in Columbus, Ohio. That in itself is a testimony to her resilience because Tiffany is also one of the world's oldest-known survivors of progeria, a rapid-aging disease that typically takes its sufferers by the time they're teenagers. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials t…

Laurie Keefer, PhD, is the Director of Psychobehavioral Research within Mount Sinai's Division of Gastroenterology. As a practicing physician and researcher, Dr. Keefer studies and treats diseases of the gut. On this episode of Road to Resilience, Dr. Keefer explains the process of teaching resilience to her patients, a disproportionate number of w…

Zlata Filipovic is a documentary filmmaker and world-renowned diarist. In 1992, as the war in Bosnia arrived in her hometown of Sarajevo, Zlata recounted the war's horrors in her diary. The diary's publication in 1993 brought worldwide acclaim, as well as the means for Zlata and her family to escape. On Road to Resilience, Zlata shares her experien…

A music therapist at Mount Sinai's Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine discusses the center's innovative work in medical music psychotherapy. Caitlin Bell is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist in New York State and a Board Certified Music therapist at the Armstrong Center. She is an active researcher in the Armstrong Center's AMEND (Asses…

Former pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger discusses resilience principles he honed through family tragedy, his decades as an Air Force pilot and commercial pilot, and his successful emergency landing of a passenger aircraft in the Hudson River, in what became known as "The Miracle on the Hudson." He was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 2016 film…

Two of Mount Sinai’s leading physicians and researchers discuss the prevailing research into and treatment for long COVID. Dr. Zijian Chen is an endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and the director of the Center for Post-COVID Care at Mount Sinai; Dr. David Putrino is the Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health Syste…

After a yearlong hiatus, Road to Resilience returns with a new producer and host. Stephen Calabria is the Director of Podcasting for the Mount Sinai Health System. He comes with a background in print and TV journalism, as well as years of experience in podcast hosting and producing. On this relaunch episode of Road to Resilience, Stephen explores w…

Road to Resilience host and producer Jon Earle signs off with a few reflections from listeners on the past 75 episodes. Stay subscribed for future updates about the podcast. Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website. Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights …

After more than 400,000 downloads, Road to Resillience host and producer Jon Earle is saying goodbye. For his final episode, we would like to feature you! We want to hear about your favorite guest, episode, or resilience insight. What’s one thing you have you learned from the podcast that has helped you to be more resilient? Share your thoughts in …

Mariana Figueiro, PhD, is director of the Light and Health Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She studies how to use light to improve human health, including for patients with Alzheimer's, cancer, and Parkinson's. On Road to Resilience, Dr. Figueiro explains how to use light to sleep better and feel more alert during th…

Rev. Audrey A. Williamson of Harlem's historic Mother AME Zion Church estimates that up to 15 percent of her congregation succumbed to COVID-19, a burden of grief that weighs heavily on the community. Eager to help, Rev. Williamson recently teamed up with Mount Sinai's Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth to facilitate a series of wor…

A conversation between Rachel Yehuda, PhD, Director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Bessel van der Kolk, MD, President of the Trauma Research Foundation and author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score. Recorded over Zoom on Nov. 18, 2021 a…

Sarrah Strimel Bentley has been singing and dancing since she was three years old. “I would spend hours putting on one-woman shows,” she recalls. “I think we all knew pretty early on what I was destined to do.” Sarrah went on to appear in The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and other Broadway shows. Now a yoga instructor, Sarrah faced the greatest c…

A ballet dancer's life spirals out of control—to addiction, homelessness, and prison. But with the help of somebody who's walked the road before, Dino is finding his way home. Iris Bowen is a social worker at the Coming Home Program at Mount Sinai Morningside, which provides re-entry support to people returning from incarceration. The program is pa…

There’s no shortage of tools in the resilience toolkit, and yet resilience remains something of a mystery. We still don’t fully understand why some people respond to challenging situations with resilience, or exactly how to prepare for hardship. In his new book, The End of Trauma, resilience researcher George Bonanno, PhD, argues that flexibility i…