JOWMA (Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association) Podcast

Dr. Priya Jaisinghani, MD, is a dedicated endocrinologist specializing in adult care, with expertise in endocrinology, obesity medicine, and diabetes. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Jaisinghani completed her fellowship in Endocrinology at New York Pr...

Mindy Blumenfeld, a trauma therapist, is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice. She is certified in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing as well as trained in IFS and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She works through a lens of attachment and how early experiences impact human development. Her other passions are speaking and writing, using both to educate her audiences about therapy, meaningful l...

Yair Saperstein, MD MPH is CEO and cofounder of AvoMD. He is a dual board-certified physician in internal medicine and clinical informatics, is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Saperstein served on the implementation team for multiple Epic go-lives, and was inpatient medicine Chief Resident at HHC's Kings County Hospital, leading over 400 pro...

Dr. Simcha Chesner is a clinical psychologist, trained and raised in the USA. He has lived in Israel for the past 33 years. He founded a network of junior high and high schools for boys with ADHD in Israel and has served the Israeli community for the past three decades. He has written several books in Hebrew and Kosher ADHD is his first book, co-authored with Dr. Sara Markowitz in English for the...

On October 7, Hamas launched a horrific terror attack in Israel. Over 1,300 Israelis have been killed, over 3,200 have been injured, and nearly 200 hostages have been taken. As always, JOWMA’s network of physicians is here to serve the Jewish world. Now, WE NEED YOUR HELP. Help support JOWMA’s work and our medical mission. We are bringing critically-needed physicians to save lives in Israel. Every...

Alisa Minkin, MD is former host of JOWMA Podcast which provides health education geared to the Orthodox community. Dr Minkin also previously produces the JOWMA Preventative Health hotline (929-4-GEZUNT/929-444-9868) and is past chair of the JOWMA Preventative Health Committee. She is a board-certified pediatrician in Oceanside, NY. She attended Johns Hopkins University followed by New York Univers...

Atira Kaplan, MD is a board-certified physiatrist. She received her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center; and completed residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and fellowship in Women’s Health Rehabilitation, at Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Kaplan works in two private practices, Maxwell Medical in Manhattan, and Millennium Medical and Rehabilitation in Westchester, where...

Chumi Friedman is the Director of HUG, a program of ATIME supporting couples experiencing perinatal and infant loss. She is RTS trained and a certified doula and chaplain. Yonina specializes in helping women and couples who experience (d) perinatal and infant loss, infertility, and perinatal or postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. Yonina is trained in maternal mental health, grief and bereavemen...

Frani S. Pollack is a licensed psychologist and social worker. She has been in practice for 30 years. Frani has worked at multiple inpatient, day treatment, and outpatient programs. She currently works at Bala Child & Family Assoicates where she sees individuals, teens, and families. She has also taught and trained students, supervised, and ran supervision groups. Frani currently teaches and s...

Simcha Weinstein is a best-selling author, syndicated columnist, and Family Peer Advocate at  Families Together in New York State .  He serves on the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC), a federally-funded New York State agency working under the direction of the Governor. He is the Chair of the Religious Affairs Committee at Pratt Institute and founder of the Jewish Autism Network....

An experienced, board-certified OB/GYN, Dr. Elissa Hellman, has been in practice for over ten years in Milwaukee, WI. She received her medical degree from NYU and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset. She is also the physician at The Confident Kallah, a telemedicine gynecology practice focused on the needs of Jewish women who observe Taharat Ha&#3...

Gabby Barreto, MS, RD, CDN, CSSD is a registered dietititian and personal trainer. She obtained her Master’s in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Columbia University and completed her Dietietic Internship at LIU Post.  She is a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics and specializes in eating disorders.  She is a Professor at St. Josephs University in Brooklyn, teaching nutrition.  She is al...

Innessa Donskoy is a pediatric sleep medicine physician at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Illinois. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine for the Sleep Medicine fellowship. She completed her Pediatric Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the McGaw Medical Center at Northwestern Uni...

Susan Senator is an author, blogger and journalist living in the Boston area with her husband Ned Batchelder. She has three sons, the oldest of whom is 33 and has severe autism. Ms. Senator is the author of Making Peace With Autism as well as The Autism Mom’s Survival Guide and Autism Adulthood: Insights and Creative Strategies for a Fulfilling Life. A journalist since 1997, she has a blog in Psyc...

Katja Rowell MD is a family doctor and responsive feeding specialist on a mission to bring peace and joy back to the family table. Described as “academic, but warm and down to earth,” she is a popular speaker and has appeared in numerous publications. Dr. Rowell believes that helping children grow up to have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies is the best preventive medicine there is...

Dr. Minkowitz M.D. is a neuroradiologist.  He is an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Radiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He attended medical school at Cornell, completed an intern year at SUNY, Downstate and radiology residency and a neuroradiology fellowship at Cornell. Jewish Medical Ethics https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/k...

Adina Levitan, MS, CCLS is a certified child life specialist with a Master’s degree in Child Life, Administration and Family Professional Collaboration from Towson University. To become a certified child life specialist Adina volunteered at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital and Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital. Following the completion of her Master’s degree, Adina went on to complete three child...

Jennifer Bain, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center.  Dr. Bain completed both an M.D. and PhD. as well as general pediatrics residency at Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School in New Jersey.  She then trained in Child Neurology at New York Presbyterian – Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and is a board-certified neurol...

Dr. Zvi Jacob Schreiber completed his medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His residency training for Anatomic and Clinical Pathology was at SUNY Stony Brook, where he was chief Resident.  He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at NY-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University for Surgical Pathology and GI Pathology. Dr. Schreiber has worked in both academic hospital practice as well...

Dr. Esther Rollhaus is board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. A graduate of Stern College for Women, Esther received her medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine and completed adult psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship in Montefiore Medical Center. She is an adjunct professor at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University in the psycholo...

Eilís O’Connell-Sussman is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), New York State Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA-NY), and certified special educator. She earned her master’s degree in autism and intellectual disabilities at Teachers College, Columbia University, and continued her education in applied behavior analysis (ABA) at the Florida Institute of Technology. She is currently a Ph. D. stude...

Strauss Allergy & Asthma Therapy opened its Westbury office in 2007, but Dr. Raphael (Ralph) Strauss has been a practicing allergist for over 30 years. Dr. Strauss is certified by the American Board of Allergy & Immunology. After graduating cum laude from Brandeis University, he began his medical career at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he received his medical degree in 1986. He did...

Content Warning: This episode contains more explicit and sensitive content. It is geared towards a mature audience only. Audience discretion is advised. Suri Halpern, JD, LMFT, CST is a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist. She runs a private practice in Bala Cynwyd, PA, where she sees individuals and couples. She has lectured extensively on a variety of topics involv...

Dr. Staci Leisman is a board certified internist and nephrologist who practices nephrology at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is also an accomplished educator in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. 
Dr. Leisman received her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Yale University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.D. from Washington...

Dr. Elana Dumont trained to work with young children though adulthood treating issues such as anxiety and depression. In addition she provides parent coaching to support parents in their developing strong relationships with their children. She is also trained to treat women struggling with pre and post natal challenges. She utilizes an integrated approach using evidence based treatments that inclu...