Elizabeth A. Kitsis

Elizabeth A. Kitsis, M.D., MBE is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine (Rheumatology) and serves as the inaugural Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Planning at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. Appointed to this leadership position in October 2023, she oversees faculty appointments and promotions, annual evaluations, mentoring, and strategic planning initiatives across the institution.

Dr. Kitsis joined Montefiore Einstein in 2008 as Director of Bioethics Education and has held progressive leadership roles, including Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs in the Department of Medicine (2014) and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Professionalism (2016). Her research interests span rheumatology, bioethics, pharmaceutical ethics, faculty development, and electronic health record systems. She has been particularly active in studying the impact of telemedicine and the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare delivery and medical education.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on healthcare informatics, particularly physician interactions with electronic health records during the pandemic, as well as leadership in multidisciplinary responses to healthcare crises. Dr. Kitsis has also maintained her clinical expertise in rheumatology while contributing significantly to medical education and ethics curriculum development.

As a leader in faculty development, Dr. Kitsis has spearheaded numerous initiatives including the Department of Medicine's Strategic Plan, Physician Awards program, Faculty Scholars program, well-being initiative, professional development reviews, and the GRANDMED speaker program. She co-founded the Department of Medicine's Junior Faculty Mentoring program, demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of academic physicians.

Her work extends to laboratory and team-based research through her leadership of multidisciplinary task forces, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she contributed to the implementation of the Cytokine Storm Syndrome Task Force and documented lessons learned about teamwork under crisis conditions in the Bronx epicenter.