Leah Habersham

Leah Habersham, MD serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As a physician-scientist and Director of the Bridge Program at Mount Sinai, she leads an integrated clinic providing women's healthcare alongside addiction care services.

Dr. Habersham received her medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine, completed her Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, and finished her fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Mount Sinai. She also completed the Mount Sinai Clinician Scientist Training T32 Program and earned a Master's of Science in Clinical Research from Icahn School of Medicine.

Her research focuses on improving equitable care for pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorders, specifically addressing systemic disparities affecting Black and Hispanic maternal populations in NYC. As a Bronx native, Black female, and daughter of addiction, her lived experience directly informs her culturally sensitive research approach. She conducts innovative research on racial bias in substance use screening during pregnancy through the Mount Sinai Center for Research on Emerging Substances, Poisoning, Overdose and New Discoveries (RESPOND Center).

Dr. Habersham's work has documented disproportionate biased screening practices that lead to increased child protective services reports and unnecessary family separations. She is pioneering the integration of the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) model into prenatal care settings to improve early identification and management of substance use disorders.

• National Institutes of Health FIRST Faculty Scholar Award recipient

As Director of the Bridge Program, Dr. Habersham leads a team serving diverse and underserved populations with compassionate, specialized, and equitable treatment. Her research addresses critical gaps in maternal healthcare for vulnerable populations with substance use disorders, combining clinical practice with innovative research to reduce healthcare inequities through systemic interventions.

Dr. Habersham is a member of the RESPOND Center and maintains certification with the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her office is located at Hess CSM Building Floor 10 Room 10-06, 1470 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10029.