Meet 2025 Award Recipient
James Brooks
James “Jay” Brooks grew up in Baltimore, MD, and he graduated from Harvard University in 2014 with a degree in Chemical and Physical Biology. From 2014 to 2021, Jay served in the US Marines as a ground intelligence officer and deployed twice in support of the War Against ISIS. Jay came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai through its Institutional Partnership with the US Military, which allowed him to apply while still active duty in the military and matriculate without taking the MCAT.
While an MD/MPH student at ISMMS, Jay founded and led a refugee mental health clinic within the student-run East Harlem Health Opportunity Partnership. He led training for fellow students in cognitive behavioral therapy, served as a therapist for two Ukrainian refugees, and worked for a clinical trial in post-traumatic stress disorder prevention. He published his MPH thesis on a novel public health messaging framework and applied its use for Brooklyn-based public health messaging campaigns in partnership with the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Jay also supported veterans in medicine initiatives, leading the student veteran group, teaching an elective on veterans’ health, and serving as a mentor for eight veterans applying to higher education through the Service to School organization.
Jay would like to thank his family and friends, especially his parents, sisters, and wife, for their continuous support of his path through training into medicine. Jay would also like to thank the attendings and residents at ISMMS, who gave so much time in teaching and supporting him through every step of the journey, especially Dr. David Muller, Dr. Maya Korin, Dr. Craig Katz, Dr. Jacob Appel, Dr. Luz Claudio, Dr. Valerie Parkas, Dr. Linda Zhang, Dr. Michael Leitman, and Dr. Todd Bania.
Jay will graduate with his MD/MPH degree and continue his residency training in General Surgery at NYU.