Meet 2026 Award Recipient
Walter Jacob
Walter came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai from Providence College, where he majored in Biology and Philosophy and graduated summa cum laude as the Biology Department valedictorian. After college, Walter worked as a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the NIH, studying protein misfolding and prion biology. He entered the MD/MSCR dual-degree program at Icahn Mount Sinai in 2021, where he combined medical training with a Master of Science in Clinical Research through the Patient-Oriented Research Training and Leadership (PORTAL) program.
While at Icahn Mount Sinai, Walter conducted basic and translational research in the McAlpine Lab, contributing to multiple high-impact publications, including a second-author publication in Nature, and received NIH-funded research training awards. He was actively involved in the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), the student-run, physician-supervised free clinic, as both a senior clinician and phlebotomist, providing longitudinal care to underserved patients. Walter also demonstrated a strong commitment to medical education and leadership as the Neurology Clerkship Representative, a peer tutor and mentor, and president of the Pathology Interest Group.
In recognition of his work, Walter received several honors, including the AMA Foundation Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship, the Icahn Medical Student Award for Excellence in Mentorship, and a Top-Rated Abstract Award from the American Geriatrics Society.
He will graduate with his MD/MSCR and continue his residency training in Neurology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.