Mount Sinai Beth Israel Names New Chair of the Department of Medicine
Ira Jacobson, MD, a world-renowned expert in the field of hepatology and liver disease, has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Ira Jacobson, MD, a world-renowned expert in the field of hepatology and liver disease, has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
A principal investigator for several landmark trials on interferon-based therapy and new direct-acting antiviral agents, Dr. Jacobson is helping to transform the treatment of hepatitis C. Dr. Jacobson joins Mount Sinai Beth Israel from Weill Cornell Medical College where he was Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C.
“Ira brings to his position both clinical acumen and prolific research experience, having been involved in the development of antiviral therapy for viral hepatitis for more than 25 years,” says Barbara Murphy, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System and Dean of Clinical Integration and Population Health for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We are thrilled to have him join us in our strong commitment to providing excellent patient care, training the next generation of physicians and engaging in cutting-edge clinical research.”
Dr. Jacobson received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital after which he joined the faculty at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, where he has worked for the past three decades.
Dr. Jacobsen has published extensively in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and other major journals, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Hepatology, Hepatology, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Digestive Diseases and Sciences.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek® and No. 7 in the U.S. on the magazine’s 2026 World’s Best Hospitals list and No. 3 in the world in its World’s Best Smart Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 9 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health grant funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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