Introducing Dr. Monica Kraft
Dr. Monica Kraft is the current System Chair at the Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System, as well as the Murray M. Rosenberg Professor of Medicine. She continues to care for patients with asthma and airway diseases while leading research on these afflictions.
In this article, Monica Kraft’s life and work will be highlighted; providing an accurate understanding of who this professional is.
Monica Kraft’s Education
Monica Kraft, formerly of Duke University and the University of Arizona, is a name which is known throughout the world. She has been recognized for her translational research and clinical research of airway diseases and has held the distinguished position of the System Chair at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine since July of 2022.
To understand how she was considered, and eventually recruited to such a position of esteem, it is helpful to understand her educational background, which began at the University of California.
University of California, San Francisco
Before receiving her Medical Degree at the University of California in San Francisco, Monica Kraft earned her undergraduate’s degree at the University of California Davis in Chemistry. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is widely known as one of the very best medical schools in the world for training students in patient care and research.
For example, U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks UCSF's four graduate schools — Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy — as well as its graduate programs in basic science, social science and global health — among the top in the world. For clinical care in medicine, UCSF is ranked #12 nationwide with 14 of its specialties ranked as high performing- the highest ranking.
In the respiratory arena, one of the discoveries made at UCSF from the 1960s to the 1980s was that the protein surfactant was the main negative factor in respiratory distress syndrome among newborns.
Other respiratory related discoveries include development of a microarray called the “ViroChip,” which works as a diagnostic tool that identifies unknown viruses in animals and humans alike.
These forays in research and alleviating respiratory health issues are in step with Monica Kraft’s professional research focus on airway diseases, which she would go on to act on after graduating.
Residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Internal Medicine
According to
Windsor.edu, there is no more critical step in becoming a competent, effective doctor than the training of a postgraduate student in their medical residency. Dr. Monica Kraft completed her internal medicine residency training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
And, according to
Zippia.com, the Harbor UCLA Medical Center in was is one of the largest institutions of its kind in the world and has been offering top-notch care to patients since its founding in 1946. At Harbor-UCLA, Monica Kraft was also asked to be Chief Resident.
Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
At the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Monica Kraft formerly of Duke University, completed her fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine, earning her a specialist’s title in her chosen field.
Continuing Work
Since completing her education, Dr. Monica Kraft formerly of Duke University and the University of Arizona, has excelled to a position of both a physician and scientist. She was the director of the Carl and Hazel Felt Laboratory in her research field of choice, Adult Asthma research at National Jewish Health (NJH) in Denver, Colorado the #1 hospital in pulmonary disease per the US New and World Report. She also held a position as the director of pulmonology physiology unit at NJH.
After this, she joined Duke University to create and direct the Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center. During her time at Duke she rose through the ranks to be Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine where she led research strategy in the Department of Medicine with over 1,000 faculty. In that position, she was a leader in the renewal of Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science award. Finally she was appointed chief of the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care and named the Charles C. Johnson, MD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine.
In 2014, she joined the University of Arizona as their Professor of Medicine, the Chair of the Department of Medicine, and the Tucson Deputy Director of UA Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center. As the leader of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Kraft and her team recruited over 250 faculty, improved residency board passage rates and quadrupled research funding. She also continued her own asthma research in mechanisms of airway inflammation and precision medicine approaches to the treatment of patients with severe asthma. Dr. Kraft is ranked #20 in the US for National Institutes of Health funding.
Beginning in July of 2022 and continuing to the present, she has been the System Chair of the Department of Medicine in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In this position, she leads a department of over 2,500 faculty and eight hospitals with a National Institutes of Health grant funding portfolio of over $120 million/year.
Beginning in July of 2022 and continuing to the present, she has been the System Chair of the Department of Medicine in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In this position, she leads a department of over 2,500 faculty and eight hospitals with a National Institutes of Health grant funding portfolio of over $120 million/year.
Awards
Monica Kraft formerly of Duke University, has received the following prestigious awards in her career:
- Presidential Early Career Award, offered by President Bill Clinton in 2000
- Charles C. Johnson, MD Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Duke University
- Robert and Irene Flinn Endowed Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine, Tucson, University of Arizona Health Sciences
- Distinguished Career Award from the American Thoracic Society
- Elizabeth Rich Award for Mentorship from the American Thoracic Society
- Arizona Bioresearcher of the Year of 2019
- American College of Physicians Distinguished Educator award.
- Elected member, American Climatological and Clinical Association
In Conclusion
In conclusion, Dr. Monica Kraft has distinguished herself not only as an exemplary educator, but a foremost scientist and physician in the field of respiratory diseases. She currently maintains her systems chair role of the Department of Medicine in the Icahn School of Medicine while serving on the Association of Professors of Medicine as a Council member.
