Meet the Residents

Rebecca Altaras is receiving her doctor of osteopathy degree from our affiliated New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), Old Westbury this May. A native of Mineola, she currently lives in Forest Hills. She completed her undergraduate studies in anthropology at Queens College, Flushing, where she researched scoliosis in Zebrafish (yes, really, and the research is on-going) and served as a student ambassador. Doctor Altaras has been a frequent volunteer including at the Jewish Community Center’s Alzheimer’s Day Program, Habitat for Humanity as part of the Sandy relief and cleanup effort in Breezy Point, and at the Masbia Soup Kitchen in Queens. She completed a six-month culinary course prior to starting medical school. Her other interests include traveling and, no surprise for an anthropology major, learning about other cultures. She speaks Hebrew.

Indranil (aka “Bob”) Bhattacharya, DO, is continuing on with us after completing his transitional rotating year. By way of reminder, he was born in Hicksville where he still resides, received his medical degree from NYITCOM. Prior to medical school, Dr. Bhattacharya obtained his BS in biology from Stony Brook University (SBU) and he also worked as an MCAT tutor for Kaplan covering general chemistry, biology, and physics. He (still) speaks Bengali.

Our second TRI to continue on with us, Dr. Joshian (aka “Jay”) Estevez, was introduced to you last year at this time. To refresh memory, he completed his BS in biology cum laude from the College of Mount St. Vincent, in Riverdale, where he was also a research assistant. Doctor Estevez had also worked in that capacity at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation at Rutgers in Newark and at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. He was president of the Latino Medical Student Association and ran their health fair in Port Washington. Spanning the entire age range, Dr. Estevez volunteered at both a home for the elderly in Costa Rica and at a children’s clinic in Guatemala. A former personal trainer, he contributed to a number of poster presentations and one PubMed article. Doctor Estevez remains a native Spanish speaker.

Another California native, Jacqueline Nicole Mariano Gallardo received her MD from Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, with honors this past December. Doctor Gallardo attended the University of California, Irvine, which awarded her a BS in biological sciences, and where she conducted research in its Biology of Aging lab. Between her time at Irvine and on Dominica, she worked as a full time chemist. Typical of those entering family medicine, Dr. Gallardo has a lot of volunteer experience including for the Salybia Mission Project on Dominica where she provided screening immunizations and health workshops and helping care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease in Costa Mesa, California. Her interests include bowling, badminton, travel and being an epicure. Doctor Gallardo speaks Spanish and Tagalog.

Originally from New Delhi and now living in Floral Park, Moulik Gupta, DO, received his medical degree from NYITCOM before beginning his transitional rotating internship (TRI) at Plainview Hospital. He double-majored in biology and sociology at Stony Brook University (SBU) where he was also a research assistant in the Department of Psychiatry and a teaching assistant for organic chemistry. He’s also been a research assistant at NYU Langone in two studies on concussed adults. A former participant in gymnastics and track at the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, Dr. Gupta plays basketball, football, volleyball, baseball, and kickboxes for recreation, along with hiking and biking which he does Upstate and on Long Island. He is a recipient of SBU’s Presidential Scholarship and was a National Merit Scholarship finalist. He speaks Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and basic Spanish.

Born in Brooklyn where he still resides, Mark Maloof, DO, just received his medical degree from NYITCOM. Doctor Maloof completed his biochemistry bachelors at Stony Brook University where he was a research assistant until he was elected President of the Student Government Association and a member of the Stony Brook Scholars Council. He has significant research and volunteer experience including at Flushing Hospital and Columbia University medical centers and with Caring Hospice Services in Brooklyn. He is a competitive ballroom dancer (Latin and International, take note Dr. Roethel), and enjoys keeping freshwater South American fish, cooking, baking and board games. He is a bilingual Arabic speaker and speaks French and Spanish.

Nashita Molla, MD, was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and attended Wayne State University for both her cum laude undergraduate degree in biology and her medical degree. She is a recipient of the Board of Governors Scholarship, the Presidential Scholarship at Wayne State, and a National Merit Scholarship. She is a member of the National Honors Society, the American Academy of Family Physicians, Sight Savers, and the Islamic Medical Student Association. While at Wayne State, she conducted research in its Senescence and Organic Chemistry labs. While in Detroit, Dr. Molla worked as a volunteer farmer, and as a volunteer in programs providing medical eye care for the underserved, medical care to the homeless, and in a food and clothing program for the poor. Among her many interests are photography, film, 19th Century literature, acrylic painting, bubble tea (a Taiwanese tea-based style of beverage for which there are many recipes), cycling, and keeping red-eared slider turtles (for real). She is a bilingual Bengali speaker and conversant in French.

A native New Yorker now living in Plainview, Aryeh Rafailovich-Sokolov was just awarded his medical degree from Ross prior to which he earned a BA in biology at Queens College where he was also a research assistant. He spent some months as an industrial research assistant at Estee Lauder Cosmetics.A man of varied talents, Dr. Rafailovich-Sokolov taught a class in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while on Dominica. He has also volunteered as an EMS paramedic and fire fighter with the Plainview Fire Department. In addition to jiu-jitsu, he enjoys mixed martial arts, playing music and travel.

Please welcome these new, promising physicians to our hospital.