NEW YORK – The Hellenic Medical Society of New York (HMSNY) honored three eminent doctors at two separate events in June. The honorees were Dr. Eugenia Gianos, Dr. George Raptis, and Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, each of them dedicated to improving women’s health in their respective specialties.

HMSNY hosted its 13th Annual Dr. Mary Kalopothakes Distinguished Female Physician Award Symposium on June 27 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity’s Chiotes Hall in New York City. The event honored Dr. Eugenia Gianos, the director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital and director of Cardiovascular Prevention for Northwell Health. As a clinical cardiologist with expertise in preventive cardiology, lipidology, imaging, and women’s heart disease, she sees patients with various cardiovascular diseases and has a specific interest in those with a genetic predisposition or heart disease at a young age, lipid disorders, complex coronary disease, and uncontrolled risk factors for heart disease.

Over 100 guests attended the event which provided education on how to implement cardiovascular prevention in one’s life as well as a hands-on demonstration of how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and save a life.

Dr. Stella Lymberis began the event with an overview of the amazing story of Dr. Mary Kalopothakes, who is recognized as the first woman physician in modern Greece. In addition to her focus on education in the 19th century, she also opened a clinic for women and children and aided numerous war refugees. Dr. Lymberis then introduced Dr. Gianos as a leader in the field of preventive cardiology with extensive clinical, teaching and research experience for which she was recognized at the event.

Dr. Gianos presented key information about knowing one’s numbers for heart disease risk, understanding their family history and taking action early to improve their risk as they would when investing in a retirement account. She explained about the innovative tests, such as lipoprotein (a) and calcium scoring, that refine risk assessment and the incredible therapies available to make sure all patients achieve optimal cholesterol level. She explained that in women, there needs to be an even greater focus on optimizing cardiometabolic disease around the time of pregnancy and menopause.

Dr. Gianos also took the audience through her personal journey growing up in the Bronx, helping at her dad’s bowling alley, and playing basketball, and how those experiences shaped her character and leadership skills. Although she didn’t have many female physician role models growing up, she had an incredibly supportive family and a lot of early educators who encouraged her not to set limits on what her future could hold.

The HMSNY also hosted its Summer Soirée – Long Island event honoring Dr. George Raptis and Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis on June 23 at the Swan Club in Roslyn, NY. The event featured cocktails and dinner as well as live music performed by Power Station Entertainment.

Dr. Raptis, a nationally recognized breast cancer specialist, has a distinguished academic and clinical career. In addition to treating patients at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, he serves as Director of Oncology Services for the Northern Region, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute. In this role, he leads an outstanding team of clinicians who ensure the delivery of personalized, high-quality, and innovative cancer care at the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Prior to joining RWJBarnabas Health, he was the leader of the Breast Cancer Disease Management Team and director of Breast Cancer Medicine at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in New York. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters focusing on topics relating to blood cancers and breast cancer treatment and continues to be actively involved in community-based breast cancer advocacy organizations.

Dr. Raptis’ philosophy of care, as noted on the RJWBarnabas Health website: “I embrace a multi-disciplinary approach to cancer care. When I went to medical school, we were taught only about the relationship between doctor and patient. Thankfully, that is not true anymore, because every patient benefits from being cared for by a larger, disease-focused multidisciplinary team. We should always remember, we do not treat cancer, we take care of people who have cancer and their families. There is a difference.”

Dr. Deligiannidis, Professor at the Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research; Director, Women’s Behavioral Health, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health; and Professor, Psychiatry, Molecular Medicine, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; is a national leader in the field of perinatal depression and in novel therapeutics research. As a reproductive psychiatrist, she has expertise in treating women with mood and anxiety disorders linked to the menstrual cycle, pregnancy/postpartum periods, and perimenopause.