Jessica Yager, MD, MPH, is the STAR Program Medical Director, Chief of Service at STAR Health Center (SHC)-Brookdale and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine. She joined the STAR Program in 2012 and became STAR Medical Director in April 2021. Dr. Yager graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received John Harvard and Harvard College scholarships for academic achievements of high distinction. While earning her medical degree at Yale University, she worked in South Africa developing an HIV curriculum for teenagers and work in a primary care clinic in Eritrea. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and afterwards spent a year in Bolivia as a Fogarty fellow, designing and implementing community-based programs. She is board certified in ID and completed her ID fellowship at the University of Washington in 2011. Her research on HIV-associated malignancy was conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Uganda Cancer Institute. She currently supervises all SHC clinical staff, and oversees the STAR Program’s clinical education projects including the HRSA funded SUNY AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC), HRSA AETC funded Internal Medicine and PA Program HIV Tracks, and the Ryan White Part A Care Coordination grant. She is proficient in Spanish and French.
Monica Douglas, PharmD, joined STAR-Downstate in August 2022. Dr. Douglas earned her PharmD at Rutgers University and completed a pharmacy residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and an ambulatory care pharmacy residency at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy and Truman Health Services. Dr. Douglas spent part of her Downstate pharmacy residency at STAR and brings a wealth of experience, including expertise around diabetes, cardiovascular risk reduction, HIV management, and gender-affirming care. She is passionate about patient-centered care and building community. She will complete ambulatory pharmacy visits and serve as the clinician completing study visits for the SMARTTT Study focused on tobacco cession in people living with HIV. Dr. Douglas is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Touro College of Pharmacy.
Manisha Singh, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, joined the STAR Program in March 2020. Dr. Singh graduated from Lady Hardinge Medical College at University of Delhi, India. She completed residency in internal medicine at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn followed by fellowship in infectious diseases at SUNY Downstate in 2012. She worked at the Bronx Care Health System from 2012-2019 as an attending physician in the Department of Medicine. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.
Dr. Jameela Yusuff, Associate Professor of Medicine, joined University Hospital of Brooklyn as Chief Medical Officer in April 2021. She began working with the STAR Health Center (SHC) in 2006 and subsequently served as its Medical Director until April 2021. Dr. Yusuff remains an Attending Physician at the SHC. She is a graduate of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease. In 2012 she received a Master of Public Health from SUNY Downstate’s School of Public Health. In 2013, she was awarded with the distinction of being a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. In 2020, Dr. Yusuff earned a Master of Science in Healthcare Delivery Leadership from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and received an Achievement Award for Best Capstone Project. Dr. Yusuff received a Jetblue Healthcare Heroes Award resulting from staff nominations, and she received an Award for Excellence from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University based on patient nominations. Dr. Yusuff is also on the National Quality Forum’s Opioid and Behavioral Health Committee and the SUNY Downstate Chair of Faculty Professional Policy Appointment and Promotions Committee.
Daniel Winetsky, MD, MS joined SUNY Downstate in May 2022 as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Investigator at the STAR Program. Prior to joining STAR, he completed his subspecialty clinical training in infectious diseases as well as an NIH-funded post-doctoral fellowship in Behavioral HIV Research at Columbia University. He also served as the Site Medical Director for East Jersey State Prison from 2015 to 2017. His research, advocacy and clinical work focus on enhancing engagement in services for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases among marginalized populations. He is excited to serve as clinical lead for status-neutral LGBTQ+ services at the STAR Program.
