At the Brooklyn Free Clinic, we are fortunate to have an incredible team of volunteer physicians who dedicate their time and expertise to provide high-quality primary care to our community. In our Physician Spotlight, we highlight the dedicated professionals who go above and beyond to ensure our patients receive the best possible care. Each spotlight features a physician's background, their journey in medicine, and their commitment to serving the underserved. Get to know the heroes behind the care and learn what drives their passion for making a difference in Brooklyn!

Joel Gernsheimer, MD, FACEP

What is your specialty and what is your educational background?

My specialty is Emergency Medicine, but I am also Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. I graduated from Brooklyn College in 1969, and then I attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. I trained in the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the South Bronx, where I also worked for many years as an Attending. I came to Downstate and Kings County in 2007.

What inspired you to volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic?

I have been doing Volunteer Work since College, including during Medical School, my Residency, and as an Attending Physician. I like doing it as it makes me feel good about myself, as well as helping people.

What impact do you hope to make through your work at the clinic, particularly in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations?

I hope to inspire Medical Students to continue to do volunteer work and to help make the world a better place by helping people who really need it, especially since I can't volunteer myself as much as I once did. I enjoy teaching clinical medicine to Medical Students, and I want to be a good role model for them.

Anjali S. Vora, MD, MPH

What is your specialty and what is your educational background?

I completed my Master in Public Health degree at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health in 2017 and graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical School in 2018. I then moved to Dallas for residency in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics (aka Med-Peds) at UT Southwestern. Subsequently I returned to NYC for additional training as a Primary Care Research Fellow in Community Health at Columbia and transitioned to Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Columbia in August 2024.

What inspired you to volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic?

I volunteered and served in different leadership roles at BFC as a medical student. I was excited to be part of the BFC community again.

What impact do you hope to make through your work at the clinic, particularly in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations?

Health is very personal. It is a privilege to be part of someone's care team and understand the circumstances that brought them to BFC. I hope to empower BFC's student volunteers to be creative and truly partner with patients when developing care plans so that the plans are realistic and feasible.

Uri Goldberg, MD

What is your specialty and what is your educational background?

My specialties are hospital medicine and palliative care. I went to medical school at St. George’s University, trained in internal medicine at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in hospice & palliative medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. After several years traveling the country as a locum hospitalist, I recently opened an outpatient palliative care practice, which I’m very excited about.

What inspired you to volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic?

I was working with my mentor, the late Dr. Peter Gillette, on a sickle cell drug trial at Kings County when he introduced me to some of his wonderful colleagues at Downstate. They told me about the BFC and invited me to join. By that point, having lived in the community for several years, I'd helped a number of friends & neighbors struggle to navigate the healthcare system and seen up close the hoops that uninsured and underinsured folks often have to jump through just to access basic care. Given the opportunity to help these folks in a more formal way, and to work with a group of incredibly bright & enthusiastic medical students to boot, I jumped at the chance.

What impact do you hope to make through your work at the clinic, particularly in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations?

Beyond addressing the medical needs of our patients, I hope that the very presence of the BFC reassures folks that there are indeed people in the community who genuinely care about them and their well-being. That, regardless of insurance status, they will always have the support and access to care that they need. I also hope to show students that, apart from the intellectual and emotional gratification of our work, medicine can really just be a lot of fun.

Iuliana Shapira MD, FACP

What is your specialty and what is your educational background?

Dr. Shapira holds the academic appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology for the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. During her prior academic appointments at Northwell health as Director of Cancer Genetics at Northwell Healthcare System in Long Island NY, she conducted extensive research in microRNA biology, activities and patented Microrna biomarkers for ovarian cancer. Dr. Shapira served in clinical practice in rural Lake Village, Arkansas. She received her medical degree in 1990 from the Carol Davila Medical School. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey and Hematology Oncology Fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.She authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters & abstracts and is a fellow of American College of Physicians.

What inspired you to volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic?

She witnessed firsthand the barriers to health that many Americans face every day. During her career treating people in underserved rural & inner-city she witnessed the many ways the social determinants of health influenced disease outcomes, thus she dedicated my medical career to tackling these barriers head-on.

What impact do you hope to make through your work at the clinic, particularly in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations?

She is committed to provide physical help getting through barriers to obtaining care, emotional support with difficult family dynamics and contributing her own time for programs related to health & cancer screening.

Rene Eng, MD

What is your specialty and what is your educational background?

After graduating from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, I completed my residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center followed by fellowship training in gastroenterology and liver diseases at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

What inspired you to volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic?

I was looking for an opportunity to volunteer in NYC and came upon the Brooklyn Free Clinic. I was impressed that this inner city clinic was providing healthcare to an uninsured and diverse population and was staffed by students working in interdisciplinary teams. For me, volunteering is not just about giving back; it’s about being part of something larger than myself. I am honored to be able to volunteer at the BFC, a place that strives for equity, compassion, and dignity in healthcare.

What impact do you hope to make through your work at the clinic, particularly in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations?

My decision to volunteer at BFC was inspired by personal experiences and background, educational influences, and deeply held values. I grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan (a poor, ethnically diverse neighborhood at that time) and my siblings and I received our healthcare from similar clinics. I have experienced healthcare disparities first-hand and continue to witness it regularly at my practice. I believe that all human lives are equally valuable and I am committed to making a tangible difference in my community, to addressing healthcare disparities, and to living out the principles of empathy and service. Just as I have had wonderful mentors, I also want to mentor the next generation of students.

From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of giving back and helping those in need. These were not just verbal lessons but were demonstrated through their actions and the values they lived by daily. My daughter just started her first year in medical school. She has been volunteering since she was very young. I hope that I have set a good example for her to continue in this tradition.

Page updated

Report abuse