President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
3rd Vice President
Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer
Secretary
Assistant Secretary
Board Director
Board Director
Board Director
For more information on the socety and its activities please contact us at hellenicmed@gmail.com
HELLENIC MEDICAL SOCIETY | 60 PLAZA STREET EAST BROOKLYN, NY 11238 | TEL: 718.398.2440 | hellenicmed@gmail.com
Place/Date of Birth: Bronx, NY/October 30, 1970
Education: Obtained an undergraduate degree at New York University in 1992 with a B.A. in Classical Civilization of Greece and Rome. Competed Medical School at SUNY HSC at Syracuse in 1996 and stayed at SUNY Syracuse for residency in General Surgery which was completed in 2000. Subsequently did a Vascular Surgery fellowship for 2 years at SUNY Stony Brook from 2001-2003 followed by an Endovascular fellowship in 2003 at Texas Tech.
Professional Career: Following my training I stayed on staff as an Attending Vascular Surgeon from 2003-2023 at Stony Brook University Medical Center. I developed the Stony Brook Vein Center in 2003 which has been a leading venous center providing comprehensive venous care. In 2014, I opened the first Office-based lab for Stony Brook Medicine with over 6,000 sf space, 10 exam rooms, 2 vein procedure rooms, and an angiography suite. During my tenure at Stony Brook, I held multiple administrative positions including Medical Director for the Vascular Lab, the DVT team, the Wound Center, and the Vascular Access Service. In addition, I was an assistant Chief Medical Officer for over 15 years. In 2023, I was recruited by Northwell Health as System Chief for Ambulatory Vascular & Vein Program, to organize, standardize, and grow a comprehensive outpatient vascular and venous program throughout their health system in the New York Metro area.
I have held several leadership positions in international societies around the world, including serving as President of the American Venous Forum, the leading society in venous disease and President of the Hellenic Medical Society, the largest society of Greek physicians outside of Greece. I have been a consultant for many startup companies with new technologies in venous therapeutics and on the advisory board of leading medical device companies in the venous space.
My research interests are in superficial and deep venous disease including diagnosis and treatment of deep venous thrombosis, chronic venous obstruction, varicose veins, and pelvic congestion syndrome. Have been involved in multiple research projects, investigator-initiated and industry sponsored and have published over 85 papers, presented over 30 abstracts, and given over 200 lectures both nationally and internationally.
Finally, education is my biggest passion, running multiple educational programs in venous disease and founder and co-director of one of the largest annual venous educational meetings in the world, Venous Symposium, with over 700 attendees in New York City.
Dr. Antonia Ann Kolokathis obtained her Medical Degree from the National University of Athens, School of Medicine, in Athens, Greece. She completed her residency and fellowship in Internal Medicine, and Infectious Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. After completing her clinical fellowship, she was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation for research work exploring mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
She became faculty member at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine where her responsibilities included clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) primarily studying HIV and Tuberculosis.
Dr. Kolokathis started her pharmaceutical career at Pfizer Inc. where as Vice President she was responsible for the Research and Development and Medical Affairs groups for the Anti-Infective, Immunology, Pain, Arthritis and Women’s Health programs. Fifteen years later, she joined Bristol Myers Squibb, Inc. where she was responsible for the development and lifecycle management for the Virology programs, primarily HIV and Hepatitis.
Dr. Kolokathis has served as Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs and Global Patient Safety at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, responsible for the Hepatitis and Cystic Fibrosis programs.
Dr. Kolokathis was the Chief Medical Officer, Head of Regulatory Affairs and Scientific Communications for Optimer Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Kolokathis has been past member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation and she has served on the Unites States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a governmental initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. She also has served as executive committee member on the Forum for Collaborative HIV research.
In 2005, Antonia was assigned by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Senior Consultant for Tsunami Relief and Recovery, in the Southeast Asia Region working with the WHO, Ministries of Health and academic institutions to assess initiatives for relief and recovery to healthcare systems. (this work was published and presented at the “WHO Conference on the Health Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia” in Phuket, Thailand 2005).
Dr. Kolokathis has served on numerous Scientific Advisory Boards in the private and public sector and has collaborated with academic and government organizations including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and World Health Organization (WHO) working on US and global healthcare policies and guidelines.
Dr. Kolokathis currently is a consultant for Biopharmaceutical companies and for public and private organizations and societies.
Dr. Konstantinos (“Kosta”) Deligiannidis is the Medical Director of Northwell Health’s House Calls program, a home-based primary and palliative care service caring for frail, homebound adults throughout downstate New York. He oversees clinical operations, quality initiatives, and educational activities within one of the nation’s largest home-based primary care programs.
Dr. Deligiannidis began his career as a full-spectrum family physician in Central Massachusetts, providing inpatient, outpatient, obstetric, long-term care, and home-based services. He served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he taught medical students and residents and helped integrate home-based care experiences into their training.
He is an inaugural alumnus of the UMass Quality Scholars program and has led multiple quality improvement projects presented at regional and national conferences. His professional interests include home-based primary care, medical education, and systems-based quality improvement. At Northwell Health, he has expanded the educational footprint of home-based care for learners in medicine, including students at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine and residents and fellows in internal medicine, family medicine, geriatrics, palliative care, and geriatric psychiatry. He is also an active member of the National Home-Based Primary Care Learning Network, where he has led initiatives focused on preventive care outreach and vaccination strategies for homebound populations.
Dr. Deligiannidis remains committed to advocating for older adults and supporting families in helping loved ones age safely at home. He is equally dedicated to the Greek-American medical community, participating in professional and cultural initiatives that strengthen mentorship, education, and service within the Hellenic community of New York.
Dr John M Karamichalis is a native of Cyprus, educated in England and completed his residency and fellowship in the USA. He is an active member of HMS serving on the Executive Committee of HMS as Assistant Treasurer and member of the Scholarship committee
Dr. Karamichalis is an experienced board certified cardiothoracic surgeon with subspecialty certification in Pediatric cardiac surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He joined Columbia University Medical Center January 2021 and has been appointed as the Associate Program Director of the Columbia University Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program. He is experienced in the entire field of pediatric cardiac surgery with areas of expertise including the Ross procedure, valve repair procedures, and minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He takes particular interest in patient outcomes, performance measures for surgeons, and pediatric cardiac surgery program development.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society and recipient of many awards throughout his career. He was recently awarded the title of Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS) addendum. He holds an advanced research Doctorate degree from The University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division based on his world renown work at Boston Children’s on technical performance and outcomes in pediatric cardiac surgery.
Stella Douros, MD, FACS,FASRS is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist specializing in Medical and Surgical Retina. She obtained her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1991 with Special Citation in Ophthalmology, then did her internship year at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Internal Medicine in New York and her Ophthalmology Residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. She completed a fellowship in Medical and Surgical Retina at the Beetham Eye Institute of the Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard Medical School in Boston in 1996 and has been in private practice since then. Her office is in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
She is Clinical Assistant Professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Clinical Instructor at Mount Sinai Medical Center and holds Attending Physician privileges also at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital and Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Specialists, and the American College of Surgeons. She has been honored by the Consumers’ Research Council of America in the “Guide to America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” from 2001 to the present. She has been honored as a “Top Doctor in the New York Metro Area” and “Regional Top Doctor” by Castle Connolly, Ltd from 2009 to the present, and has been featured in the New York Times Magazine’s “Guide to the Top 5% of New York City’s Physicians New York Super Doctors” from 2008 to the present. She was also honored among “Exceptional Women in Medicine” in New York Magazine from 2018 through 2025. Dr. Douros has been involved in the Hellenic Medical Society for many years and is currently serving as the Secretary of the Board of the Hellenic Medical Society.
Dr. Katherine Economos is a gynecologic oncologist/gynecologist who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
Her family roots are from Pontos and the Peloponnese (Arkadia). She attended New York University, earning her bachelor’s degree in biology (1982). She then earned her medical degree from the S.U.N.Y. Downstate College of Medicine (1986). She did her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY (1990), which was followed by a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX (1993).
Dr. Economos then joined the faculty of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Cornell University’s Weill College of Medicine while also serving as Director of Gynecologic Oncology at the New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital (1993-1999). In 1999, she stayed at NYP-BMH full-time until 2019 when she started a private office-based gynecology practice in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
She now sees women for general gynecologic care, but has a particular expertise for those currently affected by non-gynecologic cancer, cancer survivors, and women at high hereditary-based risk for gynecologic cancer.
Dr. Economos is married to Dr. Michael Krickellas and has two children.
Dr. Lorraine Chrisomalis-Valasiadis graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with a B.A. in Biology and earned her medical degree from New York Medical College in 1990. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1994 and did a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Following her formal training, she worked for eleven years as an Assistant Clinical Professor of
Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, where she provided a wide range of care for high risk pregnant patients. Her expertise spans conditions including advanced maternal age, gestational diabetes, preterm labor and the management of multiples. In 2005, she opened her own private practice on the Upper East Side.
Among her multiple publications, she authored an article on the first known case of chronic
lymphocytic leukemia in pregnancy and has contributed abstracts on induction of labor and on perinatal complications in women of advanced maternal age with donor eggs. Dr. Chrisomalis
has appeared on television and radio segments, and has been quoted in various publications
including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Modern Bride, Shape and Parents magazines. Currently, she creates content on Instagram, where she educates women of all ages on women’s healthcare topics.
She has received numerous awards for her distinctions in teaching and mentoring, notably in the Barnard community, the Hellenic Professional Women (HPW) Society, and the Women’s
Initiative Network Pancyprian (WIN). As the previous Vice President of the Hellenic Medical
Society, she spearheaded the Young Initiative Project and actively recruits and mentors young members.
As part time faculty at NYITCOM, she teaches the course on Doctor Physician Relations to the 2nd year medical students. Dr. Chrisomalis offers the senior students monthly rotations in her medical practice and continues to empower the next generation of women leaders entering the medical profession.
A native New Yorker, Dr. Chrisomalis-Valasiadis resides in Manhattan with her husband Peter and their two daughters, Nicole and Victoria.
Theofano Orfanelli MD, PhD, MPH, FACOG, is Assistant Program Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Montefiore Einstein and Assistant Professor at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Orfanelli specializes in advanced abdominal-pelvic and minimally invasive surgeries for gynecologic cancers. She is highly focused on managing hereditary cancer syndromes, ensuring personalized patient care and implementing leading-edge surgical techniques.
In 2010, Dr. Orfanelli earned her Doctor of Medicine from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine in Athens, Greece. She then pursued a postdoctoral research fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medicine, completing it in 2013, followed by an obstetrics and gynecology internship at the same institution in 2014. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School from 2014 to 2017, during which she completed the Brunschwig Gynecologic Oncology Rotating Residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2015. Dr. Orfanelli then pursued a three-year gynecologic oncology fellowship at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, completing it in 2020. In 2021, she received her Doctor of Philosophy from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine. In 2025, Dr. Orfanelli completed her Master of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Orfanelli’s research emphasizes early detection of gynecologic malignancies and cancer immunotherapy. She is actively involved in clinical trials and seeks to advance the understanding and treatment of gynecologic cancers through innovative research methodologies. She has shared her work through peer-reviewed journals, poster presentations and invited talks. Dr. Orfanelli is a peer reviewer for several publications including Cell, Gynecologic Oncology and the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer, among others.
Dr. Orfanelli is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS), among others. She has served and still serves as a member to multiple committees for the SGO. In 2018, Dr. Orfanelli was awarded the Perlman Family Colon Cancer Alliance for Research and Education (CCARE) Lynch Syndrome Research Prize from the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. In 2022, she received an American Cancer Society (ACS) Institutional Research Grant.
Dr. John Athas is a knowledgeable and experienced Radiologist and entrepreneur practicing in New Jersey and New York. He has a Doctor of Medicine degree from Boston University, completed his radiology residency at Columbia University and advanced his academic career in Neuroradiology at Harvard Medical School where he was a clinical fellow and attending physician. He is double board certified in Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, and has over 25 years of experience in the field. His post-graduate journey brought him to Washington DC, where he joined a group serving Georgetown University and Washington Hospital Center in clinical Neuroradiology, where he was appointed Assistant Professor of Neurology during his tenure.
His entrepreneurial spirit and background in radiology led him to become a leader in telemedicine, healthcare strategy and innovation. In 2004, he began developing tele-radiology services and started his first company Athas Radiology, PC which provided subspeciality diagnostic imaging with affiliations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. He realized advances in large data file sharing were beginning to allow radiologists to access images without having to travel to see them in person. Instead of focusing on emergency care and difficulties with quality control, Athas Radiology recruited highly specialized radiologists that could more conveniently work from home in a model that allowed them to exclusively read studies in their areas of expertise. This improved patient access to quality care and provided imaging centers with a more cost-effective workflow solution. During this time, he acquired one of his clients, Paramus MRI, now considered one of the most reputable medical imaging centers in North Jersey. Dr. Athas continues to advance in the field of Radiology, frequently speaks by invitation, and enjoys consulting for hospitals, imaging centers, medical and legal practices in New Jersey and New York.
On a personal note, Dr. Athas met his wife Dr. Monica Tadros, a facial plastic surgeon, during their time together at Georgetown. In 2007 they were married and relocated to New York City. They have two children, Michael and Olivia. They both come from humble beginnings and together they are passionate about making a meaningful difference in the world. Growing up in a traditional Greek household, Dr. Athas valued his Hellenic and Greek Orthodox heritage. His father, a revered Baltimore businessman, helped many immigrant families find employment and his mother never let him forget the importance of hard work, values and philanthropy. Dr. Athas’ philanthropic efforts focus on supporting organizations that make a difference in the world and reflect an ethic valuing intellectual, social and spiritual development.
Dr. Athas is an active steward of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where he has served on the Board of Trustees for the past 10 years. The Athas family has made meaningful contributions to the capital campaign of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, where they enjoy a culturally rich community. Fully vested in Leadership 100, he is committed to supporting Hellenism and orthodoxy in America. Dr. Athas enjoyed attending two pilgrimages, led by Archbishop Elpidophoros, to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with his wife and children whereupon they witnessed challenges to the cornerstone of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and pledged support to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation as Founding Members. He is interested in global outreach and remains a strong supporter of the Global Fund for Widows, which helps widows in developing countries overcome poverty through skills-based training and job creation. Dr. Athas continues to support educational improvements through contributions to the Windward School for children with language-based learning difficulties, and the capital campaign of the Marymount School of New York.
Recently, Dr. Athas was nominated by Archbishop Elpidophoros to the Board of Trustees of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece to provide a global perspective on its initiatives.
