Our Team
Executive Director: Andrew Schulman, CMM
A guitarist with a repertoire ranging from Bach to the Beatles, Andrew Schulman has been a professional musician based in New York City since 1975. His life was saved, and changed forever, when music by Bach saved him in a coma.
To give thanks for that miracle he became the resident musician in the Surgical ICU at Beth Israel Medical Center from 2010-16, then played in the Surgical, Medical, and Neurosurgical ICUs at NYU Langone Medical Center in 2017. In January 2016 he began a monthly residency at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA with the title, Medical Musician; that lasted until 2020.
In May 2019 Andrew Schulman began serving as a consultant to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center-Therapeutic Music in the ICU project for hospitalized patients, a two-year program. In February 2020 he was appointed Visiting Artist with the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program of Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
In August 2017 Andrew Schulman received the first certification for Medical Musician, from Berkshire Medical Center/University of Massachusetts Medical School. In September 2017 he was accepted as a professional member of the Society for Critical Care Medicine and has spoken and performed at several national and regional SCCM conferences. In 2020 he was appointed to a three-year term on the SCCM ICU Liberation Committee, and is now serving his second term. He is also a member of the International Association for Music & Medicine.
Andrew and his wife Wendy Sayvetz are the subjects of the documentary film Andrew & Wendy (2014) which has been presented at international film festivals and aired multiple times on PBS-TV. He is the author of Waking The Spirit: A Musician’s Journey Healing Body, Mind, and Soul (Macmillan:Picador, 2016), a world-wide release. He will be featured in the upcoming Netflix documentary, Heart Beat. He and Wendy live in New York City with their four legged furry kid, Phoebe, a Yellow Labrador Retriever.
Associate Director: Javin Bose
Javin Bose is a cellist, researcher, and aspiring physician who is passionate about exploring the intersection of music and medicine. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, where he studied under Dr. Felix Wang. After earning his undergraduate degree, Javin went on to obtain a Postbaccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate from the University of Virginia. He currently works as a clinical research coordinator in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital. Javin has cultivated a unique blend of skills and experiences that bridge the worlds of art, medicine, and clinical research.
Javin's passion for therapeutic music began with his volunteer work at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he participated in a pilot program using live classical music to alleviate stress and anxiety in the intensive care unit. There he realized the profound impact that music can have on patients and the importance of art and humanism in medicine.
Javin has co-authored a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of music therapy in angiographic procedures. Additionally, Javin has contributed to a paper on implementing and evaluating the therapeutic music in the ICU program at Vanderbilt. These works were published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery and International Journal of Critical Care, respectively.
Currently, Javin is studying the impact of live music performance on stroke recovery and its role in the neurocritical care setting. His ongoing efforts aim to enhance patient outcomes and promote the use of music as a therapeutic tool. Javin also has interests in the use of sound as a neuro-modulatory tool, specifically the use of 40 Hz gamma entrainment in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and stroke.
As a clinical research coordinator, Javin facilitates clinical trials evaluating novel methods of treating cerebrovascular disease, with a particular focus on spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. He is deeply committed to advancing the field of neurosurgery. In his free time, Javin continues to play the cello and loves to support live music performance in New York City.
Medical Advisor: Joseph J. Schlesinger, M.D., FCCM
Dr. Joseph Schlesinger is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Division of Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Professor of Music at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, and Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Jazz Piano Performance from Loyola University in New Orleans, Dr. Schlesinger earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He completed residency training in Anesthesiology followed by a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University. While in training, Dr. Schlesinger became a B.H. Robbins scholar.
Dr. Schlesinger’s research interests include multisensory integration, human factors, aural perception, temporal precision, alarm development, patient monitoring, and medical education. This work led to the prestigious 2014 Education Specialty Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
He has been funded by the province of Quebec, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and served on the study sections for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. Besides his publication history in high-impact scientific journals, Dr. Schlesinger is a patented inventor and has been featured on the podcast “99 percent invisible,” CNN Health, WIRED, NPR (The Pulse – WHYY),
Scientific American, and the New York Times.
Technical Advisor: Greg Silverman
Driven by a lifelong love of science and mathematics, Greg holds a B.S. in both Physics and Mathematics from the University of Minnesota. His thirst for knowledge led him initially to pursue coursework towards a Master's in Clinical Informatics, but then he was sidetracked for 25 years gaining expertise in the field as a clinical research programmer across various domains: From conducting large-scale epidemiological clinical trials to modeling of surgical outcomes.
Greg eventually became fascinated with statistics and the field of Data Science, eventually obtaining a certificate in Data Science from the University of Michigan. Greg focuses on streamlining processes through automation, crafting efficient databases, and wielding the power of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) to solve complex problems. His passion is in designing computational experiments that utilize methods from NLP and ML to model outcomes using patient symptomatology. Beyond research, Greg finds immense satisfaction in mentoring junior researchers and students, sharing his knowledge of computational methodologies.
However, science isn't Greg's only passion. When he's not delving into data, he finds joy in music, both as a listener and a musician. Greg holds certifications in vocal performance (ATCL and LLCM) and guitar (Performer's Certificate). At home, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their furry companions, Pickles, Samantha, and Guido, their three beloved dogs.
Inspired by Andrew Schulman's book, Waking the Spirit, on the transformative power of music in critical care settings, and after extensive conversations with his wife on the same topic, Greg sought to bridge his scientific and musical interests. He believes live music performed by professional musicians can play a significant role in supporting and aiding recovery for critically ill patients. With this conviction, he is eager to help MMI develop a research program that investigates and demonstrates the positive impact of professional musicians in critical care settings.