Alumni Profiles

Mark A. Hardy, MD, '53, '54

A CRS alumnus from 1953-4, Professor Mark A. Hardy is Auchincloss Professor of Surgery, Director Emeritus of the Transplant Centre and former Vice Chairman and Residency Program Director of the Department of Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York - Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.  He attended Columbia University as an undergraduate and received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein Medical College.  His distinguished career began with several prestigious residencies and fellowships in some of the nation’s most highly regarded medical institutions.

Dr. Hardy was the President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons in 1994 and  co-founded the New York Organ Donor Network in 1978 (NYODN 2006). He was a member of the American Transplantation Society (International) for three 3-year terms.  He now serves as Director of the NY Islet Resource Centre.  In addition to his work in transplantation, in the earlier part of his career he made several contributions to the development of prosthetic vascular grafts and the development and studies of biologic function of thymic hormones, both experimentally and clinically.

Dr. Hardy laid another cornerstone of organ transplant medicine by helping found the program for dialysis and kidney transplantation at New York - Presbyterian Hospital. He based the new program on the principle of combined clinical care between surgeons and nephrologists during a time when renal transplant programs were managed by one or the other discipline, never by both at once (CUMC Programs 2007). This cooperation between disciplines led to major contributions in immunogenetics, immunosuppression and treatment of autoimmune diseases and lymphoma (CUMC Programs 2007).

His most recent focus has been on cellular transplantation with emphasis on islet transplantation and on international resident rotations and surgical teaching and operating in the underserved countries, primarily in Africa. Dr. Hardy headed a multicenter clinical trial in New York State of islet transplantation in Diabetes Mellitus and was active participant and continues to be a member of several multi-institutional studies of immunosuppressive agents which are individually sponsored by three pharmaceutical companies.  Dr. Hardy is an Editor of Transplantation and has published more than 330 articles on subjects varying from surgical techniques to basic immunology.  He is a member of multiple national and international medical societies and has received honorary degrees and fellowships and a number of awards: most recently, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Itamar Rabinovich, '59

Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich is Israel's former Ambassador to the United States,  former  Chief Negotiator with Syria in the mid 1990's and the former president of Tel-Aviv University (1999-2007).  Currently he is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History of Tel Aviv University, Distinguished Global Professor at NYU and a Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  

Professor Rabinovich has been a member of Tel Aviv University's faculty since 1971 and served as Ettinger Professor of the Contemporary History of the Middle-East, Chairman of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Director of the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Dean of Humanities and Rector.

Professor Rabinovich is the author of six books on the Modern History and Politics of the Middle East and the co-author and co-editor of several other volumes and he is the author of numerous essays and papers.  His most recent books are The Brink of Peace, Waging Peace (Princeton University Press), and The View from Damascus (Valentine Mitchell, 2008).

Over the years, Professor Rabinovich held several public positions in Israel and in other countries.  He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Dan David Foundation, a member of the Advisory Council of APCO WORLDWIDE, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Wexner-Israel Program, a member of the Trilateral Commission, a member of the International Advisory Board of the Brookings Institution in Washington and a  member of the International Advisory Board of The American Interest.   He is the Vice Chairman of the INSS (Institute for National Security Studies), an external institute of TAU, and a senior research fellow at the Dayan Center for Middle-Eastern studies.  He is co-editor of the Center's new review journal, Bustan.

Professor Rabinovich has held visiting appointments in several academic institutions, including the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toronto.  He was for several years the Andrew White Professor at Large at Cornell University, and has recently served as Visiting Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.   Professor Rabinovich is a member of the American Philosophical Society and a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  He has been awarded the Honorary Grand Golden Cross of the Austrian Republic and has been made by the Government of the French Republic a Commandeur l'ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 2009 he was awarded the Korn-Gerstenman Prize for contribution to peace in the Middle-East.

Tina Gharavi, '93

Tina Gharavi is an Iranian/American filmmaker and screenwriter. She is also currently on the teaching staff in Digital Media at the University of Newcastle and an international guest lecturer. She has her own media production company, Bridge + Tunnel Productions. Her first feature film, I Am Nasrine, has recently been released, which Sir Ben Kingsley calls "an important and much-needed film."

Tina makes films that focus on diverse people, often outsiders and outcasts.

Best known for her work on diversity, her subjects include migration, terrorism-related discrimination, Muslim-identity, and representation issues. Some of Gharavi's better known works include Closer (2000), Mother/Country (2001), A Town Like Lakawanna (2002), and The King of South Shields (2008).

Gharavi's award-winning films have been shown in film festivals internationally, broadcast on television worldwide and shown at various screening events, such as the Sundance Film Festival. Gharavi was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, NY and in 2003, a UK Arts Council Decibel Spotlight Award. Her works are housed in the permanent collections across several prestigious libraries and collections.

Roxanne Krystalli, '01, '02

Roxanne Krystalli is a conflict management professional who designs and implements initiatives that benefit women affected by war worldwide. Her partners have ranged from the United Nations Development Fund for Women to local NGOs in Egypt, Uganda, Colombia, Guatemala and other countries and the beneficiaries of her projects have included refugees, ex-combatants, parliamentarians, fellow development professionals, educators and youth.

She focused on the theme of "women and conflict" during her tenure as an Insight Collaborative Fellow between June 2009 - August 2010. In that capacity, she also received her training in alternative dispute resolution, conflict management and capacity-building. Prior to her field work, Roxanne worked at a law and public policy firm in Washington, DC and at the Harvard Program on Humanitarian and Conflict Research.

Roxanne was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece and graduated with a degree in History and Literature from Harvard University. She currently lives in the Middle East, where she is continuing her conflict-oriented and community development work. Roxanne is inspired by storytelling and loves to write and take photographs. She chronicles her journey at www.storiesofconflictandlove.com.

Robin Janvrin, '62

Lord Robin Janvrin joined HSBC Private Bank UK as Deputy Chairman in January 2008.

He served in the Royal Navy between 1964 and 1975 during which time he studied PPE at Brasenose College, Oxford. He subsequently joined the Diplomatic Service serving in the UK Delegation to NATO in Brussels (1976-8) and the British High Commission in Delhi (1981-4).

In 1987 he was seconded to Buckingham Palace as Press Secretary to The Queen, becoming Assistant Private Secretary, then Deputy Private Secretary to The Queen from 1990.

In 1999 he took over as Private Secretary to The Queen, effectively her closest advisor and chief of staff, with responsibilities for advising on all aspects of her Majesty’s public life including contacts with the Government, constitutional issues, programmes at home and overseas, speeches and media affairs during a time which included the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Her Majesty’s 80^th birthday celebrations in 2006. He stepped down in September 2007.

At HSBC, in addition to advisory and representational duties, he is responsible for coordinating the Global Private Bank’s Sustainability programme. He is also on the Advisory Board of the UK-India Business Council and is a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.