Clare Ceballos, RN, PNP

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner & Center Coordinator

Ms. Ceballos is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and is the Clinical Coordinator for the Children’s IBD Center. Ms. Ceballos completed her undergraduate degree in Southampton, England. She has a Master’s in Nursing from NYU. Her work at the Center includes managing children and families with IBD, clinical research and planning Center activities and projects.

Keith Benkov, MD

Center Medical Director

Dr. Benkov is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology. His undergraduate degree is from Stony Brook University and he received his MD from Mount Sinai, where he also completed his post graduate training. Dr. Benkov is a nationally recognized authority in IBD and has been listed in America’s Best Doctors as well as Who’s Who in American Medicine. In 2002, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Pediatric Gastroenterology from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America’s Greater New York Chapter. Dr. Benkov is the author of Managing Your Child’s Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Keith Breglio, MD

Attending Physician

Dr. Breglio is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology.  Dr. Breglio obtained his undergraduate degree from Boston College, and received his MD from Upstate Medical University.  He completed his Pediatric residency at The Schneider Children’s Hospital of Long Island Jewish Medical Center followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai.  As a physician scientist, Dr. Breglio conducted research to explore the role of T cells in the development of IBD.

Kathy Hoffstadter-Thal, RN, PNP

Nutrition Support Nurse

Ms. Hoffstadter-Thal is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and worked for several years as the Research Coordinator for the Children’s IBD Center. Her undergraduate degree is from CCNY and she received her Master’s in Nursing from Columbia University. Ms. Hoffstadter-Thal started working at Mount Sinai in 1980 as a staff nurse and later as a Nurse Clinician in Nutrition Support.  Ms. Hoffstadter-Thal works as a nurse practitioner seeing children admitted to the hospital.

Bambi Fisher, LCSW

Social Worker

Ms. Fisher is the social worker for the Children’s IBD Center. She is a graduate of Binghamton University and has an MSW from the University of Missouri-Columbia. In addition, Ms. Fisher completed Fordham University’s postgraduate program in Child and Adolescent Therapy. She has worked at Mount Sinai for over 20 years and is available to help families cope with IBD.

Erica Ilton

Nutritionist

Erica Ilton graduated from Brown University, studied nutrition education at Teachers College-Columbia University, and interned in clinical dietetics at White Plains Hospital. She was a senior nutritionist at Joy Bauer Nutrition for seven years, and currently has a private practice in New York City. Erica’s areas of expertise include gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s, colitis, celiac disease, and others. In addition to her work as a nutrition counselor, Erica writes about health and nutrition for major U.S. publications. She was also Director of Nutrition Research for Food Cures, by Joy Bauer, and editor of the fourth edition of The Complete Idiots Guide to Total Nutrition.

Tom Fitzsimmons

Project Coordinator

Mr. Fitzsimmons is the Project Coordinator for the Children’s IBD Center, helping to manage day to day operations as well as special projects important to the Center’s mission.  Prior to joining the Center he worked for over ten years on business information system projects.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Kevin Bao, MD MS

Data Management Analyst

Dr. Bao is the Data Management Analyst for the Children’s IBD Center.  He obtained his Master in Health Information Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and received his MD from Inner Mongolia Medical College. His work at the Center includes managing the clinical research database and conducting statistical data analysis to support multiple research studies and projects.

Nanci Pittman, MD

Attending Physician

Dr. Nanci Pittman joined the Mount Sinai community in July, 1989 when she began her Pediatric Internship and Pediatric Residency. Upon completion, she continued her training in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology as a fellow in the division. In 1992, she became a member of the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Gastroenterology. Since then, Dr. Pittman has cared for many children with GI issues from throughout the tri-state area. Although, she cares for children with a wide variety of GI conditions, she has focused her practice on the care of children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She works with a team of professionals who together, aim to provide excellent care to children with IBD.

Before arriving to Mount Sinai, Dr. Pittman attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where she received a BA in chemistry and psychology. She later obtained her MD degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA where she graduated with honors.