Christian D Becker, MD, PhD

Dr. Christian D. Becker is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he also serves as Director of the Bronchiectasis Program and Director of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program within the Mount Sinai National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute. He is a board-certified specialist in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, and Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Becker is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and an active member of multiple professional societies, including the American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Hannover Medical School in Germany, where his doctoral work—awarded summa cum laude—made seminal contributions to understanding genetic modifiers of cystic fibrosis. He completed residency training in Internal Medicine in both Germany and the United States, followed by fellowship training in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and an Advanced Pulmonary Research Fellowship at Mount Sinai.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Becker has held a range of academic and leadership positions, including faculty appointments at Mount Sinai and New York Medical College, where he served as Associate Professor of Medicine and held multiple leadership roles in Telemedicine, Research, and Quality. He later served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Equum Medical Management and as Medical Director of a Virtual Intensive Care Unit (vICU) program at a major health system.

Dr. Becker’s research work spans pulmonary immunology, critical care, and digital health. He contributed to foundational discoveries in human lung immunology, including the role of dendritic cell subsets in shaping adaptive pulmonary immune responses. More recently, his work has focused on innovation in care delivery, evaluating and optimizing telemedicine interventions, with numerous peer-reviewed publications examining their clinical effectiveness, operational efficiency, and value in modern healthcare systems. He has led the design, implementation, and evaluation of numerous tele-ICU and Telehealth programs, demonstrating measurable improvements in patient outcomes, including significant reductions in ICU mortality, hospital mortality, and length of stay. His programs have served as national and international models for high-quality, technology-enabled care.

Dr. Becker has an extensive track record of extramural funding, including support from the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, and industry partners. He has authored and co-authored a large body of peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals and has been an invited speaker at national and international conferences.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Becker has received multiple teaching awards and has mentored numeroustrainees and junior faculty, many of whom have gone on to leadership roles in academic medicine and industry. He has also developed innovative educational curricula, including programs focused on telemedicine training for medical students, residents, and fellows.

At Mount Sinai, Dr. Becker leads the Bronchiectasis Program with a focus on comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for patients with bronchiectasis and related airway diseases. He is actively involved in clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutic strategies for bronchiectasis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease. His roles as principal investigator and co-investigator include participation in multicenter, randomized controlled trials assessing emerging antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory therapies, as well as inhaled and targeted treatment approaches. Through this work, he contributes to advancing evidence-based care and expanding treatment options for patients with these complex and often underserved conditions.

In addition he also recently collaboratively established a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program within the Mount Sinai National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute, creating a structured, multidisciplinary program that integrates exercise training, education, and supportive care to improve functional status, quality of life, and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic respiratory disease.