Monica Kraft, MD

Dr. Monica Kraft is the Murray M. Rosenberg Professor of Medicine and System Chair for the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

In this role, Dr. Kraft oversees all clinical, research, and educational programs within the 14 divisions of Mount Sinai’s largest academic department with more than 2,000 faculty members, trainees, and staff and $154 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. In 2025, the Blue Ridge Institute ranked the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, number 10 in the United States for total NIH funding.

Dr. Kraft is an outstanding scientist and medical leader who is internationally renowned for her work in asthma and airway disease. She is also an accomplished and sought-after clinician caring for patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and complex airway disease, and receives statewide and national referrals.

She was previously on the the faculty of the University of Arizona, where she was the Robert and Irene Flinn Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Asthma and Airways Disease Research Center. Previously, she was Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine; the Charles Johnson Distinguished Professor; and Director of the Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center at Duke University.

Dr. Kraft received her MD from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed her residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she was also Chief Resident. Dr. Kraft completed her fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado and joined the faculty as the Director of the Carl and Hazel Felt Laboratory for Adult Asthma Research and as Medical Director of the Pulmonary Physiology Unit at National Jewish Health.

Dr. Kraft has published extensively in the areas of adult asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and has been funded by the NIH continuously for more than 25 years. Dr. Kraft’s research on the mechanisms of inflammation and innate immunity have changed concepts in airway biology, asthma treatment guidelines, and precision medicine. Her work in precision medicine has resulted in her leadership for the NIH All of Us grant at the University of Arizona and recognition as the Arizona Bioreseacher of the Year.

Dr. Kraft is the author or co-author of more than 240 peer-reviewed articles, editorials, reviews, and book chapters. She is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Medicine, and a former Associate Editor of the European Respiratory Journal and the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.

She has received numerous prestigious awards and honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the American Thoracic Society Distinguished Career Award, the Elizabeth A. Rich Mentorship Award, and the American College of Chest Physicians Distinguished Educator Award. She is a leader in medical research and professional medical organizations, serving as President of the American Thoracic Society, council member of the Association of Professors of Medicine, and a member of the Advisory Council of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.