John Lindenbaum Memorial Lecture Series

Dr. John Lindenbaum was a widely acclaimed hematologist, gifted teacher, great mentor and an integral part of then Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Lindenbaum’s contributions as a clinical investigator were many and encompassed a variety of disciplines. His primary interest was focused on abnormalities of vitamin B12 and folic acid metabolism. Other contributions included the first clinical description of halothane-induced hepatic necrosis, which he reported while still a resident, the first analysis of the clinical course of cholera in 769 children, studies of tropical enteropathy in Bangladesh and New York, and much more.

Dr. Lindenbaum's interests went well beyond medicine. He cared deeply about societal inequities and injustices and in medicine in particular. He knew about the history of jazz (and listened to it), as well as classical music and modern art. He spoke French and Italian well. He was an avid birdwatcher and a passionate mushroom collector.

Just before his death in June 1997, he bestowed a gift to what is now Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to establish an annual lecture given by a distinguished scientist. This lecture series has provided the VP&S community with the opportunity to host extraordinary scientists from all over the country and to facilitate mentoring opportunities for VP&S students, trainees, and faculty.

Past Lindenbaum Visiting Lecturers
 

2025 - Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA

February 18, 2025

Speaker:

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, Executive Vice President, Columbia Global, Director, ICAP at Columbia University, University Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, Mathilde Krim-amfAR Chair of Global Health

Remarks:

James McKiernan, MD, Interim Dean, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, CEO, ColumbiaDoctors, John K. Lattimer Professor of Urology

Anne L. Taylor, MD, Senior Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Career Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, John Lindenbaum Professor of Medicine at CUMC, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

To view the 2025 program, click here.

2024 -  Tracy L. Johnson, PhD

February 7, 2024

Speaker: 

Tracy L. Johnson, PhD, Keith and Cecilia Terasaki Presidential Endowed Chair, Professor, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Dean, Life Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) College

2023 -  Freeman Hrabowski, PhD

April 27, 2023

Speaker:

Freeman Hrabowski, PhD, President Emeritus, The University of Maryland

Remarks:

Katrina Armstrong, MD, Harold and Margaret Hatch Professor in the Faculty of the University, Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chief Executive Officer, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Video recording 

2022 - Marie A. Bernard, MD

March 31, 2022

Speaker:

Marie A. Bernard, MD, Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Recording

2021 - John A. Rich, MD, MPH

April 21, 2021

Speaker:

John A. Rich, MD, MPH, Professor of Health Management and Policy, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

Recording

CUIMC Update feature

2019 - Roderic I. Pettigrew, PhD, MD

October 16, 2019

Speaker:

Roderic I. Pettigrew, PhD, MD, CEO, Engineering Health (EnHealth), Health Science Center and College of Engineering, Robert A. Welch Professor and Executive Dean for Engineering Medicine, Colleges of Medicine, Engineering and Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas A&M University

2018 -  Ana Diez-Roux, MD, PhD, MPH

March 28, 2018

Speaker:

Ana Diez-Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University