Columbia Health Sciences Update - Special 9-11 Issue
COLUMBIA
HEALTH SCIENCES UPDATE—Special Edition Highlights in biomedical and clinical research from Columbia University's Health Sciences Division Vol. IV, No. 34—August 22, 2002 COLUMBIA HEALTH SCIENCES UPDATE is a weekly e-mail to the media prepared by the Office of External Relations at Columbia University Health Sciences providing brief notices about current research, experts, and events at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SEPT. 11 COMMEMORATION RESOURCE GUIDE In response to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, Columbia University Health Sciences faculty, staff, and students have provided mental health services, conducted research, and developed emergency preparedness plans to benefit New York and the nation. Below is a listing of someof the people engaged in this vital work. If you areworking on astory related to any of these subjects, we can help you reach the people listed below. Call the Columbia University Health Sciences Office of External Relations at 212-305-3900 or contact Annie Bayne at as862@columbia.edu, Leslie Boen at lsb2001@columbia.edu, or Adar Novak at an2040@columbia.edu. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Psychiatric treatment for NYPD officers—Dr. Frederic Kass Law enforcement officers have long been known to be at high risk for psychological trauma—especially after Sept. 11—and have been reluctant to seek mental health care because of the stigma attached to it. Working with the New York Police Department, the Health Initiative for Law Enforcement Officers (HILEO) of Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has been trying since last year to diminish that embarrassment by providing free and confidential care for law enforcement officers through mandatory sessions and a help hotline. Dr. Frederic Kass, HILEO director and professor of clinical psychiatry in Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and colleagues hope this successful program will be a model for law enforcement agencies in other cities. The initiative will be the subject of a seminar to be held in New York City on Sept. 21. __________________________________________________ Community social and emotional recovery—Dr. Mindy Fullilove In response to the events of Sept. 11, Dr. Mindy Fullilove, professor of clinical psychiatry and public health at Columbia University, helped establish NYC RECOVERS, an alliance of organizations engaged in the social and emotional recovery of the New York City metropolitan area. The alliance has encouraged these groups to plan activities to promote strong communities and build relationships between groups that might not have worked together otherwise. The efforts of NYC RECOVERS (www.nycrecovers.com) includes a Wellness Campaign for September 2002, an initiative encouraging city organizations to hold activities before and after the anniversary of Sept. 11 to help individuals avoid a second trauma at the anniversary of this tragic event. ___________________________________________________ Post-Sept. 11 environmental health in NYC—Dr. Regina Santella Under the direction of Dr. Regina Santella, professor of public health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has begun several efforts to study the impact of Sept. 11 on environmental health in New York City. Some of its efforts include the analysis of air and dust samples collected near the site of the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse and the air of Teamsters working in and around debris piles (in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University researchers). They also are studying students and teachers at Stuyvesant High School located near Ground Zero and pregnant women for potential exposure to WTC dust and debris. The organization also aims to establish an online database of pollution levels before and after Sept. 11. __________________________________________________ Victim identification through dental records—Dr. Robert Miner It is commonly thought that DNA was primarily used to identify victims of the World Trade Center attacks. In reality, a majority of the victims were identified through dental records by a volunteer dental forensic team who contributed a cumulative 25,000 hours of difficult, compassionate work. Among them was Dr. Robert Dwight Miner, director of Columbia's Dental Ethics Programs and associate clinical professor of dentistry in the department of prosthodontics at Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery. This massive effort, awarded with a Humanitarian Award from The New York Academy of Dentistry, brought comfort and closure to many families of the victims. ________________________________________________________ Environmental health and the youngest victims—Dr. Frederica Perera Thousands of pregnant women lived or worked near Ground Zero at the time of the World Trade Center collapse, causing concern for fetuses and newborns, who are exceptionally vulnerable to environmental toxins. Dr. Frederica Perera, director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health and professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, and colleagues are conducting a study of 350 new mothers who were pregnant on Sept. 11 and exposed to smoke and dust from the WTC. Dr. Perera’s team is following these women and their babies for two years to determine whether prenatal exposure to Ground Zero air pollutants adversely affected the children's growth and development. For interviews with any of the above experts or for more information, please contact the Office of External Relations at 212-305-3900 or contact Annie Bayne at as862@columbia.edu, Leslie Boen at lsb2001@columbia.edu, or Adar Novak at an2040@columbia.edu. ___________ ON THE WEB For more Columbia University Health Sciences events and activities: Visit our online calendar at cpmc.columbia.edu Columbia University Health Sciences press releases—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/news/press_releases Columbia University Health Sciences Virtual Tour—vtour.hs.columbia.edu Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps Coordinated Doctoral Program in Basic Sciences—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gsas/ Columbia School of Dental and Oral Surgery—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/dental Columbia School of Nursing—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nursing Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/sph Columbia University Programs in Occupational Therapy—www.ColumbiaOT.org Columbia Cornell Heart Institute—columbiacornellheart.org Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center—nbdiabetes.org Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain—alzheimercenter.org Columbia Genome Center—genome4.cpmc.columbia.edu Institute for Cancer Genetics—ICG.cpmc.columbia.edu New York State Psychiatric Institute—nyspi.org Columbia University Department of Surgery—columbiasurgery.org Department of Ophthalmology—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/eye/ Institute of Human Nutrition—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ihn/ Center for Women's Health—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/cwh Partnership for Women's Health—partnership.hs.columbia.edu Columbia University Program in Physical Therapy—www.columbiaphysicaltherapy.org Columbia Science and Technology Ventures—www.stv.columbia.edu Columbia Interactive—ci.columbia.edu Columbia-Rockefeller Center for AIDS Research—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/CRCFAR/ Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center at Harlem Hospital—harlemtbcenter.org Cystic Fibrosis Referral Center—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/synergy Ben Gurion University of the Negev M.D. Program in International Health and Medicine in collaboration with Columbia University Health Sciences—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/bgcu-md/ Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine—cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/rosenthal/ NewYork-Prebysterian Hospital—www.nyp.org NewYork-Presbyterian Cancer Prevention Program—nypcancer.org/prevention ______________________ LET US HEAR FROM YOU Questions, comments to Glenn Peterson: gp220@columbia.edu To subscribe: gp220@columbia.edu To receive this publication by FAX rather than e-mail, hit reply and type “FAX” with your FAX number in the subject line. To receive this publication by e-mail rather than FAX: gp220@columbia.edu To discontinue receiving this publication, hit reply and type the word “Remove” in the subject line. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by the Office of External Relations at Columbia University Health Sciences Division Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Glenn A. Peterson, Associate Vice President for Communications Annie Bayne, Director of Public Relations and Marketing Robin Eisner, Senior Science Writer/Editor Leslie Boen, Communications Specialist Adar Novak, Communications Specialist Copyright ©2002 Columbia University Health Sciences Division. All copyright and trademark rights reserved. |