CUIMC Celebrates 2018-2019
Issue 4
CUIMC CELEBRATES acknowledges faculty, staff, and students at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who receive major research grants, who earn prestigious honors, who are elected to honorary societies, or who take leadership positions in professional organizations. Celebrates also gratefully acknowledges the gifts made by donors and friends of the medical center and highlights faculty who have appeared in the news recently. If you have an award or honor that you would like to have listed in Celebrates, please fill out this online form. Please note: All federal grants are automatically included based on institutional data provided by Sponsored Projects Administration. For more information, send an e-mail to the Celebrates editor.
Looking for an older issue? The CUIMC Celebrates archive can be accessed at https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/topics/campus-news/cuimc-celebrates/.
RESEARCH GRANTS
New awards $250,000 and above received through December 2018
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, Medicine, will receive $1,935,420 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Mitochondrial and Nuclear Functions of NKX3.1 in Regulating Oxidative Stress in Prostate Cancer.”
Marwah Abdalla, MD, Medicine, will receive $420,000 over four years from the American Heart Association for “The Association of Sleep Architecture With Blood Pressure Dipping.”
Anne Marie Albano, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $275,145 over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “1/2 Task Control Circuit Targets for Obsessive Compulsive Behaviors in Children.”
Rando Allikmets, PhD, Ophthalmology, will receive $2,483,455 over five years from the Foundation Fighting Blindness for “Integrated Analysis of Genetic and Clinical Data for Rational Clinical Trials of Stargardt Disease.”
Ottavio Arancio, MD, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $1,963,987 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “The Role of SUMOylation in Tau-Mediated Pathology.”
Nicholas Arpaia, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $250,000 over two years from the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation for “Engineered Probiotics for Precision Lung Cancer Immunotherapy.”
Richard Baer, PhD, Institute for Cancer Genetics, and Alberto Ciccia, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $2,094,000 over four years from the National Cancer Institute for “Restoring Genome Stability and Tumor Suppression in BRCA1-Deficient Cells.”
R. Graham Barr, MD, DrPH, Medicine, will receive $288,000 over one year from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a subaward of “SPIROMICS GIC Support.”
Jahar Bhattacharya, MD, DPhil, Medicine, will receive $256,715 over two years from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency for a subaward of “Exogenous Regulation of Acute Lung Injury.”
Adam Bisaga, MD, and Edward V. Nunes, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $6,100,000 over two years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for “Evaluation of Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Naltrexone Implant.”
Adam Brickman, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $1,276,680 over one year from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Novel Cognitive and Functional Measures for Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Trials.”
Thomas Connors, MD, Pediatrics, will receive $973,180 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Development of Localized T-Cell Immunity in Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infection.”
Remi Creusot, PhD, Medicine, will receive $2,025,000 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “In Vivo Development and Reactivity of Human Autoreactive T Cells.”
Katherine Crew, MD, Medicine, and Rita Kukafka, DrPH, Biomedical Informatics, will receive $3,212,614 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Multicenter Trial of Decision Support for Breast Cancer Chemoprevention.”
Philip De Jager, MD, PhD, Neurology, will receive $1,050,000 over three years from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for “Creating and Deploying a Toolkit for Human Microglia in Neurodegeneration.”
David Fidock, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $671,970 over two years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for “Nipping Drug Resistance in the Bud: Implementing Plasmodium falciparum Genetic Crosses in Humanized Mice to Define and Counter Antimalarial Resistance Emerging in South America.”
Joachim Frank, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, will receive $267,894 over two years from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for “Cryo-EM Studies of Human CFTR Mutants.”
Angela Gomez-Simmonds, MD, Medicine, will receive $778,896 over four years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Elucidating Transmission of Plasmids Harboring blaKPC Among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Using Long-Range Sequencing.”
Eldad Hod, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Harmful Effects of Transfusion-Induced Iron Overload.”
Joshua Kantrowitz, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $628,991 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Early Cortical Processing in Schizophrenia.”
Christoph Kellendonk, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $535,942 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Targeting Cotransmission for Circuit-Specific Pharmacotherapy.”
Rebecca Leeman-Neill, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $575,997 over three years from the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “The Role of Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase in Pesticide-Related Lymphomagenesis.”
Jennifer Manly, PhD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $1,160,212 over one year from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Child Maltreatment and Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Jeffrey Miller, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $2,483,894 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Antecedents of Suicidal Behavior-Related Neurobiology” and $552,455 over one year from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Noninvasive Quantification of Brain Glucose Metabolism Using a Portable Positron Emission Tomography Camera.”
Umrao Monani, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $1,650,248 over four years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Mechanisms & Treatment Strategies.”
Andrew Moran, MD, Medicine, will receive $423,008 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a subaward of “Assessment of Policies Through Prediction of Long-Term Effects on Cardiovascular Disease Using Simulation (APPLE CDS).”
Edward V. Nunes, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $740,207 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a subaward of “Evaluation of Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Naltrexone Implant.”
Jordan Orange, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, will receive $997,888 over four years from the Empire State Development Corporation for “NY FIRST.”
Arthur Palmer III, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, will receive $2,706,465 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Macromolecular Dynamics and Conformational Changes in Biological Function.”
Alice Prince, MD, Pediatrics, will receive $270,000 over two years from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for “S. aureus Adaptation to the CF Lung.”
Ashwini Rao, EdD, Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine, will receive $272,047 over four years from the National Science Foundation for “Aging in Place Through Enhanced Mobility and Social Connectedness: An Integrated Robot and Wearable Sensor Approach.”
Rakesh Sahni, MBBS, Pediatrics, will receive $798,439 over four years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for a subaward of “Predictive Informatics Monitoring in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit” in a competitive renewal.
Alice Saperstein, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $405,155 over three years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Does the Addition of Cognitive Remediation to Coordinated Specialty Care Services Improve Functional Outcome?”
Michael Shen, PhD, Medicine, Charles Drake, MD, PhD, Medicine, and Andrea Califano, Dr, Systems Biology, will receive $1,000,000 over two years from the Prostate Cancer Foundation for “Master Regulators Underlying Tumor-Microenvironment Interactions in Localized and Metastatic Prostate Cancer.” Dr. Shen also will receive $600,000 over three years from the V Foundation for Cancer Research for “A Co-clinical Trial of Chemotherapy Response in Bladder Cancer Using Patient-Derived Tumor Organoids.”
Peter Sims, PhD, Systems Biology, will receive $750,000 over three years from the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research for “New Opportunities for Modeling Drug Response in Solid Tumors Afforded by Single-Cell Genomics.”
David Sulzer, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $2,250,000 over three years from the JPB Foundation for “Cellular and Physiological Mechanism of Parkinson’s Disease Pathogenesis.”
Alan Tall, MD, Medicine, will receive $1,906,209 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “TTC39B in Metabolism” in a competitive renewal.
Alex Thomsen, PhD, Surgery, will receive 3,600,308 DKK (approximately $550,000 USD) over three years from the LEO Foundation for “Endosomal Chemokine Receptor Signaling as Basis for Metastasis in Malignant Melanoma.”
Elizabeth Verna, MD, Surgery, will receive $302,104 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Predicting Post-transplant Mortality and Global Functional Health Based on Pre-transplant Functional Status in Liver Transplantation.”
Harris Wang, PhD, Systems Biology, will receive $250,000 over one year from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for “Azithromycin’s Impact on Microbiome Re-assembly and Re-configuration in Mice.”
Timothy C. Wang, MD, Medicine, will receive $1,162,000 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for a subaward of “The Role of RHOA in Diffuse Gastric Cancer.”
Carolyn Westhoff, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, will receive $330,425 over two years from the Society for Family Planning for “Using Auricular Acupuncture and Acupressure to Decrease Pain and Anxiety Associated with Medication Abortion, a Randomized Trial.”
Hynek Wichterle, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $2,106,538 over four years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Distal Enhancers Controlling Motor Neuron Gene Expression Program.”
Darrell Yamashiro, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, will receive $2,500,000 over five years from the Hyundai Hope on Wheels for “Quantum Collaboration Award.”
Kelley Yan, MD, PhD, Medicine, will receive $250,000 over two years from the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation for “Aging and Disease: An Unbiased Approach to Understanding Stem Cell Aging and Potential Therapies.”
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, will receive $792,671 over five years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for a subaward of “Maternal Trauma, Circulating MicroRNA in Extracellular Vesicles, and Programming of Childhood Respiratory Outcomes” and $256,000 over four years from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for a subaward of “The Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment, and Social Stress (PROGRESS) Cohort.”
Melissa Begg, ScD, Biostatistics, and Dana March, PhD, Epidemiology, will receive $414,880 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “BEST-DP: Biostatistics & Epidemiology Summer Training Diversity Program” in a competitive renewal.
Jessica Justman, MD, ICAP, will receive $10,000,000 over five years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for “Public Health Surveillance of Recent HIV Infection and Response Under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).”
Katherine Keyes, PhD, Epidemiology, will receive $286,389 over three years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a subaward of “Drug Use Among Nightclub and Dance Festival Attendees in New York City.”
Rachel Shelton, ScD, Sociomedical Sciences, will receive $989,867 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Stress, Epigenetics, and Aging.”
Sheila Smith, PhD, National Center for Children in Poverty, will receive $350,584 over two years from the Seattle Foundation for “I-ECMH Policies That Help Infants and Young Children Thrive.”
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
Burton Edelstein, DDS, Population Oral Health, will receive $1,445,568 over five years from the Health Resources and Services Administration for “Community-Based Dental Partnership” in a competitive renewal.
AWARDS & HONORS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER
Faculty Diversity Grants
The Provost’s Grant Program for Junior Faculty Who Contribute to the Diversity Goals of the University supports new or ongoing research and scholarship, seed funding for innovative research for which external funding would be difficult to obtain, and curricular development projects.
Three CUIMC faculty members have been named awardees for the fall 2018 cycle of the program:
- Jennifer Danielsson, MD, Anesthesiology, “TMEM16A Antagonists as a Novel Treatment for Asthma: Interaction With First-Line Agent B(beta)-2-Adrenoceptor Agonists”
- Kanwal Farooqi, MD, Pediatrics, “Implementing Models for Mechanical Circulatory Support Pre-surgical Assessment in Congenital Heart Disease Treatment (IMMPACT)”
- Cristina Fernández, MD, Pediatrics, “Effects of Maternal Prenatal Diet, Stress, and Cardiovascular Health on Infant Diet, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Behavior”
Irving Institute/Clinical Trials Office Pilot Awards
Ten faculty members were selected to receive this award, which sponsors investigators, primarily junior faculty, to conduct clinical and translational research.
- Juan Arriaga, PhD, Medicine, “Defining Molecular Drivers and Therapeutic Strategies for Bone Metastasis by Using CRISPR/Cas9-Based Functional Screening and Preclinical Assays of Drug Response”
- Amer Assal, MD, Medicine, “Engraftment Syndrome and Acute Kidney Injury in Patients With Light-Chain Amyloidosis Following High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation”
- Estibaliz Castillero, PhD, Surgery, “Bone Morphogenic Protein-1 (BMP1) Proteinase in the Regulation of Cardiac Fibrosis After Ischemia”
- Deepa Kumaraiah, MD, Medicine, “inSensor: Novel Device for Reducing Pulmonary Complications in Hospitalized Patients by Improving Compliance With Incentive Spirometer Use”
- Martin Lan, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, “Neuroinflammation as a Novel Target to Treat Bipolar Depression: A Pilot PET Study With [11C]PBR-28 and N-acetyl Cysteine Antidepressant Treatment”
- Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, Medicine, “A Pilot Study to Test the Feasibility and Acceptability of Using Gluten Sensor Devices and Social Video-Based Discussion Tools to Promote a Gluten-Free Diet in Patients with Celiac Disease”
- Matthew Lewis, MD, Medicine, “A Precision Medicine-Based Approach to Biomarker Discovery in Fontan-Associated Liver Disease”
- David Roh, MD, Neurology, “The Role of Rotational Thromboelastometry in Identifying Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients at Risk for Hematoma Expansion”
- Ira Surolia, MD, Medicine, “Investigating the Genetic and Epigenetic Basis for Anticipation in Neuroendocrine Tumors”
- Runsheng Wang, MD, Medicine, “N-of-1 Trials of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Spondyloarthritis With Adaptive Design”
Other Honors
CUIMC groups received honorable mentions for two projects in the 2019 GIA Awards for Excellence Competition run by the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Institutional Advancement: Ryan Pancoast, Susan Conova, PhD, Helen Garey, and Matthew Sonnenshein, CUIMC Office of Communications, for the video “How to Safely View a Solar Eclipse” and members of the CUIMC Office of Communications and CUIMC Web Services and leadership across the medical school for the VP&S website.
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Awards for Excellence
Seven employees were honored at the 2018 VP&S Awards for Excellence for their contributions.
- Crystal Bussey, Microbiology & Immunology, Officer of Research Award
- Elzbieta Dworakowski, Irving Institute, SSA Union Member/Clerical Technical Award
- Wendy Hernandez-Quinones, VP&S Education/Admissions, Officer of Administration/Managerial Award
- Fahmina Jafri, Anesthesiology, Officer of Administration/Administrative Professional Award
- Jose Luchsinger, MD, Medicine, Community Service Award
- William C. Turner, MD, Medicine, Diversity Award
- Vincent Santana, Neurology, special posthumous recognition award
Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Scholars
The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Scholars Program supports physicians who are on tenure track and conduct research that has the promise of ultimately bringing new treatments to patients. Four scholars were selected in 2019.
- Alejandro Chavez, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, “Technologies to Gain Insight Into Neurodegenerative Disease”
- Amélie Collins, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, “Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Biology in the Developing Fetus and Neonate”
- Maya Mikami, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology, “Therapeutic Potential of Gelsolin Modulation in Asthma”
- Vidhu Thaker, MD, Pediatrics, “Integrated Whole-Genome and Transcriptome Sequencing to Identify the Etiology of ROHHAD Syndrome”
Schaefer Research Scholars
Four research scientists were selected as 2019 Schaefer Research Scholars. The program supports research scientists whose work focuses on human physiology.
- Swarnali Acharyya, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, “Identifying Mechanisms of Brain Metastasis”
- Luke Berchowitz, PhD, Pediatrics, “Toward a Molecular Understanding of Intracellular Amyloid Regulation”
- Mohammad Amani, PhD, Taub Institute visiting scholar, “Synaptic Effects of ATF4 Regulation in Alzheimer’s Disease”
- Christian Lüscher, MD, Psychiatry visiting scholar, “Dopamine and Serotonin Modulation of Population Activity in Ventral and Dorsal Striatum in Motivation And Anhedonia”
Dr. Ines Mandl Connective Tissue Research Fellowship
The Ines Mandl Research Fellowship supports early-career scientists whose work focuses on connective tissue. Two VP&S faculty were selected for the 2019 fellowship.
- Marta Galán-Díez, PhD, Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, “Dissecting the Crosstalk Between Osteoblasts and Leukemia: Targeting the Serotonin Signaling Pathway”
- Christian Geier, MD, Medicine, “Do Inflammatory Dendritic Cells Drive Connective Tissue Injury in Rheumatoid Arthritis? Harnessing Complexity Reduction Algorithms for a Novel Investigative Strategy.”
Steven Z. Miller Student Clinician’s Ceremony Awards
The Steven Z. Miller Student Clinician’s Ceremony marks the start of the major clinical year for VP&S second-year students (Class of 2021). The ceremony also provides an opportunity for the class that has completed its major clinical year (Class of 2020) to honor residents and faculty for excellence in teaching. Awards also are given to students for preclinical work.
Major Clinical Year Outstanding Teacher Award
- Elizabeth Scharle, MD, Medicine
Fundamentals Outstanding Teaching Award
- Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, Pediatrics
Resident Teaching Awards
- Dustin Carpenter, MD, Surgery
- Jessica Li, MD, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Alana Mendelsohn, MD, Psychiatry
- Bianca Nguyen, MD, Psychiatry
- Aaron Praiss, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Ethan Talbot, MD, Surgery
Greg Grove Award (for promoting activities that provide relaxation for busy students)
- Gregory Whittemore’21
Karl H. Perzin Excellence in Pathology Awards
- Alexander Agopyan-Miu’21
- Marco Barber Grossi’21
- Casidhe-Nicole Bethancourt’21
- Ayanna Jacobs’21
- Anastasia Kahan’21
- Barbara Magid’21
- Benjamin Meyer’21
- Trevor Nash’21
- Latoya Stewart’21
- Lauren Suarez’21
Other Honors
Sachin Agarwal, MD, Neurology, received a 2018 Young Investigators Award from the American Heart Association for the top-scoring abstract “Cardiac Arrest-Induced Post-traumatic Stress Increases 1-Year Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality” at the Resuscitation Science Symposium 2018.
Jahar Bhattacharya, MBBS, DPhil, Medicine, was named the 2019 Amberson Lecturer by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in recognition of major lifetime contributions to clinical or basic pulmonary research and/or clinical practice. Dr. Bhattacharya will deliver the Amberson Lecture at the ATS International Conference in May.
Adam Brickman, PhD, Neurology, received the 2019 Arthur Benton Mid-Career Research Award from the International Neuropsychological Society in recognition of his work on cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Daniel Freedberg, MD, Medicine, was named to the Class of 2020 AGA Future Leaders, an 18-month program of the American Gastroenterological Association providing leadership development for early-career physicians and scientists.
Emery Jamerson’19 received the 2018 Dr. David K. McDonogh Scholarship in Ophthalmology/ENT from the National Medical Fellowships.
Ian Kronish, MD, Medicine, received the 2018 Wayne Katon Research Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in recognition of exceptional research and clinical work in psychopathology in the medically ill. He delivered an award lecture titled “Is It Time to Start Screening for PTSD in Survivors of Acute Cardiovascular Events?”
Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD, Medical Humanities & Ethics, was elected a Hastings Center fellow, an honor recognizing individuals whose work has informed scholarship and/or public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, life sciences research, and the environment.
Rudolph Leibel, MD, Pediatrics, was selected to receive the 2019 Albert Renold Award, which is one of the American Diabetes Association’s highest scientific honors given annually to an individual who has made significant impact as a mentor of diabetes researchers and/or significant impact as a facilitator of a community of diabetes investigators.
Denise Leung, MD, Psychiatry, was named to the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program, an intensive 15-month training to develop quality improvement skills, by the Greater New York Hospital Association and United Hospital Fund.
T. Sean Lynch, MD, Orthopedic Surgery, was coauthor of a publication selected as a runner-up for the 2018 Clinical Research Award by the journal Arthroscopy.
Mathew Maurer, MD, Medicine, received a 2019 Top 10 Clinical Research Award from the Clinical Research Forum for “Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis: Overlooked, Under Appreciated and Treatable.” The Clinical Research Forum further selected this project for a Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award for showing creativity, innovation, or a novel approach that demonstrates an immediate impact on the health and well-being of patients.
Danielle McBrian, MD, Neurology, was named 2019 Physician of the Year in the attending physician category by the NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital/Ambulatory Care Network.
Paul McCormick, MD, Neurological Surgery, was named a 2019 honoree by the Ivy Football Association in recognition of his achievements as a spinal cord surgeon.
Jae Yun Oh, DPT’19, was named a recipient of the 2019 Anne-Marie Sirois Scholarship Award by the New York/New Jersey Physical Therapy Clinical Education Consortium.
Michael Weiner, MD, Pediatrics, received the 2018 Eugene D. O’Kelly Award from the American Cancer Society in recognition of his commitment as a pediatric oncologist and founder of the Hope & Heroes Children’s Fund. His remarks were published in the fall/winter 2018 issue of Columbia Medicine.
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Marlyn Delva, EdD, Epidemiology, was selected to receive the 2019 Student Services Excellence Award from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Dr. Delva was selected for “innovative and forward-thinking practices and extraordinary dedication in working with students.”
Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, University Professor, was inducted as a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences for her contributions to the development and application of science, technology, and innovation in Africa.
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean, delivered the 2019 Gaylord Anderson Lecture, titled “Preparing for (Y)our Longer Life,” as part of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health’s 75th anniversary celebration.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Adriana Arcia, PhD, and Samantha Stonbraker, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, received a Distinguished Poster Award from the American Medical Informatics Association for “Features Desired by Medicaid-Enrolled Pregnant Women for a Digital Maternity Information Resource.”
Suzanne Bakken, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, was appointed to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) Board of Regents. The board advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the director of the National Institutes of Health, and the director of the NLM on all aspects of policy regarding the library.
Penny Buschman, Nursing Academics, was chosen by the American Academy of Colleges of Nursing as an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) award winner for 2018 for her commitment to providing ELNEC education to staff and to promoting this work to improve the care of those who are seriously ill in the community.
Billy Caceres, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, received an honorable mention for the 2018 Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize, which recognizes excellence in research on women’s health care or policy, from the publication Women’s Health Issues.
Jacqueline Merrill, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, received the 2018 Harriet H. Werley Award, which honors nurses who advance the field of nursing informatics, from the American Medical Informatics Association’s Nursing Informatics Working Group.
Allison Norful, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, was selected to receive the 2018 Rising Nurse Researcher Award from the Foundation of New York State Nurses’ Cathryne A. Welch Center for Nursing Research.
Lusine Poghosyan, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, was named an ambassador to the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, a nonprofit group that advocates for and advances nursing science.
Arlene Smaldone, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, will be inducted into the Alumni Association of Hunter College Hall of Fame in May.
Patricia Stone, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, has been selected as a 2019 inductee of the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in recognition of the impact her research has made on the nursing profession.
Carolyn Sun, PhD, Nursing Scholarship & Research, was elected to the leadership team for the American Medical Informatics Association’s Nursing Informatics Working Group and will serve as co-member at large.
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
B. Gunnar Hasselgren, DDS, PhD, Cariology & Restorative Services, was recognized by the Association of Dental Alumni of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine with the establishment of a student research fund in his honor.
Christina Nunez’19 was selected as a recipient of the 2019 ADEA/Crest Oral-B Scholarship for Predoctoral Dental Students.
Ben Wang’19 received the Consumer Healthcare Preventative Dentistry Scholarship Award from the American Dental Education Association/GlaxoSmithKline.
PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
An organization made a $6,289,541 commitment to the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology to expand the capabilities of the ALS preclinical core and advance integrated and collaborative in vivo research conducted in the Motor Neuron Center and the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center.
A donor made a bequest of $4,500,000 to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to provide professorship support to the Departments of Anesthesiology and Neurological Surgery.
A donor made a $2,500,000 commitment to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to establish a professorship in precision medicine.
A foundation made a $2,000,000 commitment to the Department of Ophthalmology to support the Division of Neuro-Ophthalmology.
A donor made a $1,250,000 commitment to the Department of Medicine to support educational and training initiatives.
An anonymous donor made a contribution of $1,131,000 to advance research at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.
A foundation made a $1,125,000 commitment to provide fellowship support to the Department of Psychiatry.
A donor made a contribution of $1,006,624 to provide scholarship support to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
An anonymous donor made a pledge of $1,000,000 to support research, medical education, and care in the Department of Pediatrics.
A donor made a $1,000,000 commitment to the Division of Cardiology to support research and educational activities related to heart disease.
A donor made a $1,000,000 commitment to the Division of Rheumatology to advance research in autoimmune disorders.
An organization made a $1,000,000 commitment to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to support the Division of Social Medicine and Professionalism.
A foundation made a $627,258 contribution to the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation to advance research to help children and adolescents with cancer and hematologic disorders.
An anonymous donor made a contribution of $534,143 to the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology to advance family planning research.
A donor made a gift of $525,000 to the Department of Neurology to support research examining the immune function in the early phase of brain aging.
A donor made a gift of $500,000 to support clinical and rehabilitation research at the Spine Center and in the Department of Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine.
A donor made a $500,000 contribution to the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain to advance research in healthy brain aging and strategies for early intervention of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
An anonymous donor made a $500,000 commitment to the Department of Orthopedic Surgery to advance pediatric orthopedic surgery research.
A donor made a $400,000 commitment to the Department of Neurology to support the MS SnapShot Initiative, which collects critical information on each patient’s brain function to refine and tailor individualized effective therapeutic plans.
A bequest of $369,025 was realized to advance epilepsy research in the Department of Neurology.
A donor made a $325,000 contribution to the Department of Psychiatry to support clinical care at the Day Treatment Program.
A donor made a $300,000 contribution to the Lung Transplant Program within the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.
A donor made a gift of $253,822 to support research and clinical care in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
A donor made a $250,000 pledge to support the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center to facilitate specialized transitional care for children, adolescents, and adult cerebral palsy patients and their families.
A foundation made a $250,000 commitment to the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center within the Department of Psychiatry.
A donor made a $250,000 commitment to advance research, care, and educational initiatives in the Department of Neurology.
A corporation made a $250,000 contribution to the Department of Surgery to advance research in plastic, craniofacial, and reconstructive surgery.
A donor made a $200,000 contribution to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research in retinal diseases and disorders.
A donor made a $200,000 gift to advance research in the Motor Neuron Center.
A donor made a $155,000 contribution to the Division of Hematology/Oncology to advance research in neuroendocrine tumors.
A donor made a $150,000 commitment to the Department of Psychiatry’s Division of Mental Health Services and Policy Research to provide recruitment and salary support.
A family foundation made a $150,000 contribution to the Department of Neurology to support junior faculty research in Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.
A donor made a pledge of $125,000 to the Columbia University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders Legacy Fund within the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
A foundation made a gift of $119,233 to support psychosocial and palliative care in the Department of Pediatrics.
A donor made a gift of $104,102 to advance clinical care and research in the Division of Cardiology.
A donor made a $100,000 commitment to establish an annual lectureship in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to the Division of Hematology/Oncology to benefit the Bone Marrow and Blood Diseases Fund.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to advance clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to support the Dean’s Futures Fund at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to the Department of Ophthalmology to support research in ophthalmic oncology.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to advance research in the Division of Cardiology.
A foundation made a $100,000 contribution to the Department of Ophthalmology to support glaucoma research.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to the Department of Neurology to provide professorship support.
A donor made a $100,000 pledge to advance research at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
A donor made a gift of $100,000 to advance clinical and basic research within the MDS-Leukemia Stem Cell Research Center.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to the Division of Mental Health Services and Policy Research to support the Global Mental Health Program.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center to advance stem cell research in the biology of blood development, particularly in malignant and premalignant diseases.
A foundation made a $100,000 contribution to the Department of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology to provide professorship support.
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Three family foundations made commitments totaling $2,500,000 to establish the Phyllis Mailman Professorship in the Center for Infection and Immunity.
A family foundation made a gift of $250,000 to fund microbiome/chronic fatigue syndrome research at the Center for Infection and Immunity.
A foundation made a commitment of $150,000 toward the Global Consortium on Climate Health and Education.
A family foundation made a gift of $100,000 to establish the Judson Wolfe Fellowship Fund, an endowed scholarship in memory of Judson Wolfe.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
A foundation supported both scholarships and a clinical fellowship in palliative and end-of-life care at the School of Nursing with a gift of $240,000.
A friend of the School of Nursing made a gift of $100,000 to support student scholarships.
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
A bequest of $500,000 was realized to provide scholarship support to the College of Dental Medicine.
CUIMC IN THE NEWS
Scientific Duo Gets Back to Basics to Make Childbirth Safer
NPR | Feb. 18, 2019
To try to avoid a second premature birth, Dr. Joy-Sarah Vink, an obstetrician and co-director of the Preterm Birth Prevention Center at Columbia University Medical Center, arranged for Crystal to be transported by ambulance from her local Connecticut hospital to New York City, where Vink could direct her care.
Could Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Prevent Miscarriages?
MedicalXpress | Feb. 7, 2019
Compounds found in fish oil prevent pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, neonatal death, and stillbirth, in mice when the complications are caused by a common oral bacterium, according to research published today in the journal JCI Insight. … “This type of bacteria is ubiquitous; everybody has it in their mouths,” says Yiping Han, PhD, senior author of the new study. “The problems start when it travels to other parts of the body.”
Aerobic Exercise Can Improve Brain Health in Your 20s, Study Finds
TODAY | Jan. 30, 2019
The study’s senior author, Dr. Yaakov Stern, said that to the extent of his knowledge, the study is the first to show cognitive benefits of aerobic exercise in people under age 55. “It’s not just older people who benefit, it’s people as young as age 20 who are benefiting. The evidence is there,” said Stern, a Columbia University professor of neuropsychology. … Stern admitted that he was “never an exerciser” until the research became more and more clear. “It’s just convinced me that you really have to try to exercise.”
Deadly Ebola Virus Is Found in Liberian Bat, Researchers Say
The New York Times | Jan. 24, 2019
“It’s an incomplete study, a work in progress,” said Simon J. Anthony, a virologist at Columbia University who has performed genetic analyses on samples from the infected bat. “It feels premature scientifically, but on the other hand, you have the public health aspect. We do have enough data to suggest to me that it is Ebola Zaire in this bat. We agree with our Liberian government partners that this information should be shared.”
Good Health Literacy Improves Antihypertensive Adherence in Hispanics
Healio | Jan. 22, 2019
Maichou Lor, PhD, RN, a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University School of Nursing, and colleagues analyzed data from 1,355 Hispanic patients (mean age, 62 years; 76% women; 90% born in the Dominican Republic) with self-reported hypertension. … “Further intervention could be tailored to reflect sex differences and consider care settings to improve antihypertensive medication adherence among Hispanics,” Lor and colleagues wrote.
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