CUIMC Celebrates 2019-20, Issue 1
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 email 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 of $250,000 and above received through April 2019
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Larry Abbott, PhD, Neuroscience, will receive $957,545 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Advanced Graduate Training Program in Theoretical Neuroscience.”
Marwah Abdalla, MD, Medicine, will receive $952,839 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Nocturnal Hypertension and Sleep.”
Swarnali Acharyya, PhD, Institute for Cancer Genetics, will receive $1,852,875 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Modulating dietary zinc to prevent cachexia and improve survival in cancer.”
Elana Bernstein, MD, Medicine, will receive $865,620 over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Screening Chest CT to Detect Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis.”
Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, will receive $251,945 over three years from Jordan’s Guardian Angels for “Clinical Characterization of PPP2R5D Mutations.”
Jeanine D’Armiento, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology, will receive $719,994 over three years from the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “Neural Crest Origin of TSC Tumors.”
Annemieke de Jong, PhD, Dermatology, will receive $1,782,000 over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Role of secreted phospholipase A2 in the activation of human CD1-restricted T cells.”
Noémie Elhadad, PhD, Biomedical Informatics, will receive $1,409,400 over four years from the National Library of Medicine for “PhendoPHL: A Data-Science Enabled Personal Health Library to Manage Endometriosis.”
David Fidock, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $323,999 over one year from the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “Targeting Mitochondrial Metabolism as a Key Vulnerability in Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum Malaria.”
William Fifer, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $333,785 over five years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Socioeconomic Disparities in Cognitive & Neural Development in the First 3 Years.”
Eldad Hod, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $7,416,000 over seven years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study–IV-Pediatric (REDS-IV-P) Domestic Hubs.”
Barry Honig, PhD, Systems Biology, will receive $1,000,000 over four years from the National Science Foundation for “Molecular Mechanisms in Adhesion Protein Mediated Neuron-Neuron Recognition” in a competitive renewal.
Lawrence Honig, MD, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $270,000 over one year from the National Institute on Aging for “Early Onset AD Consortium - the LEAD Study (LEADS).”
George Hripcsak, MD, Biomedical Informatics, will receive $2,871,110 over five years from the National Library of Medicine for “Discovering and Applying Knowledge in Clinical Databases” in a competitive renewal.
Ivaylo Ivanov, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $1,932,148 over four years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Non-redundant functions of type 3 innate lymphoid cells in mucosal immunity.”
Laura Johnston, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $1,917,734 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Mechanisms of Cell Competition in Growth and Development.”
Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $2,502,540 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Muscle regulation of bone function.”
Sheng-Han Kuo, MD, Neurology, will receive $272,524 over two years from Neurocrine Biosciences for “Neurocrine MTA.”
Victoria Leavitt, PhD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Aspirin before Exercise: Antipyretic pretreatment to reduce exercise-induced overheating and exhaustion in RRMS patients.”
E. David Leonardo, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $897,371 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Deconstructing the cellular control of hippocampal functions related to mental health: a role for birth order.”
Filippo Mancia, PhD, Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, will receive $2,023,028 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Structural basis of integral membrane enzyme function.”
Andrew Marks, MD, Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, will receive $1,620,000 over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Calcium and the physiology of diabetes.” Dr. Marks also will receive $1,811,880 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Ryanodine Receptor Defects in Cardiomyopathy Caused by Lamin A/C Gene Mutations” and $2,889,475 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Training in Cardiovascular Translational Research” in a competitive renewal.
Andrew Moran, MD, Medicine, will receive $3,254,257 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Familial hypercholesterolemia screening in children: population impact of phenotype, genotype, and cascade approaches.”
Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Focused ultrasound and synucleinopathy.”
Steven Roose, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $2,238,115 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Research Training in Mood and Anxiety Disorders: From Animal Models to Patients” in a competitive renewal.
Pamela Scorza, ScD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, will receive $716,507 over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Mothers’ childhoods and the intergenerational transmission of mental health risk in the context of adversity.”
Michael Shen, PhD, Medicine, will receive $2,094,802 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Analysis of epithelial heterogeneity in prostate development and cancer.”
Preeti Sunderaraman, PhD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $264,770 over two years from the National Institute on Aging for “Modernizing the Assessment of Financial Decision Making: Development and Evaluation of a Simulated Online Money Management Task in Older Adults.”
Lorraine Symington, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for “Rad52-dependent recombination in response to replication stress.”
Ira Tabas, MD, PhD, Medicine, will receive $6,791,710 over seven years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “A Mechanistic and Translational Research Program Linking Impaired Resolution, Defective Efferocytosis, and Clonal Hematopoiesis to the Formation of Clinically Dangerous Atherosclerotic Plaques.”
Alan Tall, MD, Medicine, will receive $2,056,128 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “ABCA1/G1 and LXRs in Atherogenesis” in a competitive renewal.
Veli Topkara, MD, Medicine, will receive $670,896 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Defining the Role of lnc-TECRL in Maladaptive Cardiac Remodeling.”
Ilya Trakht, PhD, Medicine, will receive $900,000 over three years from Orgenesis Inc. for “Development of Personalized Whole Cell-Based Vaccine for Solid Cancers.”
Badri Vardarajan, PhD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute on Aging for “Understanding the role of Eph signaling in Alzheimer’s disease.”
Clarissa Waites, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $265,233 over one year from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research for “Development of image-based probes for Rab GTPase activation.”
Ai Yamamoto, PhD, Neurology, will receive $2,076,860 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Modulating selective autophagy to modify Huntington’s disease.”
Guang Yang, PhD, Anesthesiology, will receive $2,025,000 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “The roles of anesthetics and neuroimmune interactions in postoperative cognitive dysfunction.”
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Mark Hatzenbuehler, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, and Katherine Keyes, PhD, Epidemiology, will receive $1,065,591 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Biopsychosocial Mechanisms Underlying Internalizing Psychopathology in a Prospective, Population-Based Cohort of Sexual Minority Young Adults.”
Cassie Landers, EdD, Population & Family Health, will receive $349,944 over one year from the Department for International Development for a subaward of “Effective Approaches to End the Worst Forms of Child Labour.”
Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, Epidemiology, will receive $1,144,644 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a subaward of “Examining the Synergistic Effects of Cannabis and Prescription Opioid Policies on Chronic Pain, Opioid Prescribing, and Opioid Overdose.”
Ian McKeague, PhD, Biostatistics, and Alan Brown, MD, MPH, Epidemiology/Psychiatry, will receive $725,477 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a subaward of “Maternal Exposure to Antidepressants and Psychiatric Outcomes Among Offspring in a National Birth Cohort.”
Rachel T. Moresky, MD, MPH, Population & Family Health, will receive $2,079,801 over three years from the U.S. Agency for International Development for a subaward for the Developing Acute Care and Emergency Referral Systems consortium in partnership with CRS, Ghana Health Service, and the University of Ghana Regional Institute for Population Studies.
Manuela Orjuela-Grimm, MD, Epidemiology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for “The COMIDITA Study: Urban Latino Toddlers, Diet Intake, and Developmental Outcomes.”
Muhammad Faruque Parvez, DrPH, and Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, will receive $2,811,680 over five years from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for “Effect of Early-Life Exposure to Metal Mixtures on Lung Function and Mitochondrial DNA in Children.”
Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, PhD, Epidemiology, received $1,948,539 over four years from the National Institute on Aging for the multiple-PI award of “Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain? A Pooled Life-Course Cohort for Dementia Risk Assessment.”
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Rebecca Schnall, PhD, Scholarship & Research, will receive $570,127 over five years from the National Institute of Nursing Research for “Mentoring and Research in Self-Management for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.”
AWARDS & HONORS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER
President’s Global Innovation Fund
Eight projects with principal investigators from CUIMC received grants in the seventh round of awards from the President’s Global Innovation Fund. The program supports projects that increase opportunities for research, teaching, and service around the world.
- Kavita Ahluwalia, DDS, CDM, “Oral Health Program Planning and Evaluation: Training for Action with New Partners”
- Yanis Ben Amor, PhD, VP&S Pediatrics, “Health Promotion Via Digital Technologies Among Young Refugees in Turkey”
- Kellie Bryant, DNP, and Jennifer Dohrn, DNP, Nursing, “Starting a Simulation-Based Nursing Education Program in Rural India”
- X. Edward Guo, MD, VP&S Medicine, “Planning Columbia-China Musculoskeletal Genetic Center”
- Andreas Hielscher, PhD, VP&S Radiology, and Danielle Bajakian, MD, VP&S Surgery, “Planning Collaborations on Novel Methods and Technologies to Diagnose, Monitor and Treat Diabetic Foot Syndrome”
- Tonda Hughes, PhD, Nursing, “Addressing Research Gaps on Sexual Minority Health in Chile Using the 2016-2017 National Health Survey”
- Terry McGovern, JD, Mailman Population and Family Health, “Improving Capacity to Address Gender-Based Violence: A Public Health and Law Evaluation of a GBV Clinic in Kisumu, Kenya”
- Craig Spencer, MD, VP&S Emergency Medicine, “Measuring Human Rights Violations and Mortality Amongst Migrants and Refugees in the Sahel Region”
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.
Six CUIMC faculty members have been named awardees for the program’s spring 2019 cycle:
- Dominique Bailey, MD, VP&S Pediatrics, “The Role of Tenascin in the Etiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis”
- Kenrick Cato, PhD, Nursing, “Machine Learning for Transgender Cohort Discovery”
- Hachung Chung, PhD, VP&S Microbiology & Immunology, “Investigating the Mechanism of Autoinflammation: Identifying Self-RNA Species that Trigger Inflammation”
- Yuna S.H. Lee, PhD, Mailman Health Policy and Management, “Balancing Provider Autonomy and System Standardization in Pursuit of Health Equity”
- Micaela Martinez, PhD, Mailman Environmental Health Sciences, “Maternal Gifts: Understanding how Maternal Immunity Shapes the Development of the Infant Immune System”
- Gissette Reyes-Soffer, MD, VP&S Medicine, “Deep Phenotyping of Lipoprotein (a): An Emerging Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease”
Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholars
The aim of the Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholars program is to develop a cohort of senior faculty who will create a vision and plan for supporting, changing, and innovating the culture of teaching and learning within their own department or school and across campus. The inaugural cohort includes two CUIMC faculty members: Rita Charon, MD, PhD, Medical Humanities & Ethics in VP&S, and Robert Fullilove, EdD, Sociomedical Sciences in Mailman.
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Academy of Clinical Excellence
In 2019, 46 VP&S faculty were inducted into the Academy of Clinical Excellence, whose mission is to define, recognize, and perpetuate excellence in clinical care among faculty and trainees.
Arnold P. Advincula, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Bachir Alobeid, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology
Tracey D. Arnell, MD, Surgery
Lourival Baptista Neto, MD, Psychiatry
Biren A. Bhatt, MD, Emergency Medicine
Fredric M. Bomback, MD, Pediatrics
Simon K. Cheng, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology
Anthony J. Clapcich, MD, Anesthesiology
Russell John Crew, MD, Medicine
Jennifer Cunningham, MD, Medicine
Maria Hamm de Miguel, MD, Medicine
Jason B. Diamond, MD, Neurology
Lorna M. Dove, MD, Medicine
Brian J. Egan, MD, Anesthesiology
Katherine L. Ender, MD, Pediatrics
Elizabeth M. Fitelson, MD, Psychiatry
Jeffrey A. Geller, MD, Orthopedic Surgery
Eli Grunstein, MD, Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery
George E. Hardart, MD, Pediatrics
Mark L. Heaney, MD, PhD, Medicine
Tiffany A. Herlands, PsyD, Psychiatry
Eric J. Heyer, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology
Allan J. Hordof, MD, Pediatrics
Alejandro D. Iglesias, MD, Pediatrics
Steven R. Isaacson, MD, Radiation Oncology
Julie Khlevner, MD, Pediatrics
Connie Kostacos, MD, Pediatrics
Usha S. Krishnan, MD, Pediatrics
Mahesh M. Mansukhani, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology
Kimberly D. Morel, MD, Dermatology
Michael A. Pesce, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology
John M. Poneros, MD, Medicine
James Kirkland Roberts, MD, Neurology
Michael B. Sisti, MD, Neurological Surgery
Robert N. Sladen, MBChB, Anesthesiology
Clark C. Smith, MD, Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine
Ellen M. Stevenson, MD, Psychiatry
Steven Stylianos, MD, Surgery
Leejee H. Suh, MD, Ophthalmology
Jonathan Susman, MD, Radiology
Christina M. Ulane, MD, PhD, Neurology
Gebhard Wagener, MD, Anesthesiology
Anju Wagh, MBBS, Emergency Medicine
David M. Weiner, MD, Urology
Shepard D. Weiner, MD, Medicine
Jason D. Wright, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Irving Scholars
Five early-career clinical investigators at VP&S have been named 2019 Irving Scholars. The Herbert and Florence Irving Scholars Program annually supports young assistant professors beginning a career in clinical research whose research proposals reflect independent, well-developed scientific initiative in clinical investigation.
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Jose Gutierrez-Contreras, MD, Neurology, “The relationship of accelerated non-atherosclerotic brain arterial aging to Alzheimer’s disease”
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Erin Heinzen Cox, PharmD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, “Translating post-zygotically acquired mutations in SLC35A2 into disease mechanisms in epilepsy”
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Nathalie Moise, MD, Medicine, “Harnessing Precision Medicine and Implementation Science to Improve Psychological Distress Treatment in Breast Cancer Patients”
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Gissette Reyes-Soffer, MD, Medicine, “Unraveling the Complexities of Lipoprotein(a) in Humans Through Stable Isotope Metabolic Studies, Proteomics, and Particle Characterization”
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Emily Tsai, MD, Medicine, “Validation and translation of a novel transcriptomic signature of right ventricular failure”
Precision Medicine Awards
Faculty members on three projects received 2019 Roy and Diana Vagelos Precision Medicine Pilot Awards for precision medicine basic science research: Michael Boland, PhD, Neurology and Institute for Genomic Medicine; Wayne Frankel, PhD, Genetics & Development; Raul Rabadan, PhD, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology; Fabio Iwamoto, MD, Neurology; and Gary Struhl, PhD, Genetics & Development. Full project descriptions and team members can be viewed here.
Velocity Fellows
Six cancer researchers have been named Velocity Fellows and will each receive $100,000 seed grants from funds raised in last fall’s Velocity bike ride: Katherine Crew, MD, Piero Dalerba, MD, Charles Drake, MD, PhD, Richard Ha, MD, Gulam Manji, MD, PhD, and Teresa Palomero Vazquez, PhD.
2019 Faculty Commencement Awards
Charles W. Bohmfalk Awards (for distinguished contributions to teaching)
- Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, pre-clinical years
- Dara Matseoane-Peterssen, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, clinical years
Distinguished Service Awards
- Argiris Efstratiadis, MD, PhD, Genetics & Development, basic sciences
- Walter Franck, MD, Medicine, clinical sciences
Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport Research Awards (for outstanding young researchers)
- Tuuli Lappalainen, PhD, Systems Biology, basic sciences
- Krzysztof Kiryluk, MD, Medicine, clinical sciences
Stevens Triennial Prize
Megan Sykes, MD, Medicine
Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
John Chabot, MD, Surgery
Distinguished Teacher Award (chosen by the Class of 2019)
Rachel Gordon, MD, Medicine
Columbia University Alumni Medal
Brenda Aiken, MD, Medicine
Other Honors
Anca Askanase, MD, Medicine, received the Woman of Achievement in Clinical Research Award from the Lupus Research Alliance.
Bernard Chang, MD, PhD, Emergency Medicine, received the 2019 Young Investigator Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
Rita Charon, MD, PhD, Medical Humanities and Ethics, received the 2019 Perkins Prize, awarded by the International Society for the Study of Narrative for the most significant book on narrative published last year. The award was for a book she coauthored, “The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine.” The other authors—Sayantani Dasgupta, Nellie Hermann, Craig Irvine, Eric Marcus, Edgar Rivera-Colón, Danielle Spencer, and Maura Spiegel—cofounded and developed narrative medicine through the Division of Narrative Medicine in Columbia’s Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics. Dr. Charon also received an honorary degree from the University of Lisbon for her leadership and vision in the collaborative development of the Narrative Medicine Project within the University of Lisbon’s Department of Languages and Division of American Literature.
Michael Cohen, MD, Medicine, received a 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the Ellis Island Honors Society for exemplifying a life dedicated to community service.
E. Sander Connolly, MD, Neurological Surgery, has been named president-elect of the Neurosurgical Society of America. He also was elected to the board of the National Residency Matching Program.
Mary D’Alton, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, received the Seymour Milstein Distinguished Service Award. The award was established by the Vivian and Seymour Milstein family and is presented annually to a senior member of the medical staff at CUIMC for exceptional and long-standing service.
Anne Gershon, MD, Pediatrics, received the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Dara Kass, MD, Emergency Medicine, received the Advancement of Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
Sheng-Han Kuo, MD, Neurology, received the Jon Stolk Award in Movement Disorders for Young Investigators from the American Academy of Neurology in recognition of translational research on cerebellar circuitry for tremor in both animal models and patients with essential tremor.
David Lederer, MD, Medicine, was honored with the John W. Walsh PAR Award for Excellence at the American Thoracic Society’s international conference.
John Mann, MD, Psychiatry, received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for his contributions to understanding the neurobiology of suicide.
Randolph Marshall, MD, Neurology, will receive the 2019 C. Miller Fisher, MD Neuroscience Visionary Award from the NorthEast Cerebrovascular Consortium at its annual summit in October.
Michael Parry, MD, Medicine, received the United Hospital Fund’s 2019 Excellence in Health Care Award for Quality Improvement Champions.
Emmanuelle Passegué, PhD, Genetics & Development, received the 2019 William Dameshek Prize from the American Society of Hematology.
Neil Shneider, MD, PhD, Neurology, was honored with the Diamond Award in recognition of his scientific leadership and dedication to the eradication of ALS. The award was presented at the Wings Over Wall Street gala hosted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
Marc W. Michalowicz, DDS, Hospital Dentistry, was awarded the Richard G. Spolzino Humanitarian Access to Care Award by the Ninth District Dental Society for more than 30 years of advocacy and for providing access to care for thousands of patients with special needs who otherwise would need to travel great distances for care.
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Sandra Albrecht, PhD, and Jeanette Stingone, PhD, Epidemiology, were selected for the initial working groups of HD4NYC—Health Data for NYC—a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research collaboration between the New York Academy of Medicine and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Robert Fullilove, EdD, Sociomedical Sciences, served on the 2019 panel of judges for the de Beaumont Foundation’s inaugural 40 Under 40 in Public Health.
Yuna Lee, PhD, Health Policy and Management, received the inaugural Judson Wolfe Excellence in Teaching Award established this year. The award honors the late Judson Wolfe, son of Mailman Board of Overseers member Jody Wolfe and grandson of Mailman benefactor Phyllis Mailman.
Gen Li, PhD, Biostatistics, was the inaugural recipient of the Sanford Bolton Award, recognizing his expertise in integrating diverse data types to provide valuable clinical insights. The award is named for Sanford Bolton, a 1966 Mailman graduate who was a leader in the field of pharmaceutical statistics.
Adam Sacarny, PhD, Health Policy and Management, received the Publication of the Year award from AcademyHealth for his research on Medicare overprescribing. The award-winning publication, “Effect of Peer Comparison Letters for High-Volume Primary Care Prescribers of Quetiapine in Older and Disabled Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” was published in JAMA Psychiatry in October 2018.
John Santelli, MD, Population and Family Health, received the Excellence in ISP and Leadership Award for his passion and dedication to student learning.
Sharon Schwartz, PhD, Epidemiology, received the school’s Innovation in Teaching Award.
Michael Sparer, JD, PhD, Health Policy and Management, received Mailman’s Core Teaching Award.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Suzanne Bakken, PhD, is the recipient of the International Medical Informatics Association’s 2019 François Grémy Award of Excellence. She is the first nurse to receive the award, which recognizes the contributions she has made through research, education, development, and application of biomedical and nursing informatics.
Don Boyd, PhD, received the Emerging Leader Nursing Award, one of the Distinguished Alumni Awards from Columbia Nursing’s Alumni Association. Dr. Boyd also received a 2019 Columbia Alumni Medal from the Columbia Nursing Alumni Association.
Bevin Cohen, PhD, Jianfang Liu, PhD, Elaine Larson, PhD, and PhD student Meghan Murray received third-place honors for their oral presentation, “Risk and Implications of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Among Children Admitted to Hospitals from Long-Term Care Facilities,” at the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s 31st Annual Scientific Sessions.
Marie Carmel Garcon, DNP, was nominated by the New York Yankees as a Nurse Hero.
Allison Norful, PhD, was selected to be co-principal investigator of a planning dissemination grant supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The grant will help support a project titled “Dissemination of a National Set of Family Practice Nursing Competencies to Support the Integration of Family Practice Nurses Within Primary Care.”
Tawandra Rowell-Cunsolo, PhD, was selected to be an investigator in HD4NYC—Health Data for New York City—an initiative started by the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. HD4NYC seeks to address the barriers to achieving health equity while enhancing the careers of the next generation of researchers through access to data and enhanced collaboration.
Cindy Veldhuis, PhD, received a junior investigator award for the third consecutive year from the Research Society on Alcoholism/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
A research organization made a $60,000,000 commitment to create a center of excellence within the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons dedicated to research on HIV prevention and treatment.
A foundation made a contribution of $885,161 to the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation to advance research to help children and adolescents with cancer and hematologic disorders.
A donor made a commitment of $610,656 to the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (C2B2) at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to advance research in systems biology.
A donor made a $500,000 pledge to support the recruitment of an expert in Kawasaki disease in the Department of Pediatrics.
A donor made a $500,000 contribution to provide scholarship support to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A donor made a $500,000 commitment to provide professorship and faculty support to the Department of Urology.
A family foundation made a $500,000 contribution to the Department of Neurology toward the establishment of an assistant/associate professorship specializing in MS and related neuro-immunological disorders.
A company made a $400,000 commitment to the Division of Hematology and Oncology to advance stem cell research in malignant and pre-malignant diseases.
A foundation made a $356,588 contribution to advance immune tolerance research and provide recruitment and salary support for the Gunnar Esiason Adult Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Program.
A company made a $300,000 contribution to the Division of Hematology and Oncology to support research in bone marrow and blood diseases.
A corporation made a pledge of $299,990 to advance research at the Institute of Human Nutrition.
An anonymous donor made a contribution of $260,000 to advance research at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.
A donor made a contribution of $250,000 to the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases to advance clinical research in Barrett’s esophagus and dysplasia.
A donor made a $250,000 commitment to advance research programs at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center.
A donor made a $250,000 gift to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to help educate residents and physicians in providing humanistic health care.
A donor made a $240,000 contribution to support the Chairman’s Frontier Fund in the Department of Psychiatry.
A foundation made a contribution of $225,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance vision research.
A donor documented a bequest intention of $200,000 to support vision research in the Department of Ophthalmology.
A family foundation made a $175,000 gift to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research in retinal diseases and disorders.
A corporation made a $150,000 contribution to the Department of Surgery to advance research in plastic, craniofacial, and reconstructive surgery.
An organization made a $158,000 commitment to advance research and clinical care in non-verbal learning disabilities in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
A donor made a $150,000 commitment to advance immunotherapy research at Columbia’s Pancreas Center.
An anonymous donor made a $150,000 contribution to support the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics.
A family foundation made a $125,000 commitment to the Department of Medicine to provide support for research, medical education, and clinical care for infectious diseases.
A donor made a $111,560 contribution to the Department of Pediatrics to advance research in the Division of Molecular Genetics.
A donor made a $100,000 pledge to the Department of Psychiatry to advance research in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
A donor made a $100,000 commitment to advance research in the Department of Urology.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to advance research at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
A foundation made a $100,000 contribution to advance research in the Breast Cancer Program of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.
A company made a $100,000 contribution to the Division of Hematology and Oncology to benefit the Bone Marrow and Blood Diseases Fund.
An anonymous donor made a $100,000 gift to provide scholarship support to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
An anonymous donor made a $100,000 commitment to the Department of Neurology to support research in the Division of Movement Disorders.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism to advance research in pediatric endocrine disease.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to support research in immune tolerance at the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to support the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to provide scholarship support to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to the Department of Urology to advance urologic cancer research.
A donor made a $100,000 gift to advance research in the Division of Cardiology.
A donor made a $100,000 contribution to advance research in the Division of Cardiology.
A foundation made a $100,000 commitment to advance research in the Department of Dermatology.
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
A company made a $300,000 commitment to support a fellowship program at the College of Dental Medicine.
A donor documented a bequest intention of $250,000 to support the College of Dental Medicine.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
A foundation made a pledge of $500,000 to support Columbia Nursing’s Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center.
An alumna of the School of Nursing documented her bequest intention of $125,000 to support student scholarships.
CUIMC IN THE NEWS
TODAY | July 8, 2019
Neil Shneider, an associate professor of neurology, comments on how ALS can occur in young people.
New Weapons Against Cancer: Millions of Bacteria Programmed to Kill
The New York Times | July 3, 2019
Genetically modified microbes release “nanobodies” that alert the immune system to cancer in mice, Columbia University medical researchers, including immunologist Nicholas Arpaia, report.
There's More Evidence That Too Much Sitting Can Be Very Unhealthy
NPR | July 1, 2019
A new study from lead researcher Keith Diaz, an exercise physiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, finds that sitting for long periods in front of the television is more dangerous than sitting at work.
‘It’s Gigantic’: A New Way to Gauge the Chances for Unresponsive Patients
The New York Times | June 26, 2019
Columbia researchers, including lead author Dr. Jan Claassen, found a way to detect “covert consciousness” that could aid the recovery of people with severe brain injuries.
Study Links Understaffing to Hospital Infections
Crain’s New York Business | June 5, 2019
“The novel finding is that a patient who stays in a unit that is continuously understaffed for the day and night shift is more likely to develop an infection,” said Jingjing Shang, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at Columbia Nursing.
What Foods Can Disturb Your Sleep?
The Wall Street Journal | June 4, 2019
One expert, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York—and director of the university’s Sleep Center of Excellence—explains the sleep-diet relationship and what foods may disturb your slumber.
You Can’t ‘Starve’ Cancer, but You Might Help Treat It With Food
The Atlantic | May 20, 2019
Last year, Siddhartha Mukherjee, the Columbia University researcher and author of The Emperor of All Maladies, and his colleagues found that at least one particular chemotherapy drug can be made more effective by combining its use with eating a low-sugar, protein-and-fat-heavy “ketogenic” diet.
Doctors Have More Time Than Thought To Treat Stroke Patients, Study Suggests
CNN | May 8, 2019
Even though more research is needed to validate the study's findings, “the era of time-based treatment with intravenous alteplase in patients with acute stroke may finally be drawing to a close,” Dr. Randolph Marshall, a neurologist at Columbia University in New York, wrote in an editorial published alongside the new study.
Radiation Therapy Consent Forms Too Difficult To Read
Reuters | May 8, 2019
“We looked at the readability of these forms and discovered that even using the most conservative estimates, they were at far higher reading levels than most patients understand,” said study co-author Dr. Andrew Einstein of Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
Veterans and Suicide Risk: The Warning Signs — and How To Get Help
CBS News | May 8, 2019
“People tend to tip-toe around sensitive issues like suicide. You shouldn’t. You’re not going to prompt someone to do it by asking them,” Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, told “CBS This Morning.”
Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy
The New York Times | May 7, 2019
“Health issues of pregnancy don’t just end when the baby comes out, and that hasn’t gotten the attention it should,” said Lynn P. Freedman, director of the maternal death and disability program at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Luke Perry and John Singleton Remind Us That Strokes Can Strike Younger Adults Too
Los Angeles Times | May 6, 2019
Mitchell Elkind, a neurologist at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, spoke with the Los Angeles Times about how to reduce your risk of a stroke and what you should do if someone near you has one.
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