CUIMC Update - April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

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CUIMC Update is a weekly e-newsletter featuring medical center news and the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and trainees. Please send your news, honors, and awards to cuimc_update@cumc.columbia.edu. Grants are provided by the Sponsored Projects Administration office.

News

Five CUIMC Faculty Named Fellows of AAAS
For their contributions to science, four VP&S faculty members and one Mailman School of Public Health faculty member were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society.

Columbia OT Students Build Assistive Devices to Empower Local Children with Disabilities
For the third year, students in occupational therapy and physical therapy have built free assistive devices for local children with disabilities. The Modifications and Assistive Technology course, taught by Rochelle Mendonca, allows students to collaborate with a patient’s community to create valuable and low-cost bespoke devices.

Measles: What You Need to Know
Measles has been in the national news with increasing case counts and several “outbreaks.” Pediatrician and vaccine expert Ashley B. Stephens explains the risks posed by measles and how to protect yourself and your family.

Colonoscopy Prep 101
Sheila Rustgi, a gastroenterologist at CUIMC and a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, shares expert tips on how to prepare for a colonoscopy and make 'prep night' as simple as possible.

Join the Celebration: Volunteer for Commencement Week 2025
Sign up by April 30 to volunteer at CUIMC Commencement Week 2025. Welcome guests, assist grads, share event info, and keep the energy high. Opportunities are available May 20–22 across multiple ceremonies. It’s a fun, meaningful way to be part of the magic and celebrate our graduates.

Events

Grants

Mailman School of Public Health

  • Peter Preko, ICAP
    $4,000,000 over two years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for "HIV Impact Network for Vertical Transmission Elimination."

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Rando Allikmets, Ophthalmology
    $1,844,541 over three years from the National Eye Institute for "Stargardt/ABCA4 disease in African Americans."
  • Jahar Bhattacharya, Medicine
    $3,108,195 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Induction of myeloid-epithelial gap junctional channels to enhance host resilience against acute lung injury."
  • Hachung Chung, Microbiology & Immunology
    $300,000 over two years from Project A.L.S. for "Examining molecular mechanisms underlying ALS."
  • Priscila Dib Goncalves, Psychiatry
    $831,270 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for "Executive function and impulsivity as predictors of alcohol/cannabis co-use in adolescence: a longitudinal study."
  • Sarah Herzog, Psychiatry
    $898,351 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Resting and Dynamic Brain Glutamate by MRS In Vivo: Relation to Suicidal Behavior."
  • Jaewon Min, Institute for Cancer Genetics
    $2,056,250 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for "Mechanisms and Genetic Consequences of Break-Induced Replication."

Honors

School of Nursing

  • Ruth Masterson Creber is spending three weeks as a Fulbright Specialist at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil, focusing on health informatics, telehealth, and artificial intelligence in nursing practice.

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Social Media Snapshot

 

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

#ColumbiaMed proudly celebrates our incredible physicians this hashtag#NationalDoctorsDay! Their dedication, compassion, and commitment to exceptional patient care inspire us every day.

Hear a special message from ColumbiaDoctors CEO, Dr. James McKiernan.

In the News Highlights

  • A Cure for Her Daughter's Epilepsy Was Getting Close. Then Trump Froze Health Spending.
    Mar 24, 2025
    USA TODAY
    Dr. William Hsu, a longtime Harvard Medical School professor, said a Trump cut halted the long-running Diabetes Prevention Program, which first revealed how changes to diet and exercise can play a significant role in staving off diabetes, and then helped Americans make those changes. The DPP was administered in recent years by Columbia University, which has seen a $400 million research cut from the Trump administration. The DPP program cost about $80 million annually, but was estimated to save about $20 billion each year in diabetes-related costs, according to congressional budget writers.
  • What Happens to Your Brain When You Retire?
    Mar 26, 2025
    The New York Times
    “People may have felt their purpose was contributing through work, and when that’s taken away, they have to invent something else to take its place,” said John Beard, the Irene Diamond Professor of Productive Aging at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Studies suggest that people with a sense of purpose experience less age-related cognitive decline.
  • Is it Healthier to Use Household Cleaning Products – or Not?
    Mar 28, 2025
    BBC News Online
    Some studies show that using certain antibacterial products can cause a cross reaction with certain antibiotics, which means you might get a resistance to those antibiotics, which hinders their effectiveness, says Elaine Larson, professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the US. "Eventually, we may theoretically reduce the ability of the immune function to respond to an encounter with organisms," Larson says.