CUIMC Update - January 31, 2024

January 31, 2024

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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

CUIMC Wi-Fi is Getting an Upgrade
The Medical Grade Network project, with support from all four CUIMC schools, is a multi-year program to upgrade network infrastructure. So far, the team has installed new Wi-Fi in Haven Towers 1, 2, and 3, the Black Building, the Allan Rosenfield Building, and floors 8, 9, and 12 of the VP&S Building. 

Meet Your Community at the ERG Open House Tomorrow, Feb. 1
The inaugural ERGs Open House will be held tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. on the 7th Floor of the School of Nursing Building. Hear from members and leaders of employee resource groups and learn about upcoming awareness opportunities, cultural events, and leadership opportunities.

Martha A. Hooven Awards Honor Six VP&S Employees
Todd Bates, PhD, Frances Antonetty, Michael Kissner, Marzhan Atakulova, Zurab Ninish, and Danurys L. Sanchez have been honored for their contributions to the VP&S community.

Afternoon of Science Series: Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Therapeutics
The Afternoon of Science series, which highlights the work of VP&S basic science departments and centers, continued Jan. 22 with presentations by faculty from the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Therapeutics. The next event on Feb. 5 will feature the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics.

Iron Deficiency is a Huge Problem for Girls
Nearly 40% of girls and young women don’t get enough iron, which can affect sleep, cognition, energy, and mood. Pediatrician Dominder Kaur, MD, discusses why young women may be iron-deficient and what can be done about it.

Events

Grants

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Ibrahim Batal, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology
    $1,842,227 over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for "Genetics and Immune Predictors for Recurrent Glomerular Diseases in the Kidney Allograft."
  • Andrea Califano, Dr, Systems Biology
    $2,000,000 over one year from the Office of the NIH Director for "High Performance Computing Cluster for Biomedical Research."
  • Anthony Ferrante, MD, PhD, Medicine
    $2,967,534 over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for "Adipose Tissue Macrophage Phenotype and Function."
  • Anne Moscona, MD, Pediatrics
    $2,142,691 over three years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Engineering protease-resistant antiviral peptide inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2."
  • Emmanuel Zorn, PhD, Medicine
    $452,375 over two years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Source and homeostatic functions of anti-adduct IgM in humans."

Honors

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Columbia University Fertility Center received the Platinum Award from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

Social Media Snapshot

 

Columbia Medicine (@ColumbiaMed)

Congrats to #ColumbiaMed’s Department of Medicine (@ColumbiaMedic) for receiving the Guardian of Excellence award & the department’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, & Critical Care Medicine for receiving the Pinnacle of Excellence award for patient experience by @PressGaney.

In the News Highlights

  • How to (Calmly) Handle Head Lice
    Jan 22, 2024
    The New York Times
    Eggs, or nits, are what you usually find during an at-home check. “Think if you tied a knot in a thread — nits are the size of that knot” and laid within a centimeter of the scalp, said Dr. Candace Johnson, an assistant professor of pediatrics and hospital epidemiologist at Columbia University.
  • Can Autoimmune Diseases Be Cured? Scientists See Hope at Last
    Jan 23, 2024
    Nature Magazine
    But for most autoimmune diseases, only a small fraction of B cells are the trouble makers. Aimee Payne, a dermatologist at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, wanted to find a way to target just those cells.
  • Ultraviolet Light Can Kill Almost All the Viruses in a Room. Why Isn’t it Everywhere?
    Jan 17, 2023
    Vox
    Far-UV, by contrast, uses shorter wavelengths — conventionally around 222 nm. It’s much easier to install: You just put up a few special lamps in a room, no specialists needed. And it’s much newer, only emerging as an option thanks to recent work by Columbia University medical physicist David Brenner. “A potential donor approached the dean at Columbia a decade or so ago,” Brenner recalls. “Her husband had died of a surgical site infection.”