CUIMC Update - July 24, 2024
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
Ice Cream Social Offers Opportunity to Cool Down and Connect
CUIMC employees and community members attended an ice cream social on Haven Plaza, enjoying nearly 6,000 free frozen treats.
The Inside Change Agent: James McKiernan, Senior Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and CEO of ColumbiaDoctors
James McKiernan, the first person to serve in the combined role of CEO of ColumbiaDoctors and senior vice dean for clinical affairs, shares how he’s changing up clinical operations for the better.
Columbia Medical School Offers Summer STEM Opportunities for Hundreds of Students
Pipeline programs at VP&S help prepare young students for a variety of possible career paths to pursue after high school and give college students the chance to learn from and work directly with Columbia’s researchers and scientists.
Afternoon of Science Series: Department of Biomedical Informatics
The Afternoon of Science series, which highlights the work of VP&S basic science departments and centers, continued June 26 with presentations by faculty from the Department of Biomedical Informatics.
Hundreds Gather for the First Cerebral Palsy Community Day
More than 300 members of the cerebral palsy community and nearly 100 volunteers gathered for a day of activities, food, and connection at the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center's first CP Community Day.
Events
- Community & Connection Learning Series: "Who Are the Jews? Jewish Identity & Antisemitism in the 21st Century"
July 25, noon
Online - ColumbiaDoctors Outreach at the Farmers' Market: Lung Health
July 30, 10 a.m.
Haven Plaza, Haven Avenue between Fort Washington Avenue and 169 Street - ColumbiaDoctors Outreach at the Farmers' Market: Brain and Mental Health
Aug. 6, 10 a.m.
Haven Plaza, Haven Avenue between Fort Washington Avenue and 169 Street - ColumbiaDoctors Outreach at the Farmers' Market: Breast Cancer
Aug. 13, 10 a.m.
Haven Plaza, Haven Avenue between Fort Washington Avenue and 169 Street
Grants
School of Nursing
- Alicia Matthews
$338,350 over five years for a subward from the National Cancer Institute for "LDCT lung cancer screening eligibility among sexual minorities."
Mailman School of Public Health
- Sandra Albrecht, Epidemiology
$306,121 over five years for a subaward from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for "National Center for Engagement in Diabetes Equity Research: National CEDER." - Markus Hilpert, Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, and Ana Navas-Acien, Environmental Health Sciences
$3,178,833 over four years from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for "Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease in American Indian Communities."
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Alberto Ciccia, Genetics & Development
$900,000 over two years from the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance for "Defining the impact of DNA repair variants on immune-based therapy of ovarian cancer at scale." - Frank D'Ovidio, Surgery
$486,000 over five years for a subaward from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "CATCH: Creating Access to Transplant for Candidates who are at High Risk." - Jennifer Manly and Adam Brickman, Taub Institute
$3,212,908 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for "Columbia Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Alzheimer's Disease Disparities (CIRAD)." - Emmanuelle Passegué, Columbia Stem Cell Initiative
$7,746,807 over seven years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Emergency Myelopoiesis in the Control of Blood Production." - Livio Pellizzoni, Neurology
$3,249,550 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for "RNA-mediated mechanisms of motor system dysfunction in spinal muscular atrophy." - Marc Eric Richmond, Brett Anderson, and Matthew Lewis, Pediatrics
$3,277,726 over six years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Pediatric Heart Network New York Consortium." - Melissa Stockwell, Pediatrics
$1,373,310 over five years for a subaward from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for "A New Network of Household Transmission Studies for Vaccine Effectiveness Evaluations." - Elizabeth Clarice Verna, Surgery
$375,734 over five years for a subaward from the National Cancer Institute for "Liquid biopsy and radiomics for liver cancer surveillance." - Harris Wang, Systems Biology
$427,700 over one year from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Profiling diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) using stool-based RNAs." - Xuebing Wu, Medicine
$2,174,660 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Mechanisms and functions of RPL3L ribosomes."
Honors
School of Nursing
- Suzanne Bakken has been recognized as a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.
- Veronica Barcelona, Melissa Beauchemin, Ashley Graham-Perel, Heidi Hahn-Schroeder, and Rebecca Owens will join the American Academy of Nursing's 2024 Class of Fellows this fall.
- Ashley Graham-Perel and Jacquelyn Taylor were named Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing Fellows by the National Black Nurses Association.
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Oliver Hobert, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, was elected as an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
- Kristina Orfali, Pediatrics, was named Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, awarded to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding merit in military or civil life.
- Kapil V. Ramachandran, Neurology, was selected for a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience.
- Roy Vagelos received the "Elimination Champion" Legacy Award from the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination for his commitment to international collaborations that prevented more than 5 million deaths from hepatitis B in China.
Social Media Snapshot
In the News Highlights
- She Signed Up for a Complicated Clinical Trial. It May Cure Her Lupus.
Jul 13, 2024
CBS News Online
To treat lupus, the T-cells are genetically modified to attack the overactive B-cells that create inflammation in a patient's body, said Dr. Anca Askanase, the director of the Columbia University Lupus Center, who was not involved with the Cleveland Clinic trial or Butler's treatment. Askanase said that with CAR-T therapy, the troublesome B-cells are "completely destroyed" by the genetically modified cells, allowing the patient to enter remission. - Which Weight Loss Drug Should You Choose (if You Get to Choose)?
Jul 19, 2024
The New York Times
If you are doing well with Wegovy and your health has improved, you might want to stay with it, said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, a diabetes and obesity researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. It’s not clear that switching to Zepbound would be better. “On the flip side,” Dr. Leibel said, “there clearly are people who do not respond well to semaglutide and may benefit from switching to tirzepatide.” - Is COVID Still Worth Worrying About? It Depends on Your Situation.
Jul 18, 2024
USA TODAY
"People are not taking the appropriate precautions," said Dr. Seth Feltheimer, internist and associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "It makes it more important to be fully immunized with the boosters."
"If you're going to pick one thing that is the most predictive of problems with acute COVID, age is the biggest risk factor," said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist and clinical instructor of medicine at Columbia University.