CUIMC Update - June 26, 2024

June 26, 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

Four VP&S Physician-Scientists Named 2024 Gerstner Scholars
Four VP&S physician-scientists will receive funding to pursue promising research that has the potential to spark the development of new and better treatments for patients with kidney disease, cancer, and epilepsy.

Addressing LGBTQ+ Disparities in STEM and Higher Education: Making the Invisible Visible
Columbia psychology faculty member Jon Freeman explains the role he played in a data collection change that could help retain people in STEM who identify as LGBTQ+. 

Curtain Rises Again, This Time on Original Musical: “Topeka or To-Not-Peka”
After a pandemic pause, the Broadway Haven Players returned with a musical written, directed, produced, and performed by VP&S students.

A Family-Friendly Guide to Support, Affirm, and Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Youth
In honor of Pride Month, the Columbia Gender & Sexuality Program offers a family-friendly guide to support LGBTQIA+ youth and caregivers and a list of events taking place across the city.

Community & Connection Learning Series: "Addressing the Unspoken Issue" on June 27 at Noon
The CUIMC community is invited to participate in the Community & Connection Learning Series this summer, hosted by the Office of Well-Being. Thursday's session, "Addressing the Unspoken Issue," will offer guidance on when to consider addressing uncomfortable or challenging issues and ways to do so.

Events

Grants

College of Dental Medicine

  • Fatemeh Momen-Heravi
    $3,072,624 over five years from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for "Single-cell RNA-sequencing for functional analysis of monocytes and macrophages in periodontitis."

Mailman School of Public Health

  • Jeanine Genkinger, Epidemiology
    $659,367 over five years for a subaward from the National Cancer Institute for "Center for SOcial CApital (SOCA): Promoting Multigenerational Health."
  • Sen Pei, Environmental Health Sciences
    $414,659 over two years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Inference of heterogeneous transmission of antimicrobial resistant pathogens in healthcare settings."
  • Rachel Shelton, Sociomedical Sciences
    $3,095,521 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for "Strategies for Reaching and Impacting Our Communities Sustainably (NWP-ROCS Program)."

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Wayne Hendrickson, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics
    $991,172 over four years for a subaward from the National Institutes of Health for "Probing functional HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein conformations with novel potent CD4-mimetic compounds."
  • Jordan Nestor, Medicine
    $420,000 over four years from the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program for "Utilizing Temporal Electronic Health Record (EHR) for Early Detection of Collagen Type IV-Associated Nephropathy (COL4A-AN)."
  • Alice Prince, Pediatrics
    $2,745,826 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Airway metabolites shape susceptibility to pneumonia."
  • Uma Reddy, Alexander Friedman, and Dena Goffman, Obstetrics & Gynecology
    $2,800,167 over three years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for "EnCoRe MOMS: Engaging Communities to Reduce Morbidity from Maternal Sepsis."
  • David Sachs, Medicine
    $1,878,813 over five years for a subaward from Fondation Leducq for "Exogenic and xenogenic pig organs for transplantation into humans."
  • Neil Shneider, Neurology
    $15,463,601 over four years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for "Silence ALS: A Platform for the Discovery and Development of Antisense Therapeutics for Patients with Ultra-Rare Forms of ALS."
  • Alison Taylor, HICCC
    $792,000 over three years from the American Cancer Society for "Uncovering the consequences of chromosome arm aneuploidies in tumorigenesis."
  • Harris Wang, Systems Biology
    $984,251 over three years for a subaward from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for "Multi-functional, survivable ELMs grown from programmable fungal-bacteria consortia."
  • Lori Zeltser, Medicine
    $500,000 over two years from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for "Differential Sympathetic Regulation of Brown Fat Metabolism."

Honors

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

These CUIMC faculty members were among faculty receiving Columbia World Projects Impact Awards, which support research from across Columbia University that seeks to address pressing societal challenges with innovative solutions:

  • Charles Branas, Epidemiology, Mailman; Manuela Orjuela-Grimm, HICCC; Claire Greene, Population and Family Health, Mailman: "Healing Roots: An Evidence Roadmap for Refugee Mental Health Interventions"
  • Sabrina Hermosilla, Population and Family Health, Mailman: "Ubumwe 2.0: Integrating Arts for Education and Psychosocial Support with Children and Youth Affected by Displacement in Uganda"

Mailman School of Public Health

School of Nursing

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Karen Broadway-Wilson, Psychiatry
    Received the 2024 Individual Placement and Support Learning Community Award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advocacy. 

Social Media Snapshot

Columbia Medicine | Ever find yourself at a BBQ and ponder what to eat that’s also healthy? 😅

In the News Highlights

  • What’s the Least Amount of Exercise I Can Get Away With?
    Jun 20, 2024
    TIME
    Studies show that the more movement breaks you take, the lower your risk of death (at least anytime soon), says Keith Diaz, an associate professor of behavioral medicine. It’s necessary to take these breaks even if you also exercise. “The other 98% of the day you’re not moving does matter,” Diaz says.
  • A Record-Breaking Number of Mosquitoes Are Carrying West Nile Virus Around Las Vegas
    Jun 20, 2024
    NBC News Online
    Southern Nevada’s rising temperatures are creating favorable conditions for mosquitoes, said Nischay Mishra, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University. “Mosquitoes typically thrive in wet and hot places,” Mishra said. “But in Nevada, as smaller bodies of water dry up, they create shallow waters that are ideal for mosquito breeding.”
  • Do You Get Mysterious Seasonal Headaches? Blame Weather Whiplash
    Jun 17, 2024
    Los Angeles Times
    Many people who get either type of headache note that they can occur during sudden shifts in barometric pressure when the weather changes. Such complaints have become so frequent that scientists and healthcare providers have sought to investigate and explain the correlation. One possible cause could be our sinuses, says Dr. David Gudis, chief of the Division of Rhinology & Anterior Skull Base Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.