CUIMC Update - March 19, 2025

March 19, 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

Community Research Forum Explores Latest Findings on Cannabis, Opioids, and Public Health
The Office of Academic and Community Partnerships recently hosted a community research forum, inviting community neighbors to learn about groundbreaking research and innovations happening at the medical center.

Ultrasound is Transforming Care for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Ultrasound is transforming how doctors monitor chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. Pediatric gastroenterologist Joseph Picoraro explains how the detailed images ultrasound provides are revolutionizing care.

Women’s History Month: Women at CUIMC Who Made a Difference
This Women's History Month, meet some of the remarkable clinicians, educators, scientists, and alumni from throughout CUIMC history whose contributions to medicine have changed health care.

What to Know About Piriformis Syndrome
Piriformis syndrome can manifest as a tingling feeling or a burning sensation running down the back of one of your legs. Scott A. Barbuto, a Columbia specialist in rehabilitation and regenerative medicine, explains the symptoms of piriformis syndrome and ways to get relief.

Events

Grants

Mailman School of Public Health

  • Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, ICAP
    $1,028,960 over three years for a subaward from ViiV Healthcare for "Long-Term Follow-Up of CAB LA for Participants in HPTN 083 and HPTN 084 CAB PrEP Studies at Risk of HIV Acquisition."

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Catherine Clelland, Psychiatry
    $1,302,250 over two years from the National Institute on Aging for "Tetrahydrobiopterin Effects On Cognitive Function In Alzheimer's Disease: Biochemical, Molecular And Cognitive Analysis."
  • Xin Huang, Medicine
    $2,056,250 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for "The Regulatory R-loops in Pluripotency, Early Development, and Tissue Homeostasis."
  • Steven Kushner, Paul Appelbaum, Noemie Elhadad, and Sander Markx, Psychiatry
    $4,686,976 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Clinical Outcome Prediction of Psychosis from EHRs (COPPER)."
  • Janet Sparrow, Ophthalmology
    $300,000 over three years from the Foundation Fighting Blindness for "Vitamins E, C and Zinc: Therapeutics for ABCA4-disease (STGD1)."
  • Milenna Van Dijk, Psychiatry
    $747,000 over three years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Hippocampal and Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Development of Depression in Children at High Family Risk."

Honors

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Social Media Snapshot

Columbia Medicine | Struggling with sleep? The answer may be in your kitchen! 🍽️

In the News Highlights

  • During the Last Major Measles Outbreaks in the US, It Took Extraordinary Measures to Stop the Spread
    Mar 10, 2025
    CNN Online
    A retrospective modeling study found that vaccination campaigns during the measles outbreak in New York City averted an even larger spike in cases. The outbreak could have been at least 10 times worse than it was, with up to 8,100 people infected instead of the 649 cases reported by the city, according to the report by Dr. Wan Yang, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
  • No ID? No Problem. Undercover Camera Reveals Ease of Buying Cannabis in NYC
    Mar 13, 2025
    NBC 4 New York (video)
    “I actually think a lot of parents would be surprised,” said Dr. Ryan Sultàn, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. Sultàn and a team of Columbia researchers recently published a study estimating 90 percent of New York City’s unlicensed cannabis retailers fail to check IDs at the door, as required by law. The research found 48 percent of unlicensed weed shops failed to conduct any age verification at all - including at the point of sale.
  • The Shaky Science Behind Trendy ‘Super Greens’ Powders
    Mar 14, 2025
    National Geographic
    “Correlation is not causation. Yet [supplement companies] are allowed to make claims suggestive of causation, like ‘supports heart health’ or ‘supports brain health,’ based on observational research,” explains David Seres, director of medical nutrition and professor of medicine in the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “People don’t always realize that wording is not indicative of hard evidence from randomized control trials.”