CUIMC Update - March 26, 2025

March 26, 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

VP&S Class of 2025 Celebrates Match Day
On March 21 at exactly noon, 136 medical students at VP&S opened the envelopes containing their match letters, and learned where they will continue their medical training after graduation.

CAR T-cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis can cause the immune system to mistake normal cells in the brain and spinal cord as threats. Neurologist Claire Riley explains how CAR T-cell therapy works to treat MS, and why this emerging treatment—now being tested in a clinical trial at Columbia—is offering new hope to more patients.

Susan Lasker Brody Center for Population Mental Health Launches
The new center, named for a visionary alumna, will serve as a national hub for research, education, policy analysis, and advocacy, with a focus on preventing mental illness and promoting resilience and well-being. It is co-directed by Kathleen Sikkema, chair of sociomedical sciences, and Michael Sparer, chair of health policy and management. 

Catching Colorectal Cancer Early: Screening Saves a Life
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, dedicated to promoting preventive screenings and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices. Learn how a recent colorectal cancer screening recommended by a nurse practitioner led to a potentially life-saving early diagnosis.

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

  • Caleb Miles and Kara Rudolph, Biostatistics
    $2,663,018 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for "Leveraging harmonized data to improve external validity and efficiency of clinical trials for treating opioid use disorder."

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Dusan Bogunovic, Pediatrics
    $407,230 over one year for a subaward from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Next Generation Resolution of Antiviral Gene Networks."
  • Ragy Girgis, Psychiatry
    $2,232,039 over five years for a subaward from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Procan: Psychosis Risk Outcomes Compound Assessment Network."
  • Martin Picard and Caroline Trumpff, Psychiatry
    $4,031,174 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Psychobiological regulation and molecular characterization of cell-free mitochondrial DNA in humans."
  • Gissette Soffer, Medicine
    $2,441,873 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Unraveling the Complexities of Lp(a): From Genes to Function."

Honors

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Social Media Snapshot

Columbia Medicine | Students at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons celebrated #MatchDay on March 21st, a pivotal moment when... | Instagram

In the News Highlights

  • Medical Research at Columbia Is Imperiled After Trump Terminates Funding
    Mar 18, 2025
    The New York Times
    Dr. Olajide A. Williams, a neurologist and professor at Columbia’s medical school, had two grants that were terminated this month. “As I sit here trying to do this work, I truly believe to right a wrong with another wrong frays the fabric of justice,” said Dr. Williams. “Fighting the horrors of antisemitism by punishing the nobility of health disparities research creates a cycle of injustice that causes pain on all sides.”
    Dr. Jordan Orange, who heads the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia’s medical school, said one project that lost funding involved the search for a nasal spray that would block the entry of viruses and reduce infections. “How wonderful would it be if we had a nasal spray that could block viruses?” Dr. Orange said.
  • As Cases Climb in the US, Do You Need Another Measles Shot?
    Mar 19, 2025
    BBC News Online (UK)
    Those vaccinated between 1963 and 1967 may have received what is known as an inactivated measles vaccine, and should consider getting an additional shot, said Melissa Stockwell, a professor of paediatrics at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Adults born earlier than 1957 likely had measles as a child and are considered immune, Dr. Stockwell said. "The recommendation is that anyone who does not have presumptive immunity should be vaccinated," she said.
  • Adult ADHD Prescriptions Still on the Rise, Especially Among Older Women
    Mar 19, 2025
    NBC News Online
    Women with ADHD sometimes manage to get by until they hit a stage where life becomes more difficult and challenging, said Mariely Hernandez, a clinical psychologist who specializes in addiction and ADHD and is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. The symptoms of ADHD might become a much bigger problem when women have children, Hernandez said.