CUIMC Update - Nov. 30, 2020

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 cumcnews@cumc.columbia.edu. Grants are provided by the Sponsored Projects Administration office.

NEWS

David Ho Receives National Leadership Award from National AIDS Memorial 
On Dec. 1, David Ho, MD, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, will receive the National Leadership Recognition Award from the National AIDS Memorial and speak at a virtual event about the impacts of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. Read more

CUIMC Scientists Share Updates on Their COVID-19 Research 
Researchers from VP&S and Mailman give updates on their work to improve coronavirus testing, find new antivirals, and develop new ways to prevent transmission. Read more

Two-Part Program with CUIMC Women Leaders on Leadership and Advancement Pathways for Women Faculty  
Join moderators Mary D’Alton, MD, and Angela Mills, MD, on Dec. 8 at 4:30 p.m. for a panel discussion with senior women faculty leaders on the challenges of academic leadership and advancement for women in general and during the pandemic. The panel discussion will be followed by breakout peer mentoring sessions facilitated by senior leaders from VP&S, Mailman, Nursing, and Dental Medicine. Read more and register online.

Virtual Visits with ColumbiaDoctors Improved with Zoom Integration 
The secure Zoom video conferencing app is now in use for patient telemedicine visits with ColumbiaDoctors through the Connect portal. Read more.

Telehealth Visits in Nursing Homes Jumped 11-Fold After Regulations Relaxed, Finds Columbia Nursing Study 
The study led by Gregory Alexander, PhD, the Helen Young CUPHSONAA Professor of Nursing, found telehealth use in nursing homes has increased more than elevenfold since the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth technology is considered to be a critical healthcare access point for vulnerable populations, chronically ill nursing home residents, and people living in rural settings. Read more

Mailman Study Examines How Cannabis Vaporizer Brands Market Products to Young People on Instagram
Cannabis vaporizer brands use Instagram to market their products by posting images that appeal to young people and tagging popular social media influencers, according to a new study by Mailman researchers. Read more

Central Trafficking Compartment in Neurons Malfunctions in a Majority of Alzheimer’s Patients, Finds VP&S Study
A new study led by Scott Small, MD, PhD, the Boris and Rose Katz Professor of Neurology at VP&S and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia, suggests that malfunctioning endosomes—a central trafficking station inside neurons—are commonly involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more.      

EVENTS

A Nursing Pioneer: Florence Nightingale, Dec. 2, 2020, 12 p.m., register online

ICAP Special World AIDS Day Event—Tackling Two Pandemics: HIV and COVID-19, Dec. 3, 2020, 10 a.m., read more and register online.

Original Well-Being Lecture Series Part Three: Heart / Healing, Dec. 4, 2020, 1 p.m., read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Chin Hur, MD, Medicine, will receive $2,507,710 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “A Personalized Approach to Targeted Esophageal Cancer Screening.”

Christopher Makinson, PhD, Institute for Genomic Medicine, will receive $744,426 over three years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Regulation of Neocortical Development.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Sara Casey, DrPH, Population & Family Health, will receive $372,409 over five years from the French Development Agency for a subaward of “Social Empowerment of Chadian Women Through Access to Health Services.”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Stephen Goff, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, was awarded the ninth annual David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award from the National Cancer Institute’s HIV Dynamics and Replication Program.

Jon A. Levenson, MD, Psychiatry, has been selected as Fellow of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society.