CUIMC Celebrates 2016-2017, Issue 2

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CUIMC CELEBRATES acknowledges faculty, staff, and students at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who receive major research grants, who earn prestigious honors, who are elected to honorary societies, orwho take leadership positions in professional organizations. Celebrates also gratefully acknowledges the gifts made by donors and friends of the Medical Center and highlights faculty who have appeared in the news recently. If you have an award or honor that you would like to have listed in Celebrates, please fill out this online form. Please note: All federal grants are automatically included based on institutional data provided by Sponsored Projects Administration. For more information, send an e-mail to the Celebrates editor. Click on the image at right to print this issue. Research Grants / Awards & Honors / Philanthropic Gifts / CUIMC in the News

RESEARCH GRANTS

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS

Emilio Arteaga-Solis, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, will receive $509,004 over three years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Hormonal Regulation of Airway Diameter by Bone and its Implication to Asthma.”

R. Graham Barr, MD, DrPH, Medicine, will receive $697,976 over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS).”

Melissa Begg, ScD, Irving Institute, will receive $6,708,030 over five years from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for “Institutional Career Development Core.”

David J. Brenner, PhD, Center for Radiological Research, will receive $289,708 over three years from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for “Faculty Development Program in Probabilistic Low-Dose Radiation Risk Estimation, at the Columbia University Center for Radiological Research.”

Adam Brickman, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $472,790 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for “Re-visiting Methods for MCI Diagnosis to Improve Biomarker and Trial Findings.”

Natalie Hiromi Brito, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $270,727 over two years from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development for “Examining the Independent and Joint Contributions of Socioeconomic Status and Bilingualism on Early Cognitive Development.”

Patrick Brown, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $458,293 over two years from the National Institute on Aging for “Physical and Mental Fatigability in Late Life Clinical Populations.”

Randy Bruno, PhD, Neuroscience, will receive $350,000 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “The Behavioral Functions of Upper and Lower Cortical Layers.”

Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, Irving Institute, will receive $4,982,977 over five years from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for “NRSA Training Core.”

Alberto Ciccia, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $450,000 over three years from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for “Replication Fork Damage and Breast Cancer Predisposition.”

Cheryl Mary Corcoran, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $2,763,817 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Thought Disorder and Social Cognition in Clinical Risk States for Schizophrenia.”

John Cunningham, PhD, Neuroscience, will receive $937,443 over one year from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “CRCNS: Understanding Flexible Neural Computations in the Motor Cortex.”

Richard J. Deckelbaum, MD, Institute for Human Nutrition, will receive $2,448,655 over two years from the Beijing Sciecure Pharmaceutical Co. for “Characterization and Effects of an MCT-Fish Oil Intravenous Lipid Emulsion.”

Thomas Diacovo, MD, Pediatrics, will receive $750,000 over three years from the American Heart Association for “Analysis of Platelet Function and microRNA-mRNA Profiles in Neonatal Cardiac Patients.”

Donald Edmondson, PhD, and Ian Kronish, MD, Medicine, will receive $3,091,668 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Impact of PTSD on Cardiovascular Risk in Survivors of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack.”

Katherine Elkington, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $4,570,995 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for “Health and Justice: A Continuum of Care for HIV and SU for Justice-Involved Youth.”

Stephen Emerson, MD, PhD, and Gary K. Schwartz, MD, Medicine, will receive $1,087,435 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Molecular Oncology Training Program.”

Susan Essock, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $478,727 over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Hospital Discharge Planning and Transition to Outpatient Psychiatric Care.”

Ali Gharavi, MD, and Jonathan Barasch, MD, PhD, Medicine, will receive $754,953 over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Precision Medicine Research in Nephrology.”

Henry Ginsberg, MD, Irving Institute, will receive $46,727,825 over five years from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for “Clinical and Translational Science Award.”

David Goldstein, PhD, Institute for Genomic Medicine, Ali Gharavi, MD, Medicine, and George Hripcsak, Biomedical Informatics, will receive $46,475,438 over five years from the Office of the NIH Director for “Columbia/Cornell/Harlem Hospital Precision Medicine Initiative HPO.”

René Hen, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $1,179,750 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Translational Neuroscience Training Grant” in a competitive renewal.

Jaime Hook, MD, Medicine, will receive $593,000 over five years from the American Heart Association for “Lung Microvascular Responses in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Lung Infection.”

Christina Hoven, DrPH, Psychiatry, will receive $2,976,996 over five years from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for “9/11 Trauma and Toxicity in Childhood: Longitudinal Health and Behavioral Outcomes.” She also will receive $2,971,155 over five years for “RDoC Domains Underlying Emotional Health and Trajectories of Psychopathology in Families of WTC First Responders and Evacuees: A Genome-wide GxE Study.”

Edward Huey, MD, Taub Institute, will receive $263,829 over one year from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation for “Low-Dose Lithium for the Treatment of Behavioral Symptoms in Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).”

Jonathan Javitch, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $743,963 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Functionally Selective D2Rs, Striatal Circuit Function and Motivation.” He also will receive $445,200 over two years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Modulation of Dopaminergic Neurotransmission by ADGRL3, an Adhesion GPCR Associated with ADHD Susceptibility.”

Daniel Javitt, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $364,428 over two years from the Department of Health & Human Services for “FAST-PS TORFP – Biomarker Validation Study.”

Thomas Jessell, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, will receive $300,000 over two years from the Simons Foundation for “Delineating Cortico-spinal Circuits for Skilled Motor Behavior.”

Jermaine Jones, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for “Using Pharmacogenetics to Better Evaluate Naltrexone for Treating Stimulant Abuse.”

Meyer Kattan, MD, Pediatrics, will receive $936,120 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Oral Bacterial Extracts (ORBEX): Primary Prevention of Asthma and Wheezing in Children.”

Martine D. Lappé, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $314,456 over two years from the National Human Genome Research Institute for “Behavioral Epigenetics in Children: Exploring the Social and Ethical Implications of Translation.”

Richard P. Mayeux, MD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $8,800,813 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for “Genetic Epidemiology of Cerebrovascular Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, will receive $1,408,000 over four years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Osteochondroreticular (OCR) Cells as Sources of Cartilage Repair in Osteoarthritis.”

Elizabeth Oelsner, MD, Medicine, will receive $858,060 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Hypercoagulability and Chronic Lung Disease in Older Adults.”

Benjamin Ohlstein, MD, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $1,440,000 over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Amitosis of Polyploid Cells to Functional Intestinal Stem Cells.”

Mark Olfson, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $994,128 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Improving the Emergency Department Management of Deliberate Self-Harm.”

Lale Ozcan, MD, Medicine, will receive $1,800,000 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Role of Dach1 in Obesity-Induced Hepatic Insulin Resistance.”

David Paik, MD, Ophthalmology, will receive $1,614,054 over four years from the National Eye Institute for “Therapeutic Corneal Cross-linking Using Formaldehyde-Releasing Agents” in a competitive renewal.

Virginia Papaioannou, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $1,429,287 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Predoctoral Training Grant in Genetics and Development” in a competitive renewal.

Gaurav Patel, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $736,279 over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Neural Substrates of Attention and Social Cognition Impairment in Schizophrenia.”

Jaya Prabhakaran, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $458,873 over two years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for “Evaluation of an [F-18] Agonist PET Ligand for 5HT2AR.” She also will receive $451,828 over two years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Development of GSK-3beta PET Radioligands for In Vivo Imaging in Brain.”

Kevin Roth, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $420,480 over two years from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “Prevention and Treatment of Neurofibromatosis Type 1-Associated Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors.”

Bret Rutherford, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $1,295,876 over two years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Targeting Dopaminergic Mechanisms of Slowing to Improve Late Life Depression.”

Ismael Santa-Maria Perez, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $2,000,000 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “MicroRNA Modulation of Tau Expression and Phosphorylation in Tauopathy.”

Nathaniel Sawtell, PhD, Neuroscience, will receive $1,750,000 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Mechanisms for Internal Models in a Cerebellum-like Circuit” in a competitive renewal.

Michael Shadlen, MD, PhD, Neuroscience, will receive $374,706 over three years from the Simons Foundation for “Simons Society of Fellows – Junior Fellow.”

Steven J. Shea, MD, Medicine, will receive $796,810 over five years from the Health Resources and Services Administration for “NRSA for Primary Medical Care” in a competitive renewal.

Michael Shen, PhD, Medicine, and Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, Urology, will receive $1,792,802 over three years from the National Cancer Institute for “Analysis of Drug Response in Organoids and Mouse Models.” Dr. Shen also will receive $1,652,000 over five years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Systems Analysis of Mouse Gastrulation.”

Markus Siegelin, MD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $1,750,000 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Dual Inhibition of Mitochondrial Matrix Chaperones and Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 Family Members for Glioblastoma Therapy.”

Milan Stojanovic, PhD, and Ali Gharavi, MD, Medicine, will receive $451,477 over two years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Aptamer-Based Arrays for Detection of Pathogenic IgA1 O-Glycoforms in IgA Nephropathy.”

Guomei Tang, PhD, Neurology, will receive $720,000 over three years from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “Impaired mTOR-Macroautophagy and Neurocognitive Deficits in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.”

Emily Tsai, MD, Medicine, will receive $399,166 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Functional Implications of Caveolae-Localized Myocardial sGC in Heart Failure.”

Stephen Tsang, MD, PhD, Ophthalmology, will receive $380,000 over three years from the Foundation Fighting Blindness for “Gene Editing to Repair Mutations in adRP.”

Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $271,176 over one year from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Study of Oxytocin in Autism to Improve Reciprocal Social Behaviors (SOARS-B).”

Joy-Sarah Vink, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, will receive $649,755 over five years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Evaluating the Role of Human Cervical Smooth Muscle Cells in Normal and Premature Cervical Remodeling.”

Carolyn L. Westhoff, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, will receive $1,641,142 over four years from the National Cancer Institute for “A Prospective, Randomized Study to Compare Effects of Ulipristal Acetate With a Combined Oral Contraceptive on Breast Epithelial Cell Proliferation.”

Howard Worman, MD, Medicine, will receive $319,984 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Pathogenic Role of Selected Cardiac Myocyte- and Fibroblast-Specific Epigenetic Changes in Laminopathies.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Ruth Finkelstein, ScD, Columbia Aging Center, will receive $449,944 over one year from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for “Age Smart Employer III.”

Jeff Goldsmith, PhD, Biostatistics, will receive $1,767,498 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Functional Data Analytics for Kinematic Assessments of Motor Control.”

Morgan Philbin, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, will receive $887,879 over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for “Assessing the Impact of State-Level Policies on Drug Use and HIV Risk for YMSM.”

James Phillips, PhD, and Ayaga A. Bawah, PhD, Population & Family Health, will receive $8,000,000 over five years from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for “CHPS+: A National Program for Strengthening the Implementation of the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative in Ghana.”

Miriam Rabkin, MD, and Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, ICAP, will receive $2,931,886 over three years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for “The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN).”

John L. Thompson, PhD, Biostatistics, will receive $621,126 over four years from the Food & Drug Administration for “Phase 3 Trial of DCA in PDC Deficiency IND 028,625(02/04/2015).”

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Jeffrey Kwong, DNP, Scholarship & Research, will receive $981,622 over two years from the Health Resources and Services Administration for “Creating Access for LGBT Adults (CALA).”

Jingjing Shang, PhD, Scholarship & Research, will receive $1,391,760 over three years from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for “Infection Control in Home Care and Predictive Risk Modeling.”

Rebecca Schnall, PhD, Scholarship & Research, will receive $7,882,835 over five years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for “A Pragmatic Clinical Trial of MyPEEPS Mobile to Improve HIV Prevention Behaviors in Diverse Adolescent MSM.”

AWARDS & HONORS

CUIMC

Irving Institute Awards

2016 Mentors of the Year

• Karina Davidson, PhD, Medicine
• Thomas M. Jessell, PhD, Neuroscience
• Steven Marx, MD, Medicine

2016 Clinical Trials Office Pilot Awards

Eleven faculty members were selected to receive this award, which provides junior faculty with funds to conduct pilot studies needed to attract future independent funding.

• Katherine Dimitropoulou, PhD, Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine, “A Motor Learning Approach to Improve Motor Planning in Children with Cerebral Palsy Hemiplegia”

• Hilda Fernandez, MD, Medicine, “Genomic Disorders, Chronic Kidney Disease and Neurocognitive Status in Children”

• Loren Gianini, PhD, Psychiatry, “Cognitive Neuroscience of Weight Loss Maintenance”

• Angela Kadenhe-Chiweshe, MD, Surgery, “The Role of Notch in Regulating the Response of Tumor Vasculature to High-Dose Radiation”

• Omar Khalique, MD, Medicine, “Myocardial Tissue and Functional Characterization for Prediction of Revascularization Response Among Patients With Coronary Arterial Chronic Total Occlusions”

• Kristen Klemenhagen, PhD, Psychiatry, “Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Patients With Anxiety: A Virtual Reality-Based Behavioral Study”

• Andrea Miltiades, MD, Anesthesiology, “A Window Into the Effects of Preeclampsia on Women’s Health Long Term: A Post-partum Longitudinal Study to Evaluate Endothelial Function and Angiogenic Biomarkers in Women Diagnosed With Early Versus Late Onset Preeclampsia”

• Veli Topkara, MD, Medicine, “Mitochondrial Dynamism and Autophagic Clearance Signaling Pathways in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy”

• Nora Vanegas-Arroyave, MD, Neurology, “White-Matter Tractography Correlates of Apathy in Parkinson Disease Patients Treated With Deep-Brain Stimulation”

• Constance Young, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, “Assessing Activity and Recovery Following Benign Gynecologic Surgery Using Validated Tool Sets and Novel Technology: A Pilot Study”

• Min Zou, PhD, Medicine, “Predicting Drug Response for Human Prostate Cancer Using a Cross-species Systems Biology Approach”

2015-16 Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Pilot Research (CaMPR) Awards

Three faculty teams were selected to receive this award, a two-phase program that provides planning and start-up funds to investigative teams planning novel, multidisciplinary projects. Principal investigators are listed; full teams can be viewed here.

• Ryan Demmer, PhD, Epidemiology, and Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, MD, PhD, Medicine, “The Microbiome and Chronic Immune Activation Among HIV+ Patients”

• Max O’Donnell, MD, PhD, Medicine, “Next-Generation Sequencing and Inferential Forecasting to Characterize and Predict Epidemic Severe Acute Respiratory Infection in Uganda”

• Martin Picard, PhD, Psychiatry, “Stress Reactivity in Mitochondrial Disease: Preliminary Investigation of Physiological, Neural, and Epigenetic Mechanisms”

2015-16 CaMPR-BASIC Pilot Awards

Two faculty teams were selected to receive this award, a one-year award given to a new collaborative and multidisciplinary team co-led by investigators in basic science and clinical departments.

• Dritan Agalliu, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, and Wendy Vargas Deming, MD, Neurology, “PANDAS Autoantibodies and the Blood‐Brain Barrier”
• Guillermo Horga, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, and Nima Mesgarani, PhD, Electrical Engineering, “Decoding Subjective Speech Perception in Schizophrenia”

2016 Health Practice Research Pilot Awards

Two faculty members were selected to receive this award, cosponsored by the Department of Biomedical Informatics, which supports operational interventions such as information technology, operations research, and simulation to improve health care practice.

• Susan Hsiao, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, “Defining and Standardizing Key Elements of Cancer Genomics Reporting”

• Natalie Yip, MD, Medicine, “An Integrated Electronic Clinical Decision Support Tool to Optimize Mechanical Ventilator Management”

2016 Imaging Pilot Awards

Six faculty members were selected to receive this award, which supports early career investigators using such imaging modalities as magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, PET, single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography, and ultrasound.

• Patrick Brown, PhD, Psychiatry, “Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Depressed Elders: A Pilot Investigation Using 31P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy”

• Royce Chen, MD, Ophthalmology, “Advanced Imaging in Sickle Cell Retinopathy and Correlation With Central Nervous System Vasculopathy”

• Simon Cheng, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology, “Focused Ultrasound-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy”

• Remi Creusot, PhD, Medicine, “Targeting Tissues of Relevance for Antigen-Specific Immunotherapy of Type 1 Diabetes”

• Joanna Dragich, PhD, Neurology, “Investigating the Effects of a Genetic Risk Factor for Neuropsychiatric Disease on White-Matter Connectivity Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)”

• Jack Grinband, PhD, Psychiatry, “Using Hypercapnia and BOLD fMRI to Detect Non-enhancing Glioblastoma”

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS

2016 Steve Miller Fellowship in Medical Education

• Amulya Iyer, P&S’17, “Exploring the Relationship Between Hospitalized Patients and Their Medical Students: A Qualitative Study”

• Lauren Pollack, P&S’17, and Subha Perni, P&S’17, “Moral Distress in Caring for Older Adults During Early Clinical Training”

• Patrick van Nieuwenhuizen, P&S’17, “Democratizing Medical Education: An Open-Access Platform for Preclinical Sciences”

 

Other Honors

Tamar Baer, MD, Pediatrics, received the Pfizer 2016 ASPIRE Young Investigator Research Award in Endocrinology.

Joel Berezow, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, received the 2016 Medical Hero Award from the R Baby Foundation for his work through the Pediatrics for Emergency Physicians (PEP) Network.

Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD, Pediatrics, was appointed chair of the Scientific Leadership Council of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

Sudeshna Chatterjee-Paer, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, was awarded the SGO Buck and Betsy Peters Award for Best Scientific Poster for her abstract, “Uterine Leiomyosarcomas Exhibit Distinct Drug Resistance Molecular Profiles Compared to Extrauterine Leiomyosarcomas: A Comprehensive Analysis of 1,023 Leiomyosarcomas.”

Edward J. Ciaccio, PhD, Medicine, was named Honorary Principal Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine, Imperial College London.

Felicia Cosman, MD, Medicine, received the 2016 Most Outstanding Clinical Abstract Award by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Anthony Deo, MD, Psychiatry, received a 2016 Pilot Research Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for his project “BDNF and Cognition in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis.”

Susan DeWolf, MD, Medicine, was selected to receive a 2016 Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Scientists (HONORS) Award from the American Society of Hematology.

David Fidock, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, was named the 2016 Global Australian of the Year in Life Sciences by Advance, a government-funded global community of high-achieving Australians and alumni abroad. The award recognizes Dr. Fidock’s achievements as an Australian citizen working overseas, notably his research into the genetic and molecular basis of antimalarial drug resistance.

Jianing Fu, PhD, Center for Translational Immunology, received a 2016 Young Investigator Award from the Transplantation Society for her abstract, “Generation of Naïve Donor-Derived Lymphocytes from Graft-Resident Lymphoid Progenitors After Human Intestinal Transplantation.”

Joji Fujisaki, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, received an American Society of Hematology Junior Faculty Scholar Award, one of the society’s most prestigious honors.

Joshua Gordon, MD, PhD, Psychiatry, was named director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the lead federal agency for research on mental illnesses.

Nancy Green, MD, Pediatrics, gave a keynote lecture at the 2016 convention of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America on the use of community health workers in sickle cell disease to improve outcomes.

Cara Grimes, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, was invited to join the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.

David Kessler, MD, and John Babineau, MD, Pediatrics, received an MCIC Risk Reduction Award for their Quality Improvement Project, “Stress-Testing the System for Sepsis Recognition.”

Stavros Lomvardas, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, was named a 2016 HHMI faculty scholar by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Simons Foundation, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Faculty Scholars Program supports early career scientists who have potential to make unique contributions to their field.

Carol A. Mason, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, was one of four researchers internationally to share the 2016 Antonio Champalimaud Vision Award for groundbreaking work on how visual signals move from the eyes to the brain.

Owen O’Connor, MD, PhD, Medicine, was named a 2016 Healthcare & Life Sciences 50 honoree by Irish America Magazine, an honor recognizing outstanding Irish-American and Irish-born leadership in the medical field.

Benjamin Ohlstein, MD, PhD, Genetics & Development, was named a 2016 HHMI faculty scholar by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Simons Foundation, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Faculty Scholars Program supports early career scientists who have potential to make unique contributions to their field.

Beth Rackow, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, was elected to the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Board of Directors as a member-at-large.

Rini Ratan, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, was appointed to the governance board of the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Lawrence Stanberry, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, was elected to the American Pediatric Society.

Megan Sykes, MD, Medicine, will give the keynote address, “Durable Mixed Chimerism – An Achievable Goal?” at the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation’s biennial meeting in November.

Shiu-Lin Tsai, MD, Pediatrics, was guest editor of a special pediatric edition for the journal Medical Acupuncture.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The journal Injury Epidemiology, founded by faculty and students in the Department of Epidemiology’s Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention, was approved by the National Library of Medicine for indexing and is now live.

Yumiko Aratani, PhD, Health Policy & Management, was selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a fellow in its new Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program. The highly selective program brings together researchers and community leaders from across the country to solve challenges and apply research to create change and advance a culture of health.

Linda P. Fried, dean, will receive the INSERM Prize for medical research by the French National Institute of Health and Research, France’s equivalent of the NIH, on Dec. 8.

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, ICAP, was inducted as an honorary member to Sigma Theta Tau, one of the largest nursing organizations in the world.

Lambert (Bertie) Lumey, MD, PhD, Epidemiology, Joseph Graziano, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, and Mary Gamble, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, have been invited to speak at the Princess Chulabhorn International Science Congress Program in Thailand in November to commemorate the 70th anniversary of King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne.

Samuel Roberts, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, is co-editor of a new series by Columbia University Press on Race, Inequality, and Health and how they have impacted health and society. The series combines works in history, the social sciences, the biological sciences, and public health about race and race difference historically and in the present day.

Marni Sommer, DrPH, Sociomedical Sciences, served as co-editor of a special issue of Global Public Health on participatory visual research, including digital storytelling, participatory video, and collage for collecting, analyzing, and working with research data.

SCHOOL OF NURSING 

Mary Byrne, PhD, Scholarship & Research, and Felesia Bowen’10 were selected as a mentor/fellow pair by the Sigma Theta Tau International Maternal Child Health Leadership Academy and will participate in two national workshops, the biennial convention, and a clinical evidence-based project over the next 18 months.

Rita Marie John, DNP, EdD, Academics Division, was inducted into the Mentors Matter Hall of Fame by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

Gunnar Hasselgren, DDS, PhD, Cariology & Restorative Sciences, and Helen Lu, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, received the Coulter award in recognition of their research in therapeutics project “RevitaTooth: Injectable Hydrogel for Revitalizing Endodontic Therapy.”

Sahng G. Kim, DDS, Cariology & Restorative Sciences, received two awards from the Journal of Endodontics: 2016 Journal of Endodontics Publication Award (Case Reports/Clinical Techniques) for the article “Endodontic Treatment of an Anomalous Anterior Tooth With the Aid of a 3-Dimensional Printed Physical Tooth Model” and a 2016 Journal of Endodontics Award Honorable Mention for the article “Viscoelastic Properties of Dental Pulp Tissue and Ramifications on Biomaterial Development for Pulp Regeneration.”

Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, DDS, Oral, Diagnostic, & Rehabilitation Sciences, was selected as a finalist in the Balint Orban Memorial Competition and presented research titled “Periodontal Disease, Tooth Loss, and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study” at the American Academy of Periodontology meeting in September.

Samuel J. Zeichner, DMD, Oral, Diagnostic, & Rehabilitation Sciences, was an invited speaker and scientific session chair at the 12th International Bernd-Spiessl-Symposium for Innovative and Visionary Technologies in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery in Basel, Switzerland.

PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS

A donor made a $7,000,000 contribution to complete a $9,000,000 commitment to the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Imaging Program to help our scientists conduct research on the precise mechanisms of cells.

A donor made a bequest of $3,000,000 to provide scholarship support to the College of Physicians & Surgeons.

An organization made a $1,416,000 commitment to advance research and clinical care in nonverbal learning disabilities in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

A private foundation made a $1,100,000 contribution to the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to provide cognitive behavioral therapies for underserved children, adolescents, and young adults who suffer from anxiety-related disorders.

A family foundation made a $1,000,000 contribution toward a $5,000,000 commitment to the new Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.

A foundation made a $700,000 contribution toward a $7,000,000 commitment to advance research at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

A corporation made a $600,000 contribution to complete a $3,000,000 pledge to the new Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.

A donor made a $500,000 contribution toward a $2,500,000 pledge to provide professorship support to the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

A foundation made a $460,000 contribution toward a $2,625,000 pledge to advance research on the neurodevelopmental origins of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia.

A foundation made a contribution of $431,000 to support pediatric oncology at Columbia.

A donor made a contribution of $400,000 toward a $1,200,000 pledge to the Division of Endocrinology to support research in osteoporosis.

A foundation made a $375,000 contribution toward a $7,500,000 pledge to the Division of Clinical Genetics to advance clinical research into the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorders.

A private foundation made a contribution of $300,000 toward a $1,500,000 pledge to provide professorship support to the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center.

A family foundation made a pledge totaling $300,000 to provide $150,000 of fellowship support to the Division of Cardiology and $150,000 of fellowship support to the Department of Ophthalmology.

A foundation made a $300,000 commitment to the Department of Medicine to support the Teen to Young Adult Autoimmune Disease Transition Program.

A family foundation made a $275,000 gift to the Department of Pediatrics to support the IFAP Global Health Program.

A donor made a contribution of $250,000 toward a $1,250,000 commitment to provide professorship support to the Division of Cardiology.

A private foundation made a contribution of $250,000 toward a $1,000,000 commitment to provide fellowship support to the Division of Cardiology.

An anonymous donor made a $250,000 contribution toward a $500,000 pledge to advance research, education, and care at the Department of Ophthalmology.

A faculty member made a $250,000 gift to the new Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.

A foundation made a $250,000 gift to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research on age-related macular degeneration.

An anonymous donor made a $250,000 gift to the Department of Neurology to advance research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A foundation made a contribution of $231,355 toward a $557,646 commitment to advance research at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

A donor made a gift of $225,000 to support the Chairman’s Frontier Fund in the Department of Psychiatry.

A donor made a contribution of $201,268 to provide research support to the Division of Cardiology.

A donor made a $200,000 gift to the Department of Ophthalmology to support a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology for a two-year period.

A donor made a $196,000 pledge to the Department of Psychiatry to advance research and clinical care in nonverbal learning disabilities in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

A foundation made a contribution of $195,000 to support the work of the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience.

A couple made a contribution of $172,500 toward a $1,380,000 commitment to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research on latent retina dystrophies.

A donor made a $150,000 contribution to the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics to support work in biophysics and computational biology.

A corporation made a $150,000 contribution to the Department of Surgery to advance research in plastic, craniofacial, and reconstructive surgery.

A donor made a $150,000 contribution to support communications initiatives at the Department of Urology.

A bequest of $150,000 was realized to support electrophysiology research at the Division of Cardiology.

A corporation made a contribution of $135,000 to the Department of Surgery to support outcomes research.

A foundation made a contribution of $130,000 to the Department of Psychiatry to support a fellowship in women’s mental health.

A donor made a $112,500 contribution toward a $1,250,000 pledge to provide fellowship support to the Department of Ophthalmology.

A foundation made a $107,330 contribution to the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center’s Transforming Healthcare for Women with Disabilities Initiative.

A family foundation made a $100,000 contribution toward a $1,000,000 pledge to provide fellowship support to the Division of Cardiology.

A private foundation made a $100,000 contribution toward a $300,000 pledge to the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology to advance placenta and pre-eclampsia research.

A family foundation made a $100,000 contribution toward a $200,000 pledge to support the Precision Medicine Initiative within the Department of Psychiatry.

A donor made a $100,000 contribution to support research, education, and patient care at the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center.

A donor made a contribution of $100,000 to the Department of Pediatrics to support the IFAP Global Health Program.

A donor made a $100,000 contribution to advance musculoskeletal research at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

A gift of $100,000 from an anonymous donor was made to the Department of Neurological Surgery to support research on low-grade gliomas.

A donor made a pledge of $100,000 to provide fellowship support to the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism.

A corporation made a $100,000 commitment to the Department of Neurology to advance research on essential tremors and other neurological disorders.

A donor made a $100,000 gift to support research in the Department of Urology.

A foundation made a gift of $100,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology to support research on the genetic and molecular causes of retinal diseases.

A donor made a $100,000 contribution to the Department of Neurology to advance Parkinson’s disease research in the Division of Movement Disorders.

A family foundation made a $100,000 gift to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research on the genetic and molecular causes of retinal diseases.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

A family foundation completed a $1,000,000 pledge that will benefit the Lerner Center.

A foundation made a pledge payment of $100,000 to support the research of young faculty at the Mailman School of Public Health.

SCHOOL OF NURSING 

An alumna of the School of Nursing documented her bequest intention of $125,000 to support student scholarships.

CUIMC IN THE NEWS

The ‎Primary Practitioners

Manhattan Times | Sept. 21, 2016

The Columbia University School of Nursing has opened a new bilingual primary care center in Washington Heights, run by nurse practitioners.

 

FDA Bans Some Antibacterial Chemicals in Soaps

CNN | Sept. 5, 2016

The new FDA rule “seems like a prudent step to prevent a possible, albeit theoretical, future adverse impact, and since the public still has the option of using hand sanitizers, which work faster and better than the current consumer ‘antibacterial’ soaps, I can be supportive of the ruling,” said Elaine Larson, associate dean for research at Columbia University School of Nursing and a co-author of the paper.

 

Depression Is Poorly Diagnosed and Often Goes Untreated

New York Times | Sept. 1, 2016

“There are challenges in aligning depression care with patient needs,” said the lead author, Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. “Extending the use of simple screening tools in primary care is a good first step.”

 

Headed to Miami? Here’s What You Need to Know About Zika

New York Times | Aug. 19, 2016

The single best way to protect yourself is to use mosquito repellent. Each brand has different directions for frequency of application, but Dr. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiology professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, recommended doubling that use.

 

Every Time Michael Phelps Takes a Gold Medal Stroke, This Is What Happens in His Brain

Washington Post | Aug. 12, 2016

Just as Phelps follows a rhythm with his strokes, his brain is repeating a pattern over and over again that keeps his muscles coordinated—even as they perform minute movements that don’t seem cyclical at all. That’s according to Mark Churchland, a neuroscientist at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute and Grossman Center for the Statistics of Mind.

 

Diller, Scofidio + Renfro Unveils New Columbia University Medical Building

Architectural Digest | July 26, 2016

If there’s one thing that's certain about the opportunity to build the crux of Columbia University's Washington Heights-based medical campus, it’s a chance to help redefine medical education at the highest level.

Health Buzz: Smell Test Could Identify Alzheimer’s

U.S. News & World Report | July 26, 2016

"Our study adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the potential value of odor identification testing in the detection of early-stage Alzheimer's disease," senior author of both studies D.P. Devanand, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, said.

See more media headlines here.

Past issues of CUIMC CELEBRATES: http://ps.columbia.edu/celebrates/