CUIMC Update - Dec. 14, 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
VP&S Committee to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Issues
Interim EVP and Dean Anil Rustgi, MD, has appointed a committee to address a range of issues related to COVID-19 vaccines. Committee co-chairs Magda Sobieszczyk, MD, MPH, and Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH, will share frequent updates. Read more.
Columbia Vaccine Policy and Distribution: Town Hall on Tuesday
Another university-wide town hall on vaccine policy and distribution will be offered tomorrow at 4 p.m. It will include up-to-date information on COVID-19 vaccines with a special focus on the two vaccines likely to be available in the coming weeks. Registration via the link above is required; you will receive a confirmation email before the event with instructions for joining.
CUIMC Task Force for Addressing Structural Racism Issues Report
The task force appointed in July to identify transformative actions needed to make CUIMC truly anti-racist, diverse, multicultural, and fully inclusive has posted its findings online. More than 100 faculty and staff from CUIMC, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Columbia’s Morningside campus participated in task force discussions. Read more.
Resolution to Co-name Stretch of 168th Street to Healthcare Heroes Way Heads to City Council
New York City Council will soon vote on a community-led proposal to co-name the stretch of 168th Street between Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue "Healthcare Heroes Way." In observance of ongoing efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, the resolution honors faculty and staff at CUIMC and NYP and all health care workers who call Washington Heights and Inwood home. Read more.
Team Updates: CUIMC Holiday Toy Drive and Competition
Where does your team stand in the CUIMC Holiday Toy Drive and Competition? Watch this video with a competition update and learn how to participate.
EVENTS
Columbia University School of Nursing & NYP: Joining Forces During COVID-19, today at 5 p.m., read more.
GRANTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Magdalena Sobieszczyk, MD, MPH, Medicine, will receive $405,000 over five months from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a subaward of “COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Site Preparation.”
Xuebing Wu, PhD, Medicine, will receive $300,000 over five years from the Pew Charitable Trusts for “mRNA Structure Reprogramming as a Common Dependency in Cancer.”
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Andrea Howard, MD, ICAP, will receive $2,750,000 over four years from the Elton John AIDS Foundation for “Almaty Model for Epidemic Control - Helping to End HIV in Eastern Europe & Central Asia.”
AWARDS AND HONORS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER
Ross Frommer, vice president for government and community affairs and associate dean, will be included in City & State magazine’s sixth annual 50 Over Fifty special issue, which honors New York’s leaders in government, advocacy, labor, business, academia, and media.
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
César A. Alfonso, MD, Psychiatry, was elected chair of the Psychotherapy Section of the World Psychiatric Association.
David Fidock, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, conducted research selected as the Project of the Year for 2020 by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (www.mmv.org).
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
A book by Jennifer Hirsch, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, “Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus,” co-authored with Shamus Khan, PhD, Sociology, was named to NPR’s list of Best Books of 2020.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Billy Caceres, PhD, RN, was chosen as one of the 30 distinguished alumni from the Health Career Connection internship program.
PhD student Jessica Schwartz received a Distinguished Poster Award from the American Medical Informatics Association.