CUIMC Update - Dec. 21, 2020

NEWS

Photo Gallery: CUIMC Front-Line Health Care Workers Receive COVID Vaccine  
Last week front-line health care workers across CUIMC began receiving vaccinations for COVID-19. Read more

Please also read the latest update from the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee.

The Winners Are In: CUIMC Holiday Toy Drive and Competition  
The awards for “most generous” and “most giving” teams have been announced for this year’s CUIMC Holiday Toy Drive and Competition. View this webpage to learn more. Though the winners are in, you may continue to give to this effort until Dec. 31, 2020.

Simon John Awarded the Sanford and Susan Greenberg Visionary Prize to End Blindness 
Simon John, PhD, the Robert L. Burch III Professor of Ophthalmic Sciences in the Department of Ophthalmology at VP&S, has been awarded the Sanford and Susan Greenberg Visionary Prize by End Blindness 2020. The award recognizes members of the scientific and medical communities who have contributed significantly to ending blindness. Read more.

Michael A. Joseph Appointed as Next Vice Dean for Education at Mailman
Effective March 1, Michael A. Joseph, PhD, MPH, begins his new role as vice dean for education at Mailman. Joseph will also be an associate professor of epidemiology and joins Columbia from SUNY Downstate School of Public Health, where he served for 16 years in key leadership roles. Read more.

Cybersecurity Awareness for the Holiday Season  
Phishing attempts increase during the holiday season and it's important for CUIMC employees to exercise extreme caution when opening, responding to, and acting on emails over the next few weeks. For more information about phishing and how to spot and report suspicious emails, view this CUIMC IT webpage.

Columbia Nursing’s Third Annual Innovations in Simulation Summit Addresses Systemic Racism in Health Care 
The summit hosted by the School of Nursing drew nearly 500 nurses, doctors, administrators, and social workers looking to explore educational strategies to identify and dismantle structural racism in health care. Read more

In Case You Missed It: Videos from CUIMC Town Halls on Vaccine Policy and Distribution 
Last week, Interim EVP and Dean Anil K. Rustgi, MD, led virtual forums to provide up-to-date information on COVID-19 vaccines. Watch the videos.

EVENTS

African, Black & Caribbean Employee Resource Group Presents: A Virtual Presentation in Honor of Kwanzaa, Dec. 21, 2020, 1 p.m., read more and register online.

University-Designated Holidays, Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1, read more. CUIMC Update resumes publication on Jan. 4, 2021.

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

David Jonathan Brenner, PhD, Center for Radiological Research, will receive $26,801,456 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Center for High-Throughput Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry.”

Runsheng Wang, MD, Medicine, will receive $829,282 over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Comparative Effectiveness Research in Axial Spondyloarthritis.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Julie Franks, PhD, ICAP, will receive $1,533,010 over three years from Janssen Research & Development for “A Multi-center, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase 3 Efficacy Study of a Heterologous Vaccine Regimen of Ad26.Mos4.HIV and Adjuvanted Clade C gp140 and Mosaic gp140 to Prevent HIV-1 Infection Among Cisgender Men and Transgender Individuals.”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Angela Coombs, MD, Psychiatry, has been recognized as a rising star in medicine by Medscape.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean, was selected for City and State New York magazine’s third annual Health Power 100 issue, which profiles and ranks the most influential people in New York’s health community.

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Allison Norful, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, has been invited by Press Ganey Associates to assist in the development of a novel national instrument to measure primary care provider productivity and the role of nurse practitioners within primary care teams.

Jaime Panton, DNP, CPNP-AC/PC, was invited to participate in the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Working Group on Pediatric Continuing Education. 

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

The Hispanic Student Dental Association chapter at CDM has won third place in the 2020 Orgullo (“Pride”) Competition for its educational video providing oral hygiene guidance to kids.