CUIMC Update - Dec. 6, 2021

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

Tomorrow: Campus Update Forum 
The next University update forum for faculty, researchers, and staff will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m. on Zoom. Updates will focus on the status of the pandemic and the newly identified Omicron variant, as well as guidance about campus gatherings, travel policy, and the new year. Register here.

Smarter Radiation Therapy Enhances Personalized Care for Cancer Patients 
The latest advance in radiation therapy—using artificial intelligence to adjust treatments instantly—is now available for select cancer patients at NYP/CUIMC. Read more

CUIMC’s 2021 Baton Awards Recognize Six Staff Members 
Six CUIMC staff members have received 2021 Baton Awards that recognize teamwork and their ability to focus on group success rather than individual accomplishments. The awards were presented at the Dec. 3 meeting of the CUIMC Administrators Network. Read more

What Is Omicron and How Concerned Should We Be? 
Mailman & VP&S experts answer questions about Omicron, the newly identified COVID variant, including what you can do to protect yourself. Read more

French Delegation Visits Columbia Stem Cell Initiative 
Frédérique Vidal, France’s minister of higher education, research, and innovation, visited the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI) on Saturday alongside a delegation of French government officials. The tour of CSCI’s facilities was the first stop for Minister Vidal on a five-day visit to the United States. Read more

Community Mental Health Project Addresses the Needs of Underserved New Yorkers 
An initiative that strives to reduce the distress and trauma in the city’s racially and ethnically diverse communities that have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic has released an animated video series focusing on mental health. The initiative is a partnership of Columbia Psychiatry, the New York Public Library, and the nonprofit Black Health. Read more

AIDS at 40: Is the End Near? 
For many patients, treatments have turned HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease into a chronic illness, but key challenges remain in realizing the goal of a world without AIDS. David Ho, MD, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University and the Clyde’56 and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine at VP&S, and Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, University Professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and global director of ICAP at Columbia University, discuss these challenges. Read more

Mailman Research: Schools May Respond to Student Health and Developmental Needs with Discipline, Contributing to School-to-Prison Pipeline 
The school-to-prison pipeline is persistent and pervasive because of policies and practices that essentially criminalize and punish students who have health and developmental needs, according to Mailman researchers. Read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Ottavio Arancio, MD, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $2,423,405 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Chaperome networks in Alzheimer’s Disease.” 

Donald Edmondson, PhD, Medicine, will receive $285,338 over one year from Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York for “Enhancing the Implementation and Evaluation of the NYP Telemedicine Initiative” and $440,344 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a subaward of “Impact of minority stress on cardiovascular disease risk and resilience.”

Karthik Natarajan, PhD, Biomedical Informatics, will receive $533,697 over 21 months from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a subaward of “Virtual Network to Investigate the Trajectory of COVID-19-Related Severe Outcomes.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 

Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, will receive $332,272 over 16 months from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a subaward of “Heterogeneous forecast and nowcast of COVID-19 at county scale” and $3,271,345 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Quantifying Error Growth to Improve Infectious Disease Forecast Accuracy.”

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Jingjing Shang, PhD, RN, and Patricia Stone, PhD, RN, Division of Scholarship & Research, will receive $3,374,803 over four years from the National Institute on Aging for “ImpAct of COVID-19 on CaRe TransitOns and Health OutcomeS for Vulnerable PopulationS in Nursing Homes and Home HealthCARE Agencies (ACROSS-CARE).”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, and Joshua Milner, MD, Pediatrics, are among the American Pediatric Society’s new members for 2022.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The Lancet's Group for Racial Equality (GRacE) has appointed Samuel Kelton Roberts Jr., PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, as a member of its International Advisory Board. 

EVENTS

CUIMC HR and Employee Resource Group Events

  • Roundtable Conversation - Goal Setting, Dec. 7, 1 p.m., register here.
  • CUIMC All ERG Meeting, Dec. 8, 1:30 p.m., register here
  • Burnout Awareness and Prevention Training, Dec. 14, noon, register here.
  • Stress Management and Self Care, Jan. 11, noon, register here

CUIMC Women in Science Lecture Series: "Perfectly Imperfect Pathways to Success: Fork in the Road,” Dec. 9,  4:30 p.m., register here.

School of Nursing Office of Student Life's Cookie Decorating Event, Dec. 9, 4:30 p.m., register here

CUIMC Virtual Career Fair, Dec. 10, 9 a.m. - noon. Departments, schools, and institutes: register here

CUIMC Annual Toy Drive, by Dec. 16, view drop-off locations.  

Columbia Commons IPE Day: Call for Abstracts, by Feb. 11, view guidelines

For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.