CUIMC Update - Feb. 7, 2022
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
A Campus Update Forum for faculty, researchers, and staff will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. on Zoom. The session will include updates on COVID-19 plans for spring 2022 and the campus work environment. Up to two questions may be submitted in advance until 5 p.m. today to HRemail@columbia.edu. Register here.
CopeColumbia’s New Workshop Series: Surviving Pandemic Fallout
Join CUIMC colleagues for CopeColumbia’s four-part workshop series on managing stress, trauma, shame, anxiety, and burnout. Workshops will be held on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m., starting Feb. 17. Participants are welcome to attend any or all sessions. Register here.
Study Finds Alzheimer's-like Changes in Some COVID Patients’ Brains
A VP&S study reports that the brains of a small sample of patients who died of COVID display some of the same molecular changes found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, which could help explain the memory problems experienced by sufferers of long COVID. Read more.
NY Governor's Proposal to Invest $10 Billion in Health Care
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has introduced her FY 2022-2023 budget proposal to the state legislature. Her first budget proposal as governor includes several items of interest to Columbia and academic medical centers, including proposals to support and expand the health care workforce, capital funding for health care institutions, and proposals to make it easier for out-of-state doctors and nurses to practice in New York. The proposed budget would fund the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program at current levels but does not restore funding for NYSTEM, New York's stem cell research program. Read more.
Serving the Underserved: Q&A with George Jenkins
February is Black History Month. George Jenkins, DMD, associate dean for access, equity, and inclusion for the College of Dental Medicine, discusses the importance of diversity in dentistry. Read more.
Is It Safe for My Child to Return to Play After a COVID Infection?
Rachel Weller, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at VP&S, shares guidance for parents and caregivers on when their child can return to gym class and organized sports after a COVID infection. Read more.
Newly Funded New York City Center Aims to Reduce Health Disparities in Multiple Chronic Diseases
A grant from the National Institutes of Health will establish a multi-institutional group in New York City to address health disparities in multiple chronic diseases through a new COMMUNITY Center. The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is among those partnering on this effort. Read more.
GRANTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Wayne Frankel, PhD, Institute for Genomic Medicine, will receive $4,799,240 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Genetic Determinants of Epilepsy in Murine Systems.”
Dawn Hershman, MD, Medicine, will receive $485,703 over three years from the National Cancer Institute for a subaward of “A web-based patient-reported symptom monitoring and self-management portal for adolescent and young adult breast cancer survivors.”
Carol Ann Mason, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $441,290 over five years from the National Eye Institute for “Vision Sciences Training Grant.”
Richard Paul Mayeux, MD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $13,355,909 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for “Epidemiological and Genetic Investigations of Blood-Based Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease in the Multiethnic, Washington Heights, Inwood, Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP).”
Eliza Miller, MD, Neurology, will receive $3,928,234 over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment after Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: the nuMoM2b-Heart Health Study.”
AWARDS AND HONORS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, Medicine, was nominated to serve as program consultant for the NIH Common Fund's Nutrition for Precision Health.
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS AND MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
New York State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett last week convened experts to discuss the impact of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, also known as “long COVID.” CUIMC faculty members were represented on the three panels: Mady Hornig, MD, Mailman, and Lawrence Purpura, MD, VP&S (research panel); Sarah J. Ryan, MD, VP&S (clinical panel); and Monica Lypson, MD, VP&S (policy panel). More information and a video of the event are available here.
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Doctoral students Joanne Michelle F. Ocampo and Alejandra Paniagua-Avila were among the recipients of University Life’s 2022 Racial Justice Mini-Grants Program for their “Three-part Seminar Series to Address ‘Racial Myths’ in Global Health.” Read more.
EVENTS
Seminar on “Mad About U: Regulating a Developmental miRNA” with Leemor Joshua-Tor, PhD, Feb. 8, 11 a.m., watch on Zoom.
Black History Month Events:
- Musical Performance by Ashley Keiko, Feb. 9, 12 p.m., register here.
- Racial Trauma, Resilience, and COVID-19 Training, Feb. 15, 12 p.m., register here.
- A Virtual Talk With Dr. Ibram X. Kendi About Anti-Racism, Feb. 16, 6 p.m., register here.
- CUIMC Black History Month Virtual Celebration, Feb. 17, 4 p.m., register here.
Columbia Nursing Information Session (All Programs), Feb. 9, 3 p.m., register here.
Columbia Commons IPE Day: Call for Abstracts, by Feb. 11, view guidelines.
What Pediatricians and Obstetricians Should Know About Prenatal Genetic Testing Today, Feb. 16, 6 p.m., register here.
Charles R. Drew Black History Month Blood Drive, Feb. 17, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., 50 Haven Ave., Main Lounge, sign up here.
Writing Effective Op-eds and Columns: A Virtual Learning Workshop, Feb. 17, 2:30 p.m., register here.
Institute of Human Nutrition Seminar Series - Alexis Stranahan, PhD, Feb. 17, 4 p.m., view here.
Employee Appreciation Meals have been extended through Feb. 18. Learn more.
For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.