CUIMC Update - June 1, 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

Pioneering Neuroscientist Eric Kandel to Retire
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Eric Kandel, MD, will retire on Aug. 31, 2022, from his positions as University Professor, Sagol Professor of Brain Science, co-director of Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute, and Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Read more

CopeColumbia Presentation on Shifting Our Culture: Perspectives from the Deans
CopeColumbia invites the CUIMC community to attend the next webinar in its Bold Conversations for Healing & Reshaping Our Medical Center Community Series, “Shifting Our Culture: Perspectives from the Deans,” on Wednesday, June 8, at 3:30 p.m. Panelists include Katrina Armstrong, MD, Christian Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, Linda Fried, MD, MPH, and Judy Honig EdD, DNP. Register here.

CUIMC Celebrates Pride Month
In recognition of Pride Month in June, join members of the CUIMC community for various events organized by CUIMC HR and the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, including The Trevor Project (June 8), We are CUIMC: Unapologetically Us on Haven Plaza (June 14), and Virtual Drag Bingo (June 22) Employees can also volunteer with Harlem Pride now through June 25. View volunteer opportunities

Neighborhood Corner Co-Named Coogan's Way
Coogan's bar and restaurant, the now-closed beloved fixture in Washington Heights, was celebrated with the co-naming of the corner of Broadway and 169th Street as Coogan's Way. Read more

Hepatitis Outbreak Among Kids: What Parents Should Know
Health authorities around the world are investigating rare cases of children with severe hepatitis of unknown cause. Mercedes Martinez, MD, professor of pediatrics and medicine at VP&S, discusses the outbreak and what parents should know. Read more

3 Myths About Celiac Disease
Members of Columbia’s Celiac Disease Center dispel myths about celiac disease, including those they hear from their patients. Read more

Gun Violence Prevention Experts at Mailman Respond to Mass Shootings
Mailman faculty respond to the recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. All are members of Columbia SURGE (Scientific Union for the Reduction of Gun Violence). Read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Dani Dumitriu, MD, Rachel Marsh, PhD, and Catherine Monk, PhD, Pediatrics, will receive $4,681,303 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO): brain-behavior functioning.” 

Gregg Gundersen, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $748,526 over four years from the National Institutes of Health for a subaward of “Nuclear Dysfunction in Cancer: The Role of Mechanical Stresses Transmitted by the LINC Complex.” 

Ulrich Hengst, PhD, Taub Institute, will receive $300,000 over three years from the BrightFocus Foundation for “Transcriptional dysregulation of the endocytic machinery in AD.”

Xiao-Fei Kong, MD, PhD, Medicine, will receive $827,280 over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “A genetic and immunological investigation of JAK-STAT in the pathogenesis of Celiac Disease.”

Gary Schwartz, MD, and Dawn Hershman, MD, Medicine, will receive $2,487,540 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Molecular Oncology Training Program.”

Michael Shen, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $1,950,515 over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Genetic Approaches to Development and Disease.”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Various oncology trainees at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center have won awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Kara Cicero, MD, Jacob Cogan, MD, Mariam El-Ashmawy, MD, PhD, Matthew Gallitto, MD, and Wen-Hsuan Lin, MD, PhD, have each won Young Investigator Awards for their innovative projects from ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation. Jacob Cogan, MD, Sminu Bose, MD, and Yoanna Pumpalova, MD, are recipients of ASCO Merit Awards for high-quality scientific abstracts. Read more

Peter M.J. Quinn, PhD, and Bruna Lopes da Costa, doctoral student, received the Alnylym Prize for Scientific Excellence at the Nucleate NYC pitch showcase. 

E. Sander Connolly, MD, Neurological Surgery, was elected president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons at its annual meeting in May 2022. 

EVENTS                   

COVID-19: Causes to Consequences Mini-Symposium, June 3, 1 p.m., Jerome L. Greene Science Center, 3227 Broadway, 9th Floor, register here

Financial Empowerment Workshop Series: Make your Money Work for You—Grow Your Wealth (Investing 101), June 7, noon, register here

Columbia Science and Health Equity Lecture Series “Maternal Mortality - New York,” June 7, 4 p.m., register here.

CUIMC’s African, Black, and Caribbean Employee Resource Group Presents: Why Juneteenth Matters, June 15, 1 p.m., register here.

LGBTQ+ Lecture Series with Admiral Rachel Levine, June 23, 4 p.m., register here

For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.