CUIMC Update - June 21, 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

Three VP&S Scientists Selected as Paul A. Marks Scholars 
Three early-career scientists at VP&S—X. Shawn Liu, PhD (Physiology & Cellular Biophysics), Xuebing Wu, PhD (Medicine), and Nikhil Sharma, PhD (Molecular Pharmacology & Therapeutics)—have been selected as 2021 Paul A. Marks Scholars. Read more

Columbia Nursing Launches Center for Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research 
The new center will investigate unique health risks for LGBTQ individuals, with the goal of promoting social justice and health equity. Read more.

VP&S Research: Omega-3s May Hold Key to Unlocking Blood-Brain Barrier 
Using cryo-electron microscopy, VP&S researchers have obtained high-resolution images of a molecule that shuttles omega-3 fatty acids into the brain, a finding that may lead to new ways to send therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier. Read more

Mailman Students Share their Voices on Pride  
Students in the Mailman School of Public Health share how they are celebrating Pride Month and how the meaning of the month has changed as a result of the pandemic. Read more

Greenmarket at 168th and Fort Washington Returns for Summer and Fall 2021 
Members of the CUIMC community will find produce and specialty food products from New York and New Jersey at the Fort Washington Greenmarket every Tuesday now through Nov. 23. COVID guidelines are in place for the safety of shoppers. Read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Stephanie Cosentino, PhD, Sergievsky Center, will receive $908,979 over one year from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a subaward of “Clinical Pathological Study of Cognitive Impairment in Essential Tremor.”

Philip De Jager, MD, PhD, Neurology, will receive $772,543 over two years from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for “National Multiple Sclerosis Tissue Repository Network,” $700,534 over five years from the National Human Genome Research Institute for “Center for Integrated Cellular Analysis,” $610,897 over one year from EMD Serono for "Multiple Sclerosis Leadership and Innovation Network (MS-LINK),” and $290,303 over three years from the National Institute on Aging for a subaward of “Probing Heterogeneity of Alzheimer's Disease using iPSCs.”

Tamar Lubell, MD, Emergency Medicine, will receive $323,404 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “BEdside Exclusion of Pulmonary Emboli in Children without Exposure to Radiation-BEEPER.”

Scott Small, MD, Taub Institute, will receive $300,000 over two years from the Alzheimer's Association for “Mechanisms of Neuronal-Glial Crosstalk in Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Yousin Suh, PhD, and Dietrich Egli, PhD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, will receive $4,496,428 over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Enhancer-based Immune and Beta Cell Dysregulation Underlying T1D Risk.”

Alexis Walker, PhD, Medical Humanities & Ethics, will receive $747,000 over two years from the National Human Genome Research Institute for “Organizational and Cultural Dynamics in Genomics Companies: Industry Engagement in Navigating Social and Ethical Issues.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Gary Miller, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, will receive $257,691 over four years from the European Commission for a subaward of “EXPANSE (EXposome Powered tools for healthy living in urbAN SEttings).”

AWARDS AND HONORS

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER

Donald Edmondson, PhD, MPH, Medicine and Psychiatry; Dawn Hershman, MD, MS, Medicine and Epidemiology; Silvia S. Martins, MD, PhD, Epidemiology; and Jacquelyn Taylor, PhD, Nursing, are recipients of the 2021 Mentor of the Year Award from the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, in collaboration with the Columbia University Irving Medical Center Office of Academic Affairs. Read more.

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, director of New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Stephanie Le Melle, MD, director of public psychiatry education, have been named to City & State magazine’s Mental Health Power 50 list. Read more.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Jasmine McDonald, PhD, Epidemiology, who is assistant director for education and training at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, will receive funding from the V Foundation to support her research in understanding postpartum breast cancer. Read more.

EVENTS

Virtual Employee Appreciation Week, June 21-25, view events.  

Launch of the Report: Crisis Communications and Vaccine Uptake in Fragile African Settings, June 22, 12:30 p.m., register here.  

School of Nursing General Q&A Virtual Information Session, June 23, 3 p.m., register here.  

School of Nursing and PBS Present: Fast Forward Documentary, June 23, 4 p.m., register here.  

Research on Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations, June 24, 11 a.m., register here

Friday Webinar Series on Leadership: International Nurses Day 2021, June 25, 10 a.m., register here

ICAP Grand Rounds Webinar: Addressing Cancer in LMICs – Progress and Plans at the US National Cancer Institute, June 29, 9 a.m., register here

LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Presents: The Trevor Project Pride Webinar, June 30, 1 p.m., register here

For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.