CUIMC Update - June 22, 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

Dr. Jessica Opoku-Anane on Black Women's Health
Systemic racism impacts health care. VP&S gynecologic surgeon and assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology Jessica Opoku-Anane, MD, discusses reimagining health care for Black women to improve their health outcomes. Read more.  

COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids Under 5
Following approval by the FDA and CDC, two COVID vaccines are now available for kids under 5. Columbia pediatrician and vaccine expert Melissa Stockwell, MD, answers important questions about safety and efficacy for COVID-19 vaccines in kids under 5. Read more

Everyone Has a Role in Gender-Affirming Care 
Gender-affirming care goes beyond medicine to help people be healthy, happy, and safe. Natasha Ramsey, MD, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine fellow at VP&S, explains gender-affirming care for youth, why it is essential for mental health, and medical options. Read more.

Pride Month Q&A with Nursing Professor Tonda Hughes
Nurses represent the largest segment of the health care workforce and are uniquely positioned to have a profound impact in reducing health disparities among LGBTQ+ people. Tonda Hughes, PhD, executive director of the Center for Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research, discusses progress toward integrating LGBTQ+ health into nursing education, research, and practice. Read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Francesca Bartolini, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology: $754,997 over one year from the National Institute on Aging for “Pathogenic role for microtubule stabilization pathways in Alzheimer's disease.”

Jose Luchsinger, MD, Medicine: $16,452,445 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for “Diabetes and brain amyloid in middle aged Hispanics.” 

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 

Diana Hernandez, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences: $250,000 over two years from the Johnson (Robert Wood) Foundation for “Exploring Racial Disparities in Home Energy Services to Shed New Light on Persistent Housing Inequity.”

Alfred Neugut, MD, PhD, Epidemiology: $6,883,326 over six years from the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for “The Center for Clinical Pharmacoepidemiology and Health Outcomes Research at Columbia University and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.” 

SCHOOL OF NURSING 

Yihong Zhao, PhD, Division of Scholarship & Research: $859,990 over five years from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for a subaward of “Cortical Subcortical Reorganization and Risk Behaviors of Early Alcohol Use Initiation.”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

James Auran, MD, Ophthalmology, was elected executive vice president of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma (ASOT) for 2022 through 2027. He is the immediate past president of ASOT, having served as president from 2020 to 2021. 

Elisabeth B. Guthrie, MD, Psychiatry, was named the Apgar Academy Inaugural Educational Mentor of the Year. 

Vincent Racaniello, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, received the Richard R. Ernst Gold Medal from ETH Zurich. Read more

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, Epidemiology and Medicine, was appointed to the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director, which provides advice on matters pertinent to National Institutes of Health missions responsibilities in the conduct and support of biomedical research, medical science, and biomedical communications.  

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Veronica Barcelona, PhD, RN, was one of 12 members inducted into the 2022 cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.

EVENTS                   

StudioLab DrawingBoard, Wednesdays, 6 p.m., Zoom, open to the CUIMC community, sign up here

CUIMC HR and the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Presents: Virtual Drag Bingo, June 22, 4:15 p.m., register here.  

LGBTQ+ Lecture Series: “Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Sexual and Gender Minorities in the U.S.” with Admiral Rachel Levine, June 23, 4 p.m., register here

Promising Approaches to Moral Distress Among Nurses, June 30, 4 p.m., register here.

For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.