CUIMC Update - June 28, 2023
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
Columbia VP&S Physicians Share Tips for Getting the Best Health Care
Psychiatrist Sara Nash, MD, pediatrician Divya Lakhaney, MD, cardiologist Joseph Tenenbaum, MD, and surgeon Spencer Amory, MD, offer tips on how to navigate complex medical systems and the importance of advocating for yourself as a patient. Read more.
Why Sipping is Terrible for Your Teeth, According to a Columbia Dentist
Sugar, soda, and sticky sweets are bad for your teeth, but sipping a drink over a long period may be even worse, due to the acidic nature of nearly all beverages. “Drinking one cup of coffee, tea, juice, or other drink in a single sitting is better for your teeth than sipping one cup throughout the entire day,” says Dante Devoti, DMD, assistant professor of dental medicine at the College of Dental Medicine. Devoti explains the damage sipping drinks does to teeth. Read more.
Director of Columbia Vein Center Shares What You Should Know about Varicose Veins
Columbia’s Eastern Vascular Vein Center has received accreditation from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, which awards accreditation to vein centers that demonstrate a high level of patient care, vein evaluation and management, and/or treatment procedures. Michael Vitti, MD, director of the center, shares what you should know about varicose veins, one of the most common conditions the center treats. Read more.
Columbia HR Learning & Development: Provide Feedback to Help Shape Future Courses
Columbia University Human Resources Learning & Development offers numerous resources for career development, including self-paced learning, suggestions for team-building activities, workshops, certificate programs, and more. You can provide feedback on a short survey about the types of workshops you would like to see offered through L&D in the coming year. Take the survey.
Columbia Addiction Expert Discusses How Much Alcohol is Too Much
Alcohol in any quantity has an effect on your health, and even moderate drinking increases the risk of stroke and cancer. Nasir Naqvi, MD, a Columbia psychiatrist and cognitive neuroscientist who treats people with addictions, discusses some of the most common questions he receives from patients who are concerned they may be developing an alcohol use disorder. Read more.
EVENTS
LGBTQ+ Lecture Series: Nothing For Us Without Us: The Role of Intersectionality and Positionality in LGBT Health Equity Research
June 28, 4 p.m., Faculty Club, 630 W. 168 St., 4th Floor
Register here.
My Name is Pauli Murray: Film Screening & Panel Discussion
June 29, 4 p.m., School of Nursing, 560 W. 168 St., 7th Floor Rooftop
Register here.
ACE Master Clinician Mentorship Series: Transition of Care from Pediatrics to Adulthood
June 30, 8 a.m., online
Register here.
ColumbiaDoctors Outreach With Cancer Center and Dentistry
July 11, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Haven Plaza, Haven Avenue between Fort Washington Avenue and 169 Street
Register here.
Social Media and Kids: Columbia Experts Discuss What's "In the News"
July 18, 6 p.m., online
Register here.
GRANTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Edmund Au, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology: $442,160 over two years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Multilevel Analysis of Cortical Interneuron Dysfunction in Fragile X Syndrome."
Adam Brickman, PhD, Taub Institute: $450,000 over two years from the Alzheimer's Association for "Linking vascular cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease risk in midlife."
David Fidock, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology: $2,733,987 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Defining the Role of PfCRT and PfMDR1 as Pleiotropic Mediators of Plasmodium falciparum Multidrug Resistance."
Joachim Frank, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics: $515,695 over two years for a subaward from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for "Development and commercialization of a Sample Preparation System for Time-Resolved Cryo-Electron Microscopy."
Alexander Friedman, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology: $3,392,328 over five years from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for "Modeling informatics data to track maternal risk and care quality."
Joseph Lee, DrPH, Sergievsky Center: $1,468,014 over five years for a subaward from the National Institute on Aging for "The Health and Aging Brain Study- Health Disparities."
Mathew Maurer, MD, Medicine: $489,693 over five years for a subaward from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Identifying subclinical transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis in asymptomatic carriers of the V1221 TTR Allele."
Martin Picard, PhD, Psychiatry: $2,449,033 over three years from the National Institute on Aging for "Mitochondrial Energetics, Circuits and Cognitive Decline in the Aging Human Brain."
HONORS
COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, received the Distinguished Scientist Young Investigator Award from the International Association for Dental Research.
SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT
IN THE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Scientific American
New Drug for Cannabis Use Disorder Shows Promise in Early Trials in Humans
Jun 21, 2023 - “This receptor plays such a critical role in physiological function that you can’t just block it, and if you do, there are all sorts of serious adverse events,” says co-lead study author Margaret Haney, director of the Cannabis Research Laboratory at Columbia University. The new compound, called AEF0117, works differently: it is a signaling inhibitor, which means it blocks only “a pocket” of the CB1 receptor, Haney explains.
The New York Times
Tai Chi Is a Workout for the Brain and Body
Jun 20, 2023 - Research suggests tai chi can improve balance and mobility, including in people with neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease. By strengthening surrounding muscles, tai chi also reduces strain on joints, said Dr. Amanda Sammut, the chief of rheumatology at Harlem Hospital and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University.
ABC 7 New York (video)
New York Bill to Allow Paid Family Leave for Stillbirth Mothers Stalls in Legislature
Jun 21, 2023 - Dr. Uma Reddy, a high-risk OBGYN at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, supports the stillbirth bill. "It's not just being compassionate or giving bereavement time," she said. "It's about improving maternal health and outcomes."