CUIMC Update - June 7, 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

A Conversation with Tonya Richards, CUIMC's First Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Staff 
Tonya Richards, a member of the human resources team at CUIMC since 2016, begins her new role in July. She discusses diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at CUIMC, including current work and her hopes for the future. Read more

VP&S Launches Faculty OUTlist 
Timed to Pride Month in June, the VP&S Office for Women and Diverse Faculty announces the VP&S Faculty OUTlist, a voluntary initiative developed by the LGBTQ+ Faculty Peer Mentorship group to facilitate connections among the LGBTQ+ community and its allies and foster mentoring and collaborative networks across CUIMC. Take a look

In Case You Missed It: Bold Conversations for Healing and Reshaping Our Medical Center Community
CopeColumbia and CUIMC Human Resources hosted a panel discussion with members of the medical center's community, who spoke about their personal experiences with racial stress in the workplace. Panelists described individual strategies and responses that were helpful in addressing the issues and feelings they faced. View recording (login required). 

Mailman Research: Start Early to Begin Healthy Eating Habits
A new study co-authored by L.H. Lumey, PhD, professor of epidemiology at Mailman, has found that when health workers were trained to help pregnant women learn healthy infant feeding practices, the children consumed less fats and carbohydrates later. Read more.

VP&S Dermatologist Urges Action Against Skin Cancer 
The first lobbying success of Larisa Geskin, MD, associate professor of dermatology at VP&S, led New York state to prohibit indoor tanning for children. Now she's urging Medicaid to help low-income families access sunscreen. Read more

GRANTS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Domenico Accili, MD, Medicine, will receive $1,960,104 over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Mouse Models of Insulin Resistance.”

Francesca Bartolini, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Pathogenic Role of D2 Tubulin in Peripheral Neuropathy.”

Alberto Ciccia, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $2,025,000 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Regulation of DNA Synthesis in Response to DNA Damage.”

Anke Ehrhardt, PhD, Psychiatry, will receive $271,600 over five years from the National Institute on Aging for “Social Convoys, Cognitive Reserve and Resilience, and Risk for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.”

Kara Gross Margolis, MD, Pediatrics, will receive $1,919,886 over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for “Linkage of s100a10 (p11) to Enteric 5-HT4-Mediated Serotonergic Signaling Roles in GI Motility, Enteric Nervous System Development, and Co-Morbid Dysfunction of Gut and Brain.”

Chao Lu, PhD, Genetics & Development, will receive $1,635,862 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Role of Histone and Histone-Like Mutations in the Oncogenesis of Human Cancers.”

J. John Mann, MD, Psychiatry, will receive $435,420 over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “IM Ketamine for Rapid Reduction of Suicidal Thoughts in High-Risk ED Patients: A Midazolam-Controlled Trial.”

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Norman Kleiman, PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, will receive $1,139,975 over five years from the National Cancer Institute for “Multiplexed In-Solution Serological Test for SARS-COV-2, Human Coronaviruses and Other Respiratory Pathogens.”

AWARDS AND HONORS

VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS

Peter M.J. Quinn, PhD, Ophthalmology, has been named a 2021 Druckenmiller Fellow by the New York Stem Cell Foundation.

Jason D. Wright, MD, chief of the division of gynecologic oncology, has been named incoming editor-in-chief of Obstetrics & Gynecology (the Green Journal), the official journal of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Read more.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, ICAP’s founder and director, and Olawale Fadare, MBBS, technical director of TMEC/RISE with ICAP in Nigeria, will speak at events during the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS. Read more.

EVENTS

LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Presents: Drag Queen Bingo, June 8, 4 p.m., register here

LGBTQ+ Lecture Series: “Building the Next Generation of LGBTQ+ Academic Physicians,” June 8, 5 p.m., register here

Research Ethics and Compliance Film Discussion, "Miss Evers' Boys," June 9, 2 p.m., register here

School of Nursing General Virtual Information Session, June 9, 3 p.m., register here

2021 Depression Research Summit, June 9, 16, 23, register here

CUIMC Academy of Community and Public Service 2021 Induction Ceremony, June 10, 5 p.m., register here

Friday Webinar Series on Leadership: International Nurses Day 2021, June 11, 18, 25, 10 a.m., register here

How to Be an Effective Ally: Unmasking the Anti Asian American Experience During COVID-19, June 11, 2 p.m., register here

CUIMC Disability Employee Resource Group Presents: Best Practices for Disability Inclusion & Awareness, June 15, 1 p.m., register here

CUIMC Women Employee Resource Group Presents: Roundtable Conversation on the Art of Salary Negotiation, June 16, noon, register here

CUIMC’s African, Black & Caribbean, Asian Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Groups Present: Upstander & Allyship Workshop, June 16, 2 p.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

For more events, visit the CUIMC Events listing.