CUIMC Update - June 8, 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
Four VP&S Scientists Named 2022 Gerstner Scholars
The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Scholars Program provides exceptional early-career physician-scientists at VP&S with research funding. This year’s scholars are Rebecca Muhle, MD, PhD (Psychiatry); Jennifer Small-Saunders, MD, PhD (Medicine); Neil Vasan, MD, PhD (Medicine); and Peter Yim, MD (Anesthesiology). Read more.
How to Find LGBTQ+ Friendly Health Care
June is Pride Month. VP&S psychiatrist Jonathan Amiel, MD, shares tips for finding health care providers who support the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Read more.
Greenmarket at 168th and Fort Washington Kicks Off for 2022
Members of the CUIMC community are invited to visit the Fort Washington Greenmarket for produce and specialty food products from New York and New Jersey every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 22. Read more.
Do Grilled Foods Cause Cancer?
Though there is no straight line between eating food cooked on a grill and getting cancer, cooking over an open flame can lead to the development of carcinogens in meat. Mary Beth Terry, PhD, professor of epidemiology (in environmental health sciences) at Mailman, explains. Read more.
VP&S Expert Explains Rheumatoid Arthritis
With today's treatments, people with rheumatoid arthritis are usually able to resume most or all of their pre-RA activities once the inflammation is controlled. Joan Bathon, MD, director of the rheumatology division at VP&S, explains six important things to know about rheumatoid arthritis. Read more.
This Is What Happens When You Cannot Burp, Ever
Until recently, no-burp syndrome sufferers were mistakenly diagnosed with conditions like acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Michael Pitman, MD, chief of the Division of Laryngology at VP&S, is at the forefront of treating no-burp syndrome and discusses the condition. Read more.
GRANTS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Sankar Ghosh, PhD, and Thomas Siegmund Postler, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $445,500 over two years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Exploring a novel lncRNA regulator of T-cell function.”
Michio Hirano, MD, Neurology, will receive $375,000 over three years from the Muscular Dystrophy Association for “Adult MDA and MDA/ALS Care Centers at Columbia University Medical Center (2021-2024).”
Ivaylo Ivanov, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, will receive $2,792,217 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Maintenance of mucosal homeostasis by commensal Th17 cells.”
Benjamin Izar, MD, Medicine, will receive $416,543 over two years from the National Cancer Institute for “Dissecting drug resistance in serial uveal melanoma biopsies using integrated, multi-modal single-cell profiling and novel machine learning tools.”
Ian Kronish, MD, Medicine, will receive $3,533,781 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Implementing Remote Patient Monitoring to Improve Hypertension Control in a Primary Care Network.”
Steven Marx, MD, and Mark Hardy, MD, Medicine, will receive $4,056,450 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Disease.”
Michael Shen, PhD, Medicine, will receive $539,460 over three years from the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for “B7-H3 (CD276) as a Therapeutic Target in Lethal Prostate Cancers.”
Daichi Shimbo, MD, Medicine, will receive $323,751 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a subaward of “Incorporation of a Hypertension Working Group into the Jackson Heart Study.”
Ji-Yeon Shin, PhD, Medicine, will receive $300,000 over three years from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases for “LAP1-torsinA complex in NASH and HCC development.”
AWARDS AND HONORS
VAGELOS COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
Sumit Mohan, MD, Medicine, has received the 2022 Excellence in Transplantation Award from the National Kidney Foundation and the 2022 Clinical Science Investigator Award from the American Society of Transplantation.
Varun Sudunagunta, medical student, was selected by the American Society of Hematology to receive a Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Research Scientists Award. Aaron Viny, MD, Medicine, will mentor him on a research project that corresponds with the award. Read more.
MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Merlin Chowkwanyun, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, was selected by the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science Board and Membership as the 2022 recipient of the Milbank Quarterly Early Career Award in Population Health. Read more.
Diana Hernandez, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, is one of the winners of the Inaugural 40 under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award presented by Boston Congress of Public Health.
EVENTS
Bold Conversations for Healing & Reshaping Our Medical Center Community Series: “Shifting Our Culture: Perspectives from the Deans,” June 8, 3:30 p.m., register here.
CUIMC HR and the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Pride Month Events:
- We are CUIMC: Unapologetically Us on Haven Plaza, June 14, noon, read more.
- Virtual Drag Bingo, June 22, 4:15 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.