CUIMC Update - November 21, 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
CUIMC Community Members Share Their Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is a time for gathering and sharing a meal with loved ones from near and far. What that meal might look like and what traditions might be associated with the holiday, though, are unique to every family. CUIMC faculty members, staff, and students share how they celebrate Thanksgiving.
Crown Awards Gala Celebrates Transforming Health by Driving Discovery
More than 400 Columbia benefactors, faculty, and friends from the VP&S community joined together to celebrate the 14th Annual Crown Awards Gala on Nov. 13. This year’s Crown Award was presented to Dr. Carol and Gene Ludwig in recognition of their support of the new research building and establishment of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Center for Research on Neurodegeneration.
NPR Listeners Put Columbia Exercise Research to the Test
More than 20,000 NPR listeners joined a study led by Keith Diaz, PhD, to see if they could incorporate regular movement breaks into their day to improve their well-being. Read more about the preliminary results and how this collaboration between Columbia and NPR came to be.
Columbia Researchers Study the Health of American Moms in the Year After Birth
A study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health and the School of Social Work provides insight into the challenges that could be drivers of postpartum morbidity and mortality.
Afternoon of Science Series: Department of Microbiology & Immunology
The Afternoon of Science series, which highlights the work of VP&S basic science departments and centers, continued on Nov. 16 with a focus on the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. The next event on Jan. 22 will feature the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Events
- The Ethics of Tele-Mental Health: Challenges, Dilemmas, & Opportunities
Nov. 27, 12 p.m.
Online - Facing the Inevitable: The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Clinical Practice
Nov. 30, 8 a.m.
Online - Anti-Racism Speaker Series featuring Dr. Timiya S. Nolan: "Charting a Course for Inclusive Excellence from Clinics to Communities"
- Nov. 30, 10 a.m.
Online - VP&S Anti-racism Coalition's “VP&S Addressing Segregated Care"
Dec. 1, 2 p.m.
Vagelos Education Center, 104 Haven Ave., Room 401 - VP&S Open Forum
Dec. 4, 4 p.m.
Black Building, 650 W. 168 St., Alumni Auditorium - What is the Likelihood of Finding a Cure for Oral Microbial Diseases?
Dec. 6, 11:30 a.m.
School of Nursing, 560 W. 168 St., 7th Floor - CUIMC Women in Science Lecture Series: "Perfectly Imperfect Pathways to Success: Managing Change"
Dec. 6, 4 p.m.
Black Building, 650 W. 168 St., Alumni Auditorium and Schaefer Awards Gallery
Grants
Mailman School of Public Health
- Lynn Petukhova, PhD, Epidemiology
$3,475,365 over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for "Establishing the contributions of monogenic etiologies to hidradenitis suppurativa pathogenesis."
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Krystalyn Hudson, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology
$3,542,280 over five years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Immune Response to RBC Antigens." - Rebecca Muhle, MD, PhD, Psychiatry
$3,506,545 over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for "Impact of Loss of the Autism Risk Gene CHD8 on Expression, Epigenetics and Cellular Functioning of Dopaminergic System." - Anil Rustgi, MD, HICCC
$2,500,270 over three years from Stand Up To Cancer for "Novel therapeutic approaches for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma." - Giuseppe Tosto, MD, PhD, Sergievsky Center
$1,868,557 over three years from the National Institute on Aging for "Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer's Disease in Hispanic/Latinx populations." - Harris Wang, PhD, Systems Biology
$3,605,104 over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for "Micron-scale Spatial Metagenomic Mapping of Microbial Biogeography in the Gastrointestinal Tract." - Yiyi Zhang, PhD, Medicine
$2,879,534 over four years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Improving Lipid Management Strategies in Young Adults."
Honors
- Mijo Simunovic, PhD, Genetics & Development; Elham Azizi, PhD, HICCC; and José L. McFaline-Figueroa, PhD, Herbert and Florence Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics
Named 2023 Allen Distinguished Investigators by the Allen Institute.
Social Media Snapshot
In the News Highlights
Too Little Sleep Might Raise a Woman's Odds for Diabetes
Nov 14, 2023
HealthDay News
“Throughout their lifespan, women face many changes in their sleep habits due to childbearing, child-rearing, and menopause,” said lead researcher Marie-Pierre St-Onge, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research at Columbia University in New York City. “And more women than men have the perception they aren’t getting enough sleep.”
Rebound Infections Occur in 20% of Paxlovid Users, According to New Research
Nov 14, 2023
TIME
Dr. David Ho, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, was among the first to report higher rates of rebound. Based on on-going studies from his lab, he says an eight-day Paxlovid treatment, instead of a five-day course, could significantly reduce the amount of rebound.
Dr. Craig Smith Pens 'Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon's Path'
Nov 8, 2023
CBS New York (video)
Being a surgeon is a mentally and physically demanding career, with doctors making life and death decisions every day. In his new memoir, Dr. Craig Smith takes us behind the scenes of his high stakes position.