New VP&S Faculty

The VP&S Office of Faculty Affairs has provided this list of full-time faculty hired from Jan. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023:

• Manar Abdalgani, MBBS, Pediatrics: Abdalgani’s interest is primary immunodeficiency diseases, immune regulatory disorders, pre- and post-transplant care of primary immune deficiency patients, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and immunomodulatory treatment.
• Laila M. Abdel-Salam, PhD, Psychiatry: Abdel-Salam specializes in psychotherapy for adults and emerging adults who have experienced trauma, mood disorders, and personality disorders.
• Albert Akkerman, MD, Anesthesiology: Akkerman provides anesthesia services to patients undergoing surgery or invasive procedures in the Milstein operating rooms and associated non-operating room locations, including endoscopy and radiology. He teaches at the bedside while working with residents and fellows in different practice environments.
• Hülya Bayır, MD, Pediatrics: Bayır has conducted work in neuronal injury, oxidative lipidomics, and lipid-based biomarker discovery with a goal of developing novel redox therapies to protect the brains of critically ill patients.
• Anita Celeste Beecham-Robinson, MD, Center for Family and Community Medicine: Beecham-Robinson’s interests include preventive medicine, women's health, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
• Talitha Lisa-Marie Bruney, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology: Bruney is an obstetrician-gynecologist interested in promoting community engagement efforts, working with underserved communities, and advancing resident education.
• Luqman K. Dad, MD, Radiation Oncology: Dad’s interest is in promoting inclusive cancer care; he is director of outreach and global engagement in radiation oncology.
• Lev Deriy, MD, Anesthesiology: After spending 25 years in cardiothoracic anesthesia and critical care, Deriy is now a general anesthesiologist with expertise in perioperative point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS).
• Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology: Ghiassi-Nejad treats patients with breast and gynecological malignancies, specializing in brachytherapy and external beam treatments.
• Anand Goswami, PhD, Neurology: Goswami's major research interest is to identify and characterize molecular targets for neuroprotection and subsequently develop strategies for more effective gene therapy, drug therapy, and antisense therapy (ASO) for ALS, ALS-FTD, and related disorders.
• Shalmali Dilip Joshi, PhD, Biomedical Informatics: Joshi studies the algorithmic safety of machine learning for human-centered domains.
• Kyoung Eun Joung, MD, Pediatrics: Joung is a neonatologist interested in neonatal nutrition and the long-term metabolic consequences of intrauterine growth restriction.
• Soo Jeong Kim, MD, Urology: Kim provides compassionate, evidence-based, patient and family-centered care for medical and surgical management of pediatric urologic issues.
• Ya Cheng Liao, PhD, Taub Institute: Liao's research focuses on studying how organelles integrate cellular signaling to guide RNA localization and translation in neurons and how this process goes awry in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and ALS.
• Michael L. Lipton, MD, PhD, Radiology: Lipton is a neuroradiologist whose research focuses on brain mechanisms of neurobehavioral dysfunction due to injury and disease. For nearly two decades he has worked on detecting and characterizing the effects of concussion and repetitive subconcussive head impacts in sports.
• Dor Lotan, MD, Medicine: Lotan is a cardiologist who specializes in advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and transplantation.
• Stephen G. Meigher, MD, Emergency Medicine: After working in the community at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital in California, Meigher has joined Columbia as a clinician-educator to share his passion of teaching advanced airway techniques.
• Cariane Morales Matos, MD, Medicine
• Dheeraj Nagpal, MBBS, Anesthesiology: Nagpal is a general anesthesiologist working in the Milstein operating rooms, providing anesthesia services to patients undergoing surgery or invasive procedures. He has worked in academic and private practice, caring for both pediatric and adult cases. He welcomes the opportunity to teach and work with trainees in operating rooms. 
• Shital Parikh, MD, Medicine
• Sharon Park Keh, OD, Ophthalmology: Keh's research interests include evaluating soft contact lenses for myopia control, scleral contact lenses, and assessing axial eye length changes in pediatric patients wearing optical head-mounted displays.
• Luigi Pirelli, MD, Surgery: Pirelli’s expertise includes transcatheter valve therapies and surgical valve repairs.
• Ohemaa Poku, PhD, Psychiatry: Poku’s research focuses on the cross-cultural interpretations of illness and how stigma impacts access to psychosocial care for individuals living with HIV, particularly for Africans and the African Diaspora.
• Tarah Pua, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology: Pua is a gynecologic oncologist interested in complementary therapies as an adjunct to cancer treatment, chemotherapy trials, and targeted therapies for gynecologic malignancies.
• Mildred Ramirez, PhD, Medicine
• Joseph Nabil Riad, MD, Surgery: Riad is a colon and rectal surgeon experienced in robotic surgery.
• Adam C. Riegel, PhD, Radiation Oncology: Riegel is director of clinical medical physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology. He founded Med Phys 4 MDs, an online medical physics review course for radiology and radiation oncology medical residents preparing for their boards.
• Said S. Saab, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology: Saab is interested in research on medical student and resident education, with a particular interest in assessments and evaluations.
• Viraj R. Sanghvi, PhD, Medicine
• Sujay K. Sheth, MD, Radiology: Sheth joined the Division of Emergency Radiology. Outside of clinical work, his interests in radiology include medical education, workflow optimization, and quality assurance/improvement.
• Cassandra Simmons, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology: Simmons is chief of the Division of General Obstetrics & Gynecology and is interested in addressing the myriad determinants of health that shape patient outcomes.
• John James van Bockxmeer, MBBS, Center for Family & Community Medicine: van Bockxmeer is a family physician who moved to New York from Western Australia. He is interested in delivering trauma-informed, compassionate, and evidence-based care for patients of any age.
• Alon Z. Weizer, MD, Urology: Weizer is a faculty member in Columbia's urology affiliation at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami.
• Patrisha M. Woolard, MD, PhD, Pediatrics: Woolard is pediatric residency program director and a hospitalist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.
• Matthew J. Yousefzadeh, PhD, Medicine: Yousefzadeh’s interests include aging, assay development, cancer, DNA repair, immunology, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and senescence.
• Yading Yuan, PhD, Radiation Oncology: Yuan is a clinical medical physicist with research interests in the interdisciplinary fields of computer engineering, physics, and medical imaging. His primary focus is clinical and scientific innovation in radiation oncology and translating recent technical advancements in data science and engineering into clinical practice to improve patient care.