CUIMC Update - June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

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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 Physician-Scientists Named Gerstner Scholars
The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Scholars Program named its 17th group of exceptional early-career physician-scientists at VP&S. The 2025 Gerstner Scholars are Osama Al Dalahmah, Dominique Bailey, Giuseppe Cullaro, and Joel Gabre. Jennifer Small-Saunders, a 2022 Gerstner Scholar, received this year’s Gerstner Merit Award.

LGBTQ Health Research at Risk
Columbia Nursing has long been a leader in research on sexual and gender minority health. This work continues, but several pivotal studies ended prematurely when the federal government terminated millions in NIH funding to the university. Learn more about three of these research projects and the investigators who led them.

Mailman's PopFam Celebrates 50 Years of Transforming Global Health
Since its founding in 1975, the Department of Population and Family Health has been a trailblazer in maternal and child health, adolescent health, care in crisis settings, reproductive health, and environmental justice—shaping policies and saving lives in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

How to Keep the Food in Your Cooler Safe to Eat
Few things beat the heat like a picnic at the beach or park. But is the leftover potato salad okay to take home? Columbia microbiologist Daniel Green discusses the bacteria found in coolers and tips for reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Events

Grants

Mailman School of Public Health

  • William Reidy, ICAP
    $989,526 over one year for a subaward from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for "Global Fund DSD Nigeria Phase III."

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Hulya Bayir, Pediatrics
    $947,492 over four years for a subaward from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for "Selective Inhibitors of MLCL/CytC Peroxidase in Barth syndrome."
  • Despina Kontos, Radiology
    $801,408 over three years for a subaward from the National Cancer Institute for "MRI Radiomic Signatures of DCIS to Optimize Treatment."
  • Sandra Lee, Medical Humanities & Ethics
    $4,290,074 over five years for a subaward from the National Human Genome Research Institute for "ELSI.hub: National Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis."
  • Rudolph Leibel and Robin Goland, Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center
    $657,598 over five years for a subaward from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for "Center for Identification and Study of Individuals with Atypical Diabetes Mellitus."
  • Alex Rai, Pathology & Cell Biology
    $417,593 over three years for a subaward from the National Institutes of Health for "Development of a robust HIV-1 diagnostic system (HIV-eCaDI) for at-home testing."
  • Olajide Williams, Neurology
    $250,000 over one year from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation for "InTouchEspañol: Addressing Latino Immigrant Health and Workforce Development by Leveraging an Established Community Health Worker Training Program."

Honors

Mailman School of Public Health

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Social Media Snapshot

Instagram

In the News Highlights

  • South Africa Built a Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It.
    June 17, 2025
    The New York Times
    At the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in Durban, which was created by the N.I.H. in 2002 and which has now lost 50 percent of its budget, senior scientists are trying to comfort their junior colleagues by drawing on lessons they learned as young doctors at the height of the fight against apartheid. “During times of adversity, you can also be very resourceful,” said Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, the scientific director at the center. “So we keep thinking optimistically, what is it we can do? We know it’s going to be painful and we all have to suffer that. But in the longer term, how do we rise stronger?”
    Quarraisha Abdool Karim is a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
  • Young Baseball Players Are Throwing Harder Than Ever. But at What Cost?
    June 18, 2025
    The Washington Post
    “When you throw, let’s say 90 mph, the amount of force that’s on the inside of your elbow is like putting six or eight bowling balls in your hand while you lie with your elbow across the kitchen table,” said Christopher Ahmad, chief of sports medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Yankees’ team physician. He performed [Sam] Rosand’s surgery last June.
  • This Quick, but Not so Easy, Test Can Predict How Long You'll Live, Study Suggests
    June 18, 2025
    NBC News Online
    Keith Diaz, a professor of behavioral medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said the new test can be a conversation starter for doctors to get patients thinking about what it takes for healthy aging. If someone scores poorly, “you might be able to get them to start working on their flexibility and balance,” Diaz said. “If the patient is struggling to get off the floor, it could be a red flag for their overall health.”