todate: a progress report on the Capital Campaign

Roy Vagelos, New Campaign Chair, Defines the Future

“Fifty years from now, people will remark on how primitive patient care was in 2004. When I graduated from P&S in 1954 most of what we have today to care for patients was not available. Polio was epidemic. A heart attack patient spent five weeks in the hospital. A bleeding peptic ulcer meant a month in the hospital. We had no drugs for mental problems. Today’s students ask, ‘Has it all been done?’ My answer is: ‘The potential power of the health sciences is just at the beginning of what might be accomplished in human disease.”
—Roy Vagelos,M.D.

P. Roy Vagelos, a graduate of Columbia University’s medical school and renowned leader in the pharmaceutical industry, will lead the “Defining the Future” capital campaign to ensure the future strength of the medical center’s medical, dental, nursing, and public health schools and its biomedical graduate programs.

“Roy Vagelos is a tireless advocate for Columbia University Medical Center,” says Dean Gerald D.Fischbach, M.D., Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor. “I say tireless because this is a busy year for him. He celebrates the 50-year anniversary of his graduation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons and he has agreed to chair a new advisory committee being created. All this is in addition to his position as chairman of the board of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and of Theravance Inc.”

Dr. Vagelos, a Westfield, N.J. native, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania before entering Columbia’s medical school.

Dr. Vagelos served as CEO of Merck & Co. Inc. from 1985 to 1994. He was recruited by Merck in 1975 as senior vice president for research. He later served as president of the firm’s research division and as executive vice president. He was named to the board of directors in 1984 before becoming CEO and chairman.

Before joining Merck, Dr. Vagelos was chairman of the Department of Biological Chemistry at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis. He joined Washington University from a senior position at the NIH.

As head of research and later chairman and CEO of Merck, Dr. Vagelos led the company through an unprecedented period of drug discovery and financial success. In Fortune magazine’s annual surveys, Merck was voted “America’s most admired corporation” for seven consecutive Vagelos-led years. During his tenure, Merck developed such successful drugs as Mevacor (first statin approved in the world) and Zocor, cholesterol-lowering agents; Vasotec, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor for high blood pressure and heart failure; and Recombivax HB, a recombivant vaccine to protect against hepatitis B. His memoir,“Medicine, Science, and Merck,” was published this year.

He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He has received honorary degrees from numerous universities, including Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard.

He is married to Diana Vagelos, a Barnard College graduate. Their two sons and two daughters include Randall Vagelos, a 1983 graduate of Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, who is on the medical faculty at Stanford University.

As “Defining the Future” chairman, Dr. Vagelos will head the campaign, enlist additional volunteer leadership, help secure personal, foundation, and corporate commitments, and act as a spokesperson for the campaign. He will work with the campaign’s honorary chairs, Herbert and Florence Irving, and many campaign volunteers.

“I learned medicine here, so I feel a great debt to the institution that gave me the education that was the basis for my entire career,” says Dr. Vagelos. “I attended P&S on scholarship, so I am pleased that raising funds for scholarships is an important priority among the many objectives of our campaign.

“Getting reacquainted with the five programs at the medical center has been a tremendous learning experience for me,” he continues. “There’s every reason to be proud of what’s been accomplished and, more importantly, excited about the potential of Columbia University Medical Center to lead the revolution taking place in the health sciences. The campaign must make sure that this medical center will continue to be at the forefront of major advances in patient care.”

Henry and Marilyn Taub: Pioneers in Research Support for Alzheimer’s and the Aging Brain

Columbia University Medical Center has a long history of excellence in Alzheimer’s research and treatment, having been one of the original 15 centers designated by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in the late 1980s as a site for Alzheimer’s disease research.

In 1995, the Taub Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research was established with a Taub Foundation gift, which supplemented the NIA funding and other grants. Then, in 1999, Henry and Marilyn Taub,who recognized the unique research nucleus in place at Columbia, made a 10-year visionary pledge that enabled the center to expand and broaden its focus. It was renamed the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

Today, under the leadership of Richard Mayeux, M.D., M.Sc., Sergievsky Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Epidemiology, and Michael L. Shelanski, M.D., Ph.D., Delafield Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pathology, the Taub Institute promotes and administers integrated multidisciplinary projects related to Alzheimer’s disease across numerous departments and centers at Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia Morningside.

Marilyn Taub, who worked in the Department of Neuropathology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute from 1952 to 1959, has a special interest in Alzheimer’s disease because of her late father, who suffered from the disease. “Dr. Mayeux’s clinical background combined with his research skills convinced me that he was especially qualified to take the lead in Alzheimer’s disease research,” says Henry Taub.

Mr. Taub, an innovative, pioneering businessman, in 1949 founded Automatic Data Processing Inc. Mr. Taub is a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University and is the honorary chair of the International Board of Governors of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He was previously chairman of both the Joint Distribution Committee and the United Israel Appeal.

Marilyn Taub serves on the boards of the Taub Institute at Columbia, the Jewish Home at Rockleigh and United Jewish Community, Women’s Division. Mrs. Taub is also a member of the Department of Psychiatry Advisory Board at Columbia. The Taubs established the Marilyn and Henry Taub Foundation to support a broad range of charitable endeavors, including the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

Marilyn Taub serves on the boards of the Taub Institute at Columbia, the Jewish Home at Rockleigh and United Jewish Community, Women’s Division. Mrs. Taub is also a member of the Department of Psychiatry Advisory Board at Columbia. The Taubs established the Marilyn and Henry Taub Foundation to support a broad range of charitable endeavors, including the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

The Taub Foundation support has provided the core financial resources to allow the Institute to build and expand its successful research program. This base enables the Institute to embark on exciting new programs of exploration and discovery to combat these diseases.

Over the past five years, the Taub Institute has taken a leading role in the epidemiology, genetics and cell biology of Alzheimer’s disease-related research. Under the focused and inspiring leadership of Drs. Shelanski and Mayeux and with the continuing support of Henry and Marilyn Taub, the Taub Institute has been able to broaden and expand its mission to develop new ways to identify vulnerable individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease and to devise new therapies to prevent or delay disorders of the aging brain.

To learn more about the Taub Institute, contact Director of Development Marjorie (Cookie) Neil at 212-342-4126.

Ophthalmology Department and Diabetes Center Launch Campaigns

Two significant components of the Defining the Future campaign are already under way at the Department of Ophthalmology and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. The Department of Ophthalmology seeks to raise $50 million; the Diabetes Center has $25 million as its target.

Department of Ophthalmology

Howard L. Clark Jr., vice chairman of Lehman Brothers, Columbia University alumnus (BU’68), and long-standing member of the ophthalmology department’s Board of Advisors, has agreed to head the ophthalmology campaign. Under Mr. Clark’s leadership, a campaign steering committee comprised of Board of Advisors members, friends, and faculty is in formation.

Ophthalmology received a $1 million contribution from Rand Araskog, former chairman and CEO of ITT Corporation, and his wife, Jessie. Their gift establishes the A. Gerard DeVoe-B. Dobli Srinivasan Directorship of Ambulatory Eye Care at the ITT Eye Clinic of the Harkness Eye Institute.

“The Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia University Medical Center has a long and distinguished history,” says Dean Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor. “This gift recognizes the outstanding faculty and cutting-edge research and patient care that define this department. We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Araskog for their generosity and support.”

Ophthalmology has been at the forefront of innovation for more than 70 years. Doctors performed the first corneal transplant here in 1933; the first clinical application of the laser in all of medicine was successfully carried out here in the early 1960s; the first excimer laser surgery took place here in 1983; researchers in the Eye Institute laboratories developed the drug Xalatan, which became the leading anti-glaucoma drug in the world; and the chemical compound healon—used in cataract surgery worldwide—was developed here.

“The Araskog donation has generated momentum for the ophthalmology campaign, called ‘Vision for the Future.’ The campaign will rely on the generosity of the department’s many friends and benefactors for support,” says Dr. Stanley Chang, K. K. Tse and Ku Teh Ying Professor, Edward Harkness Professor and chairman of ophthalmology.

“Vision for the Future” seeks $50 million for research projects, faculty development, and facility upgrades and equipment.

To learn more about the campaign for the Department of Ophthalmology, contact Development Officer Jane Heffner at 212-305-7827.

Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center

The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center endowment campaign is led by Joseph M. Murphy, chairman of Country Bank in New York. He and his wife, JoAnn, are longtime supporters of diabetes care and research at Columbia.

Opened in the fall of 1998, the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center combines unprecedented family-oriented patient care and education with world-class diabetes research programs. This unique approach enables the center’s co-directors, Dr. Robin Goland and Dr. Rudolph Leibel, to bring new treatments to patients as soon as they are available and to help thousands of children and adults to successfully manage diabetes.

With the generosity and vision of Russell and Angelica Berrie, and the support of many others, the Berrie Center makes available multidisciplinary diabetes care to an estimated 1.6 million people with diabetes in the New York area. It has been designated by the National Institutes of Health as one of three Diabetes Centers of Excellence in New York State.

“We are thankful for the leadership and continued generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy,” says Dr. Goland. “With their help, we were able to establish the only comprehensive diabetes center in New York. An endowment will not only help us to sustain our current level of care and research, but will ensure the center’s longevity and allow us to grow to provide care for an increasing number of patients.”

At the campaign’s conclusion, endowments totaling $25 million will result in a permanent and stable source of funds for the pediatric and adult diabetes care teams, research programs, education and community outreach programs, and professorships for the Berrie Center codirectors. The plans also include capital renovation funds for expansion of research labs and clinical facilities.

“Columbia University Medical Center is a powerhouse of research and patient care that has helped my family,” Mr. Murphy says. “We’re going to work hard to make sure this campaign achieves its goals to help the Berrie Center continue to provide superior care and hope to other families.”

To learn more about the campaign for the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, contact Director of Development Erin McCarthy at 212-851-5492.

$7.5 Million Kavli Foundation Gift Establishes Brain Science Institute at Columbia

On March 10, the Kavli Foundation announced a $7.5 million award to establish a Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University Medical Center under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel, M.D., University Professor of Psychiatry, Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics. To date, the foundation has established nine Kavli Institutes internationally, three in the areas of neuroscience, three in cosmology, and three in nanoscience.

The Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University will focus on the development of novel experimental and computational strategies for analyzing and deciphering how signaling in neural circuits controls behavior. According to Dr. Kandel, “Our work will be directed toward developing more powerful tools to enable us to move from the study of individual nerve cells to that of complex neural systems that underlie the higher mental function.”

For decades, Columbia University has been a leader in advancing the neurosciences. Neural science at Columbia has succeeded in forging into one discipline the previously distinct fields of cell biology, physiology, and development of the nervous system with molecular biology, including molecular genetics. Recently, Columbia also successfully unified this cell and molecular approach to the brain with systems neural science and cognitive psychology.

“Many of us believe that studying neural circuits of interconnected cells, rather than one cell at a time, will reveal the secret of disordered brain function,” says Dean Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor. “The Kavli Institute will spearhead neuroscience as a priority in our strategic planning at Columbia University Medical Center.”

The director of the institute is chosen for a five-year term by the dean of the Faculty of Medicine in consultation with the president of the University and the faculty of the Kavli Institute. The first director will be Dr. Kandel, who was co-recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Co-directors are Thomas Jessell, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Rafael Yuste, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences at the Morningside campus. Dr. Jessell has pioneered the molecular study of brain development, and Dr. Yuste is a leader in developing new imaging techniques to visualize the activity of complex neural circuitry.

Establishment of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University and the appointment of the institute’s director received the approval of Columbia’s Faculty Senate and Board of Trustees.

The Kavli Institute at Columbia is one of the nine institutes being established by the Kavli Foundation at leading universities worldwide. The other eight Kavli Institutes are located at Stanford (particle astrophysics and cosmology), University of California at San Diego (brain and mind), University of California at Santa Barbara (theoretical physics), Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands (nanoscience), Yale (neuroscience),Cornell University (nanoscale science), California Institute of Technology (nanoscience), and University of Chicago (cosmological physics).

Based in Oxnard, Calif., the Kavli Foundation was established in 2000 by Norwegian-born founder and benefactor Fred Kavli to advance science for the benefit of humanity and to promote increased public understanding of and support for scientists and their work.

To learn more about the Kavli Institute for Brain Science, contact Interim Vice President for Development Susie Stalcup at 212-342-0096.

Nobel Biocare Pledge to Dental School Provides Implants to Needy Thomas G. Reddy, D.D.S. Vice President for National Accounts, Nobel Biocare USA, Inc. Nobel Biocare of Göteborg, Sweden, a dental implant company, has made a five-year $75,000 pledge to the School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS). The school will receive financial support and implant products to promote clinical research and educational initiatives in the school’s dental implant program. “The gift of materials—implant fixtures and prosthetic components—will allow us to provide implants to patients who could not otherwise afford them,” says Dr. Ira B. Lamster, dean of SDOS. Installing an implant usually requires two steps. First a titanium base is surgically inserted in the jawbone to act like the root of a tooth. Then, in the restoration component, dentists construct and fit replacement teeth. Part of the funding will support research on the outcomes of implant procedures performed at the SDOS clinic. Dr. Peter D. Wang, associate clinical professor of dentistry and director of the 16-year-old implant program, will lead the research. Training in the use of implants will be introduced more broadly into the pre- and postdoctoral coursework, Dr. Lamster says. Currently the SDOS implant program trains two residents in oral and maxillofacial surgery and five postdoctoral fellows in periodontics each year in the surgical placement of implants. About four postdoctoral fellows in prosthodontics complete training in the restorative aspect of implantology each year. In addition, the school is expanding its implant restoration program with greater involvement by fellows in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program. Implants are alternatives to dentures or bridgework. The replacement teeth take hold because titanium has a special ability to bond directly to bone. This quality of titanium was discovered in the 1960s by a Columbia researcher, the late Dr. Richard Skalak, the James Kip Finch Professor Emeritus of Engineering Mechanics and former director of Columbia’s Bioengineering Institute, and Dr. P.I. Branemark of the University of Göteborg. Dr. Skalak also developed some of the first titanium dental implants. His studies of the interaction between titanium and human bone tissue have been widely applied in skeletal reconstruction. To learn more about the ongoing projects at SDOS, contact Director of Development Richard Rumsey at 212-342-5612.

Goldstein Family Foundation Supports Cardiology

The Arlene and Arnold Goldstein Family Foundation has generously pledged $1 million to Columbia University Medical Center to support research activities in the Division of Cardiology. The gift will initially support the research of two outstanding investigators, Dr. Steven Marx and Dr. Hayes Dansky.

“A gift of this magnitude can be career transforming for a young physician-scientist and allows Columbia to continue its leadership as a center for the translation of breakthroughs in basic science into treatments that alleviate heart disease,” says Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of the Division of Cardiology and the Harold Ames Hatch Professor of Clinical Medicine.

Mr. Goldstein says he made the gift in gratitude for receiving excellent care from Columbia physicians and because of his desire to help preeminent scientists find new treatments and cures for heart disease. “I have enjoyed meeting with Drs. Marx and Dansky and learning about the specific strategies they are working on in their labs. Arlene and I look forward to hearing about the progress we know they will make,”Mr. Goldstein says.

Research conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Marx has had a significant impact in understanding the triggers of fatal cardiac arrhythmias and mechanical dysfunction in heart failure. Ongoing experiments conducted by Dr. Marx and his team are likely to increase understanding of control of peripheral blood pressure by the sympathetic nervous system.

Dr. Dansky’s research has made a significant impact on the understanding of coronary heart disease. Ongoing work by Dr. Dansky and members of his laboratory is focused on understanding how obesity and diabetes increase the risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease.

To learn more about the Division of Cardiology, contact Assistant Vice President for Development Laura Shuford at 212-342-0093.

SMA Research Effort Funded by Loren Eng and Dinakar Singh

Loren Eng and Dinakar Singh, the wife and husband who were the driving force behind the creation of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Center at CUMC in 2002, have made a substantial gift through the SMA Foundation to help recruit Dr. Umrao Monani, a leading SMA researcher who will join CUMC this summer.

Dr. Monani, a molecular geneticist, has participated in groundbreaking SMA research by helping develop one of the most widely used mouse models of SMA, a feat that makes further basic research on the disease possible. Dr. Monani was recruited to Columbia by Dr. Darryl De Vivo, the Sidney Carter Professor of Neurology at CUMC and director of the SMA Clinic.

Dr. Timothy A. Pedley, Henry and Lucy Moses professor of neurology and chairman, says: “Columbia already has an unparalleled group of clinical and laboratory investigators working on motor neuron disorders. This offers an exceptionally fertile environment for Dr. Monani’s research, which will extend, and in turn be amplified by, studies ongoing here. The SMA Foundation has given us an extraordinary opportunity to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure for SMA.”

“Our belief in the depth and quality of the work being done at Columbia under Dr. De Vivo’s leadership is tremendous,” says Ms. Eng, founder and president of the New York-based Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and mother of 4-year-old Arya, a patient of Dr. De Vivo’s who has one of the milder forms of SMA. Of her and her husband’s recent $860,000 commitment Ms. Eng says, “This new gift makes clear that we consider the SMA team at Columbia to be at the forefront of the research taking place on this disease today.”

According to Dr. De Vivo, “SMA is a relatively common disease that has been underrecognized, underdiagnosed and underfunded. We are very excited about the research possibilities this new funding opens up.” SMA is the leading genetic cause of infant and toddler death.

Every parent watches his or her infant and toddler for signs that the child is reaching appropriate milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, and starting to walk. When a young child is delayed in reaching these markers, or perhaps reaches them and then slows or reverses in development, parents grow concerned and look for explanations. For about 1 out of every 6,000 children that explanation will come as a diagnosis of SMA, a genetic, neuromuscular disease that has been compared to Lou Gehrig’s disease.

SMA is characterized by a wasting away of nerve cells in the spinal cord. The degeneration leads to increasing muscular weakness and affects a child’s ability to crawl, walk, control the head and neck, and breathe. The disease may be present in varying degrees of severity. In milder cases, a child might be able to sit but not walk (SMA type 2) or be able to walk and stand alone (SMA type 3); in severe cases (SMA type 1) breathing is inhibited and death is almost certain before the age of 2 years. No treatment, aside from palliative care, is available.

Progress is being made, however. Researchers have isolated the gene—survival of motor neurons, or SMN1—necessary for motor neurons to function normally. Its absence may trigger the disease’s onset. In addition to SMN1, people have a backup gene, SMN 2, that produces a smaller amount of protein. Nearly everyone with spinal muscular atrophy has a mutated SMN1 gene. It is the number of backup genes that determines the severity of the disease. Several studies aimed at manipulating the SMN2 gene are under way in the United States.

To hasten progress in bringing meaningful help to children with SMA, Ms. Eng, Mr. Singh and the SMA Foundation envision continued support in the areas of clinical care, translational research (the process by which laboratory findings are translated into drugs and treatments) and basic science research.

“Columbia has the potential to become a world-class SMA center because of the talent that already is here and is being brought here,” says Ms. Eng, who believes a cure for SMA is tantalizingly within reach. The NIH has identified SMA as the neurological disease that has the greatest potential for a treatment or cure in the near term and has commenced work on a therapeutics development project for SMA.

Still, grabbing that golden ring will take dedication and commitment by the best scientific minds. “We at the SMA Foundation rely on Dr. De Vivo and the superb clinical and scientific team he has assembled, the collaborations he is making with other researchers across the university and even outside the university,” Ms. Eng says. “Our commitment to CUMC is ongoing and heartfelt.”

To learn more about SMA research at Columbia University, contact Director of Development Lori Funicello at 212-304-7200.

Moody’s Supports Prevention and Early Detection of Bipolar Disorder

The Moody’s Foundation, a charitable foundation established by Moody’s Corporation, has made a two-year $200,000 pledge to Columbia University Medical Center to support the prevention and early detection of childhood bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that affects mood and cognition. Often starting in adolescence, it causes school failure, disruption of social relationships, and derailment of maturity and healthy independence. It also is associated with substance abuse and youth suicide.

“Establishing a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in adults has always been difficult. It is even more so with children,” says Dr. Maria A. Oquendo, clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, who will lead a study on bipolar disorder. “Our goal is to identify neurobiological markers for risk that will ultimately aid clinicians in establishing an earlier diagnosis, allowing for earlier intervention.” The study will look at a group of 100 high-risk children, the offspring of bipolar patients, utilizing a wide range of neurobiological, genetic, clinical, and neuropsychological screening tools. Blood and saliva will be screened for candidate genes. The study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to address questions about prefrontal cortex and hippocampal size in affected vs. non-affected children. Subjects in the study will receive in-depth neuropsychological assessments to evaluate cognitive processing of emotional stimuli, impulsivity, attention, and memory.

Standing from left: Dr. Ramin Parsey, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry; Dr. John Keilp, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry; Jennifer Dwyer, philanthrophy coordinator for the Moody’s Foundation. Seated, from left: Dr.Maria Oquendo, clinical professor of psychiatry; Frances G. Laserson, vice president for corporate communications, Moody’s Corporation.

Subjects found to have evidence of early bipolar disorder will be offered a combination of medication, psychoeducation, and psychotherapy and will be tracked to determine outcome over five years.

The Moody’s Foundation focuses its giving on education and health and human services and supports research and programs that promote the intellectual health of children and adults, enabling them to function at their greatest potential.

For further information about studies on the early detection of psychiatric illness call Dr.Maria Oquendo at 212-543-5835.

Simon and Garfunkel Give Voice to Children’s Health

Simon and Garfunkel. It’s hard to say one without the other, although musicians Paul Simon and Art Garfunkelwent their separate ways in 1970. They have reunited to show support for their common concern for children in crisis.

Dr.Irwin Redlener,director ofthe Mailman School’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness,with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), founded in 1987 by Paul Simon and Columbia’s Irwin Redlener, grew out of their concern for New York City’s homeless children. Simon and Garfunkel donated $1 million to CHF in late 2003. Half of the funds will support pediatric preparedness programs that CHF runs in collaboration with Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. The money will fund efforts to protect children in the event of bioterrorism attacks. The other $500,000 will go to CHF’s national network of health care programs for medically under-served poor and homeless children.

Dr. Redlener joined Columbia in 2003 as associate dean for public health advocacy and disaster preparedness and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School. Dr. Redlener is also president of the Children’s Health Fund. The fund’s national network of 16 pediatric programs has treated nearly 350,000 children.

Mailman’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, an expansion of the school’s disaster preparedness efforts, is a national resource and training ground for community and public health emergency preparedness, including readiness of the pediatric public health community to deal with bioterrorism.

After Sept. 11, 2001, Dr. Redlener was among the first to call attention to the special vulnerabilities of children to chemical and biological agents, outlining recommendations and urging legislators to strengthen the public health system to include provisions for children. These recommendations were an impetus for provisions for children that were incorporated into a bioterrorism bill signed by President George W. Bushin June 2002.

Dr. Redlener praises Simon and Garfunkel for their commitment to children through their $1 million gift.“Paul and Artie are American icons and their actions show that they are committed to improving the quality of life and opportunities for all of America’s children. We hope others will step forward to match their generosity.”

Because of the economy and other pressures on American families, 2004 will likely be another difficult year for children whose families are homeless or in poverty, says Dr. Redlener. “Children should not have to face these sorts of challenges so early in life. The donation from Simon and Garfunkel will be a significant help to us in making sure that children are protected and get the health care they need when they need it.”

To learn more about the Mailman School of Public Health, please contact Associate Dean, Catherine Murray Dwyer at 212-305-1793.

Arts-in-Medicine Expands with Wilma Siegel Gift

The Arts-in-Medicine initiative at Columbia University Medical Center employs and maximizes the healing power of art in patient care and education programs and services. Now a generous gift from Dr. Wilma Siegel, artist, retired oncologist, and a pioneer educator in the use of the arts in medicine, will enable the program to expand substantially.

“I believe art is healing,” says Dr. Siegel, who is now a member of the joint advisory council for CUMC and NYPH. “Art can be a major force in helping individuals get through stress, and it is needed in the medical setting.”

The Arts-in-Medicine program will team artists with medical students to create awareness of art as a means of improving communication with patients. Artists will work with first-year medical students in small groups to help them express their feelings about beginning their work in the anatomy dissection laboratory, to appreciate the human generosity of the donors, and to honor the sacred trust of their work in anatomy.

Future plans include intensive, small group semester-long seminars in the arts and humanities for faculty and staff of the health profession schools and programs at Columbia University Medical Center and its associated teaching hospitals. Dr. Rita Charon, director of the Narrative Medicine Program, is guiding the development of programming within the professional school curricula.

Laura Tabares, child participant in the Arts-in-Medicine program

At the same time, the Arts-in-Medicine program will extend the work already initiated in clinical areas at CUMC by providing more hands-on patient activities designed to bring art and the human spirit into the often dehumanizing setting of the hospital and clinic. Artists are currently working with patients and families in the pediatric neurology clinic. The project will also establish a gallery and permanent installation of artwork produced by faculty, staff, students, and patients. The Chloe Foundation recently announced an additional $33,000 gift to support the Arts-in-Medicine project at Columbia University Medical Center.

To learn more about the Arts-in-Medicine initiative, contact Senior Director of Development Bill Horan at 212-342-0091.

Bar Mitzvah Gifts Support Pediatric Orthopaedic Research

For his bar mitzvah celebration in January, James Michael Levy, age 13, asked his guests to donate gifts in his honor to support medical research under the direction of Dr. David Roye, St. Giles Foundation Professor of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center and director of the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics.

James celebrated his bar mitzvah on Jan. 31, 2004, at Temple Emanu-El. The ceremony was conducted by Senior Rabbi Posner, a family friend, and was followed by a party at the Powerhouse of the American Museum of National History. Dr. Roye attended James’ bar mitzvah.

James’ parents, David and Betsy Levy, encouraged their son to direct gifts received in honor of his bar mitzvah to charity. Together, the Levy family chose to support the work of Dr. Roye. When asked why he chose Columbia, James said, “I was blessed to be treated successfully by Dr. Roye and his team. However, there are so many other children who are less fortunate than I who can benefit from the advances made in medical research.” More than $30,000 was raised in honor of James’ bar mitzvah.

To learn more about orthopaedic research at Columbia University, contact Director of Development Lori Funicello at 212-304-7200.

Out and About Heartbeat Cabaret Benefits Pediatric Cardiology Training. In 1986, a small group of dedicated parents started the Babies Heart Fund and held a small fund-raiser in a downtown New York City restaurant. Dubbed the Heartbeat Cabaret, the event has become an annual gala that will this year contribute $250,000 to the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Training Program at Columbia University Medical Center, bringing the number of fellows trained to more than 100. Pictured above at Chelsea Piers in February are pediatric cardiology fellows with Golden Heart Award recipient Dr.Welton Gersony. From left are, Drs. Benjamin Lentzner, Diane Rhee, Joshua Kanter, Kimara Targoff, Daphne Hsu (the first fellow trained by the Babies Heart Fund), Welton Gersony, and Allan Hordof. To learn more about research in pediatric cardiology at Columbia University, contact Robbie Collier, Director of Development, Pediatrics at 212-305-3155.

Columbia Partners with Community to Improve Health

School of Dental and Oral Surgery student Ruba Fakhoury with patient Stephanie Espinal

Over the past decade, researchers, educators, philanthropic foundations and policy leaders have become increasingly aware that the health care of minority ethnic and racial groups is often inferior to what other members of the American population receive. But Columbia University Medical Center is working to reduce these disparities through its Center for Community Health Partnerships. The center’s organizing approach is to work “with” communities rather than “on” or “for” them. The center firmly believes in supporting academic-community partnerships focused on improving equitable health care in its own neighborhood—the Washington Heights, Inwood and Harlem sections of northern Manhattan—and then sharing successful models nationally.

“The Center for Community Health Partnerships is at the helm of the health disparities issue at Columbia,” says Dean Gerald Fischbach, M.D., Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor. “The center has taken on this issue as its primary mission and provides faculty from each of the four schools an opportunity to work together. I applaud the center for its cooperative spirit and its ability to connect faculty with community organizations and to serve the residents of northern Manhattan.”

Led by Dr. Allan Formicola, vice dean for community health partnerships and former dean of the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, the center was established in 2002 with strong support from Columbia and CUMC leaders, after many years of developing relationships with community-based organizations, institutions, local health care providers and individual residents in northern Manhattan.

The center started with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative that provides care for the underserved populations of Washington Heights, Inwood and Harlem and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Pipeline, Profession & Practice: Community-Based Dental Education Program. This five-year, $19 million national program that Columbia oversees helps dental schools across the country develop community based clinical education programs, revise curricula to include cultural competency training, and implement initiatives to increase the enrollment of underrepresented minority and low-income students.

In existence for only two years, the center has already accomplished some of its goals. In collaboration with the School of Dental and Oral Surgery and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the center launched the Thelma C. Davidson Adair Medical/Dental Center, a primary care facility that provides medical and dental care mainly to Harlem senior citizens. The Adair Center was created after a School of Dental and Oral Surgery survey found that elderly Harlem residents had untreated oral health conditions in addition to significant medical conditions. The Adair Center is funded by a $1.1 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation and a $400,000 grant from the Primary Care Development Corporation.

The Center for Community Health Partnerships also has been very successful in attracting new projects to the medical center. In 2003, the center received a $6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to establish a research center on minority health and health disparities. The interdisciplinary center conducts research, offers training, and supports the development of community partnerships aimed at improving the health of Latinos and African-Americans in northern Manhattan.

In addition, the center received a $6.1 million grant from the California Endowment to support the participation off our California dental schools in the Pipeline, Profession & Practice: Community-Based Dental Education Program.

Most recently, the Center for Community Health Partnerships received a $42,000 grant from the Aetna Foundation to help train Columbia faculty in the skills necessary to deliver culturally competent care. The grant will support a series of development programs to be offered to a multidisciplinary team of faculty representing CUMC and the School of Social Work to address topics related to cross-cultural communication, cross-cultural knowledge and language diversity. The center is also conducting research and developing community partnerships aimed at improving the health of Latinos and African-Americans in northern Manhattan.

“Today, the center has 14 full-time staff and five programs, all working together with communities to achieve equity in health care,”Dr. Formicola says.“I am confident that with the great talent and dedication of our staff and the campus faculty, coupled with the desire to work with an equally dynamic northern Manhattan community, we can make an enormous difference in the lives of many people who lack adequate health care services.”

To learn more about the Center for Community Health Partnerships, contact the center’s communications specialist, Tamara L. Cannon, at 212-304-7455.

Anna Gelman Continues Support of Her Beloved Mailman School

Professor Emerita Anna Cheskis Gelman’s close association with Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health—a relationship that began in 1941—continues into the 21st century with her most recent $1 million gift to the school. This gift, Professor Gelman’s second in the past six years, will support the Anna Cheskis Gelman Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory Suite for Infectious Disease Research in the Jerome L. and Dawn Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at the Mailman School.

In 1998, Professor Gelman made her first leadership gift to the school, in memory of her husband, Dr. Murray Charles Gelman, a physics and science teacher and guidance counselor, and to commemorate her own dedication to public health education. That $1.5 million gift endowed the Anna Cheskis and Murray Charles Gelman Professorship in Epidemiology.

Professor Gelman was one of a small and highly select group of women to graduate in 1934 with an M.P.H. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She spent the early years of her career in the former Soviet Union researching genetics and parasitology. She joined the Columbia School of Public Health as a research assistant in 1941 and over the years was an instructor, assistant professor and acting head of epidemiology. She retired from teaching in 1982.

Her devotion to the school extends beyond the classroom, however; she served as director of student affairs, editor of the first alumni directory and a founder of both the alumni and student government associations. Even today at age 92, Professor Gelman maintains contact with the school and its faculty.

As Professor Gelman tells it, World War II—and the ensuing teacher shortage— launched her teaching career. The young research assistant started to teach some classes at Columbia’s School of Public Health, and the rest is history. Through her classes have come public health scholars, students of hospital administration, medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and nutrition. “The world came to me and I had an impact,” Professor Gelman says. “I knew when the international students went home, a part of me went too.”

Professor Gelman always maintained an open-door policy and colleagues have called her one of the most understanding members of the faculty. She cherishes letters from past students, such as this one from a graduate returning to a developing country: “… thank you for your constant assistance, interest and concern and for the kind words given to us on the night of our graduation. It is the kind of inspiration that is desperately needed by a poor man from a poor country who is striving to find his place under the sun.”

Says Dean Allan Rosenfield, “I am truly delighted by Professor Gelman’s continued support and generosity to the Mailman School. Her commitment honors all of us at Columbia University.”

To learn more about the ongoing projects at the Mailman School of Public Health, contact Associate Dean Catherine Murray Dwyer at 212-305-1793.

Gifts Boost School of Nursing to No. 1 in Endowment Support

Columbia University’s School of Nursing has received three large bequests from alumni totaling $5.4 million. The gifts bring the school’s endowment to more than $40 million, which includes 10 endowed chairs, placing it No. 1 nationally among schools of nursing. These new gifts are primarily for financial aid, including the largest single gift the school has ever received in the amount of $4.4 million from the Frances L. Somers estate. The remaining gifts are from the Elise Fish and Jacqueline Webb estates.

“We are need-blind in our admissions process and these gifts will substantially assist us in providing the $3 million in financial aid our students receive each year,” says Dr. Mary O’Neil Mundinger, Centennial Professor in Health Policy and dean of the School of Nursing. “We are enormously proud of our growing alumni support. We celebrate the opportunity such support gives promising young men and women who have chosen nursing as a profession and who will someday be Columbia alumni.”

“Frances Somers, Elise Fish and Jacqueline Webb left us bequests because they valued their education here and wanted to make sure that the same stellar education would be available to students in the future,” says Jennifer A. Smith, senior associate dean and assistant professor of clinical nursing.

Columbia University School of Nursing, founded in 1892, is an active participant in health care research (ranked No. 1 among schools of nursing in per capita faculty funding) and a dynamic contributor to American and international health care policy, while remaining true to its historic leadership in clinical nursing education.

To learn more about the ongoing projects at Columbia University School of Nursing, contact Development Officer Sally Benner at 1-800-899-6728.

Graduates Help Students Follow in their Footsteps

Medical school graduates know better than anyone how tough medical school is academically, personally, and financially. Often, they are the most enthusiastic supporters of scholarship and loan funds that help students ease at least the financial challenges of a medical education. These funds are given in a variety of ways as recent scholarship gift initia-tives at P&S document:

—The P&S Classes of 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1979 committed more than $4 million for scholarships and student loans. The Class of 1956 pledged $1 million, with a member of the class challenging his classmates to match his $500,000. The Class of 1954 has been challenged by a classmate’s pledge to match $750,000 in a bid to raise $1.5 million. The Class of 1955 Loan Endowment was initiated through several individual $100,000 planned gifts. — The Seiden/Levi Scholarship Fund was completed with the last installment of a $1 million pledge from Judy Levi and her family in gratitude for medical care received.

—Clyde Wu’56 and Judith Sulzberger’49 established the Nolting Loan Fund—named for Anke Nolting, P&S associate dean and executive director for alumni relations and development. This loan fund has received gifts and pledges totaling half a million dollars. The fund honors Ms. Nolting’s contributions to the medical school and its alumni.

—Individuals including Thomas Sculco’69, Emil Pollak’55 and Dudley Rochester’55 have created scholarships in their own names totaling more than $1 million. Alumni have also launched a drive for a Diversity Scholarship Endowment with the goal of $10 million.

Collectively, alumni and their families and friends have committed more than $15 million through class, individual, planned income and estate gifts since the new P&S Alumni Scholarship Drive was initiated.

“The outstanding quality of our medical students is matched by the generosity of our alumni,” says Dean Nolting. “Because alumni have supported student financial aid for generations, we are able to accept the brightest and best students regardless of their ability to pay, by providing them with financial aid packages that lessen their burden.”

To learn more about student scholarships, contact Anke Nolting, P&S Associate Deanand Executive Director for Alumni Relations and Development, at 212-305-3498.

Tuition + Expenses x 4 Years = HELP!

Yes, medical school is expensive. Yes, medical school is hard work. Yes, stereotypes still keep minority students from reaching for an M.D. degree. These obstacles, when combined, are daunting forany economically disadvantaged minority applicant to medical school today.

One 1970s P&S graduate tells how a college adviser suggested he bypass certain classes:“Don’t try to tackle inorganic chemistry and the regular chemistry classes for majors. It would be too difficult for you.”The pre-med student, a native of the Caribbean, ignored the adviser’s suggestions and eventually received from the professor a glowing recommendation for his medical school application.

Fast forward to the 1990s. A Dominican Republic native who grew up in Washington Heights wanted to apply to P&S, a school he grew up near. His college medical school adviser discouraged him, telling him he would never get in. He ignored the advice and was accepted to both Columbia and Cornell, graduating from P&S in the mid-1990s.

Some things haven’t changed, but Columbia wants to remove the financial burden as much as possible from the medical school equation. Gifts from donors have helped. The alumni association’s “Campaign for Diversity,” led by a committee of 18 prominent minority physicians and academic medicine leaders, nearly all P&S graduates, is another vehicle for raising funds to assure we have a diverse population at P&S.

Two other sources for funds committed to diversity were provided by the Bernard and Dorothy Layton Foundation and the Edward Mitchell Scholarship Fund. Through the establishment of a trust, the Layton Foundation has pledged nearly $70,000 annually for deserving under-represented students. The Mitchell Scholarship Fund was established with $414,000, the result of the maturation of a planned gift by the late Caroline W. Ferriday, who was a friend of Columbia University Medical Center.

Members of the Campaign for Diversity Committee are Brenda Aiken, M.D.’81, Lester Blair, M.D.’74, Carol Brown, M.D.’86, Samuel Daniel, M.D.’78, Ingrid Fitz-James, M.D.’77, Kenneth Forde, M.D.’59, Mindy Fullilove, M.D.’78, Margaret Haynes, Ed.D., Kimberly Joseph, M.D.’87, Shearwood McClelland, M.D.’74, M.P.H.’96 Donna Mendes, M.D.’77, Susan Morales, M.D.’86, Maria Oquendo’84, CarmenOrtiz-Neu, M.D.’63, Paula Randolph, M.D.’83, Carlos Rodriguez, M.D.’96, Yvonne Thornton, M.D.’73, M.P.H.’96, and Hueldine Webb, M.D.’77.

The campaign launched a mentoring program last fall to match P&S minority students with alumni of the P&S chapter of BALSO, the Black and Latino Student Organization. The program builds a network of positive role models for minority students, secures a community of mentors interested in the development of minority students, establishes personal relationships that will enhance academic and social development for minority students, and encourages students to establish a community that contributes culturally to the university. Nineteen students are involved.

The medical center’s Division of Diversity and Minority Affairs is also seeking support to cover annual tuition costs for at least five under representedand economically disadvantaged medical students. Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins has agreed to lead the advisory board for the effort.

“Columbia University is located in acity that reflects all forms of diversity, and so should we,” says Ellen Spilker, director of student financial planning for P&S and for the School of Dental and Oral Surgery. “Having an attractive financial aid package for students in need will make us more competitive as a medical school.”

To learn more about the Campaign for Diversity, contact Elizabeth Williams, Development Associate, at 212-305-1230.

On the Town

A celebration was held in December to announce the appointment of Dr. Dennis L. Fowler as the first United States Surgical Professor of Surgery. Pictured from left are Eric A. Rose, M.D., Morris and Rose Milstein/Johnson & Johnson Professor and Chairman, Department of Surgery; Dennis L. Fowler, M.D. United States Surgical Corporation Professor and Director of the Minimal Access Surgery Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital; and, Kenneth A. Forde, M.D., Jose M. Ferrer Professor and Vice Chairman, External Affairs, Surgery.

This year’s Columbia University Horwitz Prize was awarded to Dr. Roderick MacKinnon, 2003 Nobel Laureate, professor of molecular neurobiology and biophysics at Rockefeller University, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Dr. MacKinnon was honored for his studies of ion channels. Pictured from left are: Dr. Robert Kass, David Hosack Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology; Alan Brinkley, provost and Allan Nevins Professor ofHistory; Dr. Roderick MacKinnon; Dr. David Ian Hirsh, executive vice president for research; and Dean Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor.

The Lyme Disease Association and Time for Lyme Inc. have been long-time supporters making lead gifts to establish the nation’s first Lyme Disease Research Centerat Columbia University Medical Center. The center will focus on chronic lyme and other tick-borne diseases to advance understanding of the symptoms, causes, diagnostic techniques, and treatments of these diseases. Pictured from left are: Dean Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D. Harold & Margaret Hatch Professor; Debbie Siciliano, co-president, Time for Lyme Inc.; Patricia Smith, president, Lyme Disease Association; Diane Blanchard, co-president, Time for Lyme Inc.; and Dr. Brian Fallon, associate professor of clinical psychiatry.