MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Two programs in the Department of Health Policy and Management have been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, the body responsible for certifying professional master's degree programs in health care management. The newly accredited programs are the full-time management track and the executive MPH program. The accreditation runs through 2011.

MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Robert E. Fullilove, EdD, associate dean of community and minority affairs and professor of clinical sociomedical sciences, has received the Commissioner's Distinguished Service Award from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute for outstanding contributions to the field. Dr. Fullilove was cited for his work through the Faith Communities Project, where he has successfully increased awareness of HIV/AIDS among communities of African and Latino descent. The award was announced in December in conjunction with World AIDS Day.

Frederica Perera, DrPH, professor of environmental health sciences, was honored by the Children's Environmental Health Network for her accomplishments in advancing the protection of children from environmental hazards and her pioneering work in developing the new field of molecular epidemiology. Dr. Perera's achievements were formally recognized at a reception last fall in Harlem.


SCHOOL OF NURSING

Rebecca Schnall, doctoral student, has been appointed to the student editorial board of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, one of the most prestigious publications in the field of biomedical informatics.


P&S

Congratulations to the five P&S faculty members who were named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science last month. The new fellows are Laurence F. Abbott, PhD, the William Bloor Professor of Theoretical Neuroscience, professor of physiology & cellular biophysics, and co-director of the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience; Gerald Fischbach, MD, the John E. Borne Professor of Medical and Surgical Research; Michael E. Goldberg, MD, the David Mahoney Professor of Brain and Behavior in the Departments of Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Ophthalmology and director of the David Mahoney Center for Brain and Behavior Research; Rodney Rothstein, PhD, professor of genetics & development; and Howard A. Shuman, PhD, professor of microbiology.

Five members of the P&S pediatrics faculty have been chosen for membership in the Society of Pediatric Research, one of four individual pediatric health organizations of the Pediatric Academic Societies. Joining the Class of 2009 are George Hardart, MD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics-critical care medicine; Marilyn Morris, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics-critical care medicine; Adam Ratner, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics-infectious diseases; Prakash Satwani, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics-hematology and blood & marrow transplantation; and Vadim Ten, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics-neonatology/perinatology.

Elsa-Grace Giardina, MD, professor of clinical medicine-cardiology, has been named a trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine's board of directors, joining Columbia colleagues Linda Fried, MD, MPH, dean of the Mailman School; Mary Lake Polan, MD, MPH, PhD, adjunct professor of obstetrics & gynecology; and board chairman Thomas Q. Morris, MD, Alumni Professor Emeritus of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Giardina, a proponent of gender equity in research, education, and clinical care for women and a longtime advocate for the health of urban women, will serve a four-year term.


COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

Jeremy Mao, DDS, PhD, professor of dental medicine-orthodontics, has been elected to the board of directors of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society. Dr. Mao also gave the keynote speech — on the transformative potential of stem cells and bioengineering in dentistry — at the FDI World Dental Foundation's 2008 annual dental congress, held last September in Stockholm.

Armando Retana'10 won a basic science award at the 2008 Hinman Student Research Symposium, held in Memphis last fall, for a research project pinpointing specific proteins inside cells that bind to beta-6 integrin, a key protein in the maintenance of tissue integrity. The research was directed by Srikala Raghavan, PhD, assistant professor of epithelial cell biology.


CUMC

Late last year, the National Hispanic Health Foundation awarded three of 10 available 2008 Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarships to Columbia students Marvin Abarca (CDM), Yamnia Cortes (MSPH), and Sarah Inez Garza (SON). The $2,000 scholarships reward students in health professional programs for exceptional academic performance, leadership, and commitment to their communities. The three were officially recognized at a Dec. 4 awards dinner in New York City.

P&S

Carl Bazil, MD, PhD, has been appointed the Caitlin Tynan Doyle Professor of Clinical Neurology, head of the epilepsy division in the Department of Neurology, and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Dr. Bazil received his medical and doctoral degrees from Emory University. After completing his neurology residency at New York University, he came to the Neurological Institute to pursue specialized fellowship training in epilepsy and EEG. He joined P&S in 1995. Dr. Bazil’s primary research interest is the relationship among sleep, sleep disorders, and epilepsy.

Ronald Drusin, MD, vice dean for education, has been appointed the Rolf H. Scholdager Professor of Clinical Medicine. A leading authority in the areas of cholesterol management, heart disease, and general and clinical cardiology, Dr. Drusin has distinguished himself as an educator and leader in the field of academic medicine.

Blair Ford, MD, has been promoted to professor of clinical neurology. Dr. Ford is a clinical specialist in movement disorders and serves as medical director of the movement disorders surgery program at CUMC. His research focuses on surgical approaches to movement disorders and clinical trials of pharmacological agents. He is associate chair of education for the Department of Neurology and also directs the neurology residency program.

Sankar Ghosh, PhD, newly appointed chair of microbiology, has been named the Silverstein and Hutt Family Professor of Microbiology, with tenure. Dr. Ghosh is a respected immunologist with a special interest and expertise in NF-kB, a transcription factor that regulates a large number of genes involved in critical immune system and inflammatory processes. His new professorship took effect when he joined P&S as microbiology chair last month.

Rudolph Leibel, MD, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, has been named the Christopher J. Murphy Memorial Professor of Diabetes Research, effective Dec. 1, 2008. Dr. Leibel is an internationally renowned expert in the molecular genetics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. He played a pivotal role in the 1994 discovery of the hormone leptin, which has yielded insights into the complexities of body fat regulation and has transformed how the scientific community views body weight issues, increasingly recasting and redefining obesity as a molecular physiology problem.

Guohua Li, MD, PhD, has been named professor of anesthesiological science (in anesthesiology) and epidemiology (Mailman), with tenure, effective Dec. 1, 2008. Dr. Li’s research focuses on injury prevention and factors in causation; his work has led to the passage of new safe-driving legislation in more than 40 states.

Alison M. Pack, MD, has been appointed associate professor of clinical neurology. An epilepsy specialist with Columbia’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Dr. Pack joined the Department of Neurology in 2000 after completing residency training at the University of Pennsylvania and an epilepsy fellowship at the Neurological Institute. Dr. Pack’s research centers on issues unique to women with epilepsy, including the hormonal effects of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs.

Long-time faculty member Steven A. Siegelbaum, PhD, professor of neuroscience and pharmacology, has been named chair of the Department of Neuroscience, effective Jan. 1. Dr. Siegelbaum has been serving as vice chair of the department since its formation in July 2007. He joined Columbia in 1981. A Howard Hughes Medical Investigator since 1986, Dr. Siegelbaum studies the electrical properties of individual neurons and their synapses, specifically elucidating how they regulate the flow of information through neural circuits during memory storage and recall. He received his bachelor’s degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard and his doctorate from Yale and completed postdoctoral research at London’s University College and the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.


COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

George Huang, DDS, MSD, DSc, has joined the College of Dental Medicine as director of the Division of Endodontics (Section of Oral and Diagnostic Sciences) and associate professor of dental medicine-endodontics, effective Jan. 1. Dr. Huang most recently served as an associate professor at the University of Maryland College of Dental Surgery. He is the principal investigator on an NIH-funded study looking at the use of stem cells to regenerate dental pulp. He received his DDS degree from Taipei Medical College in 1983 and completed an endodontics certificate program and two advanced degrees in dentistry and oral biology at Boston University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California-San Diego.

P&S

John P. Bilezikian, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine (endocrinology) and professor of pharmacology, recently received three sizable awards. He received a four-year $1.6 million competitive renewal grant from the Food and Drug Administration for an ongoing study of the safety and efficacy of parathyroid hormone administration as a treatment for hypoparathyroidism, a disease characterized by loss of parathyroid gland function, absent or markedly reduced parathyroid hormone levels, and low serum calcium levels in the body. Current treatments, consisting of high-dose calcium and vitamin D replacement therapies, have clinical limitations and do not address the bone quality issues and skeletal deficiencies that are also a hallmark of the disease. This work is being conducted with Mishaela Rubin, MD, Irving Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, and colleagues in the Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit in the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Bilezikian also received a five-year $3.1 million continuation of funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, extending a long-term study conducted in conjunction with longtime collaborator Shonni Silverberg, MD, professor of medicine-endocrinology, characterizing the clinical, mechanistic, biomechanical, and neurocognitive elements of primary hyperthyroidism. In addition, Dr. Bilezikian has been awarded a $377,000 grant from the NIDDK for continued support of a training program in endocrinology and metabolism at P&S.

Richard J. Deckelbaum, MD, the Robert R. Williams Professor of Nutrition (in pediatrics), professor of epidemiology (Mailman), and director of the Institute of Human Nutrition, has been awarded $66,000 in additional funding by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for an ongoing project examining how omega-3 fatty acids are metabolized and delivered to tissues and cells. This supplement supports the work of an Institute graduate student, Jill Williams, on mechanisms of neuroprotection by omega-3 fatty acids in stroke.

Kevin Franks, PhD, postdoctoral research scientist in neuroscience, has been awarded a five-year $927,000 career transition award by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr. Franks will study the synaptic processes underlying odor perception, which may have implications for comprehensive understanding of brain functioning in human health and in neurological illnesses where the olfactory system can be involved, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Paul E. Harris, PhD, research scientist in medicine-oncology, has received a three-year $734,000 research grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to test the hypothesis that PET imaging with a novel radiopharmaceutical can measure beta cell mass both in animal models of diabetes and in clinical circumstances related to type 1 diabetes.

Lynne L. Johnson, MD, professor of medicine-cardiology, has received a four-year $1.6 million award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a non-invasive, RAGE-directed approach for the imaging of accelerated atherosclerosis in diabetes. RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) has long been implicated in the development of diabetic vascular disease.

Elan Louis, MD, MS, professor of neurology and epidemiology (Mailman), has been awarded a $500,000 extension of funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to continue work on studies of the brain metabolism and neuropathology of essential tremor.

Maria A. Oquendo, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, has received $1.8 million over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health to study behavioral and psychobiological predictors of suicide attempts in major depression.

Simone Sanna-Cherchi, MD, associate research scientist in medicine-nephrology, has been awarded a four-year $308,000 scientist development grant from the American Heart Association to explore the genetic determinants and underpinnings of non-syndromic renal hypodysplasia, a congenital condition characterized by small kidney size and poor renal tissue development that is among the most common causes of kidney failure in children.

Milan Stojanovic, PhD, assistant professor of medical sciences, division of clinical pharmacology and experimental therapeutics (nephrology), has received a three-year $360,000 award from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative research project on behavior-based molecular robotics. When designed appropriately, behavior-based molecular robots exhibit complex and seemingly intelligent behaviors, both as individuals and in groups, solving challenging tasks in real time.

Rebecca Toonkel, MD, postdoctoral clinical fellow in medicine-pulmonary, allergy & critical care, has received a $25,000 award from the Stony Wold-Herbert Fund. Under the mentorship of Charles Powell, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine-pulmonary, allergy & critical care, Dr. Toonkel will study chronic inflammation and the role of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells in tobacco-induced lung cancer.

Hilary Yegen-Robbins, MD, postdoctoral clinical fellow in medicine-pulmonary, allergy & critical care, has been awarded $25,000 in fellowship funds by the Stony Wold-Herbert Fund. Dr. Robbins will investigate the role of mesenchymal stem cells in preventing acute lung injury.


COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

John Grbic, DMD, MS, MMSc, professor of clinical dental medicine and director of the Division of Oral Biology and the Center for Clinical Research in Dentistry, has received $402,000 from the Israeli pharmaceutical company Izun to lead a multi-center clinical trial of a host-modulating periodontal patch for treatment of gingivitis.

Carol Kunzel, PhD, associate professor of dental community health and of clinical sociomedical sciences (Mailman); Evanthia Lalla, DDS, MS, associate professor of dental medicine-periodontics; and Ira Lamster, DDS, MMSc, dean of the College of Dental Medicine and professor of dental medicine, have received $315,000 from Colgate-Palmolive for an 18-month pilot study to develop and assess a targeted screening protocol for undiagnosed diabetes in patients who present to a dental office or clinic.