P&S has launched a Systems Biology Initiative to capture our full potential in systems and computational biology. Andrea Califano, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics, will be founding director of the Initiative. The Systems Biology Initiative will include the current Columbia Genome Center and the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, the latter of which will continue to be directed by Barry Honig, PhD. Dr. Califano currently directs the Center for the Multiscale Analysis of Genomic and Cellular Networks (MAGNet), one of seven NIH-funded National Centers for Biomedical Computing, and also is associate director for bioinformatics in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-director of C2B2. As the Human Genome Project and advances in biotechnology in the past decade have generated myriad data on genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, researchers have advanced their understanding of cells but still need to decipher how the various components (genes, proteins, and other molecules) inside a cell work together in systems to implement specific biological processes in both health and disease. Since joining P&S in 2003, Dr. Califano has developed integrative methodologies for the dissection of cancer phenotypes and pioneered a wide range of methodologies for the reverse engineering and biochemical validation of genome-wide regulatory networks in human cells.

In July, the Columbia Trustees approved new names for two departments. The Department of Microbiology is now the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The new name reflects the department’s broadening scientific emphasis on immunology, which includes cancer biology, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases. The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine will now be known as the Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine to reflect the department’s expanded commitment to exploring new technologies and approaches in regenerative medicine, such as stem cells, to improve the care of patients with disabilities resulting from injury or disease. Both departments have had new leadership recruited during the past year. Sankar Ghosh, PhD, the Silverstein and Hutt Family Professor of Microbiology and a renowned immunologist and microbiologist, joined us from Yale as chair of microbiology and immunology. Joel Stein, MD, a noted leader in stroke rehabilitation and the Simon Baruch Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, joined us from Harvard to chair rehabilitation and regenerative medicine, which is the home department for our new Stem Cell Initiative.

Mailman School of Public Health

The Mailman School has launched the Columbia Summer Research Institute to offer junior investigators the opportunity to gain fundamental skills in research design and statistical analysis for patient-oriented research. In an intensive five-week period this summer, participants will learn and apply the theory and methods behind the design and conduct of clinical research studies, covering core knowledge in epidemiology and biostatistics plus more specialized study of randomized trial design, health disparities research, decision analysis, and cost effectiveness analysis. Postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty from clinical and translational disciplines will earn academic course credit toward a master’s degree at the Mailman School.

The School of Nursing is pleased to announce the successful completion of a generous challenge match of $100,000, initiated by an anonymous donor last fall, to help energize the school’s Annual Fund. The match, which helped to stimulate gifts from new donors and increase giving from previous donors, provides crucial support for Nursing’s scholarship program.

The Walter H.D. Killough Trust made a gift of $50,000 to endow the Killough Foundation Scholarship for Nurse Practitioner Students in Gerontology.

Joan Tompkins Wheeler’46 has made generous gifts totaling $100,000 to endow the Joan Tompkins Wheeler’46 Scholarship Fund and to provide leadership support to the school’s critically important Annual Fund.

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

Nobel Biocare made a commitment of $75,000 in unrestricted support to the College of Dental Medicine.

P&S

Allergan Inc. made a gift of $100,000 to support continuing medical education.

The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation has made a gift of $100,000 to the Department of Medicine to fund obesity research.

The Jill and Darius Bikoff Foundation has made a gift of $100,000 to the Department of Medicine to advance genitourinary cancer research.

The Sudhir Choudhrie Professorship of Cardiology was created through a generous gift of $2.5 million from Columbia benefactor Sudhir Choudhrie. Its first incumbent is Donna Mancini, MD, director of the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care. The center is the leading heart failure and transplant program in the nation, with the largest volume of transplants and the most successful outcomes. The gift will reinforce Columbia’s ability to bring science from bench to bedside to improve the lives of heart transplant patients.

The Jon and Eileen Luff Fund of the Denver Foundation made a commitment of $113,000 to the Department of Psychiatry to support a fellowship in women’s mental health. 

The Jamie Deutsch Foundation made a gift of $100,000 to support Ewing sarcoma research in the Division of Pediatric Oncology.

The Sidney E. Frank Foundation has committed $900,000 to enhance clinical and research efforts of the Celiac Disease Center, the only one in the United States that provides comprehensive medical care, including nutrition, for adult and pediatric patients. This gift will support study of the genetics and pathophysiology of celiac disease plus diagnosis and management of the disease and its complications. 

Several friends, patients, and colleagues made gifts and commitments totaling $2.5 million to fund the Jerry I. Glicklich, MD, Professorship of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine. Dawn M. Greene made the lead commitment, and additional major gifts and commitments have been made by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Robert Horgan, Budd Levinson, Richard Stock, MD, and Judith Sulzberger, MD, as well as commitments from the Sol and Margaret Berger Foundation and Lynn Shostack.

The Peter & Shelagh Godsoe Family Foundation made a commitment of $250,000 to the Department of Pediatrics to establish the Fund for Pediatric Cardiology Research.

The Anne and Howard Gottlieb Family Foundation made a gift of $50,000 to support Alzheimer’s disease research in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

The Thomas L. Kempner Jr. Foundation has made a generous commitment of $750,000 to the Division of Endocrinology to establish the Thomas Kempner Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases Imaging Research Fund.

The John Klingenstein family made a commitment of $125,000 to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to support the Center for Prenatal Pediatrics. 

A bequest from the estate of Ruth V. Messias in the amount of $250,000 provides support for priority projects within the Department of Psychiatry and funding for pediatric diabetes programs and stem cell research at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center.

Over the past several months, Barry Neustein has made gifts totaling $200,000 to the Departments of Surgery and Medicine to support leading-edge cancer, lung, and thoracic surgery research.

The Pediatric Cancer Foundation made a grant of $250,000 to the Development Therapeutics Program in the Division of Pediatric Oncology to support clinical trials involving refractory and recurrent disease in children.

Pfizer Incorporated made a gift of $50,000 to support research in the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

Dr. Gertrude Rothschild made a donation of $100,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology to support stem cell research in vision.

The Shaw Family Endowment Fund made a gift of $150,000 to the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The SO Charitable Trust has made a commitment of $210,000 to support research efforts of junior faculty in the Division of Cardiology.

The Joyce C. Stern Foundation made a gift of $85,000 to advance cognitive remediation research in the Department of Psychiatry.

The Taybandz Foundation made a gift of $200,000 to support pediatric solid tumor research in the Division of Pediatric Oncology.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals made a contribution of $58,000 to support research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Mailman School of Public Health

The Arts & Letters Foundation Inc. made a gift of $50,000 to support the research of Dr. Stephen S. Morse, professor of clinical epidemiology and founding director and senior research scientist of the Center for Public Health Preparedness.

The Children’s Health Fund made a gift of $100,000 to support the work of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, directed by Dr. Irwin Redlener.

Sidney and Helaine Lerner made a commitment of $500,000, over two years, to support the “Healthy Monday – A Community-Based Approach” project headed by Dr. Alwyn T. Cohall, director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center and associate professor of clinical sociomedical sciences and of clinical population and family health.

Dr. Marylin B. Levitt made an annual gift of $71,000, through the Winston Foundation Inc., to support the New Ventures Fund, which enables Mailman to respond to critical new challenges facing the public’s health.

The John & Wendy Neu Family Foundation Inc. made a gift of $500,000 to support the work of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, directed by Dr. Frederica P. Perera, professor of environmental health sciences.

School of Nursing

Dianne LaPointe Rudow, DNP, assistant clinical professor of nursing, has been elected to the American Society of Transplantation Board of Directors as a councilor-at-large. She is among four new councilors who will serve on the board until 2012. The society comprises almost 3,000 transplant physicians, surgeons, scientists, and allied health professionals. Dr. LaPointe Rudow is director of clinical operations and clinical director of living donor liver transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian.

Students in the nurse midwifery program’s Class of 2009 won this year’s American College of Nurse-Midwives student video contest. Melissa Avery, president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, said the “Why I Am Becoming a Midwife” video contest had several excellent entries and she described the winning entry from Columbia “truly inspirational.” The video can be viewed here.

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE

Burton Edelstein, DDS, MPH, professor of clinical dental medicine-community health, in June gave the keynote address to the Community Foundation of Central and Western New York in Syracuse. The title of his address was “Maximizing Public Dollars in the Provision of Oral Health Services.” He also has provided extensive expertise to Congressional staff about oral health provisions as part of health care reform planning.

Panos N. Papapanou, DDS, PhD, professor of dental medicine, director of the Division of Periodontics, and chair of the Section of Oral and Diagnostic Sciences, received the Sunstar Foundation World Award in Periodontal Medicine in a ceremony held in Stockholm in conjunction with the EuroPerio6 conference. The award, given every three years, recognizes the best publication in the field of periodontal medicine.

P&S

The Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research has announced this year’s class of Irving Scholars. Founded in 1987 by long-time benefactors Herbert and Florence Irving, the program recognizes individuals based on submission of clinical investigation proposals. The 2009 Irving Scholars, who each receive three-year career development awards, and their project titles: Adam Brickman, PhD, Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology, “White Matter Hyperintensities in Cognitive Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease”; Katherine Crew, MD, MS, Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology (Mailman), “Chemopreventive and Anticancer Potential of Vitamin D and Rosemary on Breast Cancer”; Thomas Nickolas, MD, MS, Herbert  Irving Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, “Novel Tools for Assessing Bone Microstructure and Remodeling in Chronic Kidney Disease”; Adam Ratner, MD, MPH, Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology, “Novel Approaches to Bacterial Vaginosis: Diagnostics and Risk Factors”; and Benjamin Spencer, MD, MPH, Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Urology, “Afro-Caribbean Men and Biochemical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer: The Hormonal Therapy Decision.”

Of the 1,108 physicians and surgeons named to New York magazine’s list of the Best Doctors 2009, 226, or 20 percent, are affiliated with P&S as faculty, alumni, or house staff alumni. Current P&S faculty on the list make up 13 percent of the doctors listed. Of the 142 current faculty members, 90 P&S graduates, and 89 physicians who completed their residencies at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, 23 – 10 percent – can boast all three affiliations. See the entire list here.

David J. Cohen, MD, professor of clinical medicine-nephrology, has been elected to the American Society of Transplantation Board of Directors as a councilor-at-large. He joins Dianne LaPointe Rudow of the School of Nursing as one of four new councilors who will serve on the board until 2012. Dr. Cohen is medical director of renal transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.

George Hripcsak, MD, MS, the Vivian Beaumont Allen Professor of Biomedical Informatics and chair of biomedical informatics, has been named co-chair of the Meaningful Use Workgroup of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s Health Information Technology Policy Committee. The workgroup is charged with defining criteria to determine how physicians collect their share of the $17 billion stimulus package funds for adoption of electronic health records.

Guohua Li, MD, DrPH, professor of anesthesiology and of epidemiology (Mailman), received the John Paul Stapp Award from the Aerospace Medical Association for his work on medical and human factors in aviation crash causation and outcomes. The award was presented in May at the group’s 80th annual meeting in Los Angeles. Dr. Li has studied the role of medical and environmental factors in flight safety, pilot error, aviation mishaps, and crash outcomes. His research served as the scientific basis for the decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to extend the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 60 to 65.

Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Epidemiology, and co-director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, received the Henry Wisniewski Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer’s Disease Research at the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Vienna in July. The Alzheimer’s Association presents the award to scientists who have dedicated themselves to helping millions around the world through their research.

Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, the Page and William Black Professor of Neurology and co-director of the Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, received the President’s Distinguished Service Award in recognition of service to the Movement Disorder Society. He received the award in June during the society’s 13th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Paris.

Robert N. Taub, MD, PhD, the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Professor of Clinical Medicine and director of the Columbia Mesothelioma Center, was honored with the 2009 Pioneer Award at the annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma hosted in Washington, D.C., by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. The award recognizes Dr. Taub’s development and implementation of new intracavitary and lung-sparing therapies for malignant mesothelioma. The foundation is the largest independent organization supporting peer-reviewed research into the cause and cure of malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Mailman School of Public Health

Lynn Freedman, JD, MPH, professor of clinical population and family health and director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program, participated in the African First Ladies Health Summit in Los Angeles in April. First ladies from 15 African nations attended the summit to pledge their commitment to improving health and education in their countries. Also present were Britain’s first lady, Sarah Brown, and California’s first lady, Maria Shriver. The goal of the summit was to build on the unique opportunities the first ladies have to influence and effect change. Dr. Freedman participated in the “Maternal Health: the Keystone of the Millennium Development Goals” panel.

Irwin Redlener, MD, clinical professor of population and family health and of pediatrics (P&S) and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, was invited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a member of a special U.S. delegation to the World Health Organization World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva May 18-22. Dr. Redlener joined a delegation of deputy and assistant secretary-level HHS and State Department officials to discuss issues related to healthcare and healthcare systems, as well as the H1N1 virus.

Michael Wessells, PhD, professor of clinical population and family health, received the 2009 International Humanitarian Award from the American Psychological Association in recognition of his commitment to the health of children and families. He has devoted his career to applying his expertise in psychosocial assistance to benefit children and families affected by forced migration, disasters, and ethnopolitical violence. Dr. Wessells has worked for numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations throughout the world, including the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and the American Psychological Association’s Division of Peace Psychology. He has been a leader in the creation of guidelines for mental health workers, including global humanitarian standards for emergency response.

CUMC

Several CUMC faculty members have received funding from New York state through the Empire State Stem Cell Board, created to support stem cell research throughout the state. New York launched an 11-year, $600 million initiative in 2007 to provide state funding for stem cell research, and in March 2009, New York Gov. David Paterson announced an additional $101.8 million to be dedicated to stem cell research. Among the 78 recipients of $53.1 million for investigator-initiated research projects and for innovative, developmental or exploratory activities (IDEA) in stem cell research awards were these Columbia faculty:

• Angela M. Christiano, PhD, P&S (Dermatology and Genetics & Development), $1,080,000
• Thomas Jessell, PhD, P&S (Neuroscience and Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics), $1,080,000
• Jeremy Mao, DDS, PhD, CDM, $1,079,985
• Christopher Rae Jacobs, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, $1,049,875
• Tarique Perera, MD, P&S (Psychiatry), $1,053,458
• Michael Rosen, MD, P&S (Pharmacology and Pediatrics), $1,023,800
• Stephen Goff, PhD, P&S (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics and Microbiology & Immunology), $1,002,632
• Helen Lu, PhD, Biomedical Engineering and CDM, $719,890
• Rene Hen, PhD, P&S (Neuroscience and Pharmacology), awarded through the New York State Psychiatric Institute, $1,080,000
• Tulle Hazelrigg, PhD, Biological Sciences/Morningside, $240,000
• Edward Laufer, PhD, P&S (Pathology & Cell Biology), $240,000
• James Manley, PhD, Biological Sciences/Morningside, $240,000
• David Owens, PhD, P&S (Dermatology), $240,000
• Srikala Raghavan, PhD, CDM and P&S (Dermatology), $240,000
• Andreas Kottmann, PhD, P&S (Psychiatry), $239,628
• Fiona Doetsch, PhD, P&S (Pathology & Cell Biology and Neuroscience), $240,000

Four other P&S faculty were among 19 investigators who received a total of $16.3 million in awards for targeted investigation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) and other derivation approaches:

• Asa Abeliovich, MD, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology, two awards of $1,080,000 each
• Hynek Wichterle, PhD, Pathology & Cell Biology and Neuroscience, $1,080,000
• Timothy Wang, MD, Medicine, $240,000
• Jonathan Lu, MD, PhD, Medicine, $240,000

P&S

Richard Baer, PhD, professor of pathology & cell biology, and Thomas Ludwig, PhD, associate professor of pathology & cell biology, have received a five-year $1.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for a study on “The Role of Brca1/Bard1 in Basal-Like Breast Cancer.” Drs. Baer and Ludwig are members of the Institute for Cancer Genetics and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their study will evaluate how the BRCA1/BARD1 heterodimer promotes tumor suppression and why its disruption leads to basal-like breast cancer. Better understanding of the etiology of basal-like breast cancer should lead to improved treatment strategies.

Paul Berk, MD, professor of medicine-digestive and liver diseases and an NIDDK grantee continuously since 1979, has received $2.4 million in renewed funding over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a study titled “Bariatric Surgery: Outcomes & Impact on Pathophysiology.” The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery was conceived to address important issues in bariatric surgery and in disease pathogenesis and pathophysiology in the obese and morbidly obese. The new funding enables researchers to evaluate the durability of weight loss and comorbidity improvement plus increasingly recognized late-emerging effects of surgery, such as hypoglycemia, suicide, and effects that change over time.

Kara A. Bernstein, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in genetics & development, received a two-year $180,000 new career transition award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Her research, “Mechanistic Insights into the Shu Complex and Sgs1 in DNA Repair and Replication,” will focus on understanding the role of the Sgs1 protein during DNA repair. When DNA repair is inhibited, cells can accumulate mutations and rearrangements that are hallmarks of cancer. Sgs1 is a protein that when mutated in human cells leads to many devastating diseases, such as Bloom, Werner, and Rothmund-Thomson syndromes, which are all fundamentally characterized by cancer predisposition. This work will build on her results suggesting that an alternative pathway used to repair DNA replication errors is separable from homologous recombination.

John P. Bilezikian, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine and professor of pharmacology, received $1.2 million over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for renewal of a training program in endocrinology and metabolism. The program helps postdoctoral researchers develop careers in academic endocrinology and biomedical research. The highly competitive program – fewer than 2 percent of applicants are accepted – has been supported by this training grant for more than 45 years. Research areas span a wide range of endocrinological disciplines, including neuroendocrinology, metabolic bone diseases, diabetes, reproductive endocrinology, endocrine genetics, lipoprotein metabolism, molecular endocrinology, endocrine protein and glycoprotein chemistry, and signal transduction.

David J. Brenner, PhD, the Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics, professor of environmental health sciences (Mailman), and director of the Center for Radiological Research, received $5.5 million in renewal funding over five years from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for the Columbia University Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF), which provides a variety of state-of-the-art microbeams for research projects that study intra- and inter-cellular  mechanisms of damage signal transduction. This single-cell microbeam can deposit energy at targeted locations in cells with sub-micrometer accuracy, to probe the way information about DNA damage is transmitted from one location to another within cells or tissues. RARAF has become a training center for developers of new microbeams worldwide, and the grant also will support a new training course titled “Single-Cell Microbeams: Theory and Practice,” which will involve formal lectures, extensive hands-on experience, and technology transfer options.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded Darryl C. De Vivo, MD, the Sidney Carter Professor of Neurology and professor of pediatrics, a one-year $401,423 physician scientist award supplement. The funding allows P&S to continue the 16-year-old Neurological Sciences Academic Development Award program, which supports career development for pediatric neurologists and encourages research independence.

Pamela U. Freda, MD, associate professor of medicine-endocrinology, has received $1.8 million in renewal funding over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for her research, “New Approaches to the Evaluation and Treatment of Acromegaly.” Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, primarily from its associated metabolic abnormalities, including insulin resistance. Dr. Freda’s study will investigate whether an abnormal fat distribution may contribute significantly to the disease’s increased morbidity and mortality.

Paul E. Harris, PhD, research scientist in medicine-endocrinology, has received $1.5 million in renewal funding over four years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for his research, “Human Islet Antigen Discovery and Imaging.” The rising world-wide incidence of diabetes, combined with the lack of suitable endpoints of the body’s measurable and true capacity to produce insulin, constitute a serious restriction facing health care professionals and the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, Dr. Harris identified a biomarker of beta cell mass that is quantifiable in vivo by PET. This funding will support studies to validate the use of PET for monitoring diabetic disease. The ability to noninvasively measure the mass of insulin-producing beta cells will be of critical value for characterizing new drugs and refining the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. 

Jonathan A. Javitch, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and of pharmacology, has received $3.4 million over five years in renewal funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for his study, “Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Homologs of Neurotransmitter: Sodium Symporters.” Neurotransmitter transporters are targets for antidepressants and for new drugs in development to treat epilepsy and schizophrenia. Dr. Javitch hopes to identify the functional mechanisms of the transporters and how drugs act upon the mechanisms to inform design of new therapies. 

Arno Klein, PhD, assistant professor of clinical neurobiology, has received a three-year $822,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for a study, “Mindboggling Shape Analysis and Identification,” to identify/match brain features based on a geometric and parametric analysis of their shapes. The research uses a Bayesian framework derived from the face recognition literature. Automatically characterizing the shapes of brain structures and labeling the anatomy of brain image data in an accurate, fast, and consistent manner will be of great value to clinical researchers interested in applying brain imaging to mental health. Clinical research applications include volume and shape analysis of brain regions over time, across conditions, and across groups of patients or healthy subjects plus analysis of fMRI or PET activity data acquired from these regions. 

Andreas H. Kottmann, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience, has received a grant of $137,062 from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The Kottmann lab will use the Fox Foundation grant to test whether small molecular weight compounds can boost GDNF expression and slow dopamine neuron degeneration in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. The Kottmann lab has found that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling regulates the production of GDNF in the adult basal ganglia, suggesting that small molecules that bind to the Shh receptor may increase GDNF production and slow neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s patients.

Edward Laufer, PhD, assistant professor of clinical pathology & cell biology, has received a five-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study “Molecular Regulation of Adrenal Cortex Homeostasis and Remodeling.” Genetic mutations that disrupt hormone production occur in one in about 15,000 individuals and can be fatal unless lifelong daily hormone replacement therapy begins. Dr. Laufer’s project will study the molecular mechanisms that maintain the cells in the adrenal cortex that produce steroids. Greater understanding of these mechanisms may lead to improved management of adrenal disorders and possibly ways to treat patients by gene repair and cell replacement therapy.

Elan D. Louis, MD, professor of neurology and of epidemiology (Mailman), received a five-year $1.5 million renewal from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a neuroepidemiology training program. The support allows Columbia to continue to train neurologists and scientists for research careers in the epidemiology of neurologic disorders. The program, funded for the past 28 years, capitalizes on the strengths of the Department of Neurology in P&S, the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Mailman, and the interdisciplinary Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center.

Diana Martinez, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry, received a five-year $618,680 research scientist development award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for her project, “Using PET to Image the Neurochemistry of Addiction.” Previous basic and clinical research has shown that dysregulation in dopamine transmission plays a critical role in substance abuse, including cocaine, alcohol, and heroin dependence. This award allows Dr. Martinez to continue studies to examine the cause of the changes in brain dopamine and ways to correct the deficit.

Carol A. Mason, PhD, professor of pathology & cell biology, neuroscience, and ophthalmic science, received $2 million in renewal funding from the National Eye Institute for her research on “Growth and Guidance of Retinal Axons.” Proper binocular vision depends on a normal distribution of retinal axons at the optic chiasm; altered distribution reduces visual acuity and depth perception. Dr. Mason’s studies investigate the molecular factors that help guide developing retinal axons to their appropriate route and synaptic targets in the brain.

Hiroshi Mitsumoto, MD, the Wesley J. Howe Professor of Neurology and director of the Eleanor & Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Center, has received a five-year $3.5 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for “Multicenter ALS Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress and Disease Progression,” which could be the first prospective, in-depth multicenter, interdisciplinary, molecular epidemiological investigation of oxidative stress (OS) in ALS. Dr. Mitsumoto will investigate whether environmental, lifestyle, psychological, and dietary factors are linked to abnormal OS biomarkers and whether a variety of factors and abnormal OS biomarkers are associated with disease progression. The study could be the first step toward new treatment and prevention approaches, such as multiple antioxidant therapy, to target OS in ALS. 

Utpal B. Pajvani, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral clinical fellow in medicine-endocrinology, has received a three-year research fellowship from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The $165,858 in funding will support the study, “Notch1-Foxo1 Interaction in Regulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis.” Understanding the mechanism of insulin resistance is critical to developing novel therapeutic options for the increasing numbers of patients at risk for the health problems associated with type 2 diabetes. Through genetic manipulation of the Notch pathway in mice, Dr. Pajvani’s research hopes to provide evidence that inhibition of Notch signaling in liver can lead to improved glycemic control.

Alice S. Prince, MD, professor of pediatrics-infectious diseases, received a two-year $436,365 exploratory/development grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Participation of Mucosal Type I Interferon Signaling in Pulmonary Disease.” Dr. Prince’s research aims to establish how common mucosal pathogens, S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa, activate type I interferon signaling in the respiratory tract. These interferons are critical for effective anti-viral defenses but appear to increase susceptibility to bacterial infection. Activation of this cascade may be an important factor contributing to post-influenza bacterial pneumonia, the major cause of death from influenza.

Lisa Saiman, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics-infectious diseases, has received renewal of a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-supported training grant in the amount of $965,426 over five years. Participants in the program over the past decade have conducted basic, translational, and clinical research in host-pathogen interactions; virulence factors; emerging pathogens; molecular epidemiology; antimicrobial resistance and the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents and adjuvant therapies; and the development, safety, and efficacy of vaccines. The goal of the three-year training program is to develop physician investigators for careers in pediatric infectious diseases. Physicians trained in pediatric infectious diseases will care for otherwise healthy children who contract a serious infection; children and adolescents living with chronic illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and congenital heart disease; premature infants; and children undergoing transplantation or chemotherapy for malignancies.

P. Christian Schulze, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine-cardiology, has received a five-year K23 award of $676,755 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for new mentored patient-oriented research titled “Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism and Proteolysis in Heart Failure.” After completion of clinical training in cardiovascular medicine at Columbia, Dr. Schulze will work with mentors Donna Mancini and Ira Goldberg on his central hypothesis that common gene expression patterns and metabolic derangements determine structural and functional changes in skeletal muscle and myocardium of patients with heart failure and that those changes are reversible after hemodynamic improvement through ventricular assist device placement.

Howard A. Shuman, PhD, professor of microbiology & immunology, has received $3 million over five years in renewal funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Genetics of Monocyte Killing by Bacteria,” which aims to understand the molecular basis by which Legionella pneumophila, implicated in Legionnaires’ disease, infect, survive, replicate, and eventually kill human macrophages, a primary defense against infection.

David Sulzer, PhD, professor of neurobiology (in psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology), received a two-year $67,424 research supplement from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for his study, “Presynaptic Mechanisms in Dopamine Neurotransmission.” Understanding presynaptic mechanisms that regulate DA transmission and their consequences on corticostriatal transmission is important for understanding the synaptic basis of drug abuse and addiction plus habit and motor learning. The supplement is for research intended to elucidate presynaptic mechanisms underlying plasticity of DAergic neurotransmission and its effects on synaptic computation in the striatum.

Lori Sussel, PhD, associate professor of genetics & development, has received a four-year $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a study on “Regulation of Pancreatic Islet Cell Fate.” Diabetes is a growing world health problem that results from the gradual loss of functional insulin-producing beta cells. Significant research efforts focus on generating alternative sources of functioning beta cells from embryonic stem cells or alternative sources of adult stem/progenitor cell populations. The goal of Dr. Sussel’s research is to understand the regulation of beta cell differentiation and maturation during embryonic development as a way to define the experimental conditions necessary to efficiently differentiate functional beta cells from alternative cell sources. The research could provide large pools of islet beta cells for cell replacement therapies.

Joseph D. Terwilliger, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry-medical genetics, has received $1.6 million over four years from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Inferring Phenogentic Mechanisms in Psychiatric and Other Complex Traits.” The goal of the study is to develop software to simulate phenogenetic evolution and to develop analytical methods for statistical analysis and study design in complex trait genetics. The research could help us better understand the etiology of such diseases as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Timothy C. Wang, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine, received a five-year $618,902 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a new multidisciplinary training program in translational gastrointestinal and liver research. The program will train physician investigators to become independent basic, clinical, and translational researchers. The program will be based in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases but will use a collaborative and interactive faculty from several departments. This program will prepare researchers who are needed in digestive and liver diseases to advance knowledge of disease pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of these disorders, which affect approximately 60 million to 70 million Americans each year. 

Howard J. Worman, MD, professor of medicine and of pathology & cell biology, received $1.8 million over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for renewal of his research, “Pathogenesis of Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy.” Muscular dystrophies collectively affect tens of thousands of people in the United States. Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, characterized by wasting of certain muscles, joint deformities, and life-threatening heart problems that can result in premature and sudden death, has no definitive therapy. Dr. Worman’s research is designed to identify targets in cellular and animal models that can lead to treatments. 

Mailman School of Public Health

David A. Greenberg, PhD, professor of biostatistics (in psychiatry), has received a four-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his study, “Mechanisms of Genetic Seizure Susceptibility in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.” Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), a common, adolescent-onset epilepsy syndrome, requires lifelong treatment to suppress seizures. The BRD2 gene, which Dr. Greenberg’s group first identified and which has been confirmed in other laboratories as influencing JME expression, has a profound effect on neural structure and circuitry. Dr. Greenberg proposes to define the genetic, neuroanatomical, and circuitry mechanisms by which BRD2 leads to JME susceptibility. The investigators hope the work could, at last, lead to understanding a basic cause and mechanism of common epilepsy that affects millions of Americans.

Katherine M. Keyes, MPH, a graduate student in epidemiology, has received a $61,654 fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a study titled “Age-Period-Cohort Effects on Substance Use in Adolescence, 1976-2006.” Understanding the similarities and differences among age-period-cohort effects in substance use and disapproval over the 30-year period could suggest ways to prevent and intervene in alcohol and drug use in this age group.

Miguel A. Munoz-Laboy, DrPH, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, has received a four-year $2.3 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for research titled “Gender, Power and Latino Men’s HIV Risk,” one of the first large-scale research projects to focus on issues of bisexuality and HIV risk among Latinos and the first to examine how the context of labor and sexual markets shape the sexual lives and health risks of bisexual men of color. Dr. Munoz-Laboy’s study will use HIV prevention research to design an intervention to reduce HIV/STI risk for bisexual Latino men, a consistently overlooked population in public health.

Frederica Perera, DrPH, professor of environmental health sciences and director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, has received a four-year $1.7 million research grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for a project titled “Developmental Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Airborne PAHS.” As rates of developmental disorders have increased in children over the past decade, prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants such as airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been implicated. In collaboration with the University of Krakow, Dr. Perera will study 400 Caucasian mothers residing in Krakow, Poland, who have been followed since pregnancy, and their children, who will be followed through age 9. The exposures being studied are not unique to Poland; results will be generalizable to other geographic and ethnic populations. The center is conducting an even larger, parallel study in New York City.

John Santelli, MD, MPH, the Harriet and Robert H. Heilbrunn Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health, chair of population and family health, and professor of clinical pediatrics (P&S), has been granted $2.3 million over five years by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for his work with the Rakai Adolescent Project, an assessment of the changing patterns of HIV incidence among 15- to 24-year-olds in the Rakai district of Uganda. The program also will examine the influence of social and developmental risk factors for new HIV infections over time, explore the specific role of HIV policies and programs in influencing HIV incidence among young people, and document best practices and recommendations for structural-level and educational interventions for HIV prevention in this population.