NEW INITIATIVES

CUMC

Faculty, staff, and students from all four schools gathered Oct. 2 to celebrate the opening of our new state-of-the-art Teaching and Learning Center in Hammer. The space - 30,000 square feet of modern classrooms and study space - consolidates space previously scattered among our campus's many buildings. The center is designed to promote group learning and collaboration among students at all our medical center schools.

"Building Interdisciplinary Research Models" is a course offered jointly by the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences under the auspices of the School of Nursing's Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Reduce Antibiotic Resistance. The three-credit course is designed to provide the skills necessary to lead and be members of successful interdisciplinary research teams. This semester, five physicians, four doctoral nursing students, several public health students, and one social work student are enrolled in the course.

APPOINTMENTS

P&S

Melissa Arbuckle, MD, PhD, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and a 2005 graduate of Columbia's training program in psychiatry, was appointed associate director of residency training in the Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute after serving as interim director.

Karina W. Davidson, PhD, the Herbert Irving Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine (in medicine and psychiatry), has been named director of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health in the Division of General Medicine within the Department of Medicine. She is an expert on psychosocial interventions for patients with heart disease and has conducted extensive research on the effect of depression reduction and anger management techniques on cardiovascular parameters and outcomes.

Davangere Devanand, MD, became director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry in August 2008. In addition to expanding research, training, and clinical activities, Dr. Devanand oversees the recruitment and development of faculty in geriatric psychiatry. He is professor of clinical psychiatry and of neurology.

Susan Essock, PhD, director of the Division of Mental Health Services and Policy Research in psychiatry, has been appointed the first Edna L. Edison Professor of Psychiatry. The establishment of the Edna L. Edison Professorship Fund at Columbia University was made possible through a bequest from the estate of Ms. Edison, a longtime generous supporter of the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Essock completed her graduate studies at Brown University and her internship in clinical psychology at Connecticut Valley Hospital.

Jonathan Javitch, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Molecular Therapeutics in psychiatry, has been named the first Lieber Professor of Experimental Therapeutics (in Psychiatry). This inaugural professorship is made possible by a $2 million commitment from the Essel Foundation. Dr. Javitch's work focuses on understanding molecular and cellular processes that underlie behavior, with an emphasis on existing or novel targets for therapeutic intervention in psychiatric disorders. Dr. Javitch's lab also has a specialized expertise in dopaminergic signaling and its role in schizophrenia and drug abuse. A graduate of Stanford University, Dr. Javitch earned MD and PhD degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in psychiatry and postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia/New York State Psychiatric Institute. The professorship is named in honor of Columbia benefactors Stephen and Constance Lieber.

Keith Kuenzler, MD, assistant professor of surgery, has been named director of the first pediatric minimal access surgery course at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

Stephen W. Nicholas, MD, has been named to a new position, assistant dean for admissions for P&S. Dr. Nicholas, professor of clinical pediatrics and of clinical population and family health (Mailman), will assist Andrew Frantz, dean of admissions, and oversee special projects, including ways to manage the wait-list process and conversion of the admissions office into a paperless environment. Dr. Nicholas will help establish the admissions process for students interested in the new Columbia-Bassett program. Dr. Nicholas received his MD from the University of Colorado and trained in pediatrics at Columbia and Harlem Hospital Center. He has been a member of the P&S Admissions Committee since 2001.

Edward (Ned) Nunes, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, was appointed vice chair of the Institutional Review Board of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the Department of Psychiatry in April 2008. In this capacity, Dr. Nunes plays a critical role in the implementation of a series of planned modifications and innovations in IRB review procedures. Dr. Nunes attended medical school at the University of Connecticut and completed his residency at PI and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Maria Oquendo, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, was appointed director of residency training in psychiatry in April 2008, several months after being promoted to vice chair for education for the Department of Psychiatry. She now directs the postgraduate training program in adult psychiatry in addition to providing general oversight of other training programs.

Bradley Peterson, MD, the Suzanne Crosby Murphy Professor of Psychiatry-Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, assumed the role of chief of the Division of Child Psychiatry in May 2008. In the course of his career, he has earned a reputation as one of the leading researchers using applications of neuroimaging in child psychiatry. Dr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. He completed his residency in general psychiatry at Massachusetts General.

AWARDS & HONORS

Leora Walter, a DDS candidate, has been named a Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholar for 2009. She is among 88 graduate students and postdoctoral trainees selected to train in global health research in low- and middle-income countries. Students chosen for the scholars program are paired with foreign counterparts to conduct clinical research under the tutelage of NIH-funded universities or other research institutions working on infectious or chronic diseases. The Fogarty International Center is the international component of the NIH. Ms. Walter will work in Lima, Peru, at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.

Two P&S students have been named by the NIH's Fogarty International Center as Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars for 2009. Charles Daniel Schnorr, a fourth-year student, and Vinay Gupta, who completed his third year at P&S, are among 88 graduate students and postdoctoral trainees selected to train in global health research in low- and middle-income countries. Mr. Schnorr will train in Brazil at Federal University of Bahia; Mr. Gupta will train in Shanghai, China, at the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Students are paired with foreign counterparts to conduct clinical research under the tutelage of NIH-funded universities or other research institutions working on infectious or chronic diseases.

Several surgery faculty completed humanitarian missions in 2009: Keith Kuenzler, MD, assistant professor of surgery, and William Middlesworth, MD, assistant professor of clinical surgery, in Ghana; Ray Ortega, MD, assistant professor of clinical surgery, in Manta, Ecuador; and John Schullinger, MD, retired professor of pediatric surgery, in Nanchang, China. Mariano E. Brizzio, MD, instructor in clinical surgery, plans a humanitarian mission to Arequipa, Peru, in October 2009.

Michael Argenziano, MD, professor of surgery, has been inducted into the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

Gudrun Aspelund, MD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and inducted into the American Pediatric Surgical Association.

Sheldon Feldman, MD, the Vivian L. Milstein Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, was program director for the 10th annual American Society of Breast Surgeons meeting and an official 2009 Clinical Congress Skills Course instructor at the American College of Surgeons' 95th annual clinical congress.

Michael Goldstein, MD, assistant professor of surgery, has been named medical director of the New York Organ Donor Network. He will continue his clinical, research, and academic activity at CUMC while filling this part-time role.

Kathie-Ann P. Joseph, MD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery, received the 2009 Medical Trailblazer award from the North Manhattan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Ronald M. Lazar, PhD, professor of clinical neuropsychology (in neurology), has been appointed to the Acute Neural Injury and Epilepsy Study Center in the Center for Scientific Review at the NIH. Dr. Lazar is a member of the Stroke Division in the Department of Neurology. His research focuses on cognitive and behavioral aspects of stroke and stroke recovery.

Eun-Ju Lee, a fourth-year P&S student, received a 2008 Medical Student Achievement Award from the Endocrine Society through a program designed to encourage outstanding senior medical students to pursue careers in endocrinology and related fields of medicine and basic science.

Adrienne Phillips, MD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical medicine-oncology, attended a minority faculty career development seminar sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and Harvard Medical School's Department of Continuing Education. The seminar, held in Puerto Rico, was designed for junior faculty in underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups who aspire to leadership positions in academic medicine. Dr. Phillips practices at CUMC and Harlem Hospital Center.

Lloyd E. Ratner, MD, professor of surgery, was inducted into the American Surgical Association. He also will be guest of honor at the 16th annual Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO) Triangle Awards dinner in October.

James Spears, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine-family medicine, was nominated for the 2009 Arnold P. Gold foundation Humanism in Medicine Award presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges. He was nominated by members of AAMC's Organization of Student Representatives at P&S. Dr. Spears was among 42 nominees for the national award.

Henry M. Spotnitz, MD, the George H. Humphreys II Professor of Surgery, received the 2009 Alfred M. Markowitz Service Award from the Society of Practitioners of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Sharron Close received the $10,000 national research award from the Pediatric Endocrine Nursing Society for her dissertation study, "Phenotype, Cardiometabolic Biomarkers and Psychosocial Parameters in Klinefelter's Syndrome Boys." Her dissertation is sponsored jointly by the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, where Ilene Fennoy is her mentor, and the School of Nursing, where Nancy Reame is her mentor.

Sarah Collins is the first graduate of the PhD program in nursing. After successfully defending her dissertation on the topic of "Informatics Methods to Understand Interdisciplinary Communication Related to Common Goals in the ICU," she will be a National Library of Medicine postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at P&S. Dr. Collins was sponsored by Leanne Currie.

Kelli Hall will present her NRSA-funded dissertation research on "The Influence of Psychological Conditions on Oral Contraceptive Use and Attributed Side Effects in Minority Adolescents" at the national meeting of the Council of Nurse-Researchers in Washington, D.C., Oct 12. This work is funded by an NIH Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31). Nancy Reame is Ms. Hall's sponsor.

Annie Rohan, a PhD student, received this year's award for the best practice article written for MCN, the American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, for her three-part series, "Hypoxia in the Term Newborn." The award recognized the series' content, clear writing, and applicability for MCN readers. The recognition included a cash award from Lippincott and a certificate.

GRANTS

Kavita Ahluwalia, DDS, MPH, assistant professor of clinical dental medicine-community health, received a one-year $125,973 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Program Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. This grant will be used to train fire safety ombudsmen to conduct fire risk assessment in homes of more than 1,000 elderly and homebound New Yorkers, checking fire detectors, reviewing fire hazards, and helping clients better prepare themselves for fire emergencies. The program also will train caseworkers to use the assessment tool after the grant ends and will conduct outreach to landlords and building supervisors.

Jeremy J. Mao, DDS, PhD, professor of dental medicine, received a four-year $2.3 million grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for research titled “Tracking Stem Cells in Engineered Tissue and Organs in vivo and in Real Time.” Dr. Mao hopes to demonstrate a viable method for labeling stem cells and tracking their lineages and migration. This could contribute to understanding how stem cells participate in homeostasis and wound healing in multiple systems.

Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, professor of urology and of pathology & cell biology (in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center), received three grants for her work on elucidating molecular pathways of prostate cancer in mouse models, which is part of a collaborative effort with Columbia investigators Michael Shen, Andrea Califano, Carlos Cordon-Cardo, and Edward Gelmann. The 2009 Gordon Becker Creativity Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation provides $100,000 toward research to identify dysfunctional regulatory molecules and pathways common to both human and mouse models of prostate cancer. Dr. Abate-Shen's project is titled "A Novel Human-to-Mouse-to-Human Approach for the Elucidation of Prostate Cancer Pathways and Druggable Targets." Dr. Abate-Shen also received $4.2 million in renewal funding from the National Cancer Institute for a five-year project titled "Elucidation of Cancer Pathways and Druggable Targets using Mouse Models." The research is part of the NCI Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium and is a continuation of efforts to use mouse models to understand the molecular mechanisms of human prostate cancer. Dr. Abate-Shen received an additional $1.7 million of funding from the Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium program for a five-year project titled "Leadership Component in Chemoprevention"; the goal is to develop a research program using mouse models to study cancer prevention.

Anissa Abi-Dargham, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry and radiology, received a five-year $618,680 renewal of funding for "Cortical and Striatal Dopamine Dysfunction in Addiction and Schizophrenia." The National Institute on Drug Abuse funding will support Dr. Abi-Dargham's development of novel brain imaging methods to better characterize neurochemical alterations associated with addiction disorders and schizophrenia, their clinical correlates, and their relevance to treatment strategies.

Qais Al-Awqati, MD, the Robert F. Loeb Professor of Medicine and professor of physiology & cellular biophysics, received a three-year grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association for his study, "Terminal Differentiation of Renal Epithelia: The Hensin Pathway."

John P. Bilezikian, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine and professor of pharmacology, received two supplements for a training program in endocrinology and metabolism. The two-year supplement from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases will provide support for Dr. Gabrielle Page-Wilson as part of a program to promote diversity in health-related research. The second supplement will support short-term research training experiences for medical students working with faculty associated with NIDDK diabetes centers.

William S. Blaner, PhD, professor of nutritional medicine, received $450,314 in renewal funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to support his study, "Postprandial Vitamin A." Dr. Blaner's study will define the molecular events that are important for mediating vitamin A storage in liver and adipose tissue and will explore relationships between hepatic vitamin A storage and the development of liver disease and between adipose tissue vitamin A storage and the development of type 2 diabetes.

Gary Brittenham, MD, the James A. Wolff Professor of Pediatrics and professor of medicine, received a four-year grant of $764,156 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The research, "Malaria and the Safety of Iron Interventions: Absorption and NTBI," will determine the effects of acute infection with malaria on the absorption, pharmacokinetics, and metabolism of iron from iron supplements and other iron interventions in women of childbearing age. This project will be carried out with Mahidol University in Thailand in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Human Nutrition.

Andrea Califano, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics, received a two-year supplement to support Dr. Jose Morales as part of a program to promote diversity in health-related research. The funding from the National Cancer Institute is a supplement to Dr. Califano's project that has created a National Center for the Multiscale Analysis of Genomic and Cellular Networks (MAGNet) to provide an integrative computational framework to organize molecular interactions in cells into manageable context-dependent components.

Alwyn T. Cohall, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics and of clinical sociomedical sciences and population and family health (Mailman), received a five-year $5.2 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for a project titled "Technology & Community-Based Approaches to Improve Health in Harlem." The grant will support the Harlem Health Promotion Center, a collaboration of community, academic, and public health groups using research, education, advocacy, and service delivery to improve the health and well-being of the Harlem community.

Nalini Colaco, a graduate student in neurobiology & behavior, received a five-year $230,800 fellowship from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research titled "Characterization of the Mechanisms Underlying Rubrospinal Control of Movement." Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the patterning of rubrospinal development and circuitry during development could provide insight into potential mechanisms of regeneration and repair following injury, and the genetic tools generated will enable the study of rubrospinal dysfunction in rodent models of neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Franklin D. Costantini, PhD, professor of genetics & development, received $2.3 million over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a study titled "Branching Morphogenesis of Urinary Epithelia: From Genes to Cellular Behaviors." Dr. Costantini's research will promote understanding of the genes and cellular events that underlie ureter and kidney development, which may eventually permit treatments for congenital malformations, repair of damaged organs, or growth of artificial organs.

Gilbert Di Paolo, PhD, assistant professor of pathology & cell biology, received supplemental funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his research, "Role of Phospholipids in Membrane Traffic at the Synapse." The supplement will fund purchase of a table-top Ultracentrifuge Max-XP from Beckman-Coulter.

Qing R. Fan, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and of pathology & cell biology, received a five-year $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for a study titled "Structural Studies of Metabotropic GABA Receptors." Malfunction of metabotropic GABA receptors leads to neurological disorders. This project will pursue structural models for components of GABA receptors to understand their roles in receptor function. The resulting atomic structures may help with the design of novel therapeutic agents.

Ira Goldberg, MD, the Dickinson W. Richards Jr. Professor of Medicine, received two years of renewal funding for his research, "Mechanisms of Fatty Acid Uptake by Cardiac Muscle." The funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will support Dr. Goldberg's work to understand how fats, including dietary fat, enter the heart and determine which of these fats are responsible for heart failure.

Michael E. Goldberg, MD, the David Mahoney Professor of Brain and Behavior in neurology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and ophthalmology, received a five-year $2 million grant from the National Eye Institute for research on "The Neurophysiology of Spatial Vision." The research addresses spatial processing that is impaired in human patients with parietal and frontal lesions and seeks to answer questions to lead to a greater understanding of how the cerebral cortex orders the processes of visual attention and spatial perception.

Tamas Gonda, MD, advanced endoscopy fellow/instructor in medicine, received the Florence Lefcourt Award for GI Endoscopic Research and Public Education from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy/New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for a study titled "Global Methylation Changes in Barrett's Esophagus before and after Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation." The Lefcourt award supports collaborative endoscopic research and educational outreach in the New York region.

Oliver Hobert, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics, received a two-year $152,755 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research titled "Genetic Mechanisms that Regulate Left/Right Asymmetric Neuron Size." Lateral differences in neuron cell size are disrupted in psychiatric disorders. Dr. Hobert's study will begin an analysis of the genetic regulation and functional relevance of cell size differences in the nervous system, using the nematode C. elegans as a model system.

Shunichi Homma, MD, the Margaret Milliken Hatch Professor of Medicine and associate chief of the cardiology division, has received a two-year funding extension of $10.1 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his research, "Warfarin vs. Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction Study (WARCEF)." Dr. Homma's double-blind randomized multicenter clinical trial (180 centers, 11 countries) is designed to provide definitive data on the value of warfarin and aspirin to reduce stroke and death in patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction in sinus rhythm.

Antonio Iavarone, MD, associate professor of neurology and of pathology & cell biology, has received a five-year $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a study titled "Computational Analysis of Human High Grade Gliomas." Dr. Iavarone will use computational technologies developed at CUMC to exploit microarray expression profiles from a large collection of primary glioblastoma multiforme and identify the key genetic master regulators responsible for the most aggressive attributes of malignant gliomas. Experiments in cell culture systems and experimental animals will validate predictions made by the new algorithms. Identification of the master genetic programs directing the most aggressive features of malignant gliomas could offer the best possible targets for therapeutic intervention.

Daniel Kass, MD, assistant professor of medicine-pulmonary, allergy & critical care medicine, received a Young Investigator's Award from the ENTELLIGENCE Young Investigators Award Program. The program, supported by an educational grant from Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, supports research in pulmonary hypertension, specifically to expand knowledge of the pathways involved in pulmonary vascular pathobiology. Dr. Kass's research, funded at $75,000 over 18 months, is titled "Targeting the MetAP2 Pathway in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension."

Howard B. Lieberman, PhD, professor of radiation oncology and of environmental health sciences (Mailman), has received a $441,700 two-year exploratory/development grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for his study, "RAD9-Based Mouse Model of Prostate Carcinogenesis." Dr. Lieberman's team previously found a significant link between levels of the Rad9 protein and prostate cancer. The goal of the current research is to engineer and characterize a unique mouse model with high levels of Rad9 to determine if excess Rad9 leads to prostate cancer and to serve as a novel host for testing new anti-cancer treatments.

In July 2009, the National Institute of Mental Health announced that Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, the Lieber Professor of Psychiatry, Lawrence C. Kolb Professor of Psychiatry, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, will lead a nationwide effort to develop an optimal early intervention strategy for treating people experiencing a first episode of the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. The Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) project is being funded by NIMH with additional support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). RAISE is initially funded for $9.9 million over two years with the potential for funding to continue over six years and a total of $21.3 million.

Sarah H. Lisanby, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry and director of the brain stimulation and therapeutic modulation division, and Joan Prudic, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry-brain stimulation and geriatric psychiatry divisions, received a five-year $2.02 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for a project titled "Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly (PRIDE)." Drs. Lisanby and Prudic will study patient-focused approaches to develop targeted strategies for older patients with severe mood disorders who are at significant risk for suicide.

Guoxia Liu, PhD, associate research scientist in medicine-cardiology, received a scientist development grant from the American Heart Association for a study titled "Cytoplasmic Interactions of BK Alpha and Beta1." Total funding for the four-year project is $308,000.

The U.S. Army announced its collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health to fund the largest ever study of suicide in the military, with participation by Columbia and New York State Psychiatric Institute researchers. John Mann, MD, the Paul Janssen Professor of Translational Neuroscience (in psychiatry and in radiology), who has led groundbreaking research to elucidate the triggers of suicide and identify high-risk patients, is one of the principal investigators for the five-year $6.3 million grant.

Diana M. Martinez, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry, received a five-year $2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for the study, "Imaging the Neurochemistry of Negative Reinforcement in Cocaine Abuse." Dr. Martinez will work to characterize the neurobiology of negative reinforcement in cocaine abuse by focusing on the kappa receptor/dynorphin system in the brain. She will use imaging and behavioral studies to further understanding of one of the most difficult aspects of treating cocaine dependence: the propensity for relapse.

Carol A. Mason, PhD, professor of pathology & cell biology, neuroscience, and ophthalmic science, received renewal of funding for "The Role of Zic Genes in Patterning the Binocular Projection." The three-year $602,948 renewal from the National Eye Institute will support Dr. Mason's continued work on understanding the genes that regulate how retinal ganglion cells grow out from each eye, then diverge at the optic chiasm toward targets on both sides of the brain. Proper binocular vision is dependent on a normal distribution of retinal axons crossing at the optic chiasm; alterations cause reduced visual acuity and depth perception.

Amrom E. Obstfeld, a graduate student in cellular, molecular, structural and genetic studies, received a five-year $209,224 research fellowship award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to support the study, "Hepatic Myeloid Cells Regulated by Obesity." Studying how immune cells in the liver promote inflammation and metabolic disease will help direct pharmacological interventions to prevent the progression of the disease.

Livio Pellizzoni, PhD, assistant professor of pathology & cell biology, received a two-year $441,875 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for "Noncoding RNA Targets of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Protein." Decreased levels of the SMN protein cause spinal muscular atrophy, a motor neuron disease, and SMN plays a critical role in multiple aspects of RNA metabolism. Dr. Pellizzoni will analyze the repertoire of RNA targets of SMN in hopes of identifying novel RNA pathways that are regulated by SMN and whose disruption may contribute to motor neuron degeneration.

Richard Robinson, PhD, professor of pharmacology, received a grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association. The three-year $198,000 grant is for a project titled "Na Channel Gene Expression Modulates Cardiac Biophysics and Conduction in vitro."

Christian W. Schindler, MD, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and of medicine-pulmonary, allergy & critical care medicine, received a $235,107 supplement from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for his research titled "IFN-Is at the Interface of Innate and Adaptive Immunity." The supplement supports his studies on how the large family of type I interferons regulates aspects of both innate and adaptive immunity to fight viral infection and how type I interferons may be involved in the development of lupus.

Joseph E. Schwartz, PhD, a faculty member in medicine and psychiatry, has received two research grants. The first, for new research, is a four-year $1.6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. In the project, "Physical Activity, Depression, and Post-ACS Survival," Dr. Schwartz will investigate the role of physical (in)activity in elevating the risk of recurrent cardiac events in patients who are depressed after hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome. Dr. Schwartz and his colleagues also received $12.4 million in NHLBI renewal funding over five years for his study, "Psychosocial Factors and Cardiovascular Disease." This program project continues research that focuses on the role of psychosocial factors in the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The research, led by Dr. Thomas Pickering until his recent death, has been supported continuously by NHLBI since 1988.

M. Katherine Shear, MD, the Marion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry in Social Work and Psychiatry, received funding for a four-site project, "Optimizing Treatment for Complicated Grief," with Naihua Duan, PhD, professor of biostatistics (in psychiatry), as the biostatistics PI. Columbia, the coordinating center for this project, will receive $1.8 million of $7.3 million from the National Institute of Mental Health for a study of medication efficacy that builds on Dr. Shear's previous grant, which documented efficacy of targeted complicated grief treatment and was the first randomized controlled treatment study of complicated grief, a debilitating condition estimated to occur in approximately 10 percent of bereaved people.

Beverley J. Sheares, MD, MS, associate professor of clinical pediatrics-pulmonary, has received a five-year $3.9 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a study titled "Reducing Sleep Disparities in Urban, Minority School-Aged Children." This is the first intervention study aimed at addressing sleep disparities in early school-aged children from minority populations. The goal of this study is to identify risk factors for poor sleep and to evaluate the efficacy of a tailored, interactive, educational, and behavioral intervention aimed at improving children's sleep hygiene and increasing sleep duration in a randomized controlled trial. Dr. Sheares will work with Carin Lamm, MD, director of the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center, and an interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians.

Richard P. Sloan, PhD, the Nathaniel Wharton Professor of Behavioral Medicine (in Psychiatry), has received a four-year $3.9 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a study titled "Exercise and Inflammation: Autonomic, Affective & Cellular Mechanisms." Dr. Sloan will study the mechanisms of the cardioprotective regimen of aerobic exercise in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. Understanding the mechanisms will allow development and testing of targeted interventions to produce comparable cardioprotective effects more directly or in cases where aerobic exercise is not possible.

Scott A. Small, MD, associate professor of neurology (in the Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute), received $1.9 million over five years from the National Institute on Aging for research titled "Neural and Behavioral Profiles of Cognitive Aging." The research will test hypotheses about etiologies and molecular mechanisms that contribute to cognitive aging. A high-resolution variant of functional imaging will assess the mouse brain over time to not just understand mechanisms of dysfunction, but also to learn how to ameliorate cognitive aging.

Emily M. Stein, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine-endocrinology, has received a five-year $748,880 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research titled "Chronic Kidney Disease and PTH: Effects on the Postmenopausal Skeleton." The project intends to generate information about the impact of mild declines in kidney function on the skeleton in postmenopausal women to increase awareness of unique factors that affect skeletal structure and strength in the rapidly increasing population of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease. Findings could show the importance of incorporating CKD and secondary hyperparathyroidism into diagnostic and treatment strategies for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Yaakov Stern, PhD, professor of clinical neurology-aging and dementia, received a three-year $823,252 grant from the National Institute on Aging for research titled "Combined Exercise and Cognitive Training Intervention in Normal Aging," a pilot study to test a candidate intervention - a combination of a specially designed video game and aerobic exercise - for age-related cognitive decline in healthy older individuals.

Barbara S. Taylor, MD, MS, instructor in clinical medicine-infectious diseases, received a five-year $650,585 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research titled "The Impact of Mobility on HIV Care in New York City and the Dominican Republic." Dr. Taylor will use multidisciplinary techniques to examine the interaction between mobility and HIV treatment outcomes in both New York and the Dominican Republic to generate findings to benefit care in both countries and in other regions where circular migration is common.

Edward B. Thorp, PhD, associate research scientist in medicine-molecular medicine, received a K99/R00 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for research titled "Efferocytosis in CVD and Inflammation." Upon completion, the grant is five years for $926,997. The study of in vivo regulation of efferocytosis, though still at an early stage of development, may provide the basis for therapy in numerous chronic inflammatory disorders. These studies have the potential to elucidate novel therapeutic targets that can be directed against both the accumulation of inflammatory apoptotic cells and the progression of advanced atherosclerotic plaques. Dr. Thorp also received a four-year $308,000 national scientist development grant from the American Heart Association and scored in the top 5 percentile. Dr. Thorp's mentor is Ira Tabas, MD, PhD.

Benjamin Tycko, MD, PhD, professor of pathology, and Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, professor of neurology, were awarded a joint five-year $3.5 million grant by the National Institute on Aging. Funds will be used to map DNA methylation across the genome in brains from Alzheimer's disease patients and controls and correlate these data with genotypes. The goal is to find regulatory sequences that produce inter-individual differences in Alzheimer's susceptibility. Dr. Tycko also received a two-year $388,914 grant from the National Cancer Institute for research titled "Optimizing MSNP for Profiling DNA Methylation in Cancers and Precursor Lesions," which will use a Columbia-developed technological approach, called MSNP, to scan for patterns of DNA methylation. MSNP is expected to improve classification of human cancers. Dr. Mayeux also received a one-year $746,695 supplement for his research, "Multicenter Study on Exceptional Survival in Families," from the National Institute on Aging. The study of long-lived families uses a family history study to determine patterns of occurrence and modes of transmission of exceptional survival (ES) then identifies families with exceptional survival in multiple family members to study phenotypes that best characterize ES. Dr. Mayeux also received a supplement to his research, "Genetic Epidemiology of Alzheimer's Disease in Hispanics," that will provide funds for the addition of two minority trainees, Dashiel Guerrero and Quincy Brown, both undergraduate students.

Marit Westerterp, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in medicine-molecular medicine, received a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. The two-year award of $83,000 supports her project titled "Role of Endothelial Cholesterol Transporters in Atherogenesis." Dr. Westerterp's mentor is Alan Tall, MD.

Peter C. Wyer, MD, associate clinical professor of medicine, has received $300,000 over three years from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for an innovative program titled "Teaching Evidence Assimilation for Collaborative Healthcare (TEACH)." The program connects workshop experiences at the New York Academy of Medicine, where Dr. Wyer chairs the Section on Evidence Based Health Care, to the development of integrated clinical and educational initiatives within subscribing institutions. The Allen Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian is one of four initial TEACH subscribers in a project being coordinated by Kathleen Klink, assistant clinical professor of medicine-family medicine and director of the Center for Family and Community Medicine.    

Vijay K. Yadav, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in genetics & development, received a two-year $180,000 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research titled "Molecular and Genetic Dissection of Serotonin Regulation of Bone Mass." Dr. Yadav will explore genetically and in vivo the therapeutic implications of gut-derived serotonin and the molecular mechanism(s) involved in brain-derived serotonin regulation of bone mass.

Elaine Larson, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research (Nursing) and professor of epidemiology (Mailman), and Franklin D. Lowy, MD, professor of medicine and of pathology (P&S), have received a five-year grant of $3.7 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a study titled "Risk Factors for Spread of Staphylococcus aureus in Prisons." A dramatic rise in community-based S. aureus infections, many due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has become an important public health problem. This research will determine how S. aureus enters and persists in prisons, with a long-term goal of developing strategies to prevent and control transmission in prisons and similar crowded environments.

Nancy Reame, PhD, the Mary Dickey Lindsay Professor and director of the PhD program in nursing, has received an Advanced Education Nursing Grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The three-year $750,000 award will support the program development and implementation of a new PhD program for TRANSIT: Training Nurse Scientists in Interdisciplinary and Translational Research in the Underserved.

Ana F. Abraido-Lanza, PhD, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, received $388,914 from the National Cancer Institute over two years to study cancer screening among Latinas.

Elaine J. Abrams, MD, professor of epidemiology and of pediatrics (P&S) and director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs' MTCT-Plus Initiative, received $13.5 million over five years from the CDC/National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB Prevention to strengthen TB/HIV collaboration in Lesotho.

Ying Kuen Cheung, PhD, associate professor of biostatistics, received $718,169 over two years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study dose and treatment selection in clinical trials.

Joseph H. Graziano, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences and of pharmacology (P&S), received four National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences supplemental grants for his research titled "Health Effects and Geochemistry of Arsenic and Manganese," a Superfund Research and Education project. One supplement, of $128,625, will support his co-investigators at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to implement innovative geospatial technologies and interactive mapping to help assess vulnerable populations residing close to highly contaminated Superfund National Priority List sites. A second supplement, of $48,081, allows Dr. Graziano to plan and host the 2009 annual meeting of the Superfund Research Programs. A third supplement of $27,854 supported salaries for two undergraduate summer students to work in his laboratory, one from Columbia College and one from Cornell. A fourth supplement of $240,000 supports the expansion of Dr. Graziano's research on the effects of naturally occurring arsenic exposure from well water on the health of children in Maine.

Heather Greenlee, ND, assistant professor of epidemiology and of medical oncology (P&S), received $764,339 over five years to study the effects of antioxidant supplementation during breast cancer adjuvant therapy.

Naa Oyo A. Kwate, PhD, assistant professor, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, associate professor, both in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, have been selected to receive Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They will receive $334,975 in funding and are among 16 scholars selected nationwide for their work on the hidden health consequences of meritocratic beliefs and how widely ingrained such beliefs are across the United States. In their project, "On the Content of Our Character: The Myth of Meritocracy and African American Health," Drs. Kwate and Meyer propose that, for African Americans, living in a culture that so highly values self-determination can lead to demoralization, unhealthy coping strategies, and higher rates of illness and early death. Since 1992, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has supported projects from a number of Mailman School of Public Health researchers.

Bruce G. Link, PhD, professor of epidemiology, received $603,225 over five years from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to develop a U.S.-U.K. comparison of discrimination and disparities in health and health service use.

Ruth Ottman, PhD, professor of epidemiology (in neurology and the Sergievsky Center), received a two-year $160,709 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a study titled "Validation of a Standardized Diagnostic Interview for Epilepsy." Dr. Ottman will evaluate the accuracy of clinical classification of epilepsy based on information collected in a standardized telephone interview and produce a web-based computer-assisted telephone interview version of the validated interview that should facilitate epidemiologic research on the causes and consequences of epilepsy.

James Phillips, PhD, professor of clinical population and family health, received $14.7 million over five years from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's African Health Initiative to develop an exchange of health system innovations between Tanzania and Ghana, two countries that are at the forefront of health development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Leslie Roberts, PhD, associate clinical professor of population and family health, received $1.5 million over five years from the CDC/National Center for Environmental Health to develop methods for better documenting human and child-rights violations in times of armed conflict.

GIFTS

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez made a pledge of $250,000 to the College of Dental Medicine in support of its community-based Dentcare program, serving children in upper Manhattan.

College of Dental Medicine Capital Campaign Chair Thomas J. Connolly, DDS, made a pledge of $50,000 to establish the Dr. Thomas and Arlene Connolly and Family Scholarship Fund. 

An anonymous donor made a gift of $768,000 to the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology to support family planning. 

BrainCells Inc. made a gift of $94,000 to the Department of Psychiatry to advance the pursuit of new treatments for diseases of the central nervous system.   

The Eye Surgery Fund made a gift of $240,000 to fund new research initiatives in the Department of Ophthalmology.

The Fribourg Foundation has made a commitment of $225,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology to advance research on Stargardt disease, a severe form of macular disease that begins in childhood. 

P&S received a bequest of $91,950 from the estate of Jean E. Henley for unrestricted use.

The Irma T. Hirschl Trust made a gift of $50,000 to fund scholarships at P&S.

The Kaplen Foundation made a gift of $250,000 to support research initiatives in the Department of Ophthalmology. 

The Department of Psychiatry has announced the creation of an endowed professorship in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, thanks to a generous gift of $3 million. The Clarice Kestenbaum Professorship of Education and Training honors the contributions of renowned child psychiatrist Clarice Kestenbaum, MD, who for 20 years served as director of training in the child and adolescent psychiatry division.

Constance and Stephen Lieber and the Essel Foundation made gifts totaling $2.8 million to the Department of Psychiatry to support patient care and advance research at the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research and Treatment. These gifts complete their three-year pledge of $9.1 million.

The Bernard and Dorothy Layton Foundation made a gift of $54,000 to support medical scholarships at P&S.

The Leon Levy Foundation pledged $750,000 to establish the Leon Levy Resident Fellowships and the Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowships in the Department of Psychiatry.

Barry Neustein and Poly-Flex Corp. made a gift of $50,000 to the Department of Surgery to advance lung disease research and a gift of $50,000 to the Department of Medicine to support lung cancer research.   

The Rainwater Charitable Foundation made a gift of $100,000 to the Department of Neurology to advance research on the behavioral manifestations of stroke and related vascular diseases. 

Richard A. Rifkind, MD, director of the Winston Foundation, made a gift of $80,000 to establish the Richard A.'55 and Carole L. Rifkind Scholarship Fund.

William S. Robertson made a gift of $150,000 to augment the Charles S. Robertson Memorial Gift Fund for Alzheimer's Disease. The fund supports new initiatives at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center.

The Louis and Rachel Rudin Foundation made a commitment of $100,000 over two years to support research, training, and patient care in the pediatric rheumatology program.  

Elizabeth Davis Trussell, MD, made a gift of $60,000 to support scholarships at P&S. 

Richard and Elizabeth Witten made a commitment of $1.5 million to the Department of Surgery to establish the Witten Breast Cancer Support Fund to advance breast cancer clinical care and research. The gift was made in honor of Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph.

Mary Dickey Lindsay'45 and Sally Shipley Stone'69 are co-chairs of a gala benefit to be held Nov. 9, 2009, at Low Library in honor of Mary O'Neil Mundinger, as she steps down after nearly 24 years as dean of the School of Nursing. More than $1.8 million has been raised to date toward endowing a chair in Dean Mundinger's name.

The Hess Foundation Inc. made a new commitment of $2.5 million, adding to its gift of $1 million last year, to create the Leon Hess Endowed Professorship in Environmental Health Sciences. This professorship will be held by the chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences within the Mailman School.

Sidney and Helaine Lerner made a gift of $500,000 to support the "Healthy Monday - A Community-Based Approach" project headed by Alwyn T. Cohall, MD, director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center, associate professor of clinical sociomedical sciences and of population and family, and professor of pediatrics (P&S).

An anonymous donor made a gift of $300,000 to the National Center for Children in Poverty; the gift is designated for general operating support.

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