| CUMC Celebrates - September 13, 2007 |
I am pleased to share news of new honors and promotions for many of our faculty and also to announce some recent recruits. Join me in congratulating these colleagues and newcomers to our CUMC community.
I also call your attention to some highly visible CUMC news of last week. The New York Times’ front page reported on a Mark Olfson-led study which showed a striking increase in bipolar diagnosis in children, while Associated Press posted news of Ian Lipkin’s use of gene sequencing to identify a virus implicated in the decimation of bee colonies that is affecting our agriculture. Additionally, our clinicians’ contract to move forward with electronic health records was picked up by the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog.
New York Times article:
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/nytimes_bipolar_mark_olfson.pdf
Associated Press article:
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/ap_virus_honeybees_ian_lipkin.pdf
Wall Street Journal Health Blog article:
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/wsj_emr_allscripts.pdf
Lee Goldman
EVP & Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine
College of Physicians & Surgeons
Mailman School of Public Health
APPOINTMENTS, RECRUITMENTS
College of Physicians & Surgeons
Mailman School of Public Health
HONORS
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS
Marc Bessler, MD, assistant clinical professor of surgery, has been named associate editor of the Journal of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, the official journal for the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
Carolyn Britton, MD, associate professor of clinical neurology, has been named president-elect of the National Medical Association, which represents more than 30,000 African-American physicians. The Association plays a significant leadership role in working to eliminate disparities in health and health care through public education and by helping create the legislation, programs, and societal environment for affordable access and high-quality health care.
Mitchell Cairo, MD, professor of pediatrics, medicine, and pathology, has been named to the Pediatric Special Interest Group of the American Society of Blood & Marrow Transplantation.
Robert Cowles, MD, assistant professor of surgery (in pediatric surgery), was recently appointed a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Richard Deckelbaum, MD, Robert R. Williams Professor of Nutrition (in pediatrics); professor of epidemiology (Mailman), and director, Institute of Human Nutrition, was recently appointed a member of the advisory board for the Post-Katrina Support Fund Initiative, a program designed to advance science, accelerate economic development and help establish nationally recognized research centers in Louisiana. Dr. Deckelbaum has also been named president of the Global Health Education Consortium, an association of faculty and health care educators dedicated to global health education in North American health professional schools and residency programs. He has been awarded honorary membership in the American Dietetic Association and has been appointed chair of the econutrition task force, International Union of Nutritional Sciences.
Daniel Feingold, MD, assistant professor of surgery, has been named a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Robert Grant, MD, associate clinical professor of surgery, was recently elected to membership in the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Grant is chief of the joint division of plastic surgery at CUMC and Weill Cornell.
James Guarrera, MD, assistant professor of surgery, has been elected to membership in the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.
Eric J. Hall, DPhil., Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics (in Radiation Oncology) and director, Center of Radiological Research, was awarded the Gray Medal from the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements in July to honor his outstanding contributions to radiological sciences. Dr. Hall was chosen for his pioneering work on the medical risks of radiation and its relationship to certain kinds of cancers.
William B. Inabnet, MD, associate professor of clinical surgery, was recently elected to membership in the Society of University Surgeons. He is chief of endocrine surgery.
James A. Lee, MD, assistant professor of surgery, is the recipient of a 2007 bronze Telly award for work on an educational video to be part of COACH, an online surgical training program under development by Dr. Lee and the department of surgery. The Telly Awards honor the very best in local and regional television programming, commercials, film production, and web video.
Steven Lobritto, MD, associate clinical professor of pediatrics and director, division of GI, nutrition and hepatology, department of pediatrics, has been appointed an at-large member of the liver and intestinal organ transplant and pediatric transplantation committees, Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing.
William Macaulay, MD, professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery and director, Center for Hip and Knee Replacement, will receive the 3rd annual Lawrence D. Dorr MD Award for the most outstanding paper in surgical techniques and technologies, given by the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). Dr. Macaulay was chosen for his original research comparing hemiarthroplasty— a procedure that replaces one half of a injured joint with an artificial surface and leaves the other part in its pre-operative state—to total hip arthroplasty in the treatment of displaced femoral neck fractures.
Nicholas Morrissey, MD, assistant professor of surgery, was recently appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
Yuval Neria, PhD, associate professor of clinical psychology (P&S) and associate clinical professor of epidemiology (Mailman), was honored in July with the 2007 Klerman Award for outstanding clinical research from NARSAD, the mental health research association. Dr. Neria was singled out for his work on trauma and post-traumatic stress.
Sharon Oberfield, MD, professor of pediatrics and director, division of pediatric endocrinology, has been appointed to a four-year term on the Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Initial Review Committee, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Ravichandran Ramasamy, PhD, assistant professor of surgical science (in surgery), was appointed to the American Federation of Aging Research’s National Scientific Advisory Council earlier this year.
Adam Ratner, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics and microbiology, was appointed to the editorial board of PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed scientific research publication from the Public Library of Science.
Prakash Satwani, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, has been appointed to the editorial board of the journal Bone Marrow Transplantation.
Charles Schleien, MD, professor of pediatrics and anesthesiology; director, division of critical care medicine; and interim senior vice chair of pediatrics, was recently elected to fellowship in the American Heart Association by the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Perioperative and Critical Care, recognizing him for his leadership with the AHA’s emergency cardiovascular care committee. Dr. Schleien has also been awarded a presidential citation by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, honoring him for his work with the Society over a number of years.
David Schnadower, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, department of emergency medicine, was named associate chairman of the pediatric emergency medicine collaborative research committee, American Academy of Pediatrics.
Craig R. Smith, MD, the Calvin F. Barber Professor of Surgery and interim chair of surgery, has been appointed associate editor of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. The position takes effect in October 2007.
Jeffrey Zitsman, MD, associate clinical professor of surgery, was named to the Committee on Childhood Obesity, American Pediatric Association.
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MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Susan Barrow, PhD, senior lecturer, department of sociomedical sciences (Mailman), and associate director, Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies (psychiatry, P&S), was one of 11 researchers selected to develop and present a state-of-the-science review at the once-a-decade National Symposium on Homelessness Research held last March by the Departments of Health & Human Services and Housing & Urban Development.
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APPOINTMENTS, RECRUITMENTS
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS
Karen Altman, MD, cardiology division, department of pediatrics, has been promoted to associate clinical professor of pediatrics.
Leaque Ahmed, MD, medical director of bariatric surgery and assistant attending surgeon at Harlem Hospital, and a recent graduate of the endocrine surgery fellowship program at CUMC, has been named assistant clinical professor of surgery, division of general surgery (at the Center for Advanced Surgery, Lawrence Hospital). Dr. Ahmed’s research interests focus on minimally invasive approaches to pancreas surgery and surgical management of type-2 diabetes.
Spencer Amory, MD, clinical professor of surgery, was named chief of the division of general surgery earlier this year.
Gudrun Aspelund, MD, has joined the department of surgery as assistant professor of surgery, division of pediatric surgery. A graduate of the University of Iceland’s medical school, Dr. Aspelund comes from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where she completed a pediatric surgery fellowship.
Matthew Bacchetta, MD, has been appointed assistant professor of surgery, division of general thoracic surgery. Dr. Bacchetta’s clinical specialties include thoracic surgery, lung transplantation, and minimally invasive therapies. His research interests focus on lung volume reduction, ethics, and clinical outcomes. Dr. Bacchetta is currently serving in Iraq as a surgeon in the U.S. Army.
Gary Brittenham, MD, James A. Wolff Professor of Pediatrics, has been named director of CUMC’s newly established division of pediatric hematology.
Jocelyn Brown, MD, division of general pediatrics, has been promoted to professor of clinical pediatrics.
Claudia Chiriboga-Klein, MD, associate professor of clinical neurology and pediatrics and chief of pediatric neurology, Harlem Hospital Center, has been named interim director and residency program director, division of pediatric neurology.
Amy DeFelice, MD, division of GI, nutrition and hepatology, department of pediatrics, was recently promoted from assistant to associate clinical professor of pediatrics.
Frank D’Ovidio, MD, PhD, assistant professor of surgery, was recently appointed associate surgical director of the lung transplant program. His work has shed light on the role of gastroesophageal reflux as one of the causes of chronic lung transplant dysfunction and rejection.
Noémie Elhadad, PhD, has been appointed assistant professor of biomedical informatics. She specializes in application of natural language processing techniques to address health literacy and produce efficient displays of clinical information.
Mahmoud El-Tamer, MD, associate professor of clinical surgery, was named acting chief of the breast cancer surgery section earlier this year.
Scott Fink, MD, MPH, was recently named assistant professor of medicine in surgery. He completed a fellowship at P&S in advanced hepatology, the branch of medicine that incorporates study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas.
Pamela Gallin, MD, has been promoted from associate to full clinical professor of ophthalmology (in pediatrics), department of ophthalmology.
Erica J. Gibson, MD, assistant clinical professor of pediatrics, is the new medical director of school-based health at the Center for Community Health and Education. She comes from Montefiore Medical Center, where she completed an adolescent medicine fellowship.
Nancy S. Green, MD, has joined as associate professor of clinical pediatrics (pending), division of pediatric hematology, as well as associate dean of clinical research operations at P&S. A graduate of P&S and a Columbia-trained hematologist and oncologist, Dr. Green served as medical director for the March of Dimes from 2000-2007. Her research specialties include genetic screening of newborns and children and the translation of laboratory science into clinical applications.
Wei Gu, PhD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of pathology (in the Institute for Cancer Genetics).
Andrew A. Gumbs, MD, has been appointed instructor in clinical surgery, division of GI/endocrine surgery. Dr. Gumbs completed a fellowship in minimal access surgery in 2006. His research interests include morbid obesity and pancreatic carcinogenesis.
William Hellenbrand, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics, has been named director, pediatric cardiology division.
Meyer Kattan, MD, professor of pediatrics, was appointed director of the pediatric pulmonary division, as of June 1. Previously, Dr. Kattan was professor of pediatrics and co-director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Heidi Klingbeil, MD, recently joined as assistant professor of clinical rehabilitation medicine. An expert in geriatric rehabilitation and pain management, Dr. Klingbeil has affiliations with the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in East Orange, NJ, and the New Jersey Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Carin Lamm, MD, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, has been appointed director of a newly established children's sleep center at CUMC.
Jacqueline Lamour, MD, cardiology division, department of pediatrics, has been promoted to associate professor of clinical pediatrics.
Mariellen Lane, MD, division of general pediatrics, was recently promoted to associate clinical professor of pediatrics.
Yoshifumi Naka, MD, PhD, associate professor of surgery, recently received tenure. Dr. Naka has been the director of CUMC’s cardiac transplantation program since 2003 and its mechanical circulatory support program since 2001.
Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, has been promoted from Avon Foundation Associate Professor of Pathology and Medicine to Avon Foundation Professor of Pathology and Medicine (in the Institute of Cancer Genetics).
Robert Pass, MD, cardiology division, pediatrics, has been promoted to associate professor of clinical pediatrics.
Li Poa, MD, has been appointed assistant clinical professor of surgery. He was previously chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, California. His research interests include cardiac endoscopy and pumpless cardiac reconstruction.
Lloyd Ratner, MD, professor of surgery, was recently awarded tenure. He is director of the renal and pancreatic transplantation program.
Charles L. Schleien, MD, professor of pediatrics and anesthesiology and director, division of critical care medicine, was appointed interim senior vice chair of pediatrics.
Neil Schluger, MD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of medicine (P&S) and environmental health sciences and epidemiology (Mailman).
Donna Timchak, MD, division of cardiology, department of pediatrics, has been promoted to associate clinical professor of pediatrics.
Benjamin Tycko, MD, PhD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of pathology (in the Institute of Cancer Genetics).
Ilyas Washington, PhD, was recently appointed assistant professor of ophthalmic science, department of ophthalmology. An organic chemist, Dr. Washington will research both eye disease and functioning, with an aim to providing foundations for novel therapies in ophthalmology.
Chunhua Weng, PhD, has been appointed assistant professor of biomedical informatics. A specialist in the use of informatics methodology to support translational clinical research, she received her PhD in biomedical informatics from the University of Washington and did postdoctoral work at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ismee Williams, MD, cardiology division, department of pediatrics, has been promoted to assistant professor of clinical pediatrics.
1996 P&S graduate Mathew Williams, MD, has been named instructor in clinical surgery, division of cardiothoracic surgery, and surgical director of cardiovascular transcatheter therapies. Dr. Williams completed a residency and two fellowships here before becoming the first fully trained cardiac surgeon to undertake an interventional cardiology fellowship, which he completed last December.
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Hari K. Bhat, PhD, has been promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of environmental health sciences.
Ying-Kuen (Kenneth) Cheung, PhD, has been promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of biostatistics.
Amy Fairchild, PhD, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, has received tenure.
Sally Findley, PhD, professor of clinical population and family health in the Center for Community Health Partnerships and in pediatrics (P&S), has received a new appointment in the department of sociomedical sciences.
Crystal Fuller, PhD, has been promoted from assistant professor of epidemiology to associate professor of clinical epidemiology.
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, has been promoted from assistant clinical professor to adjunct associate professor of epidemiology.
Dale Hesdorffer, PhD, has been promoted from assistant professor of clinical epidemiology to associate professor of clinical epidemiology (in the Sergievsky Center).
Zhezhen Jin, PhD, has been promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of biostatistics.
Joseph Lee, DrPH, has been promoted from assistant professor of epidemiology to associate professor of clinical epidemiology (in the Sergievsky Center).
Mary C. Lennon, PhD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of clinical sociomedical sciences.
Howard B. Lieberman, PhD, professor of radiation oncology (in the Center for Radiological Research, P&S), has received an appointment in the department of environmental health sciences.
Peter Messeri, PhD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of clinical sociomedical sciences.
Alice Miller, JD, has been promoted from assistant professor of clinical population and family health to associate clinical professor of population and family health.
Marita Murrman, EdD, has been promoted from assistant professor of clinical sociomedical sciences to associate clinical professor of sociomedical sciences.
Mary E. Northridge, PhD, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of clinical sociomedical sciences.
Lesley Sharp, PhD, professor of anthropology at Barnard College, has received an appointment in the department of sociomedical sciences.
Deliang Tang, MD, DrPH, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of clinical environmental health sciences.
Robin Whyatt, DrPH, has been promoted from associate professor to professor of clinical environmental health sciences.
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Masthead photos: (from left to right: Sharon Oberfield, Carolyn Britton, Eric Hall)
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http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/celebrates/