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Taub in the News Archive

2013 | 2011-2012

• Arlene Lawton, RN has been selected to receive the 2012 P&S Award for Excellence in Research. As her many nomination letters attest, Arlene "has been an example of excellence in research for over 20 years." As a research nurse at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC), coordinator for our Brain Donation program, and senior staff associate in the Taub Institute, Arlene has made a "lasting impression on countless individuals," "broaching difficult topics with extraordinary grace," and treating patients and colleagues alike with "genuine warmth and kindness" in a "poised and professional" manner.
• Dr. Yaakov Stern was one of several notable panelists to participate in the Alzheimer's Association Annual Meeting presentation, "Crosswords, Computers, and Cognition: What's Going on in Your Brain?", now available online. With nearly 400 people crowding the Times Center auditorium, this event was the most well-attended in the New York City chapter's history.
• Dr. Larry Honig's recent Archives of Neurology publication on telomere length is the subject of CUMC's latest Research Capsule. [read more]
• "Researchers in the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a mechanism that appears to underlie the common sporadic (non-familial) form of Parkinson's disease…" [read more]
• Dr. Manly's work on the "Early Detection of Alzheimer's among Diverse Populations" is the topic of Columbia University Medical Center's Research Capsule.
• Drs. Wai Haung Yu and Jessica Wu of the Taub Institute received awards from the American Health Assistance Foundation for "Tau Homeostasis Via Proteasomal & Autophagic Activity" and "Conformation-Dependent Uptake and Secretion of Tau," respectively.
• Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a group of poorly-understood, frequently misdiagnosed brain diseases that can result in drastic personality changes in affected individuals. Columbia Neurology FTD expert Dr. Edward Huey and Genetic Counselor Jill Goldman were recently featured in an in-depth New York Times article titled, "When Illness Makes A Spouse A Stranger," which chronicles one couple's courageous battle with this devastating neurological disorder.
• A new study by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas has found that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, plentiful in fish and nuts, is associated with lower blood levels of beta-amyloid protein… read more in The New York Times.
  
• Dr. Scott Small and colleagues from Neurology and the Taub Institute examined the association of depressive symptoms, antidepressant use and brain volumes on MRI, in a large cohort of nondemented, elderly individuals from the Washington/Hamilton Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Their results, currently published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, suggest that late life depression is associated with more global brain atrophy, more atrophy of the hippocampus, and more white matter lesions, mainly driven by antidepressant use.
• Drs. Roy Alcalay, Nikolaos Scarmeas, and others from Neurology and Taub Institute found Mediterranean-style diet adherence to be associated with reduced odds for Parkinson's disease (PD). Their study, currently published in an online version of Movement Disorders, also suggests an association between higher MeDI adherence and later PD age at onset.
• Dr. Scott Small on recent developments in Alzheimer's, featured on Charlie Rose.
• Dr. Adam Brickman on "Silent Strokes Tied to Memory Loss Among Older Adults," featured on Voice of America, USA Today.
• Drs. Karen Duff, Scott A. Small, and Li Liu on "Path Is Found for the Spread of Alzheimer's," featured in The New York Times.
• Dr. Jennifer J. Manly on "US wants effective Alzheimer's treatment by 2025," featured in the Associated Press.
• The work of Dr. Scott Small and colleagues from Neurology and the Taub Institute, that implicated the polyamine pathway in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis, was highlighted in Chapter 1 of the NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards Progress Report 2009 – 2011. [read report]
• Dr. Adam Brickman, was selected to receive the Early Career Award from the International Neuropsychological Society. He will be delivering an award address titled "Reconsidering the Role of White Matter Disease in Cognitive Aging and Dementia" at the 40th annual meeting of the Society next month in Montreal.
• Bernadette Boden-Albala, DrPH, Department of Neurology, and Jose Luchsinger, MD, Taub Institute, have received $3.9 million over five years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for "Northern Manhattan Initiative for Minority Involvement in Clinical Trials (NIMICT)."
• Eric A. Schon, PhD, Lewis P. Rowland Professor of Neurology in Genetics and Development has received an award from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation for his project, "Mitochondria-Associated Membranes in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease: A New Target for Drug Discovery."
• Dr. Adam Brickman, has been selected to receive the 2011 Margaret M. Cahn Research Award, for his research on white matter hyperintensities in aging and Alzheimer's disease, from the Alzheimer's Association Hudson Valley/Rockland/Westchester, NY Chapter.
• Elan Louis, MD, MS, Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology answers questions on "the essentials of essential tremor" in the most recent P&S Five in Five series. [watch the video]
• Yaakov Stern, PhD, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in the Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Psychology has been awarded a new RO1 and two 5-year renewals from the NIH for his projects: "Exploring Cognitive Aging Using Reference Ability Neural Networks"; "Predictors of Severity in Alzheimer's Disease"; and "Imaging of Cognition, Learning, and Memory in Aging."
• Edward D. Huey, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Jill Goldman, MS, MPhil, Genetic Counselor, both in the Taub Institute, are co-directing a CME program, "Is it Alzheimer's Disease or Frontotemporal Degeneration? An Update on Diagnosis, Management, and Research," on Monday, December 12, 12:15-4:45 PM, in the NI Auditorium.
• Scott Small, MD, Professor of Neurology in the Taub Institute and Sergievsky Center and colleagues have reviewed recent neuroimaging findings that indicate common brain disorders, from Alzheimer's disease and cognitive ageing to schizophrenia and depression, differentially target distinct functional and molecular subregions of the hippocampus, suggesting a unified pathophysiological framework of hippocampal dysfunction.
• Karen Marder, MD, MPH, Sally Kerlin Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry was appointed as one of three site investigators to serve on the Executive Committee of the NINDS NeuroNEXT project. The NeuroNEXT network of 25 sites nationwide, including Columbia in partnership with Weill-Cornell, will provide a standardized, accessible infrastructure to facilitate rapid development and implementation of protocols in adult and pediatric neurological disorders.