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Alfred Ashford, M.D., Named Senior Associate Dean
for the Harlem Hospital Center’s Affiliation with Columbia University Medical Center

NEW YORK – (April 14, 2008) Alfred Ashford, M.D., professor of clinical medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of medicine at the Harlem Hospital Center, has been appointed senior associate dean of the Harlem Hospital Center affiliation with Columbia University Medical Center.

Alfred Ashford, M.D.

Lee Goldman, M.D., executive vice president of Columbia University and dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, appointed Dr. Ashford to the position on March 26, 2008. Dr. Ashford had been serving as interim senior associate dean since last year, and in his new role, Dr. Ashford will oversee clinical operations, academic and research programs, and administrative management for the affiliation.

“We look forward to Dr. Ashford’s continued leadership as we work together to make this affiliation as strong and mutually beneficial as possible,” Dr. Goldman said. “Under Dr. Ashford’s supervision, we remain committed to our shared institutional mission of providing top quality health care to residents of Northern Manhattan.

Health care services provided through the Harlem Health Center/Columbia University Medical Center affiliation include primary care, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency room services. HHC/CUMC physicians and staff members manage more than 90 primary care and specialized ambulatory care services at Harlem Hospital. All attending physicians, in addition, have academic appointments on the Columbia faculty, and Harlem Hospital Center serves as one of the three main teaching units of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Ashford, an oncologist by training, has been the recipient of extramural funding from the American Cancer Society and state and federal funding agencies, including a grant focused on the dissemination of cancer screening and prevention guidelines among urban community physicians and a grant for the dissemination of colorectal cancer screening guidelines to primary care physicians. He is a member of several professional organizations and societies and has authored numerous articles on cancer and cancer-related issues. Additionally, he has done extensive work with Columbia’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive
Cancer Center and the Mailman School of Public Health, through various projects focused on cancer control in inner city communities. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society’s Eastern Division since 2001 and was its Chief Medical Officer from 2004-2006.

“I am especially grateful to Columbia University and my staff at Harlem Hospital for keeping our affiliation thriving and I am proud to be an integral part of this relationship,” Dr. Ashford said. “Harlem Hospital is home to many departments offering specially targeted treatment. For instance, our Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center is one of the oldest in the country. The hospital’s Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center has succeeded in drastically reducing active tuberculosis cases in Harlem, and the hospital has become renowned for its HIV/AIDS care. All of this would not be possible without the productive collaboration we’ve had with Columbia University Medical Center.”

Dr. Ashford is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

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Harlem Hospital Center* has been a bedrock of the Harlem community since 1887. The hospital provides a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic and family support services to the residents of Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. Harlem is the largest hospital in the area, providing more than 90 specialized ambulatory care services, as well as dentistry and oral surgery, behavioral health services, and community substance abuse treatment. Harlem Hospital is a teaching institution affiliated with the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University since 1962.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/facilities/harlem.shtml

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Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia’s College of Physicians & Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree. Among the most selective medical schools in the country, the school is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York State and one of the largest in the country. For more information, please visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.