The Reporter: June 1996, Vol.7, No.3
Advisory Council Looks at Genetics

At its April meeting, the Columbia-Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council heard updates on genetics research at the Columbia Genome Center, cancer and genetics, diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases through genetic research, animal models of human disease, and the history of gathering genetic data that helped to locate the gene for Huntington's disease.

The program by Columbia researchers was followed by a luncheon and presentation of the P&S Dean's Award for Distinguished Service to Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue and a fund-raising advocate for AIDS research.

The meeting was the first for several new advisory council members: Barry J. Alperin, Dr. Stephen Cohen, Robert K. Dresing, Henry L. King (the new chairman of the council), Joseph M. Murphy, Dr. Edward B. Schlesinger, and Dayna J. Wilkinson.

The newest council committee is the cancer committee, formed to increase public awareness of laboratory and clinical advances in cancer research. The committee is chaired by Dr. Burton J. Lee III; Herbert Irving is honorary chairman. Cancer committee members are Robert Berkley, Dr. Stephen G. Cohen, Louis Gary, Arthur Goldberg, William LaPorte, Leonard Rubin, Audrey Weiderlight, and Marianne Wyman. Because of CPMC's major cancer initiative, the council chose that focus for its first committee formed around a specific disease.

The Trustees of Columbia University established the Health Sciences Advisory Council in 1981. Later, the council was expanded to include Presbyterian Hospital representation and, in 1995, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center representation. The council's goal is to build increasing recognition and resources for CPMC's programs in health care, training, research, and service.

A woman who is as well-known in the fashion world as designers themselves received the College of Physicians & Surgeons Dean's Award for Distinguished Service. Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue, accepted the award from Dr. Herbert Pardes, vice president and dean, at a luncheon of the Columbia-Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council. The dean's award recognizes individuals who have shown a strong and committed interest in the health sciences and whose influence has made a significant impression on the public in regard to health care. Ms. Wintour, who has been in her current position at Vogue since 1988, is co-founder of the successful AIDS benefit, Seventh on Sale, which has raised millions of dollars for AIDS research and services through the sale of designer fashions. She is nationally recognized for her leadership in promoting medical research, specifically in the area of pediatric AIDS