On November 30, faculty from The Methodist Hospital in Houston joined their Weill Medical College colleagues for a two-day symposium. Hosted by Dr. David P. Hajjar, executive vice dean of the Medical College, the symposium was aimed to promote further collaborations between the two affiliated institutions and provide updates on the joint research projects already underway.
Dr. Katherine Hajjar, the Brine Family Professor and chairman of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell, with Dr. Juan Granada of The Methodist Hospital.
Forty scientists from Weill Cornell and 25 from The Methodist Hospital (TMH) convened at the New York Academy of Sciences to give presentations of their work in five selected areas: stem cell and developmental biology; health outcomes; translational and clinical research; imaging, nanomedicine and bioengineering; and proteomics. In addition, the seven groups that received seed funding for collaborative research projects following the first symposium, which took place in Houston in March 2005, gave updates on their work and showed that considerable progress has been made.
A strategic planning session concluded the successful two days, and produced numerous ideas on how to foster new collaborations between the two institutions. Both Weill Cornell and TMH contributed equally to $500,000 in seed funding for joint research projects following this symposium.
The following is a list of the seven ongoing collaborations.
A Bilateral, 8-Channel Radio Frequency Coil Array for Fast, Reliable 3.0T Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Atherosclerotic Plaques in Lower Extremity Blood Vessels
Dr. Yi Wang, P.I. (WMC)
Dr. Allen Lumsden, co-P.I. (TMH)
In-Vivo Intraplaque Macrophage Identification Using PET in a Porcine Model of Complex Atherosclerosis
Dr. Juan Granada, P.I. (TMH)
Dr. Shankar Vallabhajosula, co-P.I. (WMC)
Role of SMAD3 in Arterial Remodeling
Dr. Greg Kaluza, P.I. (TMH)
Dr. Bo Liu, co-P.I. (WMC)
Induction of p53-Mediated Cell Death in Retinoblastoma Cells Via MDM2 Inhibition
Dr. Lee Thomas, P.I. (WMC)
Dr. Patricia Chavez-Barrios, co-P.I. (TMH)
Aldosterone Receptor Blockade to Promote Adaptive Arterialization of Venous CABG
Dr. Daniel Catanzaro, P.I. (WMC)
Dr. Craig Pratt, co-P.I. (TMH)
The Role of P38 Mapk in the Resistance to Arsenic Trioxide-Induced Apoptosis in Myeloma Cells
Dr. Jeff Chang, P.I. (TMH)
Dr. Douglas Ballon, co-P.I. (WMC)
Combined Functional Imaging and Electrophysiological Maping of Birdsong
Dr. Santosh Helekar, P.I. (TMH)
Dr. Henning Voss, co-P.I. (WMC)
Photos by Amelia Panico.