Dr. Mary Charlson, the William T. Foley Distinguished Professor of Medicine and professor of complementary and integrative medicine, will oversee quality of life and functional status issues of participants at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell for the Cardiothoracic Surgery Investigations Network—a program that brings together leading medical institutions to develop multiple, multicenter trials of novel diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in the field of cardiac surgery in order to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these interventions as they move from laboratory science to broad clinical use. The program is part of the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research (InCHOIR), a joint initiative of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Department of Surgery at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, which received a $23 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to serve as the Data Coordinating Center.
Dr. Frank Chervenak (left) receiving the prestigious Erich Saling Perinatal Prize from Dr. Erich Saling.
Dr. Frank Chervenak, the Given Foundation Professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was awarded the prestigious Erich Saling Perinatal Prize during the Eighth World Congress of Perinatal Medicine, in Florence, Italy, on Sept. 9. The award was presented by Professor Erich Saling—the "Father of Perinatal Medicine"—in recognition of Dr. Chervenak's important contributions to the field. Dr. Chervenak was also named president-elect of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine, and delivered a Presidential Lecture entitled "Women and Children First: An Ethical Imperative" at the symposium. Additionally, Weill Cornell faculty members Dr. Amos Grunebaum and Dr. Daniel Skupski were elected to the board of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine.
Dr. Gunnar Gouras, associate professor of neurology and neuroscience, is the recipient of two major awards for his research on Alzheimer's disease. In July, Dr. Gouras received the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer's Association, which includes a grant of $250,000 over two years, for his study of the mechanism of beta-amyloid-induced synaptic dysfunction. Among the awards bestowed by the Alzheimer's Association, Zenith Awards are among its top honors. In addition, Dr. Gouras received a Research Project Grant (R01) from the National Institutes of Health, the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by NIH.
Dr. Alfons Pomp, the Frank Glenn Faculty Scholar in Surgery, associate professor of surgery, and chief of laparoscopy and bariatric surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, presented several courses and lectures over the summer. In June at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in San Diego, Dr. Pomp taught a post-graduate course called "Advanced Bariatric Life Support and Acute Abdominal Syndrome and Damage Control Laparotomy." He also presented two papers: "Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Does Bougie Size Affect Mean % EWL?" and "A Revisional Procedure That Works for Failed Gastric Bypass: Conversion to Duodenal Switch."
At the Second Annual Care Continuum Executive Summit on the Implementation and Cost Benefit of Workplace Weight-Management Strategies, in Chicago, Dr. Pomp delivered a lecture entitled "Lap Band vs. Gastric Bypass: Which Is Safer, More Clinically and Cost Effective?"
Finally, at the 42nd World Congress of Surgery of the International Society of Surgery in August in Montreal, he presented a video/CD-ROM, "Laparoscopic Transduodenal Sphincteroplasty for Impacted Common Bile Duct Stone," and a lecture entitled "The Role of Duodenal Switch Procedure."
Dr. Jane Salmon, professor of medicine and medicine in obstetrics and gynecology, was honored with the prestigious Carol Nachman Prize for 2007 for outstanding research in rheumatology. The international prize recognizes seminal achievements in exploring reasons for high incidence of pregnancy loss in women with lupus. It was presented at a ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany, by the Lord Mayor of the city. Dr. Salmon also serves as the Collette Kean Research Chair and co-director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Dr. Michael Perelman, clinical associate professor of psychology in psychiatry and clinical associate professor of psychology in urology, was recognized with several honors recently. In spring, he was named president-elect of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research. The organization is composed of a multidisciplinary group of professionals who have clinical or research interests in human sexual concerns.
At the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association in Anaheim, Calif., Dr. Perelman was elected to Fellow membership status by the Sexual Medicine Society of North America. Dr. Perelman's selection is the first time that a psychologist has been named a Fellow, which is primarily composed of urologists specializing in sexual medicine.
Finally, in September 2007, Dr. Perelman was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, which is the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.