Weill Cornell Researchers Receive Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards from Lymphoma Research Foundation
Dr. Lisa Giulino Roth, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Dr. Lorena Fontan, a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ari Melnick, professor of medicine, were each awarded $105,000 over two years from the Lymphoma Research Foundation to support research aimed at investigating new treatments for lymphoma.
Dr. Lorena Fontan
Dr. Roth and Dr. Fontan are among seven of 38 applicants to be awarded the prestigious Post Doctoral Fellowship Award from the Foundation, the nation's largest non-profit organization devoted to funding innovative lymphoma research.
"The Lymphoma Research Foundation selects grants for funding through a review process modeled on the National Institutes of Health," said Diane Blum, chief executive officer of the Lymphoma Research Foundation. "The Foundation awards grants to research projects that are believed to have the most promise to positively impact the field of lymphoma research; LRF's Scientific Advisory Board, which is comprised of 45 of the world's leading lymphoma experts, recognized the research of Drs. Lorena Fontan and Lisa Giulino Roth as among the top projects with the potential to advance the understanding and treatment of various types of lymphomas."
Dr. Roth's research is entitled, "Evaluation of MCL1 as a therapeutic target in Burkitt lymphoma." Dr. Fontan's research is entitled, "Therapeutic targeting of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas by MALT1 inhibition." Both projects will also be supported by funding from Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.
In addition to the seven Post Doctoral Fellowship Awards, the Foundation also awarded the Clinical Investigator Career Development Award to a researcher at the Georgia Health Sciences University Research Institute. In total, the Foundation awarded nearly $1 million in grants for lymphoma research.
"Through its Clinical Career Development Awards and Post Doctoral Fellowships, the Lymphoma Research Foundation is able to identify and invest in future research leaders who will advance our understanding of the disease and discover unique approaches for treating lymphoma," said Dr. John P. Leonard, associate dean for clinical research and the Richard T. Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology atWeill Cornell Medical College and chair of the Lymphoma Research Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. "My colleagues and I on the Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board are pleased to recommend funding for these promising research projects and look forward to awarding more grants in the coming year."
Additional Awards and Honors
Dr. John Boockvar, associate professor of neurological surgery, will receive the Gary Lichtenstein Humanitarian Award for Brain Tumor Research from Voices Against Brain Cancer in June for his lifetime commitment to finding a cure for malignant brain tumors. Voices Against Breast Cancer's mission is to find a cure for brain cancer by advancing scientific research, increasing awareness and supporting patients, their families and caregivers.
Dr. Martha L. Bruce, professor of sociology in psychiatry and the DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar, will receive the 2013 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Distinguished Scientist Award. The award, and the accompanying $500 honorarium, will be presented to Dr. Bruce during the Association's 2013 annual meeting March 14 in Los Angeles, Calif. As the award recipient, she will deliver the 2013 Distinguished Scientist Award lecture March 16.
Dr. James B. Bussel, professor of pediatrics, professor of pediatrics in medicine and professor of pediatrics in obstetrics and gynecology, was an invited lecturer at the Virginia Oncology Associates Hematology Winter Conference Jan. 19 at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.
Dr. Jessica G. Davis, chief of the Division of Medical Genetics and associate professor of clinical pediatrics, was elected vice president of the New York State Genetic Task Force in January. The task force is a not for profit professional educational organization that extends membership to persons engaged in the delivery of care related to clinical genetics and birth defects in New York state.
Dr. Barbara L. Milrod, professor of psychiatry, received the first Leon Kupferstein Memorial Award for Innovation in Psychoanalysis from the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Jan. 14. The award, accompanied by a $1,000 honorarium, is presented every three years to a living person whose innovative or influential contribution has allowed psychoanalysis to move forward.
Dr. Thomas Murry, professor of speech-language pathology in otolaryngology, was selected to be the primary consultant for the grant entitled, "Automatic Voice Pathology Assessment," awarded by the Saudi Arabian government to Dr. Tamer Messallam, assistant professor at King Saud University. The grant comes from Saudi Arabia's National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan, a collaboration between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Planning that seeks to improve the future development of Saudi Arabia in 15 strategic areas, including medicine and health.
Dr. Audrey Schuetz, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and assistant professor of medicine, was appointed advisor of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute's Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee in January. The subcommittee's goal is to provide useful information to enable laboratories to assist the clinician in selecting appropriate antimicrobial therapy for the best patient care. In addition, Dr. Schuetz was appointed a member of the American Society for Microbiology Public and Scientific Affairs Board's Committee on Laboratory Practices in Microbiology in June. The committee is concerned with issues that involve the science and technology of microbiology laboratory practice and are directly or indirectly controlled by a government, an agency of a government or an accrediting or standard-setting private agency.
Dr. Surya V. Seshan, professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine, received in June an Outstanding Teaching Award from the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at Weill Cornell.
Dr. Maria Shevchuk, associate professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine, was appointed chair of the College of American Pathology In Vivo Microscopy Work Group Dec. 4. The work group focuses on developing a plan to provide awareness of the emerging role of In Vivo Microscopy for pathologists and develop resources for evaluation and adoption.
Dr. Susan J. Vannucci, research professor of neuroscience in pediatrics, was honored by the National Organization of Italian American Women Greater New York Region at its Three Wise Women gala Jan. 11 for her professional and personal accomplishments.
Dr. Brendon Watson, a fourth-year resident, will receive the American Psychiatric Association/Lilly Research Fellowship Award. The award, which provides funding for two post-graduate psychiatry trainees to specifically focus on research and personal scholarship, will be presented at the Association's Early Research Career Breakfast during its annual meeting May 21 in San Francisco, Calif.