The Department of Medicine honored its own in a series of annual award celebrations during May and June. The following is a list of awards presented and their recipients.
Finalists for the Eleventh Annual David E. Rogers Memorial Research Award presented their research on May 26 in Uris Auditorium. Resident Kristina Kudelko received the winning prize of $1,000 for her field research in Australia on the prevalence of integron-based antibiotic resistance among enterobacterial isolates in an intensive-care unit setting. Resident Eric Jason Epstein is the recipient of $500 for his research on predicted target sites for micro-RNA in pancreatic cells. Residents Jules Cohen and Prashant Kaul received $250 each for their research in therapies for psoriasis and neutrophil cells, respectively.
The Third Annual Department of Medicine Fellow Award Competition celebrateed the scholarly contributions across the Department, in several divisions. The four finalists presented their research on June 2 in Uris Auditorium. David Jin received the winning prize of $1,500 for his research of hematopoietic cytokines in neo-angiogenesis. Matthias Frank, Andrew Martorella, and Bindi Shah each received runner-up prizes of $1,000 for their research, respectively, on genes involved in malaria, peptide profiles in thyroid cancer patients, and molecular components of tachycardia, or rapid heart rate.
The Fourteenth Annual Department of Medicine Investigator Award, sponsored by the Michael Wolk Heart Foundation, awards one winner and two runners-up to investigators whose submitted abstracts were selected by a committee. Dr. John Leonard, associate professor of medicine, received the winning prize of $2,000 for his research on sequential chemo-radioimmunotherapy as a new, markedly effective therapeutic strategy for treating follicular lymphoma, the second most common type of lymphoma. Dr. Darshana Dadhania, assistant professor of medicine and medicine in surgery, and Dr. Cathy Hatcher, instructor of physiology in medicine, each received runner-up prizes of $1,500 each for their research, respectively, on viral causes of kidney transplant failure and regulation of cardiac development at the molecular level.
Dr. Madelon Finkel, professor of clinical public health, is the author of the upcoming book "Understanding the Mammography Controversy: Science, Politics, and Breast Cancer Screening" (Praeger Publishers). The book delves into current issues surrounding mammography, raising and answering questions about who should be screened and at what age, the validity of breast cancer screenings, and whether women should be screened at all. Dr. Finkel offers advice on how to communicate with one's doctor, and provides information about the development of breast cancer, including treatment options and psychological effects. The book is due for release in July.
Dr. Cynthia Pfeffer, professor of psychiatry, has been named recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Investigator Award by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). The highly prestigious and competitive award offers up to $100,000 for one year to an investigator conducting neurobiological research. Dr. John Fossella, assistant professor of molecular biology in psychiatry, is co-investigator of the study, entitled "Parental Death and a Polymorphism of the Serotonin Transporter Gene as Risk Factors for Childhood Anxiety and Depression."