Dr. Palmer Bessey, professor of surgery, was elected secretary of the American Burn Association at its annual meeting in Chicago in May. Dr. Bessey will also be an invited speaker at the annual meeting of the Australia and New Zealand Burn Association in Melbourne in September; he will be giving have two presentations at the International Society for Burn Injury in Montreal, also in September.
Dr. Joseph Fins, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and professor of medicine, public health and medicine in psychiatry, has been named a trustee of the American College of Physicians Foundation. The ACP Foundation works to improve the health and welfare of patients and society through initiatives that provide patients with the information they need to understand and manage their health.
Dr. Laura Palermo, a postdoctoral associate in pediatrics, has been awarded the Parker B. Francis Fellowship, an important award given to outstanding young investigators in the field of pulmonary research. The grant includes approximately $150,000 over three years for the purpose of providing stipends, fringe benefits and modest travel expenses to postdoctoral fellows or newly appointed assistant professors. Under the mentorship of Dr. Anne Moscona, professor of pediatrics and microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell, Dr. Palermo aims to identify novel small-molecule inhibitory compounds to prevent or treat parainfluenza infection.
Dr. Scott Tagawa, assistant professor of medicine, has been awarded the 2008 Young Investigators Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The award, presented to 19 researchers from some of the leading academic medical centers in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., includes $75,000 annually for three years to support specified research programs, and is matched by the recipients' institutions. Dr. Tagawa's research focuses on J591, a monoclonal antibody against prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a molecule on the surface of prostate cancer cells. Studies using J591 linked to radioisotopes (radioimmunotherapy, RIT) have demonstrated safety and efficacy as well as the ability to target known sites of disease in metastatic prostate cancer. Dr. Tagawa will continue clinical investigations of J591 in patients with advanced prostate cancer to determine the dosage and optimal administration schedule required to effectively treat the disease. Dr. Neil Bander, the Chaus Professor of Urological Oncology at Weill Cornell, will provide mentorship.
The Adult Bone Marrow and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center was recently awarded accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). FACT promotes high-quality medical and laboratory practice of cellular therapy through its peer-developed standards and voluntary inspection and accreditation program.
August 25, 2008
