Alumni Honors
Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, a 1981 alumnus of the Medical College, has been named president of the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals. Dr. Nabel is also director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. A board-certified cardiologist, Dr. Nabel received her medical education at Cornell University Medical College before moving to Brigham and Women Hospital and Harvard University, where she completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular medicine. She joined the NHLBI in 1999 as the institute's scientific director of clinical research.
Dr. Ronald Arky, a 1955 alumnus of the Medical College, has been named the 2009 recipient of the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The award was established by the AOA, the national honor medical society, in 1988 to provide national recognition to faculty members who have distinguished themselves in medical education. Dr. Arky is the Charles S. Davidson Distinguished Professor of Medicine and dean of curriculum at Harvard Medical School, and former chief of the diabetes section at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He also holds a joint faculty appointment as professor of medicine, health sciences and technology at both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Gene Resnick, an alumnus of the Medical College, is a recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Cornell University CALS Alumni Association and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dr. Resnick, a "double red" graduate of Cornell University (1970) and the Medical College (1974), is chief medical officer and executive vice president of Averion International Corporation, a leading international clinical research organization specializing in oncology, cardiovascular diseases and medical devices.
Faculty Honors
Dr. Jack Barchas
Dr. Jack Barchas, the Barklie McKee Henry Professor of Psychiatry and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, has been named the 2009 recipient of The Academy Plaque for Exceptional Service to the Academy, an honor bestowed by the New York Academy of Medicine since 1952. It will be presented at Academy's 162nd Anniversary Discourse and Awards Ceremony on Nov. 17 in New York City. The ceremony is hosted each year by the Academy to pay special tribute to individuals with distinguished accomplishments health policy, public health, medicine and scientific research.
Dr. Lawrence Casalino has been named the Livingston Farrand Associate Professor of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Casalino currently also serves as chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research in the Department of Public Health. Dr. Casalino was selected for this endowed professorship in recognition of his work as a scholar and leader in health services research and health care policy, as well as for his contributions to Weill Cornell's education mission as a mentor and educator. The appointment is effective as of Nov. 1, 2008, the date Dr. Casalino joined the Medical College and the Department. Dr. Farrand (1867–1939) was the fourth president of Cornell University and a leading public health advocate, a psychologist, and an anthropologist. The professorship was established in 1946 by the Cornell University Board of Trustees. Initial funding was provided by a gift from the Milbank Memorial Fund.
Dr. Jennifer Epstein, assistant research professor of public health in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for a one-year project titled "Adolescent Computer and Electronic Game Use." The goal of the study is to examine the computer use and electronic game use among adolescents to discover their benefits and negative consequences, including their relationship with health behaviors.
Dr. Joseph J. Fins
Dr. Joseph J. Fins, professor of medicine, public health, and medicine in psychiatry, and chief of the Division of Medical Ethics, was elected president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH). Dr. Fins was elected to this position in recognition of his important contributions to bioethics and his broad expertise in the field.
Dr. Fins also had the honor of being the featured international speaker at the Ninth National Spanish Bioethics Congress, held Oct. 22–24 in Murcia, Spain. Dr. Fins presented his remarks in Spanish, speaking on research ethics from a North American perspective, and on the nascent concept of bioethicist as clinical investigator, reflecting on his own role as a co-investigator on the study of deep-brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state. The Congress was attended by 300 Spanish bioethicists and leading figures in the field.
Dr. Heather Taffet Gold, assistant professor of public health in the Division of Health Policy, was this year's recipient of the award for Outstanding Paper by a Young Investigator from the Society for Medical Decision Making for her article "Correlates and Effect of Suboptimal Radiotherapy in Women With Ductal Carcinoma in Situ or Early Invasive Breast Cancer." Dr. Gold's study was published in Cancer in December 2008. The award was presented at the Society's annual meeting in Los Angeles on Oct. 21.
Dr. Heather Taffet Gold
Dr. Gold and Dr. Mary Katherine Hayes, an associate attending radiation oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, were co-authors of an abstract titled "Cost Effectiveness of Accelerated Partial Breast Radiotherapy Versus Whole Breast Radiotherapy: Impact of Including Patient Perspective," presented by Dr. Gold at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) on Oct. 18–21, in Hollywood, Calif. Their findings were from a pilot project of the Weill Cornell Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT) grant, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Dr. Gold also received a grant from the American Cancer Society for a study titled "New Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Technology: Impact on Disparities in Access." Madhuvanti Murphy, Dr.P.H., assistant professor of public health in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior, is a co-investigator. The purpose of the three-year project is to study the diffusion of the use of accelerated partial breast radiotherapy technology across the United States in the Medicare population. The researchers will also conduct and analyze in-depth interviews with surgeons, radiation oncologists and patients to understand how and why these new treatments are being used. Combining the approaches of population-based analyses and in-depth interviews is unique in health services research and should give both the "big picture" and insights into the nuanced medical decision-making process. Findings from this study will inform clinical policy options prior to publication of randomized trial results, including appropriate scope of adoption and reimbursement.
Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, associate professor of public health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, participated in the first meeting ever to be held on Modeling Pandemic Influenza at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Sept. 24 and 25, in Stockholm, Sweden. On Oct. 21, he gave a presentation on modeling resource requirements for the fall wave of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Hupert serves as director of the Preparedness Modeling Unit at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and as co-director of Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College's joint Institute for Disease and Disaster Preparedness.
Dr. Yan Ma, instructor of biostatistics in public health, and Dr. Madhu Mazumdar, professor and chief of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, gave a presentation titled "Multiple-Outcome Meta-Analysis Methods: Application to Orthopedics Research," at the Joint Statistical Meeting in Washington, D.C., in August. Their work on this project was supported by the Weill Cornell Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT) grant, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Dr. Alvin Mushlin
Dr. Alvin Mushlin, the Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor of Public Health and chairman of the Department of Public Health, has been elected to membership in the American Clinical and Climatological Association. In conjunction with his election, he made a presentation at the Association's annual meeting in October titled "Comparative Effectiveness Research: A Cornerstone of Healthcare Reform?" In his talk, Dr. Mushlin discussed some of his own comparative effectiveness research (CER) focusing on implantable defibrillators, orthopedic devices, and magnetic resonance imaging. He said that while CER is extremely important, there needs to be development of infrastructure in academia, government and the private sector to support this type of research and then to use it to facilitate needed changes in our health care system. Dr. Mushlin's work on this presentation was supported by the Weill Cornell Center for Education in Therapeutics (CERT) grant from AHRQ. It will lead to a published paper to be authored by Dr. Mushlin and Dr. Hassan Ghomrawi, instructor in public health in the Division of Health Policy.
Dr. Andrew Ryan, assistant professor of public health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, has been appointed the Walsh McDermott Scholar in Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, effective July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010. The Walsh McDermott Scholarship is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It was established to add strength to the Medical College by encouraging the recruitment and support of new, talented junior faulty members, while also honoring the name and contributions of Dr. Walsh McDermott, chairman of the Department of Public Health from 1955 to 1972. Throughout his lifetime, Dr. McDermott maintained an interest in guiding and nurturing young scientists so that the work of saving lives through prevention and cure of disease might continue at the highest level of skill. The holder of the scholarship must be a faculty member under 40 years of age who has demonstrated achievement and scientific promise, who is committed to a full-time career in medical education and research, and who has the potential for the excellence and accomplishments possessed by Dr. McDermott.
Dr. Bruce Schackman
Dr. Mirella Salvatore, assistant professor of public health in the Division of Community and Public Health Programs and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been awarded an R21 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The title of the two-year award is "Integrase-Defective Lentiviral-Based Influenza Vaccines." The R21 grant mechanism of the NIH is intended to encourage exploratory/developmental research by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of project development. Grants are given to "high-risk, high-reward studies that may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or result in novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models or applications that will impact biomedical, behavioral or clinical research."
Dr. Bruce Schackman, associate professor of public health and chief of the Division of Health Policy, and Jared Leff, M.S., research coordinator in the Division of Health Policy, presented their research on the cost effectiveness of long-term outpatient buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence at two recent conferences: the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM), held Oct. 18–21, in Hollywood, Calif.; and the Addiction Health Services Research Conference, held Oct. 28–30, in San Francisco. The authors found the treatment to be a cost-effective alternative to no treatment at a $100,000 per QALY (quality-adjusted life-year) threshold, because the results were sensitive to assumptions about quality of life on and off buprenorphine; further research on this topic is necessary and will have economic value. Their work was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.