Two Professors in Weill Cornell M.D.-Ph.D Program Appointed to the National Academy of Sciences
Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D professor Dr. Nikola P. Pavletich
Two professors in the Weill Cornell Medical College Graduate School of Medical Sciences' M.D.-Ph.d program have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors given to scientists working in the United States.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering investigators Dr. Nikola P. Pavletich and Dr. Alexander Y. Rudensky were among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries to be named to the Academy in recognition of their distinguished an continuing achievements in original research.
"The National Academy of Sciences is our country's most prestigious scientific society and election to membership is an acknowledgment by the scientific community that an individual has made truly groundbreaking discoveries," said Thomas J. Kelly, director of the Sloan-Kettering Institute. "Nikola Pavletich has contributed in a major way to our current understanding of how cells control their growth and maintain the integrity of their genomes. Sasha Rudensky has provided new insight into how immune responses are regulated to prevent autoimmunity. I'm delighted that our colleagues have received this recognition for their pioneering work."
Dr. Pavletich is chair of the Structural Biology Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering whose work is focused on the pathways that are altered in cancer, especially on proteins related to the cell-division cycle and those that control the cell's response to DNA damage.
Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D professor Dr. Alexander Y. Rudensky
His laboratory uses x-ray crystallography to investigate the three-dimensional structure (shape) of proteins, generating "snapshots" that reveal how these proteins interact with each other and with DNA. Their research has improved the understanding of how these proteins function and how they repair damaged DNA. One DNA repair protein he has studied extensively is BRCA2, which is linked to many breast and ovarian cancers.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator earned his Ph.D degree in molecular biology and genetics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering in 1993 and was named Chair of the Sloan-Kettering Institute's Structural Biology Program in 2003.
Dr. Rudensky is a member of the Sloan-Kettering Institute's Immunology Program. His laboratory studies the development of white blood cells called T lymphocytes, which play a role in the immune system response to infection.
Specifically, his research is focused on a subset of T lymphocytes called regulatory T cells, which are believed to suppress the immune system's ability to fight tumors. Understanding how regulatory T cells function has many potential applications in the clinic, including the development of therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer that act by boosting or targeting these cells.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator earned his Ph.D degree in immunology from the Gabrichevsky Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, in Moscow. He joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering in 2009, after more than 16 years on the faculty of the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Additional awards and honors
Dr. Yannick Benoit, of Dr. Lorraine J. Gudas' lab, was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship from the Quebec Health Research Fund in April.
Dr. Carol F. Capello, associate director of the Office of Curriculum and Educational Development and Associate Professor of Geriatric Education in Medicine is the new chair-elect for the Northeastern Group on Educational Affairs. The organization is one of four regional groups of the American Association of Medical College's Group on Educational Affairs. Its purpose is to promote excellence in the education of medical students, residents, and physicians through the professional development of medical educators.
Dr. Eugene Cha, a resident in the Department of Urology and Dr. Michael Rink, a fellow in the Department of Urology, both received Merit Awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the Society of Urologic Oncology at the 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium hosted in San Francisco, CA. In addition, Dr. Shahrokh F. Shariat, assistant professor of Urology, assistant professor of medicine and director of Urothelial Carcinoma Outcomes and Translational Research, was recognized as the senior author of both the research studies.
Joseph J. Crivelli, a rising second-year Weill Cornell medical student, was awarded the Ferdinand C. Valentine Student Research Grant in Urology for this summer. Dr. Shahrokh F. Shariat, assistant professor of Urology, assistant professor of medicine and director of Urothelial Carcinoma Outcomes and Translational Research, is serving as mentor.
Dr. Marc Goldstein, the Matthew P. Hardy Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Urology, was appointed to the editorial board of the journal Fertility and Sterility in January. In April, he was appointed to the Committee of Review for Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Claire Henchcliffe, associate professor of Neurology and a Daisy and Paul Soros Clinical Scholar in Neurology, will serve as a faculty member for a national online course presented by the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. The four-part course — an online component of the Foundation's signature program, Parkinson's Advocates in Research — prepares research advocates living with Parkinson's from 36 states bring their educated and unique perspectives to the forefront of research professionals and government agencies. Beginning in July, the course will be available online for one year, free to the community.
Dr. Ashotush Kacker, associate professor of Otolaryngology, was named the medical director of the American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, the world's largest organization representing ear, nose and throat specialists. The appointment is for 2011-2012.
Anne Marie Laurri, of the Weill Cornell Medical School Class of 2015, was awarded an Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation 2012 Pediatric Oncology Student Training Program Summer Fellowship to study mechanisms of medulloblastoma tumor cell differentiation. Dr. Praveen Raju, assistant professor of Pediatrics, is serving as faculty mentor.
Dr. Aaron J. Marcus, professor of Medicine and professor of Medicine in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has been recognized by the American Physiological Society for being a member for 50 years.
Dr. Madhu Mazumdar, professor of Biostatistics in Public Health and chief of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, has been elected as program chair-elect to the American Statistical Association's Section on Statistics in Epidemiology.
Dr. Joseph Del Pizzo, associate professor of Urology in Surgery, was appointed faculty member for the course, "Introduction to Laparoendoscopic Single Site Surgery in Urology," for the American Urological Association's annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in May.
Dr. Praveen Raju , assistant professor of Pediatrics, was the recipient of American Brain Tumor Association Translational Research Grant. This grant was announced in April.
Dr. Pablo Rodríguez del Pozo, associate professor of Public Health/Qatar in the Division of Medical Ethics, has been appointed as a member of the Qatari National Committee on Human Subjects Research Regulations. The committee's recommendations have recently been approved by the Supreme Council for Health and will become the regulatory framework in the State of Qatar once His Royal Highness Sheik Al-Thani signs the formal decree.
Dr. Peter N. Schlegel, professor of Urology and chairman of the Department of Urology, received the Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons at the April meeting of the Genitourinary Surgeon Society, an elite group of the top 75 urologists in the country. The Medal, which is given every 2-3 years, is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to the field of urology and genitourinary surgery.
Dr. Shahrokh F. Shariat, assistant professor of Urology, assistant professor of medicine and director of Urothelial Carcinoma Outcomes and Translational Research, was co-author of the Best Poster in two sessions at the 27th annual European Association of Urology Congress that took place in Paris in February. In addition, Dr. Shariat became an editorial board member for Frontiers in Genitourinary Oncology in February and guideline chair on upper tract urothelial carcinoma for the International Consultation on Urological Diseases for 2012. He served as chair of the Best Presentation Award Committee at the 20th Association Marocaine d' Urologie annual meeting.
Dr. Ashutosh K. Tewari, the Ronald P. Lynch Professor of Urologic Oncology, was awarded the Best Poster at the annual meeting of the European Association of Urology hosted February 24-28 in Paris. Titled "Real-time, In Vivo Multiphoton Microscopy Imaging is a Promising Tool to Identify Prostate Tissue During Rat Survival Surgery," it won first prize for best oncology abstract.