The Reporter: Oct 1994, Vol.5, No.3
Reporter At Large

Dr. Norman Kahn has been appointed acting dean of the School of Dental and Oral Surgery during the sabbatical leave of Dr. Allan J. Formicola, who will return July 1, 1995. Dr. Letty Moss-Salentijn has been appointed acting associate dean for academic affairs. During his leave, Dr. Formicola will study the changing system of dental education in Spain, Italy, and Hungary. He also will attend a World Health Organization meeting in Geneva as the representative of the American Association of Dental Education; the meeting will consider ways to introduce dental education into developing countries. He also will prepare a grant application for a community-based preventive dental care program through the public school system. His wife, Professor Jo Renee Formicola, is on sabbatical leave from Seton Hall University, where she chairs the Department of Political Science. In Europe, she will work at the American Embassy to the Holy See to study U.S.-Vatican relations, particularly as they apply to Haiti.

Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology in P&S and associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Study Section of the NIH through June 30, 1997. Study sections review NIH grant applications, make recommendations on the applications, and survey the status of research in their fields.

Dr. Alan Kozak, P&S associate clinical professor of medicine at Bassett Healthcare, has received a special excellence-in-teaching commendation from the University of Rochester Medical School Class of 1995. Dr. Kozak directs a program that brings medical students from Columbia, the University of Rochester, Dartmouth, and the State University at Albany to Bassett and its health centers as part of their primary care rotation. Dr. Kozak also received a Golden Apple award in June from residents in Bassett's Department of Medicine.

The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression awarded a record 155 research grants-$5.5 million-this year, including 14 grants to Columbia researchers. An established investigator grant was given to Dr. Bruce Link, epidemiology in psychiatry, and Dr. Elmer Struening, epidemiology. Young investigator grants were given to Dr. Mark G. Barad, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior; Dr. Eric Rubin, psychiatry; and Dr. Joseph D. Terwilliger, genetics and development. Second-year young investigator support was received by Dr. Abba L. Cargan, neurology and pediatrics; Dr. Arthur L. Whaley, public health; and Dr. Alan S. Brown, Dr. James A. Knowles, Dr. Dolores Malaspina, Dr. Mitchell S. Nobler, Dr. James Bruce Parsons, Dr. Esther F. Rabinowicz, Dr. Richard D. Rende, and Dr. Dianne Schechter, all in psychiatry.

Research by Dr. Donald W. Landry, P&S assistant professor of clinical medicine, was cited by the American Chemical Society as one of the 26 most significant research projects of 1993. Dr. Landry's development of catalytic antibodies that break down molecules of cocaine into non-stimulating byproducts, was cited in the society's annual research magazine, "What's Happening in Chemistry?"

Bassett Healthcare has elected Dr. Thomas Q. Morris, professor of clinical medicine, vice dean, and senior associate vice president, as chairman of its Board of Trustees. Dr. Morris has been a member of Bassett's board since 1980.

Dr. Dominique Toran-Allerand, P&S professor of anatomy and cell biology in the Center for Reproductive Sciences and in the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, placed 14th in the 1994 Nikon International Small World Competition with her entry of the culture of the developing mouse neural tube. The prize is a 16x20 color print of the entry. Many hundreds of slides were entered by photomicrogaphers around the world.

Dr. David R. Bickers, the Carl Truman Nelson Professor and Chairman of Dermatology at P&S, has been elected to a second five-year term as secretary- treasurer of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, established in 1938 to foster education and research in cutaneous biology and skin diseases.

Dr. Gerald E. Thomson, the P&S Samuel Lambert Professor of Medicine, assistant vice president, and P&S associate dean for minority affairs, was elected president- elect of the American College of Physicians, the nation's largest medical-specialty society, at its 75th annual meeting in April. He will assume office as president in March 1995.

Dr. Carla Pulse has been appointed the John W. Richter Assistant Professor of Oral Pathology in the School of Dental and Oral Surgery. Dr. Richter, a 1930 graduate of the school, endowed the position to support research and training activities for junior faculty in oral pathology.

Dr. Bruce P. Dohrenwend, professor of social sciences in psychiatry and public health, was one of two recipients of the 1994 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychiatric Sociology from the Psychiatric Sociology Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Dr. Dohrenwend was cited for the ways his research has advanced understanding of the etiology of mental illness and for his groundbreaking work in stress and mental health.

The American Lung Association of New York has elected Dr. Robert B. Mellins, P&S professor of pediatrics and director of the pediatric pulmonary division of Babies and Children's Hospital, to a two-year term as vice president.

The New York Academy of Medicine gave its 1994 Academy Medal to Dr. Harold S. Ginsberg, the Higgins Professor Emeritus of Microbiology at P&S. The Academy Medal, awarded since 1930, recognizes distinguished contributions to biomedical science.

Dr. Donald O. Quest, P&S professor of neurological surgery, was elected vice president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons at its annual meeting in April. The association is the largest neurosurgical organization in the world.

Dr. Edward L. Nickoloff, P&S professor of clinical radiology, was elected in June to fellow status in the American College of Medical Physics. In September, the American College of Radiology recognized Dr. Nickoloff's achievements by making him a fellow.

The Medical Homes for Minority Children with Asthma, a partnership of Columbia University, the New York City Department of Health, and the Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, received third place in the 1994

LifeSciences Technology Partners competition. Columbia's role in the Medical Homes for Minority Children with Asthma is led by Dr. Robert B. Mellins, P&S professor of pediatrics, and Dr. David Evans, assistant professor of public health (in pediatrics).

The National Academy of Sciences honored 15 international scientists in April for "outstanding contributions to science," the academy's highest awards. Dr. Thomas M. Jessell, P&S professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and an investigator in the Howard Hughes Institute, received the academy's award for scientific reviewing. He was recognized for his contributions, by writing and editing reviews, to bridging the fields of developmental neurobiology and developmental biology. He was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992.

The Elaine B. Lesser Award for Research in Gynecological Cancer has been awarded to Dr. Daniel M. Lasser, P&S assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a Sloane-Rosen Scholar. He received a $4,000 seed grant for his research, "Function of the C-mos proto-oncogene in human ovarian germ cell tumors." The award was given by the Columbia-Presbyterian Cancer Center through a fund started in memory of Mrs. Lesser, an ovarian cancer patient. The award competition was started in 1991 to stimulate gynecological-especially ovarian-cancer research among young investigators.

Dr. James S. Lieberman, the H.K. Corning Professor and chairman of rehabilitation medicine at P&S, was elected second vice president of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine at the organization's 71st annual meeting in June. The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine is a professional and scientific organization with nearly 2,000 members committed to interdisciplinary rehabilitation practice and collaboration among the many fields involved in delivering medical rehabilitation services.

The U.S. Congress appointed nationally recognized authorities in science, medicine, and environmental issues to the Board of Directors of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center in Houston. The center, created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, is located at the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health in the Texas Medical Center. Among the Senate appointees to the board is Dr. Joseph Graziano, professor of pharmacology (in pediatrics) at P&S and of public health.