November 2012 News from the Medical Schools

Nov

2012

The Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) brings you the following compilation of the most recent updates and news from its sixteen member institutions. AMSNY is engaged in highlighting efforts of the schools in areas including, but not limited to, medical education, training, and research.

UB Nursing Travels Downstate to Care for Those in Aftermath of Sandy
Weill Cornell Medical College Receives $1.5 Million in Grand Challenges Explorations Grants
SUNY Upstate Medical University and the State University at Freedonia Sign Agreement
Gillibrand Announces New Jobs Bill
Herb Pardes, MD, Elected to CASAColumbia Board
3rd Annual Bronx/Manhattan Region C/STEP College Fair
SUNY Downstate Chosen for National Initiative to Strengthen Health of Urban Communities
Cancer Research Institute Honors Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College
IOM Elects 70 New Members, 10 Foreign Associates
Personal Genomics in the Classroom: Students Sequence Themselves

UB Nursing Travels Downstate to Care for Those in Aftermath of Sandy

November 5, 2012 – The University at Buffalo School of Nursing is on the frontlines of community service once again. This time, nursing faculty and students are helping the sick and injured during the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy downstate.

Joann M. Sands, MS, RN, UB clinical instructor of nursing travelled Thursday with seven UB nursing students to Yaphank, N.Y. on Long Island to assist with caregiving for patients who have conditions serious enough to travel to an emergency room but who are not so acutely ill that they would have to be admitted to the hospital.

For the full article, click here.
© 2012 University at Buffalo. All rights reserved.

Weill Cornell Medical College Receives $1.5 Million in Grand Challenges Explorations Grants for Groundbreaking Research in Global Health and Development

November 1, 2012 – Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Researchers at Weill Cornell have been awarded three research grants totaling more than $1.5 million.

Weill Cornell’s Dr. Juan R. Cubillos-Ruiz, a postdoctoral research associate in medicine in the laboratory of Dean Laurie H. Glimcher, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project titled, “Tailored Nanodevices to Understand Resistance Against HIV,” Dr. Carl Nathan, chairman of microbiology and immunology and R.A. Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology, will investigate “Sequestration and asymmetric distribution of irreversibly oxidized proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)” and Dr. Kyu Rhee, associate professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology, will examine “Mining metabolosomes: A biochemical blueprint to new drug targets against non-replicating Mtb.”

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© 2012 Weill Cornell Medical College. All rights reserved.

SUNY Upstate Medical University and the State University at Freedonia Sign Agreement

October 28, 2012 – The State University at Fredonia has signed an agreement with SUNY Upstate Medical University to ensure medical school admission for students who graduate having completed Fredonia’s required biology department courses.

The articulation agreement establishes early assurance that academically superior high school applicants to SUNY Fredonia will be admitted to the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate.

For the full article, click here.
© 2012 The Post-Journal. All rights reserved.

Gillibrand Announces New Jobs Bill

October 25, 2012 – After touring the University at Buffalo’s Clinical and Translational Research Center, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced she is introducing legislation to spur the growth of new science and technology jobs in Western New York and across the country.

The America Innovates Act would help scientists and researchers secure valuable resources and training to turn new discoveries into marketable products, new high-tech companies and jobs.

For the full article, click here.
© 2012 University at Buffalo. All rights reserved.

Herb Pardes, MD, Executive Vice Chairman of New York-Presbyterian Hospital Elected to CASAColumbia Board

October 22, 2012 – The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University announced today that Dr. Herb Pardes, has been elected to its board of directors. Dr. Pardes serves as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He was President and CEO of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System from 1999 to 2011. He is also the past-President of the Associated Medical Schools of New York.

”The addition of Herb Pardes to the board of directors continues our effort to assemble the best and the brightest individuals to lead and counsel CASAColumbia,” said Jeffrey B. Lane, CASAColumbia’s Chairman. “Herb is nationally recognized for his broad expertise in education, research, clinical care and health policy and is passionate about the power of science based research and innovation to transform medical care. He believes in the CASAColumbia mission and in our efforts to prevent and eliminate the disease of addiction.”

For the full article, click here.
© 2012 Columbia University. All rights reserved.

3rd Annual Bronx/Manhattan Region C/STEP College Fair

October 20, 2012 – The Associated Medical Schools of New York, along with the Bronx/Manhattan C/STEP Region, the City College of New York and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine hosted the 3rd Annual STEP/CSTEP College Fair.

Held at the City College of New York, the college fair welcomed over 600 New York State STEP students and 200 parents. Students and parents were able to meet with admissions and CSTEP representatives from 50 colleges and universities. In addition, students and parents participated in workshops addressing the college application process, transitioning to college and financial aid.

For the full article, click here.

SUNY Downstate Chosen for National Initiative to Strengthen Health of Urban Communities

October 19, 2012 – SUNY Downstate Medical Center has been selected as one of five institutions to participate in Urban Universities for HEALTH (Health Equity through Alignment, Leadership, and Transformation of the Healthcare Workforce), a national initiative that aims to improve the health of urban communities by developing their health workforce.

This joint project will identify strategies to create a diverse, well-prepared workforce capable of improving urban health and meeting demands for new delivery systems that ensure quality care for all. The five institutions will work to improve data on health workforce needs, build institutional capacity, and identify metrics for workforce goals to enhance urban health equity. The knowledge gained will be applied to a larger constituency of higher education institutions.

Ian L. Taylor, MD, PhD, senior vice president for biomedical education and research and dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate, will lead this effort at Downstate as principal investigator. In addition to Downstate, the schools involved are Cleveland State University/Northeast Ohio Medical University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and the University of New Mexico. To conduct the project, Downstate will receive $428,400 over four years.

Cancer Research Institute Honors Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher

October 18, 2012 – Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, is a winner of the 2012 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute for her outstanding achievements in immunology and cancer research.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this prestigious immunology research award from the Cancer Research Institute,” says Dr. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, who is also a member of the Cancer Research Institute’s Scientific Advisory Council. “Research discoveries identified about T cells hold tremendous promise for enhancing our knowledge of the fundamental immune responses involved in malignant diseases. Together, our steadfast progress can catapult cancer care to the next level of discovery to develop innovative therapies that improve the lives of cancer patients.”

IOM Elects 70 New Members, 10 Foreign Associates

October 15, 2012 – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) today announced the names of 70 new members and 10 foreign associates during its 42nd annual meeting. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“The Institute of Medicine is greatly enriched by the addition of our newly elected colleagues, each of whom has significantly advanced health and medicine,” said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. “Through their research, teaching, clinical work, and other contributions, these distinguished individuals have inspired and served as role models to others. We look forward to drawing on their knowledge and skills to improve health through the work of the IOM.”

Personal Genomics in the Classroom: Students Sequence Themselves

October 11, 2012 – Mount Sinai Medical School in New York is offering an elective course called ‘Practical Analysis of Your Personal Genome’ this year. The goal is to teach upcoming physicians how sequencing information might affect clinical care. Students can choose to sequence their own or an anonymous genome. This will revel several million variants, many with known implications for disease and health, and many more with unclear significance. Students may learn their risk for common diseases such as cancer or diabetes and also whether they carry mutations that could cause single-gene disorders in their children.