News Archive
June 2008 News Flashes
FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS
Gilbert Botvin, Ph.D., Honored by Society for Prevention Research
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The award was presented by Dr. Zili Sloboda, SPR's president, who praised Dr. Botvin as the founding editor of Prevention Science "for his vision, leadership, and years of service as editor-in-chief from 2000 to 2006. Under his leadership, the journal grew to become the preeminent journal for the field of prevention science and one of the top journals in public health."
Dr. Joseph Fins’ Recent Lecture Activities
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Dr. Fins and Dr. Nicholas Schiff Participate in “Building a Better Brain” Panel Discussion
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Dr. Fins and Nicholas Schiff, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Public Health, participated in a panel discussion on "Building a Better Brain," focusing on how brain-machine interface and deep brain stimulation are leading to novel methods of repairing and boosting brain function as well as treating brain injuries and disease. The panel was moderated by Elizabeth Vargas, co-anchor of ABC News 20/20, and also featured neuroscientists John Donoghue of Brown University, and Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh. The event was part of the first annual World Science Festival held at Columbia University May 28-June 1.
Madhu Mazumdar, Ph.D., Presents at Cold Spring Laboratory
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Dr. Madhu Mazumdar, Chief of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Professor of Biostatistics in Public Health, presented two lectures recently at the Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory for doctoral and post-doctoral students. Her first talk, on the topic “Ethical Issues in Biostatistical Design, Analysis, and Reporting,” was part of a course on Responsible Conduct of Research. Her second lecture, “Need for Improved Precision in Reporting of Statistical Issues in Research Papers,” was for the Fundamental Concepts in Statistics course.
Dr. Linda M. Gerber Presents at Life Sciences Research Resources Expo
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Linda M. Gerber, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, presented a poster describing the Biostatistics and Research Methodology Core [link to poster] at the first intercampus Cornell University Life Sciences Research Resources Expo. Dr. Gerber, who directs the Core, attended the Expo at the Weill Cornell campus on May 15, 2008. At the event, Core directors displayed posters and met with researchers to explain and share the resources available within the cores. It was estimated that about 600 people attended the Expo. The event was well received and it is anticipated that there will be future sessions highlighting these core resources. Additional information about the Expo, including a link to the poster, can be found at http://researchresourcesday.biotech.cornell.edu/posters_presenters.php.
Recent Global Health Activities of Madelon Finkel, Ph.D.
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On May 19 Dr. Madelon Finkel, Director of the Office of Global Health Education and Professor of Clinical Public Health, hosted the Medical College’s annual International Day to welcome back the fourth-year students from their electives abroad and to thank the donors who make the global health program possible. In her remarks, Dr. Finkel focused on the need to expand activities beyond infectious disease to include chronic diseases. Noninfectious illnesses are expected to be the top killers within 20 years in both developed and developing countries. Dean Antonio Gotto spoke to the attendees as did Dr. Oliver Fein, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Public Health. Over half of the Class of 2008 has participated in the global health program.
On June 2-3, 2008, Dr. Finkel attended the CDC Foundation Working Group on Population Health and Medical Education in Atlanta. This invitation-only group focused on means of better integrating population health into the medical school curriculum.
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Jennifer Hersh, M.B.E., has been promoted to Research Coordinator in the Division of Medical Ethics. Ms. Hersh holds a Master of Bioethics and a B.A. degree in the History and Sociology of Science and Religion from the University of Pennsylvania. Since joining the Department in 2005, she has been assisting in all phases of research activities for the Division study, “Mending the Brain, Minding our Ethics.” She also supports other research activities of the Division, particularly those concerning neuroethics and disorders of consciousness.
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Sandra Santiago has joined the Department as Assistant to the Chairman. Ms. Santiago comes to us from the WMC-Qatar New York liaison office, where she worked as Staff Secretary with the Dean and Vice Dean for the past three years. Previously, she was an Administrative Assistant in the Department of Medicine at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital, and an Administrative Assistant at Current Medical Directions, Inc., a medical education company in New York City.
FACULTY AND STAFF PUBLICATIONS
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Yuhua Bao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy, was the lead author of an article published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research titled “Racial Differences in Behavioral Inpatient Diagnosis: Examining the Mechanisms using the 2004 Florida Inpatient Discharge Data.” The study examined the existence and the underlying mechanisms of differences in behavioral inpatient diagnosis between African American and white patients across a diverse patient population. It found that discharges of African American patients in Florida were at least twice as likely to have received a primary psychotic vs. affective or substance-related diagnosis, and this held true after between-hospital differences in diagnostic patterns and patient case-mix were controlled for.
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Jennifer Epstein, Ph.D., Assistant Professor; Kenneth Griffin, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor; and Gilbert Botvin, Ph.D., Professor and Chief of the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior; were the authors of an article published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs titled “A social influence model of alcohol use for inner-city adolescents: family drinking, perceived drinking norms, and perceived social benefits of drinking.” The authors, all faculty of the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior, examined the role of family drinking and perceived drinking norms in predicting adolescents’ future perceptions of the social benefits of drinking and the relationship of perceived social benefits of drinking with drinking behavior even further into the future. The results illuminate the importance of the perceived benefits of drinking, as well as social influences to drink, and suggest that these aspects should be incorporated into alcohol prevention programs.
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“Challenges to EHR implementation in electronic- versus paper-based office practices,” an article whose authors included several members of the Department of Public Health, was published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The lead author was Stephanie O. Zandieh, M.D., M.S., Instructor of Pediatrics; and the senior author was Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health. The other authors were Kahyun Yoon-Flannery, M.P.H., formerly a Research Coordinator in the Department of Public Health; Gilad J. Kuperman, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Quality Informatics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Professor of Public Health; Daniel Langsam, a medical student; and Daniel Hyman, M.D., M.M.M., Chief Children's Quality Officer and Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health. The article discusses results of a qualitative study at a large teaching hospital that focused on the process of transitioning from electronic health records (EHRs) to newer systems. The study compares approaches and priorities of paper-based leaders and legacy EHR-based leaders.
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John Rutledge, M.A.S., Research Biostatistician in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was a co-author of an article published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research called “Vocal Hygiene Education, Voice Production Therapy, and the Role of Patient Adherence: A Treatment Effectiveness Study in Women with Phonotrauma.” The article’s lead author was Alison Behrman, PhD, of New York University. The study compared the effectiveness of two methods of voice therapy: vocal hygiene education and voice production therapy, in treating women whose vocal folds had been damaged by phonotrauma. It also assessed treatment adherence as a cofactor. Voice production therapy was found to be the more effective treatment in this study, and adherence was a critical mediator.
Mary Simmerling, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Research Integrity at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Professor of Public Health, was the lead author of an article in the Winter 2008 issue of DePaul Law Review entitled “Primum Non Nocere: Beneficent Deception.” The article explores ethical and legal issues involved when a physician provides a false or exaggerated medical excuse for a potential living organ donor who does not want to undergo the procedure. Dr. Simmerling discussed this same topic at a Department of Public Health Medical Ethics seminar this month.
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The Kidney TRUST, an organization that helps Americans with chronic kidney disease (CKD), plans to use the screening questionnaire developed by investigators led by Heejung Bang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. A validation study of the questionnaire, called SCORED (Screening for Occult Renal Disease), was published in the February 25, 2008, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Joseph J. Fins , M.D., F.A.C.P., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Professor of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine in Psychiatry, was quoted in a June 1, 2008, article in The New York Times (“When Thumbs Up Is No Comfort”) about the effect of recent upbeat portrayals of celebrities with cancer in the media on other cancer patients. The article discussed how while the intent may be to inspire hope, these media images can sometimes make patients feel they have to always appear optimistic. But not everyone is going to be brave, Dr. Fins is quoted as saying. “We only hear about those who handle it well. As a society we value the stoic but we don’t know what the stoicism hides.”
Excellence in Teaching Award
Aran Ron, MD, MPH, MBA, Executive Vice President of GHI and President of GHI HMO, was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award in Public Health. Dr. Ron generously and graciously meets with students in the Public Health Clerkship as well as gives a lecture to the second year students in the Health Systems course. He consistently provides the students with a "real world" perspective on health care issues.
Student Prizes
Weill Cornell graduates and faculty were honored at the 2008 Convocation ceremonies, a celebration that awards outstanding graduates, other medical students, faculty, and staff for distinguished achievement, dedication to scholarship and research, devotion to teaching or service, or demonstration of exceptional professional qualities. Prizes were presented on May 28. Among the students in the Class of 2008 receiving awards were four selected by the Department of Public Health:
The Elise Strang L'Esperance Prize in Public Health is awarded to the woman student(s) in the graduating class who best reflects the attributes and values of Dr. Elise Strang L'Esperance, who graduated from the Women's Medical College of The New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1901. Dr. L'Esperance served on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College for over 40 years. She and her sister, May Strang, founded the Strang Cancer Prevention Clinics at Memorial Hospital and The New York Infirmary in memory of their mother. The recipients of this year’s prize were Elizabeth Brightstar Enschede and Adrienne Davis.
The George G. Reader Prize in Public Health was endowed in 1992 by friends and colleagues of Dr. George Reader, '43, who served as chairman of the Department of Public Health from 1972 to 1992. A cash prize is given to the graduating student(s) who, in the judgment of the Department's faculty, show the most promise in the field of public health. This year, Sean Emile Collins and Andrew Danforth Graustein were awarded the prize.
