Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs, testified before the Westchester County Board of Legislators on June 1 as they considered an amendment to the Westchester Smoke-Free Worksite Law to include e-cigarettes. The amendment passed 17-0. Dr. Amler quantified the multiple health hazards posed by tobacco use and the effect of smoking restrictions in the workplace reducing smoking rates in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s.

Michael S. Goligorsky, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, pharmacology and physiology and the Alvin I. Goodman Chair in Nephrology, delivered a plenary lecture, "Cell Reprogramming in Tissue Regeneration" at the 50^th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Nephrology in Kobe, Japan, on June 18.

Paul Morris, human resources assistant, participated in the Autism Speaks National Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C. on June 16. He spoke on his life with autism. The following day autism activists and families visited Capitol Hill to encourage legislators to join the Congressional Autism Caucus, and pass vital legislation, including the 21st Century Cures Act and Avonte's Law, a bill introduced that would provide voluntary tracking devices for children with autism who wander. Mr. Morris met with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Christopher Murphy (D-CT).

Padmini Murthy, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., M.Phil., CHES, associate professor of public health practice, health policy and management, clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine and global health program director, was appointed to serve on The Nation's Health advisory committee, for a two-year term, beginning on November 4. The Nation's Health is a publication of the American Public Health Association.

Michal L. Schwartzman, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, was invited by the dean of the School of Experimental Sciences at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy, to participate in their Experimental Sciences Educational Program and a course "Horizons in Medicine and Biology."  She presented a lecture on May 25, "20-HETE, Vascular Dysfunction and Hypertension." As a result of Dr. Schwartzman's participation in the program, NYMC now has a collaboration with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna for research internships for medical students in the Department of Pharmacology. The first student from the university, Ms. Chiara Bertone, will join Dr. Schwartzman's laboratory on August 1 for a two-month period.

New York Medical College co-sponsored the Ninth Annual NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Network Research Symposium held June 15-17 at the New York Academy of Sciences. Diane E. Heck, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health Science, was an organizer of the program and Michael P. Shakarjian, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of  M.P.H. studies in environmental health science, presented "Developing and Evaluating Countermeasures against Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine." Linnea R. Vose, Ph.D. '12, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Marcela Laukova, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Health Science, presented a poster "A Novel in vitro Model for Studying Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine-induced Neurotoxicity."