Week of June 1, 2015
         
NEWS


NYMC Bids Farewell to the Class of 2015

With traditional pomp and circumstance the 156th Commencement exercises concluded the journey of the Class of 2015 at New York Medical College on May 21 at Carnegie Hall. Mace bearer, Joan Y. June, M.S.Ed., assistant dean of minority affairs, led the colorful processional of academic leaders, faculty and distinguished guests into the great hall and Zvi Lefkovitz, M.D., professor of clinical radiology and chairman of the Department of Radiology, presided as the grand marshal of the ceremonies. The College conferred 205 doctor of medicine (M.D.) degrees, 31 doctor of physical therapy (D.P.T.) degrees, 9 doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees, 74 master of science (M.S.) degrees, 104 master of public health (M.P.H.) degrees and 6 doctor of public health (Dr.P.H.) degrees while proud families and friends cheered. View the 2015 Commencement Week photo gallery here. Read more...

AOA Iota Chapter Hosts Annual Lecture and Induction Ceremony

The New York Iota chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), the national medical honor society, welcomed Andrew I. Schafer, M.D., third from left, director, Richard T. Silver Center for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, and professor of medicine, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology Weill Cornell Medical College, as the 59th Annual Saul A. Schwartz, M.D. '30, Visiting Professor, on April 30. Following Dr. Schafer's lecture, "Is the Physician-Scientist Vanishing?," a dinner and ceremony were held to induct medical students from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 into AOA. View the AOA Lecture and Induction Ceremony photo gallery here. Read more...

School of Medicine Class of 2018 Hosts 27th Annual Convocation of Thanks

As the first year of medical school was winding down, the Class of 2018 took an afternoon to reflect and pay homage to 45 anatomical donors at the 27th Annual Convocation of Thanks on May 8. Through poetry, prose, music, song and art, the students expressed their deepest gratitude and reverence to the audience of family and friends of the donors whose selfless donations have made possible this medical school rite of passage, the study of anatomy. After the audience joined in to sing "Amazing Grace," the group retreated outdoors to a tree planting ceremony to honor those who gave the Class of 2018 the ultimate gift. View the 27th Annual Convocation of Thanks photo gallery here.

SHSP Hosts Third Annual Research and Scholarship Day

Graduate and medical students and faculty presented their innovative health projects and scholarly activities in five topic areas: discovery, teaching, integration, engagement, and application of research/theory to professional service and practice, at the Third Annual School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP) Research and Scholarship Day held on May 6. Projects included recently developed health, environmental, and policy programs from public health disciplines, novel clinical applications in speech-language pathology and physical therapy, and other projects that contribute to scholarship at NYMC. A networking opportunity among students and faculty celebrated NYMC's commitment to scientific discovery and appreciation to College and community collaborators. View the photo galley here. Read more...

Department of Family and Community Medicine Presents Third Annual Research Day

The Department of Family Community Medicine hosted its Third Annual Research Day on May 12. Students, faculty and residents presented their research orally and in poster presentations. Carlos Jaen, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., chairman of the American Board of Family Medicine, and professor and chair of family and community medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, gave the keynote address via a webcast. He presented "Key Lessons and Findings After 20 Years of Family Medicine Research." View the photo gallery hereRead more...

Department of Pediatrics Hosts Fifth Annual Paul K. Woolf, M.D., Pediatric Trainee Research Day 

The Department of Pediatrics held its Fifth Annual Paul K. Woolf, M.D., Pediatric Trainee Research Day on May 13 to highlight basic, translational and clinical research in the field of pediatrics. Twenty-five abstracts were considered and four were chosen be presented in lieu of grand rounds that day, followed by a poster session. The event is held in memory of the late Paul K. Woolf, M.D., senior associate dean for Westchester Medical Center and associate professor of pediatrics, who was instrumental in developing the pediatric cardiovascular program, the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital (MFCH) at Westchester Medical Center and the comprehensive Department of Pediatrics overall. From left: Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology and cell biology; Michael H. Gewitz, M.D., professor of pediatrics and vice chairman of the Department of Pediatrics; Mona Elmacken, M.D., hematology, oncology and stem cell transplant fellow; Erin Dunbar, M.Sc., M.D., pediatric resident; Preeti Dohare, Ph.D., pediatric postdoctoral fellow; Keshawadhana Balakrishnan, M.D., pediatric gastroenterology fellow; Leonard J. Newman, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics; and D. Douglas Miller, M.D., C.M., M.B.A., dean of the School of Medicine.

NYMC Inducts Inaugural Members of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health 

The new chapter of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the NYMC School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP), Delta Alpha, inducted its first members at the SHSP Awards Reception during Commencement week. Induction of student, faculty, alumni and honorary members into Delta Omega is based on meeting high academic standards and demonstrating outstanding performance in scholarship, teaching, research and community service. Read more...  

 

 

LEND Graduates 19 From Interdisciplinary Leadership Program 

On May 7, 19 trainees from the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program graduated from the two-semester interdisciplinary leadership training course at Westchester Institute for Human Development, a College affiliate. The program is funded by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau at 43 universities around the country and provides training for health professionals who work with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. It also serves parents and siblings of individuals with disabilities and other special health care needs and covers disciplines including pediatrics, audiology, nursing, psychology, social work, physical therapy and speech-language pathology. This year's roster included two trainees from the University of Puerto Rico University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, five trainees who also earned certificates in "Children with Special Health Care Needs" from the School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP) and two members of the SHSP Class of 2015, Stephanie Halvax, (speech-language pathology) and Brittany Blumenthal, (behavioral sciences and health promotion).

NYMC Hosts AHA Research Reception 

NYMC hosted the American Heart Association (AHA) Hudson Valley and Farifield Research Reception at the Clinical Skills and Disaster Medicine Training Center on May 20. NYMC AHA research awardees presented posters of their work and guests had the opportunity to tour the facility and experience a cardiac code drill in the simulation center and a CPR demonstration. President Alan Kadish, M.D., a prominent cardiologist, welcomed the evening's guests.

Students Host Annual Health Fair 

NYMC students held their annual health fair at the Elmsford Fire Department grounds on April 19. More than 40 families registered for the event and more than ten student organizations volunteered. This year's activities included a pediatric club kids zone, diabetic information and exercise area manned by doctor of physical therapy students, introduction to AED use, women's health information, disparities in medicine education, Zumba, vision testing and glaucoma screening, STD testing by Planned Parenthood and blood pressure screening.

 

 

NYMC Shows Support for the National Alliance on Mental Illness 

The NYMCares team was proud to show their support at the finish line of the National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI) walk held on May 16 at Rye Town Park, in Rye, N.Y. The 5K fundraiser walk raised awareness for mental illnesses.From left: Cindy Jakubowski, administrative secretary in the Department of Health Policy and Management, first-year medical student Alexander Moghadam, Ph.D. candidate Omid Miry, and Jeanne Chamas, administrative secretary in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 

 

 

 

 

ACCOLADES

 

 

Sergio G. Golombek, M.D., M.P.H. '04,  professor of pediatrics and clinical public health, was an invited professor at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) 19th  Annual Conference held in Melbourne, Australia April 19-22. He presented "Early Identification and Management of Hypoxic Respiratory Failure with Pulmonary Hypertension in Neonates" at the symposium, "Treatment and Challenges in the Current Practice of Hypoxic Respiratory Failure in Neonates." Dr. Golombek also chaired the symposium, "Benefits of an Exclusive Human Milk-Based Diet, in the NICU and Beyond" at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting held in San Diego, April 25-28.

 

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, received the Millennium Milestone Maker award from the United Nations Academic Impact and Global Interactions in the Henan Province, China, on May 4. She was recognized for her service to the United Nations Medical Women's International Association and the Committee on the Status of Women and for her work for the Council on Women's Right of the American Public Health Association.

 

Esther L. Sabban, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology,  presented "Traumatic Stress and Intranasal NPY in Rodent Post Traumatic Stress Model: Effect on Central Noradrenergic System" and "Single Intranasal Infusion of Melanocortin Receptor 4 Antagonist Attenuates Impairments Triggered in Rodent PTSD Model" at the meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry on May 14-16 in Toronto, Canada.


 

Several members of the Department of Pharmacology presented posters at the Experimental Biology 2015 meeting held in Boston, March 28 - April 1.

 

Victor Garcia,  a Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of  Michal L. Schwartzman, Ph.D.,  professor and chair of the Department of Pha rmacology, presented a poster "20-SOLA, a Novel Water Soluble 20-HETE Antagon ist, Reduces Blood Pr essure through Regulation of Vascular ACE Expression via an IKK Dependent Pathway." He was also the recipient of the APS Minority Travel Fellowship Award.

Brian Shkolnik,  an undergraduate student in Dr. Schwartzman's lab presented "Vascular Endothelial ACE Deletion does not Prevent 20-HETE-dependent Vascular Remodeling"in the undergraduate poster session.

 

Anand Lakhar,  a Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of  Sachin Gupte, M.D., Ph.D.,  associate professor of pharmacology, presented "Glucose-6-Phosphate-Dehydrogenase Blockers Attenuate Inositol Triphosphate Mediated Constriction of Pulmonary Arteries via Activation of Protein Kinase G."

 

Rikuo Ochi, M.D. Ph.D., a visiting professor in Dr. Gupte's lab presented "Rotenone, Mitochondrial Complex I Inhibitor, Augments and Hydrogen Peroxide Inhibits L-Type Calcium Current in Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells."

 

Sachindra Raj Joshi, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Gupte's lab presented "Lung ACE Is Not Involved in the Progression of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension." He also presented posters of two laboratory members: "HDAC Expression and Activity in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Is Regulated by Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase" (Vidhi Dhagia, a Ph.D. candidate who was unable to attend due to exams), and "Involvement of Gap Junctions between Smooth Muscle Cells in the Sustained Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction Development" (Igor V. Kizub, Ph.D., Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Pharmacology who has returned to Ukraine).

 

Xiaotong Su,  a Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of  Wenhui Wang, M.D.,  professor of pharmacology, was a finalist for the 2015 Renal Section Pre-doctoral Excellence in Renal Research Award and presented a poster, "The Disruption of KCNJ10 (Kir4.1) Depolarizes the Membrane Potential of the CNT and Stimulates the Expression of ENaC in the Medullary Collecting Duct."

 

Nicholas R. Ferreri, Ph.D.,  professor of pharmacology, and members of his laboratory presented research in collaboration with Mark Knepper, M.D., Ph.D., senior investigator of the Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health. The work was presented by  AnnMarie DelliPizzi, Ph.D. '97,  assistant professor of biology at Dominican College, who recently completed a sabbatical in Dr. Ferreri's laboratory and by  Mariana Quiroz-Munoz,  a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Santiago, Chile.  Dr. DelliPizzi presented "Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Regulates NKCC2 and AQP2 Expression and Adaptation to High NaCl Intake," and Ms Quiroz-Munoz presented "Activation of EP3 Receptors Suppresses COX-2 in Thick Ascending Limb and Inhibits Water Excretion."

 

Lars Bellner, Ph.D., instructor in pharmacology, was an invited speaker at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) held in Denver, Colorado, May 3-7, 2015. Dr. Bellner's mini-symposium entitled "Influence of Myeloid Cells in Corneal Wound Healing" highlighted the recent work in collaboration with Dr. Schwartzman.

 

Austin M. Guo, Ph.D.,  assistant professor of pharmacology, presented a poster entitled "Regulation of Ischemia-induced Neovascularization by 20-HETE Involves Bone Marrow-derived EPC"  at the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology I Peripheral Vascular Disease (ATVB) Scientific Sessions 2015 held in San Francisco, May 7-9, 2015.

 

Gregory Joseph, graduate student, also presented a poster at the ATVB meeting entitled "The Role of 20-HETE in the Regulation of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Stemness."

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

International news from the Department of Pharmacology

 

Dr. Ferreri is serving as a co-mentor for  Mariana Quiroz-Munoz,  a Ph.D. candidate from the Department of Physiology at the Catholic University in Santiago, Chile. Ms. Quiroz-Munoz will be completing part of her thesis research in Dr. Ferreri's laboratory over the next year before returning to Chile to defend her thesis. The current training of Ms. Quiroz-Munoz is part of a long-standing collaboration between Dr. Ferreri and Carlos Vio, M.D., professor of physiology at the Catholic University that has previously included a Fogarty International grant from NIH and numerous visits to each other's laboratories to review the progress of their respective research projects. 

 

Joyce B?hler, a M.S. candidate from the Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva in Switzerland, joined the laboratory of Dr. Schwartzman for a research internship. Ms. B?hler is performing her thesis research under the mentorship of Lars Bellner. Ph.D., instructor of pharmacology, before returning to Switzerland to defend her thesis. Ms. B?hler's thesis work elucidates the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective mechanisms of Heme Oxygenase 2 in corneal wound healing.

 

Maayan Waldman arrived in the laboratory of Nader G. Abraham, Ph.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology, from Tel-Aviv University/Rabin Medical Center to study genetic expression of a newly discovered gene called PGC1?, which plays a critical role in obesity, diabetes and cardiomyopathy. Understanding the interaction of PGC1? and a pro-adipogenic fatty acid (20-HETE) may help us to understand how to control obesity and metabolic diseases at the genetic level. These interactions may lead to new opportunities for the development of novel therapeutics in prevention of cardiovascular disease.

 

Mr. Marco Raffaele , a student from the University of Catania, arrived in the laboratory of Dr. Nader Abraham, along with his mentor,  Luca Vanella, Ph.D.,  to study how obesity can affect endothelium and vascular disease. The endothelium is an important component of normal vascular homeostasis, and endothelial dysfunction is a prelude to the development of vascular disease and hypertension. Endothelial dysfunction is thought to result, in part, from the injurious action of established vascular disease risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Endothelial dysfunction is a primary determinant of vascular injury and involves the release of inflammatory cytokines and a reduction in vasoactive molecules like EET. Genetic interaction of heme oxygenase with EET in relation to heart attack and obesity was the subject of one-month training of Mr. Raffaele.  
IN THE NEWS

New York Medical College News:

Inside Higher Ed -- 5/26/2015

Boston Business Journal -- 3/21/2015

 

AMSNY The Voice of Medical Education -- May 2015

 

HVEDC-JLL Quarterly Economic Report -- May 2015

BioInc@NYMC 

Faculty News:

The New York Times -- 5/17/2015 

Elizabeth Bing, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology (1974-1988)

 

Zoc Doc -- 5/19/2015 

Howard J. Luks, M.D., assistant professor of orthopedic surgery

 

HealthDay News -- 5/15/2015 

Peter L. Richel, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Alumni News:

Daytonian in Manhattan -- 5/23/2015 
Walter Gray Crump, M.D., Class of 1895. He established the first scholarship program for minority students at NYMC, the first in the nation.

Affiliate News:

Westchester Practice Joins Boston Children's Network

Westfair Online -- 5/27/2015

Leonard J. Newman, M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics

Westchester Medical Center


Politicker NJ -- 5/27/2015
St. Michael's Medical Center

Mid-Hudson News -- 5/21/2015
Westchester Medical Center 

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

 

view all NYMC in the News... 

EVENTS CALENDAR

 

EVENT TIME
TUESDAY, JUNE 2  Read more...
Department of Psychiarty Grand Rounds 11:00am
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3  Read more...
Department of Medicine - Division of Gastroenterology Seminar 8:00am
Department of Pharmacology Conference 11:00am
Department of Microbiology & Immunology Seminar 12:00pm
Department of Pathology Research Seminar 1:00pm
Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy Seminar 2:00pm
 

view all calendars...

HIGHLIGHTS

For the latest information and news on the LCME re-accreditation process and progress click here.

 

________________

 


 Visiting Professor
 

Wednesday-Thursday
June 3-4, 2015
 

 

Pierre-Gerlier Forest, Ph.D., professor of health policy and management and director of

 Bloomberg School of Public Health Institute for Health and Social Policy, Johns Hopkins University. Read more...

________________  


 

Launching Banner Finance at NYMC
 


 

Banner is a business process management software system widely used in higher education. This system is being installed throughout the Touro College and University System through Project Enterprise, to integrate our information systems and enhance our operations.


 

On July 1, 2015, the first of Banner's numerous modules - Banner Finance - will go live.

Sandra Shivers, Ph.D., Chief Information Officer at New York Medical College, explains how the new Banner system will enhance NYMC and its several existing systems.

Click here to read the interview.

 


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