Academic Honors & Events

Sobering Findings—While many people like to think that advertising has no effect on them, Sean Lucan, M.D., believes ads do have an impact on our behavior and decisions. He recently conducted a survey of advertisements at each of the 68 subway stations in the Bronx, and found higher numbers of alcohol advertisements—particularly those in Spanish—in impoverished neighborhoods. Furthermore, he and colleagues observed a correlation between alcohol advertisements and poor dietary habits, such as high sugary drink and low fruit-and-vegetable consumption, and associated medical conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. In connection with his research, which published in the March 7, 2017 online issue of the Journal of Urban Health and was the subject of a Huffington Post article he penned about the study, Dr. Lucan was asked to offer his expert opinion at a New York City Council meeting on a proposal to ban alcohol advertising from the NYC transit system. He is associate professor of clinical family and social medicine.

In Memoriam—Shortly before his death on January 12, 2017, Martin Katz, Ph.D., was conferred the 2016 Paul Hoch Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), for his significant contributions to the ACNP. Dr. Katz devoted his 50-plus-year career to developing tools and theoretical understanding of antidepressants, and to studying their mechanism of action among patients clinically treated for depressive disorders. He was among the pioneers who proposed that psychotherapy and electric shock treatment alone cannot cure depression-related disorders, and recommended an approach to treatment that used combined therapies to the best effect. Dr. Katz also developed the Katz Adjustment Scale (KAS), which measures behavioral changes in patients; the tool also provided a means for video recording patients to monitor the effects of treatment. His work emphasized the role of behavior as a key determinant in the treatment of depression-related disorders when using drug therapy and psychotherapy together. While at Einstein, Dr. Katz was professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences for 20 years, including a decade as a chief of the division of psychology before retiring in 2004. A memorial for Dr. Katz will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Washington, DC.

Selection to Fellowship—Liise-anne Pirofski, M.D. has been elected a fellow in the medical section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Selection to fellowship recognizes an honoree’s distinguished contributions to advance science. Dr. Pirofski studies immunity to Cryptococcus and Pneumococcus, which are, respectively, the leading causes of fungal meningitis and pneumonia in the United States and globally. Her studies aim to understand how these pathogens cause disease in normal and immune-compromised people and to develop novel therapies and vaccines to treat and prevent them. Dr. Pirofski is among 391 scientists awarded AAAS fellowship in 2016. She is professor of medicine and of microbiology & immunology, and holds the Selma and Dr. Jacques Mitrani Chair in Biomedical Research at Einstein. She also is chief of the division of infectious diseases at Montefiore/Einstein.

Child Neurology Society Award —Solomon Moshé, M.D., has received the Bernard Sachs Award from the Child Neurology Society for his work in child epilepsy. The honor is given to researchers of international status who have done outstanding research relevant to the care of children with neurological disorders. A native of Greece, Dr. Moshé aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the development of epilepsy and its consequences in infants and children, and to identify novel treatments using a patented animal model developed in his laboratory.  Dr. Moshé is professor of in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of pediatrics. He also is director of clinical neurophysiology and of pediatric neurology in the neurology department and director of neurology in the pediatrics department, and he holds the Charles Frost Chair in Neurosurgery and Neurology.

Award for Advocacy —Eva Metalios, M.D., has received the 2016 Health and Human Rights Award from HealthRight International, for her advocacy work counseling foreign-born torture survivors seeking asylum in the United States. Dr. Metalios has spent more than two decades providing care, developing programs and conducting research focused on counselling torture survivors and asylum seekers in the United States. She is one of a few doctors within the U.S. trained to help these individuals. Through her advocacy efforts, Dr. Metalios informs the public about the special needs of refugees. As a primary care physician at the Bronx Human Rights Clinic, she counsels torture survivors who have immigrated to the United States from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Dr. Metalios is associate professor of medicine at Einstein, as well as medical director for adult medicine at Montefiore’s Wakefield Ambulatory Care Center and associate program director for the Wakefield Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Virology Honor—Margaret Kielian, Ph.D., gave the keynote lecture at the 18th Annual Norman P. Salzman Memorial Symposium at the National Institutes of Health on November 17, 2016. Considered to be the premier virology symposium, the meeting honors Dr. Norman P. Salzman, a pioneer in molecular virology. The symposium spotlights current research of eminent virology researchers. Dr. Kielian’s talk, “New Twists on Enveloped Entry and Exit,” highlighted two topics of interest in her lab: rubella virus entry and membrane fusion, and how alphaviruses remodel the cellular cytoskeleton to promote viral infection. Both have led to peer-reviewed publications in respected virology journals in the past year. Dr. Kielian is professor of cell biology and the Samuel H. Golding Chair in Microbiology.

Just Desserts for Food Desert Researchers— Cities contain regions where nutritious, affordable food is hard to find, called “food deserts.” The kind of food environment a person lives in shapes what they eat. Sean Lucan, M.D., studies how urban food environments, such as food deserts, influence diet, obesity and chronic disease. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has recognized Dr. Lucan’s promising work, selecting him as a James C. Puffer, M.D./ American Board of Family Medicine fellow. Dr. Lucan will work with groups within NAM to provide nonpartisan, evidence-based, scientific advice to the public, policymakers, healthcare administrators and academic leaders. The award, which honors talented, early career family medicine science and health policy scholars, will support Dr. Lucan’s continued research and will provide training in health policy and mentorship from a NAM member. Dr. Lucan is associate professor of clinical family and social medicine and an attending in the Montifiore Williamsbridge Practice. 

Award-Winning Editorials—Richard Savel, M.D., has received recognition for the editorials “Viral Outbreaks in an Age of Global Citizenship” (January 2015) and “Measles 2015: Why Public Health Matters to Critical Care” (May 2015), each of which addressed global health issues and challenges in issues of the American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC). The editorials, co-written with fellow co-editor-in-chief of AJCC Cindy Munroe, Ph.D., earned the journal the APEX Award for Publication Excellence in Editorial and Advocacy Writing and the Western Publishing Association’s annual Maggie Award for “Best Signed Editorial or Essay/Trade,” respectively. Dr. Savel is professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and an attending in critical care medicine at Maimonides Medical Center.

Society Honor—Shalom Kalnicki M.D., was named a fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members. Fellows are selected based on their significant contributions to the field in the areas of research, education, patient care or service and leadership. Dr. Kalnicki is among 269 ASTRO members to receive this designation since inception of the honor in 2006. He and other inductees were recognized during an awards ceremony at ASTRO’s 58th annual meeting. Dr. Kalnicki is professor and chair of radiation oncology.

Leader in Early Intervention—The "Learn the Signs, Act Early" program, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote early identification of developmental delay and disability in children, has named Lisa Shulman, M.D., the New York State Act Early Ambassador. Through its ambassadors and parent advocates, the CDC aims to improve the outcomes of developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), by administering health education campaigns and encouraging early screening and intervention while working closely with the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs and other partners in the delivery of its program. Dr. Shulman will serve a two-year term. In addition to her clinical duties as a developmental pediatrician with special expertise in ASD and in learning disabilities, she is associate professor in clinical pediatrics. She also serves as director of infant and toddler services at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) and as director of CERC’S Rehabilitation, Evaluation, and Learning for Autistic Infants and Toddlers program (RELATE).