Academic Honors & Events

Fellowship in Mens Sexual Health—Andrew Draganski, Ph.D., a second-year postdoctoral fellow in the department of physiology and biophysics, has been awarded the first-ever fellowship in men’s sexual health by the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA). Under the mentorship of Kelvin Davies, Ph.D., and Joel Friedman, Ph.D., Dr. Draganski will use the $25,000 Pfizer-funded award to look at the role inflammation plays in the development of erectile dysfunction (ED) in diabetic animal models. As part of the proposed research project, his team will investigate whether nanoparticles containing curcumin (an anti-inflammatory agent), developed in Dr. Friedman’s laboratory, can reverse the activation of inflammatory pathways.

Research Award and Fellowship—Postdoctoral researcher Leo Tsz-Ho Tang, Ph.D., has been awarded a two-year fellowship by the Croucher Foundation, a Hong Kong-based private trust that awards scholarships to promising young scientists and clinicians from Hong Kong to pursue research overseas. In connection with the honor he will receive an annual stipend of $48,240, along with an additional $15,000 each year to cover research expenses. The fellowship will support his studies concerning the development of dendrites- extensions on nerve cells-using C. elegans (roundworm)  as a model, to better understand the interaction between novel protein factors that regulate the formation of complex networks within the nervous system. He will conduct his work in the laboratory of Dr. Hannes Buelow, associate professor of genetics and of neuroscience.  In addition to attending an award ceremony, Dr. Tang will present his findings at a symposium to be held at the Croucher Foundation in Hong Kong later this year.

Professional Engagement—Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., delivered the keynote address and Dhanonjoy Saha, Ph.D., was an invited speaker at the Northeastern/Southern Section Meeting of the Society of Research Administrators International (SRA International), in New York City. SRA International is a premier organization that provides education and professional development in research management to 5,200 society members representing more than 40 nations. Research administrators at the meeting attended workshops and sessions on a variety of contemporary topics, from program planning and research law to research ethics and compliance. Dr. Spiegel is the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein. Dr. Saha is director of the office of grant support.

Advancing HIV Care —Jason Leider, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, was named winner of the 2016 AAHIVM/Institute for Technology in Healthcare HIV Practice Award in recognition of his innovative use of technology in providing HIV care. Dr. Leider successfully faced the challenge of providing testing in the Bronx, a population that still faces high risks for the disease while still struggling to overcome significant barriers to testing, such as stigma, poor access to care and low literacy. Working with Yvette Calderon, M.D., Dr. Leider developed Project BRIEF (Behavior Intervention, Rapid HIV Test, Innovative Video, Efficient Cost and Healthcare Savings, Facilitated Seamless Linkage to Outpatient HIV Care), a model for testing linkage to care using public health advocates to counsel and test patients for HIV in the emergency department, on inpatients wards and at community pharmacies, and multimedia education. Dr. Leider is professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and an intern in Jacobi Medical Center’s Adult Comprehensive Services Clinic. Dr. Calderon is professor of clinical emergency medicine at Enstein and vice chair and director of emergency medicine at North Central Bronx Hospital.

Noboru Hiroi, Ph.D., was named the 2016 recipient of the Lilly Neuroscience Basic Research Award, which recognizes his work on 22q11.2-associated schizophrenia, autism and intellectual disability. He will receive the honor—including a plaque and $10,000--at the opening ceremony of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology to be held in Seoul this summer. Dr. Hiroi is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of neuroscience, and associate professor of genetics at Einstein. 

Andras Fiser, Ph.D. and Christopher Warren were among the featured speakers at the winter meeting of the New York Structural Biology Discussion Group. Dr. Fiser presented “Transcription Factor – DNA Interactions; Robustness in Gene Networks,” while Mr. Warren presented “Regulated Disorder of the Nucleoplasmin Tail Domain Controls Histone Binding and Deposition.” In addition, David Cowburn, M.D., was among the meeting’s organizers. Dr. Fiser is professor of systems & computational biology, and of biochemistry, while Mr. Warren is a graduate student in the Fiser lab. Dr. Cowburn is professor of biochemistry and of physiology & biophysics.

Eyes on the Prize—Roy Chuck, M.D., Ph.D, recently received the Washington University St. Louis Distinguished Alumnus Award during the medical school’s 28th annual Ophthalmology Update. As part of his honor, Dr. Chuck?who completed his residency at Washington University?was keynote speaker for the 26th annual Distinguished Alumnus Award Lecture. He discussed “Advances in Corneal Surgery: From Bench to Bedside,” which focused on refining clinical practice and improving patient care by encouraging physicians to ask targeted questions and to review options for surgery in relation to the presented topics and patient safety. Dr. Chuck is professor and chair of ophthalmology and visual sciences at Einstein and Montefiore. He also is professor of genetics at Einstein. He also holds the Paul Henkind Chair in Ophthalmology.

Society Honor —Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., was recently inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the nation’s oldest and most respected honor societies. With more than 3,000 physician-scientist members, the ASCI elects scientists known for outstanding biomedical research. Dr. Steidl’s team focuses on aberrant hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which fail to differentiate into mature blood cells, leading to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The researchers are looking for the genetic and epigenetic changes that trigger development and progression of aberrant pre-cancerous HSCs. They are also investigating novel drugs for combatting both AML and myelodysplastic syndrome, a pre-leukemic condition that often develops into AML. Dr. Steidl is associate professor of cell biology and of medicine, and is the Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research.

Boosting Medical Education—Dr. Pablo Joo was an invited speaker at a workshop on "Integrating Behavioral and Social Sciences into Healthcare Education" organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research. The focus of the workshop was sharing methods for integrating social and behavioral science courses into the education of health professionals. As part of the NIH-funded Behavioral and Social Science Consortium for Medical Education, held in Bethesda, MD, 16 medical schools collaborated on four themes related to these educational aims. Dr. Joo's presentation, "Choosing Wisely in Medical Education," was part of a session relating innovations in provider/patient communication. Dr. Joo is assistant dean for medical education and associate professor of family and social medicine.

Focus on Aging—Drs. Nir Barzilai, Ana Maria Cuervo, Sofiya Milman and Joe Verghese represented Einstein at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, which was attended by more than 4,000 gerontologists from throughout the world. Each presented a talk connected to this year’s theme, “Making Connections: From Cells to Societies.” In addition, an article in the Washington Post published in connection with the event, referenced Dr. Milman’s research on the importance of certain HDL cholesterol variants for longevity and protection against cognitive impairment. Dr. Barzilai is professor of medicine and of genetics, director of the Institute for Aging Research and the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair in Aging Research. Dr. Cuervo is professor of developmental and molecular biology, of anatomy and structural biology and of medicine. She is also the Robert and Renee Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Dr. Milman is assistant professor of medicine. And Dr. Verghese is professor of neurology and of medicine, chief of geriatrics and director of the Jack and Pearl Resnick Gerontology Center and of the division of cognitive & motor aging.