Academic Honors & Events

Aggie Award for Biochemistry—Vern Shramm, Ph.D., is this year’s recipient of the A.I. Scott Medal for Excellence in Biological Chemistry Research, in recognition of his research combining traditional biochemistry techniques with computational modeling to study enzymatic processes. The medal is awarded annually by the Texas A&M department of chemistry and the Texas A&M Section of the American Chemical Society to honor Dr. A. Ian Scott, a Texas A&M professor of chemistry who studied organic and natural products chemistry – notably, bacterial Vitamin B12 production and the cancer drug taxol. Dr. Schramm has utilized his laboratory’s findings to create powerful inhibitors of N-ribosyltransferases, enzymes with roles in many biological processes; this research has led to a number of clinical trials, including the approval in Japan of a treatment for T cell lymphoma. Dr. Schramm is professor of biochemistry and holds the Ruth Merns Chair of Biochemistry.

Award for Service—The College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation presented its Herbek Humanitarian Award to CAP Fellow Mark Suhrland, M.D., in recognition of his leadership role in educating women in the Bronx about preventive screenings. As the philanthropic arm of CAP, the foundation provides grant support to select CAP Fellows, who serve as leaders in its See, Test and Treat (STT) program—which provides free cervical and breast screening to women in need across the United States. The Herbek Award aims to extend the reach of STT in fulfilling an unmet need in the healthcare sector. Through the program, Dr. Suhrland educates women in the Bronx about the role of pathologists on the medical team, and advises them to participate in routine preventive screenings and to follow a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Suhrland is professor of pathology at Einstein and is director of cytology at Montefiore.

Board Appointment—Vern Schramm, Ph.D., recently joined the board of directors at AzurRx BioPharma, Inc., a biotechnology company that explores the potential of novel, next-generation enzymes for treating digestive disorders. Dr. Schramm’s research focuses on enzymatic mechanisms and transition-state structure. Knowledge gained from studies in his lab can be further applied to drug design for cancers, antibiotics and other disorders. Earlier this year, a drug developed in the Schramm lab, to combat lymphoma, was approved for use in Japan. Dr. Schramm is professor of biochemistry and holds the Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry.

Prolific Representation—Fadi-Luc Jaber, Ph.D., received the Presidential Poster of Distinction Award for his presentation, “Modulation of K_ATP Channel by Blockade of the Sulfonylurea Receptor Subunit Enhanced Engraftment and Proliferation of Transplanted Hepatocytes by Improving Mitochondrial functionality”, at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Washington, D.C. He also gave a talk describing other work of his in the laboratory of Sanjeev Gupta, M.D., M.B.B.S., in which he demonstrated that liver cell transplantation can be improved by blocking specific signaling proteins within the innate immune system that cause inflammation. Dr. Jaber also contributed to major studies to restore liver function in an animal model of Crigler-Najjar Syndrome Type 1—an inherited liver disorder— by transplanting genetically modified liver cells. These latter findings were described by Jayanta Roy-Chowdhury, M.B.B.S., professor of medicine and of genetics. Dr. Jaber is a postdoctoral research fellow; Dr. Gupta is professor of medicine and of pathology, and the Eleazar & Feige Reicher Chair in Translational Medicine. Drs. Jaber, Gupta, and Roy-Chowdhury are all members of Einstein’s Marion Bessin Liver Center.

Addressing Cardiac Wellness—The inaugural Montefiore Einstein Preventive Cardiology Conference took place on Friday, October 27, to a sold out audience. Attendees enjoyed a day of presentations from leading medical professionals and researchers within the whole food, plant-based movement, including Montefiore/ Einstein’s own Robert Ostfeld, M.D. Top conference sponsors included: Vegfund, Ann Parkin and Jody Rasch, David Wolf and Anna Johnson-Chase, Pinnacle Foods, and Wendy and Joe Rosner.

Rising Star Recognition—The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) presented its Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research to Dongsheng Cai, M.D., Ph.D.  The honor recognizes individuals for their achievements within the field of aging. Dr. Cai’s research examines the role of the central nervous system in aging-related disorders. His lab has identified key pathways that accelerate the aging process. His long-term research goal is to use his findings concerning these pathways to develop effective treatment strategies. Dr. Cai is professor of molecular pharmacology and the Young Men's Division Chair in Physiology.

Focusing on Eye Research—More than 14 million Americans are affected by visual impairment, with vision loss causing a significant social and economic toll that includes disability, loss of productivity and reduced quality of life. Fight for Sight, a nonprofit organization that provides support to promising students, early-stage scientists and clinical investigators in ophthalmology research, recently honored Roy Chuck, M.D., Ph.D., at its annual gala, presenting him a 2017 physician-scientist award for advancing eye research and his commitment to preventing, treating and curing ocular disorders. A leader within ophthalmology, Dr. Chuck focuses on stem cell applications and dry eye studies as well as corneal restoration. He also is involved in ongoing community outreach aimed at early detection and treatment of eye diseases. He is professor and chair of ophthalmology & visual sciences at Einstein and Montefiore, professor of genetics at Einstein, and he holds the Paul Henkind Chair in Ophthalmology.

Visionary Honor—Dr. Selina Solomon has received a 2017 Fight for Sight Postdoctoral Award—a highly competitive award in ophthalmology, vision or related sciences. Fight for Sight is a non-profit organization that supports and inspires eye and vision research by providing initial funds to promising scientists early in their careers. Funding from the award will support Dr. Solomon’s research aimed at understanding the feedback pathways in the visual cortex, the part of the brain involved in processing visual information. Dr. Solomon will explore how the feedback pathways in the visual cortex affect the ways in which activity is coordinated among individual brain cells. Dr. Solomon is a research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Adam Kohn; Dr. Kohn is professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, of ophthalmology & visual sciences and of systems & computational biology. He also is the Isidor Tachna Professor in Ophthalmology.

Dual Honors—Evripidis Gavathiotis, Ph.D., was recognized for his work in cell signaling and cancer proliferation by two organizations: the Melanoma Research Alliance and the Irma T. Hirschl Foundation. The alliance awarded Dr. Gavathiotis a two-year, $200,000 pilot award that supports promising early research, which will aid his project targeting the protein BRAF. The protein is known to have a role in promoting cancer cell growth, and Dr. Gavathiotis will use information about the protein’s structure along with a new compound that inhibits BRAF in order to develop new drugs that can overcome treatment resistance. Through the Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist Award, which recognizes talented biomedical researchers selected from six New York City institutions, he will receive $175,000 over five years. Dr. Gavathiotis is associate professor of biochemistry and of medicine.

Collaborations Against Cancer—Stand Up To Cancer selected Matthew Levy, Ph.D., as recipient of one of its “Dream Team” awards. Dr. Levy will receive a two-year grant of $250,000, to be shared with Cassian Yee, M.D., at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The award program, established in 2014 by Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., aims to promote collaborations among “Dream Teams” of researchers who have not previously worked together. Drs. Levy and Yee will team up to study components of immune response, specifically the body’s recognition of cancer-associated proteins. They intend to use aptamers –nucleic acid-based molecules that can be designed to bind to a variety of cellular components – in order to better detect and interact with complexes involved in this process, which could aid in diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. Dr. Levy is associate professor of biochemistry.