News Archive
February 2007 News Flashes
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Covering the Uninsured in New York State – A Health Policy Roundtable
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On January 18, 2007, Cornell University President David Skorton, M.D., hosted a health policy roundtable at Weill Cornell Medical College called “Covering the Uninsured in New York State: What Lessons Can We Learn from Other State Initiatives?” The conference was co-hosted by the Division of Health Policy of the WMC Department of Public Health and the Department of Policy Analysis and Management of the Cornell University College of Human Ecology. It was attended by state legislators, union representatives, and independent policy analysts. Also attending were invited faculty, administrators, and students from the New York City and Ithaca campuses, Cornell ILR extension program, and NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, including Lisa Staiano-Coico, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Human Ecology and Professor of Microbiology in Surgery, Microbiology in Dermatology, and Public Health.
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The event was coordinated by Charles Kruzansky, Director of the Office of Government Relations for Cornell University, Bruce Schackman, Ph.D., Chief of the WMC Division of Health Policy, and Kosali Simon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management.
Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M., Chairman of the Department of Public Health, opened the conference by welcoming the guests and encouraging them to have an open and informal discussion on a range of policy alternatives.
James R. Tallon, Jr., President of the United Hospital Fund (UHF), and Karen Davis, Ph.D., President of the Commonwealth Fund, presented a blueprint developed jointly by the two organizations for universal health insurance coverage in New York State. They emphasized that shared responsibility among employers, individuals, and the government is an important factor in any successful universal coverage plan. They then compared the proposed blueprint to approaches being taken to expand health insurance coverage in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Two panel discussions followed. The first, called “Health Insurance Exchange: The Massachusetts Connector Model,” was moderated by Dr. Simon. It included Nancy Turnbull, President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Deborah Chollet, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Mathematica Policy Research, and Norman K. Thurston, Ph.D., Research Consultant for the Utah Department of Health. The panelists explored insurance exchange features of the new Massachusetts program for health reform, and Dr. Thurston reviewed the Utah Insurance Exchange, a clearinghouse for private health plans to insure individuals and employees of small business.
The second panel focused on individual and employer mandates and was moderated by Dr. Schackman. The speakers were John Holahan, Ph.D., Director of Health Policy for The Urban Institute; Vincent DeMarco, J.D., President of the Maryland Citizen’s Health Initiative; and Lynn Taylor, Senior Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research. They discussed the issues involved in developing mandate requirements and putting them into effect, including deciding who pays for mandated health insurance and how.
William White, Ph.D., Director of the Sloan Program in Health Administration at Cornell University College of Human Ecology, summarized the issues discussed in the meeting. He noted that there are multiple routes for providing coverage for all New Yorkers that are potentially feasible and are not excessively expensive when compared to the total health care budget.
Dr. Skorton concluded by emphasizing the importance of the Ithaca/New York City collaboration in helping to develop a comprehensive insurance policy for New York State. He proposed continued engagement on this topic between policy makers and researchers on the two Cornell campuses.
HSS and Division of Medical Ethics Jointly Initiate Fellowship in Medical Ethics and Disability
Drs. Marilyn Martone and Maya Rom are First Fellows
A new endowed research Fellowship in Biomedical Ethics has been established by the Department of Medicine and Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery and is being conducted in partnership with the Weill Cornell Division of Medical Ethics. The program is co-directed by C. Ronald MacKenzie, M.D., Associate Professor of Rheumatology and Clinical Public Health, and Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Public Health, Medicine, and Medicine in Psychiatry. Dr. MacKenzie was one of the physicians who took part in the of the Division of Medical Ethics’ Faculty Associates training program. Together, he and Fins initiated the new fellowship program to further scholarly work exploring the area of disability and the justice issues that arise from the medical management of chronic illness. The first two fellows have recently joined the program:
Marilyn Ann Martone, Ph.D., has been appointed for a six month term as a Visiting Fellow of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics. She received her A.B. degree from Immaculata College in Immaculata, PA, her M.A. from St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY, and her Ph.D. from Fordham University in Bronx, NY. She is currently on sabbatical from her position as Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University.
Marilyn Ann Martone, Ph.D.
Maya Rom, Ph.D., has been appointed for an 18 month period as a Postdoctoral Fellow of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics. Dr. Rom completed her B.A. degree at Tufts University and her M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Sociomedical Sciences. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College of Columbia University.
Maya Rom, Ph.D.
Drs. Martone and Rom are currently in the process of planning a research project to study ethical issues in disability.
Life Skills Training Program Cited by American Association of Medical Colleges
The Division of Prevention and Health Behavior’s Life Skills Training Program, developed by Division Chief Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., was cited by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) for its effectiveness in reducing both drug and alcohol use as well as behaviors that put adolescents at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. The program was highlighted as part of “Fulfilling the Promise,” a joint project of the AAMC and the National Institutes of Health.
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H., and Eric Hollingsworth Visit Africa to Study HIV Treatment
 Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H. |
 Eric Hollingsworth |
Drs. Nathaniel Hupert and Tia Powell Participate in Avian Flu Conference
Dr. Hupert also took part in a conference on December 1 at Baruch College called “Avian Flu: Ethical, Financial, and Management Implications for Business,” which was presented by Baruch College and The Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity. It focused on the responsibility of corporate businesses to their employees and the public in the event of a bird flu pandemic. In a panel on “Public Health: Defining the Scope of the Problem,” Dr. Hupert was one of a group of experts who discussed how to reduce opportunities for human infection and what public health officials, the media, and the public might expect employers to do to keep their employees safe. Also participating in the conference was Tia Powell, M.D., Associate Professor (Courtesy) in the Division of Medical Ethics and Executive Director of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law. Dr. Powell was part of a panel that covered management issues, including operational, human resource, communications, and financial concerns in corporate disaster planning.
In addition, Dr. Hupert traveled to Washington, D.C., February 8-9 as a member of the RAND Expert Panel to Define Public Health Emergency Preparedness.
Dr. Bruce Schackman’s HIV Care Article in the News
 Bruce R. Schackman, Ph.D. (Photo by John Abbott.) |
Medical Ethics Today: Does the Hippocratic Oath Still Matter?
On February 3, 2007, Antonio M. Gotto Jr., M.D., D.Phil., Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, and Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics, presented an interactive workshop called “Medical Ethics Today: Does the Hippocratic Oath Still Matter?” at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on 7 West 55 th Street in New York City. Dean Gotto and Dr. Fins discussed the original Oath and how it was recently revised by a Weill Cornell committee, chaired by Dr. Fins, to reflect patient empowerment and a more collaborative doctor-patient relationship. Participants learned about the role of the Oath as an expression of professional responsibility in a workshop focused on two of the most controversial issues facing doctors and patients today: end-of-life decisions, and clinical trials that test the safety and effectiveness of a drug before it is approved for use. Audience members also had the opportunity to engage in a mock ethics committee meeting involving a case that bought difficult ethical questions to the fore. More information about the event.
Joseph J.Fins, M.D.
Madelon Finkel, Ph.D., Featured for Global Health Education Program and Mammography Book
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Dr. Madelon Finkel, Director of the Office of Global Health Education and Professor of Clinical Public Health, was featured in an article called “Going Global: Weill Cornell Students Study Emerging Global Public Health Issues,” that appeared in the January/February issue of SCOPE as well as the Dean’s Bulletin. The Global Health Education program allows medical students to spend the summer between their first and second year on a project of their creation that focuses on social aspects of medicine. Last year, 20 percent of first year students took an international elective. In addition, 30 to 40 percent of fourth-year students elect to spend between six and eight weeks abroad providing medical care to underserved populations and taking on more substantial research projects.
Also, Dr. Finkel’s book, Understanding the Mammography Controversy (Praeger Publishers, 2005) was profiled in the January 2007 issue of The Costco Connection. The profile, called “Fighting Back Against Cancer: Mammograms Demystified,” was published in the magazine’s special health-related issue.
Dr. Jorge Kizer Finalist for Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Young Investigator Award
Jorge Kizer, M.D., M.Sc., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health, was selected as a finalist for the Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Young Investigator Award in Epidemiology for his nested case-control study in the Cardiovascular Health Study cohort to assess the relationship between adipokines and coronary heart disease. Dr. Kizer presented his findings at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago in November.
Jorge Kizer, M.D., M.Sc.
Ann B. Beeder, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health and Psychiatry and Director of the Vincent P. Dole Research and Treatment Institute for Opiate Dependence, and Andrew H. Talal, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, have received a commitment of $100,000 over a two-year period from the Clinton Global Initiative for a Translational Research Center for Viral Hepatitis. The project is being funded by Jill Iscol, Ed.D., a donor activist and President of the IF Hummingbird Foundation. The objectives are to implement treatment algorithms for viral hepatitis that could serve as a model for resource poor areas ranging from inner cities in the United States to developing countries with limited health care infrastructure, and to create a world-class biomedical translational research facility devoted to viral hepatitis to facilitate the rapid validation of novel prognostic and treatment biomarkers that can be used to change patient management. The plan for this commitment is to evaluate and treat methadone maintained patients for viral hepatitis among current enrollees at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Approximately 300 methadone maintained patients will be screened for viral hepatitis. Those who show signs of having been exposed to viral hepatitis will be evaluated to assess disease severity. Treatment will be prescribed as indicated. Treated patients will have blood obtained for measure of potentially promising biomarkers of treatment outcome.
Ann B. Beeder, M.D.
 Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H. |
FACULTY AND STAFF PUBLICATIONS
 Heejung Bang, Ph.D. |
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 Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S. |
Joseph J.Fins, M.D. |
 Fredric Pieracci, M.D. |
Kristine Alpi, M.P.H., M.L.S. |
“The Patient’s Work,” by Leonard C. Groopman, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics and a graduate of the Faculty Associates training program in Medical Ethics; Franklin G. Miller, Ph.D., Head of the Unit on Clinical Research in the Department of Clinical Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, and Associate Professor of Public Health (Courtesy) in the Division of Medical Ethics; and Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry; was published in the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (2006), 16, 44-52. The article explores the role of the patient in his or her treatment, and compares different models of the doctor-patient relationship in shaping the concept of patient responsibility.
Bruce R. Schackman, Ph.D. (Photo by John Abbott.) |
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 Curtis Cole, M.D. |
Elena Elkin, Ph.D., M.P.A. |
 Jeremiah A. Barondess, M.D. |
 Joseph Schulman, M.D., M.S. |
Associate Attending Pediatrician. He is board certified in Pediatrics and his specialty, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. His research and publications have focused on evaluating and improving neonatal intensive care and on using database technology and statistical software to manage and analyze patient data. Additionally, he works with the New York State Department of Health and clinicians across the state to refine the Statewide Perinatal Database System as a tool to evaluate and improve the care of mothers and infants across New York. Before coming to Cornell, Dr. Schulman held clinical, academic, and administrative positions at Eastern Virginia Medical School, the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, VA, Norfolk General Hospital, the University of Miami School of Medicine, West Boca Medical Center in Boca Raton, FL, the HCA Women, Infants, and Children Center at Northwest Regional Hospital in Margate, FL, and Albany Medical College and School of Public Health. Steven Wolinsky, M.D., has joined the Department as Instructor in Public Health (Courtesy) in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research. Dr. Wolinsky received his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.D. degree from Case Western Reserve. Since 1996, he has been the Senior Medical Director of Empire Blue Cross. Previously, he was a physician in private practice. At Cornell, he will be teaching in the Medical College’s 4th Year Public Health Clerkship in Health Systems. He will also teach a segment about HMO’s in a course on Health Systems for third-year residents directed by Mark A. Callahan, M.D., Chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research.
 Karly Schwartz |
 Thomas McCarry |
Fourth Annual Art Exhibit Held at Adult & Adolescent Services Clinic
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 Self portrait by Dr. Ann Beeder |
The Vincent P. Dole Research and Treatment Institute Adult and Adolescent Services Clinic of the Division of Community and Public Health Programs hosted its Fourth Annual Art Exhibit on January 12 in the Adolescent Clinic at 411 East 69th Street. The event was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Vincent P. Dole, an innovative addiction researcher and patient advocate and one of the founders of the clinic, who died last August. Along with Dr. Marie Nyswander, Dr. Dole successfully initiated the utilization of methadone treatment for the treatment of opiate addiction. Margaret Cool Dole, Dr. Dole’s widow, was an honored guest at the event.
 Richard Lasdon with art work |
More on the exhibit, from an upcoming article in NYPress
Dr. Elizabeth Nilson to Present Educational Seminar on DVT
Elizabeth Nilson, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health and Medicine and Associate Program Director of the General Preventive Medicine Residency Program, will present an educational seminar for patients, staff, and friends called “DVT: An Ounce of Prevention. . . (Words of Wisdom from an Internist).” The talk is part of a lecture series offered by the Division of Pediatric Hematology. It will be held Thursday, March 29 at 12 noon in Room M-207. For additional information contact Susan Parker at 746-3418.
Special Biostatistics Workshop to be Held March 30
Edith Zang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health (Courtesy) in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, is organizing a workshop on Pharmacogenomics for the New York City Metropolitan Area Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) to be held March 30, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., in the Kips Bay Building third floor conference room, 411 East 69th Street. Members of the Weill Cornell Department of Public Health are also invited to attend. There is a fee for attendance.
The invited speakers are Dhammika Amaratunga, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow at the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and Javier Cabrera, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics at Rutgers University. Drs. Amaratunga and Cabrera co-authored a book titled Exploration and Analysis of DNA Microarray and Protein Array Data (John Wiley, 2003), and have presented similar workshops at the Joint Statistical Meetings, the New Jersey Chapter of the ASA, and at courses sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute.
The three-hour workshop will be followed by lunch and discussion with the presenters.
The following topics will be covered:
1. A brief introduction to molecular biology, DNA and biological processes.
2. Microarray experiments. Microarray technologies. Affy, cDNA, code link.
3. Data preprocessing. Microarray normalization. Toxicology example.
4. Finding genes that are differentially expressed. Methods t-test, SAM, CT.
5. Microarray data as multivariate data. Issues with dimension reduction.
6. Gene clustering, sample clustering. Unsupervised classification.
7. PAM and other methods for classification. Cancer example: Tumor classification based on gene expression.
Public Health Faculty Presentations at Rogers Colloquium
February 21, 2007, 1 - 2 p.m.
Victor W. Sidel, M.D.
Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Adjunct Professor of Public Health
Division of Medical Ethics
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
“U.S. Military Action in Vietnam and Iraq: Similarities, Differences, and Health Consequences”
Uris Faculty Room A-126, 1300 York Avenue
March 14, 2007, 1 - 2 p.m.
Tia Powell, M.D.
Executive Director
NYS Task force on Life and the Law
Associate Professor of Public Health (Courtesy)
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
“Ventilator Allocation in a Flu Pandemic”
Uris Faculty Room A-126, 1300 York Avenue
Research Coordinators' Network Luncheon Workshop
February 21, 2007, 1 - 3 p.m.
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S.
Vice Chair, IRB
Assistant Professor of Public Health, Division of Medical Ethics
Dorothy Hilpmann, C.I.P.
Director, Research Subject Protection
Jessica Randall, M.A.
IRB Compliance Coordinator
“The Consenting Process: Limiting the Therapeutic Misconception”
Upcoming Department Seminars and Conferences
All divisions of the Department sponsor seminars in which current or prospective research is discussed. The departmental grand rounds, the Medical Ethics seminars, the Biostatistics and Epidemiology conferences, and the Outcomes and Effectiveness Research in Progress seminars have been approved for Continuing Medical Education credit. Unless otherwise noted, the following presentations will take place in the third floor conference room of the Kips Bay Building, 411 East 69 th Street. Please call Maritza Montalvo at 746-1264 for more information. For more upcoming events, please see the Department of Public Health Academic Calendar.
March 5 , 4 - 5 p.m.
Health Policy Special Research Seminar
Yuhua Bao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Policy Behavior & Administration
University of North Carolina/Charlotte
“Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Discussion of Cancer Screening: ‘Between- Within-’ Physician Differences”
March 8, 3 - 4 p.m.
Biostatistics and Epidemiology Research Seminar
Xi Kathy Zhou , Ph.D.
Instructor in Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
“An introduction to frailty models—Methodology considerations for building prognostic models for esophageal cancer using SEER-Medicare database”
March 16, 12 – 1 p.m.
Outcomes and Effictiveness/Health Policy Research-in-Progress Seminar
Yuting Zhang, M.H.P.M.
Department of Health Ecomomics/Harvard University
“Do New Prescription Drugs Pay for Themselves? Evidence from Long-Term Treatment for Bipoloar Disorder”
March 20, 12 – 1 p.m.
Public Health Grand Rounds
Debra Leonard, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Vice Chair, Laboratory Medicine
Director, Clinical Laboratories, Department of Pathology
Weill Cornell Medical College
March 22 , 2 - 3 p.m. (Note special time)
Prevention & Health Behavior Research-in-Progress Seminar
Kenneth Griffin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
“Methodological and Conceptual Issues in Studying the Long-Term Impact of Early Onset Drug Use”
March 23, 12 – 1 p.m.
Outcomes and Effectiveness/Health Policy Research-in-Progress Seminar
Yun-Hsin Claire Wang, M.D., Sc.D.
Research Associate/Program of Health Sciences
Department of Health Policy & Management
Harvard School of Public Health
“From Trends to Policy: Population-Based Modeling of the U.S. Obesity Epidemic”
March 30, 1– 2 p.m. (Note special time)
Outcomes and Effectiveness/Health Policy Research-in-Progress Seminar Kaan Tunceli, Ph.D.
“Long-term effects of Obesity on Employment and Work Limitations Among U.S. Adults, 1986-1999”
April 2, 1 - 2 p.m.
Community & Public Health Programs Research Seminar
Robert B. Millman, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health
Chief, Division of Community & Public Health Programs
Weill Cornell Medical College
“Major League Baseball”
April 5, 2006, 11 a.m.
Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
Co-sponsored by the Department of Medicine
and the Department of Public Health
Joseph J. Fins, M.D.
Chief, Division of Medical Ethics
Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry
Weill Cornell Medical College
“Neuroethics and Disorders of Consciousness: Clinical and Policy Challenges”
*Location: Uris Auditorium, 1300 York Avenue
April 5, 3:30 - 5 p.m.
Medical Ethics Seminar
Fr. Christopher M. Saliga, O.P., R.N.
Dominican Friars Health Care Ministry of New York
Saint Catherine of Siena Church and Priory
“Freedom and the Clinical Encouter within the End-of-Life Contect: A Catholic Perspective”
April 6, 12 - 1 p.m.
Outcomes and Effectiveness/Health Policy Research-in-Progress Seminar
Hassan Ghomrawi, M.P.H.
Research Coordinator
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
University of Minnesota
“The Effect of Post-Acute Placement on Outcomes of Total Hip Replacement Patients”
April 12, 3 - 4 p.m.
Biostatistics and Epidemiology Research Seminar
Sunday Clark, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Instructor of Epidemiology in Medicine and Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
“Emergency Management of Anaphylaxis”
April 17, 12 - 1 p.m.
Public Health Grand Rounds
Harold A. Pincus, M.D.
Vice Chair for Strategic Initiatives,
Department of Psychiatry
Director of Quality and outcomes Research
Columbia University, NY State Psychiatric Institute
“Can Behavioral Health Cross the Quality Chasm?”
April 19, 12 – 1 p.m.
Prevention & Health Behavior Research-in-Progress Seminar
Gilbert Botvin , Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology in Public Health and
Psychology in Psychiatry
Chief, Division of Prevention & Health Behavior
Weill Cornell Medical College
April 20, 12 - 1 p.m.
Outcomes and Effectiveness/Health Policy Research-in-Progress Seminar
EAPC Workshops
The Employee Assistance Program Consortium (EAPC) will be offering a free series of workshops on parenting in April. Reservations are required. Further information for the workshops and the EAPC is available at http://www.youreapc.us/Workshops.shtml.
