News Archive

Summer 2006 News Flashes

 

APPOINTMENTS AND NEW PROGRAMS

Bruce R. Schackman, Ph.D., Appointed Chief of Division of Health Policy

Bruce Schackman, PhD
Bruce R. Schackman, Ph.D.
(Photo by John Abbott.)

Dr. Bruce R. Schackman has been named Chief of the Division of Health Policy in the Department of Public Health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, effective July 1, 2006. The Division of Health Policy was previously called the Division of Health Services and Policy Research.

"The organization of the Department is now complete with Bruce Schackman leading the Division of Health Policy," says Dr. Alvin I. Mushlin, the Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College. "His years of experience as an innovative researcher in the fields of cost-effectiveness modeling, quality-of-life measurement, and access to health care by underserved populations make him ideally suited to lead this Division. I look forward to working with Bruce to enhance health policy and research initiatives that are relevant to the local, national and global delivery of health care."

Research conducted by the Division of Health Policy will concern issues such as the allocation of scarce resources; financing and reimbursement; health-care technology assessment; program evaluation; and organization of the health-care delivery system.

More information

Dr. Schackman’s appointment was covered by Crain’s New York Business, Crain’s Health Pulse, and NewYorkBusiness.com.

Marc D. Silverstein, M.D., Appointed Chairman of the Department of Public Health at The Methodist Hospital

Marc D. Silverstein, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Marc D. Silverstein, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Marc D. Silverstein, M.D., F.A.C.P., became Chairman of the Department of Public Health at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, on March 13, 2006. Dr. Silverstein is a specialist in health services research, critical care, and geriatric medicine, with extensive experience as a physician and a researcher. His interests include cost effectiveness analysis and technology assessment, evaluation of diagnostic tests, and the clinical epidemiology of respiratory diseases.

“I am very pleased by the appointment of Marc Silverstein and look forward to developing many collaborations between the Public Health departments of The Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. There is much that we can do to improve the health and health care for the patients our institutions serve and to advance clinical research by working together,” said Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Mushlin proposed and helped establish the new Department of Public Health at The Methodist Hospital soon after the announcement of the affiliation between Weill Cornell Medical College, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and The Methodist Hospital in June 2004. He also led the recruitment effort that identified Dr. Silverstein.

“Our mission in the Department of Public Health at The Methodist Hospital will be to help researchers throughout the hospital to design the best studies for more accurate and reliable results; to provide an informatics ‘engine’ to quickly analyze and compare outcomes; to serve as a catalyst to drive forward innovative research; and to encourage sharing of best practices around the world to advance the science of evidence-based medicine,” says Dr. Silverstein.

In order to best facilitate these goals, the Department will initially develop divisions of Biostatistics and Epidemiology; Outcomes and Quality of Care; Medical Informatics; Medical Ethics and Palliative Care. As the parent academic department, the Public Health department at Weill Cornell Medical College serves in an advisory and oversight capacity to the Department in Houston. A joint advisory committee ensures alignment of goals and objectives, and the Departments collaborate on research, academic searches, and educational programs.

A major collaborative grant in public health research from AHRQ called the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT) will result in collaborations between the Weill Cornell Medical College, The Hospital for Special Surgery, and The Methodist Hospital. The $4 million five-year grant, led by principal investigator Dr. Mushlin and co-principal investigator Mark Callahan, M.D., Chief of the Weill Cornell Public Health Department’s Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, funds research into the outcomes and cost effectiveness of medical devices. In addition, Dr. Callahan, Dr. Silverstein, and colleagues at the Hospital for Special Surgery and The Methodist Hospital Department of Orthopedics recently received a seed grant sponsored by The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College for Collaborative Research on total joint replacements (see more information under New Grants below.) The Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology of the Department of Public Health in New York City will provide initial support to the Department for statistical design and analyses. A team led by Dr. Linda Gerber, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology in Medicine and Quanhong Ni, M.S., Research Biostatistician, is designated for this effort.


Reception to Celebrate Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholars Program

Laitman family
Nanette Laitman and members of her family.
(Photos of event by Janet Charles)
On June 6, 2006, a special dinner was held to honor Nanette Laitman and to thank her for her generosity and commitment in establishing the Laitman Clinical Scholars Program in Public Health, the largest endowment for junior faculty in any department with the Medical College. Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Dean of the Medical College, introduced Nanette Laitman and members of her family: her daughter Bonnie Eletz; her daughter Cathy Seligman and Ms. Seligmans husband, Fred Seligman; her grandchildren Leigh Sorkin, William Sorkin, Abbe Eletz, and Michele Eletz-Metsch; Ms. Eletz-Metschs husband, Seth Metsch; and Ms. Laitman's great-grandson, Aaron.

Dean Gotto
Dean Gotto
"By enabling top-caliber junior faculty members to mesh their clinical expertise with public health research, the Laitman Clinical Scholars Program is a critical investment in Weill Cornells research enterprise," said Dean Gotto. Nanette Laitman and her family represent some of the Medical Colleges most generous donors. Her parents, Mildred and William Lasdon, supported the College beginning in 1965. At the time of his death in 1984, William Lasdon was an Overseer of Cornell University Medical College. In 1995, Mildred Lasdon endowed the Chairmanship of the Public Health Department in the honor of her daughter, Nanette Laitman. The family also funded the Jacob S. Lasdon House for Medical College housing and the Lasdon Biomedical Research Center.

At the event, Dr. Alvin I. Mushlin, the Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health, described the Laitman Clinical Scholarship Program and highlighted some of the work planned. Dr. Lisa M. Kern, the Laitman Clinical Scholar in Clinical Evaluation, and Dr. Shari R. Midoneck, the Laitman Clinical Scholar in Prevention, shared descriptions of their research under the scholarship. All of the division chiefs of the Department of Public Health attended.


Drs. Kern, Mushlin, and Midoneck

Lisa M. Kern, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Assistant Attending Physician, was named the Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholar in Clinical Evaluation, effective June 1, 2006. Dr. Kern received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School and completed her residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She then received her M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, where she was also a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. Since joining the Medical College faculty in 2002, her research has focused on evaluating screening and diagnostic tests for diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. She also studies the impact of health information technology on health care quality and other outcomes. This scholarship will enable her to continue her work in both of these areas.

Shari Midoneck, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health, and Associate Attending Physician at the Iris Cantor Womens Health Center, was named the Laitman Clinical Scholar in Prevention in the area of Womens Health, effective January 1, 2006. Dr. Midoneck has held faculty appointments at the Medical College since 1994, after completing her medical degree, her Residency in Internal Medicine, and her Fellowship in Infectious Disease, all at Weill Cornell. Under the scholarship, she is investigating ways to improve the rates of colon cancer screening by targeting patients who are having mammography for breast cancer screening.

More on the Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholars Program


Dr. Hirsch S. Ruchlin Becomes Emeritus Professor of Public Health

 
Hirsch S. Ruchlin, Ph.D.
Hirsch S. Ruchlin, Ph.D.

Hirsch S. Ruchlin, Ph.D., Professor of Economics in Public Health and Professor of Economics in Medicine, has retired from Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Ruchlin served as Acting Chief of the Division of Health Services and Policy Research from 1999 through the end of June 2006. He will retain a faculty appointment as Professor Emeritus of Economics in Public Health, and will also continue to consult for Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Ruchlin’s research has focused on pharmacoeconomics, quality of care and information technology issues. His studies have included program evaluation of interventions in both the long-term care and acute care sectors of the health field. He also is involved in cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit studies of drugs and other treatments, as well as in general health services research.


Department of Public Health Extends Fellowship Program and Welcomes Four New Physicians to Our Training Programs

The Department of Public Health is pleased to welcome three physicians who joined the Department on July 1, 2006, and are participating in our Fellowship programs:

 

Anthony Martinez, M.D.
Anthony Martinez, M.D., Instructor in Public Health in the Division of Community and Public Health Programs, is doing a Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry, under the direction of Ann B. Beeder, M.D., Associate Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry in the Division of Community and Public Health Programs. Dr. Martinez is board certified in Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara and completed his Residency at Roger Williams Medical Center.

 

 
Heather C. O’Donnell, M.D.
Heather C. O’Donnell, M.D.
Heather C. O’Donnell, M.D., Instructor in Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, has begun a Fellowship in Health Services Research, under the direction of Mark A. Callahan, Chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research. Dr. O’Donnell received her M.D. degree from Washington University School of Medicine and completed her Residency in Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center.

 

 

Victoria Blinder, M.D.

Victoria Blinder, M.D., a Fellow in Hematology/Oncology, is spending a year in the Department of Public Health doing clinical research and participating in the Clinical Investigation Training Program. Dr. Blinder’s research in the Department is being overseen by Elizabeth G. Nilson, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health, and Alvin I. Mushlin, MD. Sc.M., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health. Dr. Blinder received her M.D. degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

 

 

Sandy Saintonge, M.D.
In addition, Sandy Saintonge, M.D., begins a Residency in General Preventive Medicine in September 2006. Dr. Saintonge’s work will be supervised by Dr. Mushlin, Acting Director of the Residency Program, and Dr. Nilson, Associate Program Director. Dr. Saintonge, who is board certified in Pediatrics, is currently an Instructor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and a Pediatric Attending Physician at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. Dr. Saintonge received her M.D. degree from Weill Cornell and completed her Residency in Pediatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

 

NEW FACULTY AND PROMOTIONS

Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H., Has Primary Appointment at Weill Cornell

 
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.

Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Director of Pediatric Quality and Patient Safety at the Komansky Center for Children’s Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, is now based full-time at Weill Cornell. Previously she was an adjunct faculty member. Dr. Kaushal is an expert in patient safety and the use of information technology to reduce medical errors and improve care. Her research focuses on how electronic medical records can be used most effectively and economically to coordinate care across providers and institutions.


Nicholas D. Schiff, M.D., Promoted to Associate Professor

 
Nicholas D. Schiff, M.D.
Nicholas D. Schiff, M.D.

Nicholas D. Schiff, M.D., has been promoted to Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Associate Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics. Dr. Schiff, who is also Director of the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuromodulation, is recognized as an expert in his sub-specialty of impaired consciousness. Among the studies he is currently leading (and working with co-investigator Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics) is one called “Mending the Brain, Minding Our Ethics,” which seeks to elucidate clinical and ethical aspects of the minimally conscious brain state.


Dr. Gregory Dillon Promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor

 
Gregory D. Dillon, M.D.
Gregory D. Dillon, M.D.

Gregory D. Dillon, M.D., has been promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Community & Public Health Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Dillon obtained his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed a residency in General and Plastic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a residency in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Dillon is a psychiatric consultant for the Adult Services Clinic of the Division’s Methadone Maintenance Program, as well as an Assistant Attending Psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital.


Dr. Ann-Marie Audet Joins Public Health Department Faculty

Ann-Marie Audet, M.D., M.Sc., S.M., F.A.C.P., has been appointed Assistant Professor of Public Health (Courtesy) in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research. Since November 2000 Dr. Audet has been Vice President, Program for Health Care Quality Improvement, The Commonwealth Fund. Previously she was Director of the Office for Clinical Effectiveness/Process Improvement at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Audet received her M.D.C.M., and her M.Sc. degrees from McGill University and her S.M. degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health. She is board certified in Internal Medicine.

 

FACULTY NEWS

Public Health Department Faculty Awarded Excellence in Teaching Awards

Weill Cornell faculty, administrators and student representatives honor the 26 recipients of the 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Weill Cornell faculty, administrators and student representatives honor the 26 recipients of the 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award.

Weill Cornell Medical College held its Seventh Annual Celebration of Teaching at the Cornell Club on June 12, 2006, to honor outstanding teachers and their contribution to the educational mission of the Medical College. Again this year, Public Health Faculty were among the instructors who received Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine in Psychiatry, received the award for teaching Advanced Basic Science. This is the second time Dr. Fins received the Excellence in Teaching Award; in 2004 he was selected for the ethics segment of Medicine, Patients & Society. Oliver T. Fein, M.D., Professor of Clinical Public Health in the Division of Health Policy, Professor of Clinical Medicine, and Associate Dean of Affiliations, received an award for teaching Medicine, Patients, & Society I. Ruth L. Scheuer, D.Ph., J.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pubic Health in the Division of Health Policy, was awarded for teaching the Public Health Clerkship.


Dr. Pablo Rodriguez del Pozo Chairs Student Debate on Terry Schiavo Case in Qatar

Ethics debate in QatarPablo Rodriguez del Pozo, M.D., Ph.D., J.D., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics, encouraged and moderated a student debate in which students argued for and against the motion: "This House believes that Terry Schiavo had the right to die by having her feeding tube removed.” The participants were second-year pre-med students in the Medical Ethics and the Humanities course at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Speakers who had researched the case and the issues it raised then grappled with questions from the audience. The debate proved stimulating, with a number of students, faculty members, and staff posing some grueling questions to the speakers.

Click here for more information on the event.


 
Lisa M. Kern, M.D., M.P.H.
Lisa M. Kern, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Lisa M. Kern Named Co-editor of Journal of Clinical Outcomes and Management

Lisa M. Kern, M.D., M.P.H.,
Assistant Professor of Public Health and Medicine, was selected to be a co-editor of the "Outcomes Research and Review" section of the Journal of Clinical Outcomes and Management. In this role she will write a review of an important journal article of her choosing approximately three times a year. Her first review will concern an article about the cost-effectiveness of clinical research.

 


Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Is Visiting Professor at the University of Marburg

 
Dr. Joseph Fins and his family with faculty and students from the University of Marburg in the Austrian Alps.

Dr. Joseph J. Fins, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine and Public Health, served as a Visiting Professor of Medical Ethics at the Faculty of Medicine of Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. At an Interdisciplinary Seminar entitled "Ethical Reflections on Disorders of Consciousness: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges," Dr. Fins presented a lecture on ethical issues related to disorders of consciousness and served as an invited respondent for papers presented by medical and graduate students. The seminar was held at the Philipps University retreat in the Alpine village of Kleinwalsertal, Austria, from July 29 th to August 2nd. It was chaired by Dr. Gerd Richter, Professor of Medical Ethics at Marburg.

 

Dr. Fins Joins Editorial Board of BMC Medical Ethics

Dr. Fins was also named to the editorial board of BMC Medical Ethics. BMC Medical Ethics is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in the ethics of medical research and practice.

 

 
Eugenia Curet, Ph.D.
Eugenia Curet, Ph.D.
Eugenia Curet, Ph.D., Participates in Conference on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Rural America

Dr. Eugenia Curet, Instructor in Public Health and Psychiatry and Administrative Director of the Adolescent Development Program and Adult Services Clinic, attended a conference on alcohol and drug abuse in rural America at the University of Wisconsin-Stout June 5-8, 2006.Dr. Curet participated in a discussion of methadone treatment and gave a brief history of the beginning of methadone use for the treatment of heroin addiction in the United States.

 

 
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S.
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S.
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S., Takes Part in Ethics Conference on the Human Genome Project

Dr. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics, participated in a conference to evaluate educational efforts regarding the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of the human genome project. This NIH-funded program was organized by Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College on August 11-13, 2006.



Emilio Carrillo, M.D., M.P.H., Leads Health Screenings for Livery Taxi Drivers

 
Emilio Carrillo, M.D., M.P.H.
Emilio Carrillo, M.D., M.P.H.
On August 12, 2006, hundreds of New York City livery taxi drivers received free health screenings at the NewYork-Presbyterian Ambulatory Care Network Audubon Practice on West 166th Street. Dr. Emilio Carrillo led the event, which was covered by local media, including WCBS-TV , Fox-5 and UPN-9 . Dr. Carrillo is Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health (Division of Community and Public Health Programs) and Clinical Medicine, President and Chief Medical Officer of the NewYork-Presbyterian Community Health Plan, and Vice President of Community Health Development.

 

Dr. Madelon Finkel’s book on the Mammography Controversy Garners Continued Media Praise

 
Madelon L. Finkel, Ph.D.
Madelon L. Finkel, Ph.D.

Understanding the Mammography Controversy: Science, Politics, and Breast Cancer Screening, by Madelon L. Finkel, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Public Health in the Division of Health Policy, has been very well reviewed in a number of recent media reports. A press release published by the Weill Cornell Medical College Public Affairs Department engendered coverage by Newswise.com and HealthNewsDigest.com. An article published in the August 2006 issue of Imaging Economics describes the book as “A valuable educational tool for mammography patients… [it] gleans facts from the deluge of attention-seizing headlines.” The book received the highest rating from BookList. Dr. Finkel was also interviewed for an article on myths about mammography that will appear in the October 2006 issue of Real Simple magazine.

 

Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H., and Colleagues Featured in AHRQ Issue Brief on Development of Mass Prophylaxis Planning Models

 
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H.
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H.

Five projects led by Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Principal Investigator for development of the Weill Cornell models to prepare communities for mass prophylaxis in the event of a bioterrorist attack or disease pandemic, were featured in a recently released Issue Brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Bioterrorism and Health System Preparedness Issue Brief Number 10, entitled, Mass Prophylaxis: Building Blocks for Community Preparedness, examines the health care system's ability to administer mass prophylaxis and explains elements typically found within local mass prophylaxis plans. The goal of this information is to give local communities the information and capability to respond to public health emergencies in real time. Wei Xiong, Ph.D., and Eric Hollingsworth, B.S., both Research Data Specialists in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, were among those who assisted Dr. Hupert on the projects described in the brief.

 

 
Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M.
Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D.,
Sc.M.
Dr. Alvin I. Mushlin Named to Editorial Advisory Board of Journal of Translational Research

Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Public Health, accepted an invitation to join the Editorial Advisory Board of the newly renamed Journal of Translational Research (formerly the Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine). In addition to writing about outcomes research for the journal, Dr. Mushlin will recommend and recruit potential editiorial board members in the field of Public Health.

 

NEW GRANTS

Drs. Mark A. Callahan and Marc D. Silverstein Awarded Seed Grant to Study Total Joint Replacement Outcomes

 
Mark A. Callahan, M.D.
Mark A. Callahan, M.D.
Mark A. Callahan, M.D., Chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, and Marc D. Silverstein, M.D., Chair of the Department of Public Health at The Methodist Hospital (TMH), have received the Department’s first seed grant for collaborative research sponsored by The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Callahan will be the principal investigator and Dr. Silverstein the co-principal investigator for the project, entitled “Predictors of Short-Term Adverse Events in Total Joint Replacement.” Other collaborators include Lisa A. Mandl, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health and Medicine and Assistant Attending Physician, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS); Robert G. Marx, M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C., Associate Professor of Public Health and Orthopedic Surgery and Director of the Foster Center for Clinical Outcomes Research, HSS; Kenneth B. Mathis, M.D., Chair of the Methodist Center for Orthopaedic Surgery, and Philip C. Noble, Ph.D., Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at TMH.

Total joint replacements are some of the most successful medical devices developed over the last fifty years, enabling millions of people to remain ambulatory and pain free, with minimal risk. Most large studies of the procedures have been performed using Medicare claims data. While these databases are important in providing population based data, they do not permit more extensive patient-specific data capture and analysis, and provide limited information for patients under 65 years of age. One long-term goal for the Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT) grant, recently awarded to WMC Department of Public Health, is to develop a prospective cohort study and registry of shoulder, hip and knee arthroplasty patients to identify short-term and long-term outcomes. Through this seed grant, the collaborators aim to expand on an existing web-based database at HSS to include more short-term outcomes, clinical predictors, and functional status measures. The results of these studies will be used to assess outcome measurements and refine sample size estimates for future proposals to address long-term outcomes of shoulder, hip and knee arthroplasty.

 

Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H., Receives Contract to Further His Work in Bioterrorism Preparedness

 
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H.
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, was awarded a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategic National Stockpile (CDC, SNS) entitled “Simulation Models for Bioterrorism Preparedness.” The $100,000 contract runs from May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2007. Dr. Hupert and his associates, including Jack Muckstadt, Ph.D., the Acheson/Laibe Professor of Business Management and Leadership Studies at the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering of Cornell University, have already created widely used Web-based simulation models of urban and suburban prophylaxis strategies. The funds will enable them to update these models to more directly meet the needs of CDC, SNS and grantees at the state and local levels. It will also allow them to develop two new models to provide the public health community with tools facilitating mass prophylaxis planning for rural settings and health care facilities. The models will estimate and address logistical and staffing needs during outbreak scenarios that require antibiotic and vaccine delivery in response to biological attacks with both communicable and non-communicable agents.

 

Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H., Awarded Grant from The Commonwealth Fund to Evaluate Clinical Data Exchange Programs

 
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Rainu Kaushal, Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, received a grant for $364,270 from The Commonwealth Fund called “Evaluating the Impact on Quality and Costs of Regional Clinical Data Exchange Programs in New York State.” The award, which runs from August 1, 2006, to July 31, 2008, will enable Dr. Kaushal and her co-investigators to evaluate six regional programs for clinical data exchange to determine their impact on the quality and cost of health care. The research team will also establish a framework and standardized methodology for financial assessment of regional health information programs and return-on-investment analyses from the perspectives of providers and payers. Findings will be of interest to the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology and to many organizations nationwide that are developing clinical data exchange programs. Cofunding is expected from the New York State Department of Health.

 

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

 

 
Kristine Alpi, M.P.H., M.L.S.
Kristine Alpi, M.P.H., M.L.S.
Kristine Alpi, M.P.H., M.L.S., Lecturer of Public Health in the Division of Health Policy and Associate Director in the Wood Library and Starr Biomedical Information Center, published “Mapping the literature of emergency nursing” in the April 2006 issue of Journal of the Medical Library Association. The purpose of her study was to identify the core literature of emergency nursing and to determine which databases provide the most thorough indexing access to the literature cited in emergency nursing journals.



 
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, was the lead author of an article in the May-June 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, called “Return on investment for a computerized physician order entry system.” The authors assessed the costs and financial benefits of the computerized physician order entry system at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and determined that it resulted in substantial savings. Dr. Kaushal also wrote a perspective titled "The Wild West: Patient Safety in Office-Based Anesthesia" for the May 2006 issue of AHRQ Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web. She argues for improved safety standards for office based anesthesia so that patients receive the same level of safe anesthetic care as in hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities. In addition, Dr. Kaushal co-authored “Pediatric medication safety and the media: what does the public see?” which was published in the June 2006 issue of Pediatrics.


 
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S.
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S.

Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, Ph.D., M.S., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics, published an article called “The promise of the human papillomavirus vaccine does not confer immunity against ethical reflection” in the April 2006 issue of The Oncologist. The article explores the complicated ethical reality surrounding dissemination of the vaccine, touching on public knowledge, health care disparities, and parental consent for childhood vaccination.

 

 

 
Heejung Bang, Ph.D.
Heejung Bang, Ph.D.
Heejung Bang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, recently coauthored an article with lead author Kutluk Oktay, M.D., and Aylin Pelin Cil, M.D., of the Fertility Preservation Program at the Weill Cornell Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility. Their study, “Efficiency of oocyte cryopreservation: a meta-analysis,” published in the July 2006 issue of Fertility and Sterility, compares success rates for in vitro fertilization using live eggs vs. frozen eggs.

 

Lawrence S. Brown, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., Clinical Associate Professor of Public Health (Courtesy) in the Division of Community and Public Health Programs and Senior Vice President of the Addiction Research & Treatment Corporation, recently was the lead author on two articles published in the Journal of Substance Abuse: “Characteristics of substance abuse treatment programs providing services for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C virus infection, and sexually transmitted infections;” and “Safety, efficacy, and tolerability of nelfinavir-containing antiretroviral therapy for patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C undergoing methadone maintenance.”

 

Weill Cornell Medical College Researchers’ Study on Terry Wallis’s Emergence from 20-Year Coma Receives Enormous Media Coverage

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers led breakthrough research on Terry Wallis, a 42-year-old patient who emerged from a minimally conscious state after 19 years. Published in the July 2006 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation, the study finds that Wallis may have regained speech and movement because his brain rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the old ones sheared apart in a car crash. Senior author Dr. Nicholas Schiff, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Public Health; lead author Dr. Henning Voss, Assistant Professor of Physics in Radiology, and Dr. Joseph Fins, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine and Public Health; were featured in significant media coverage, including ABC World News Tonight, ABC Good Morning America, ABC World News Now, ABC World News This Morning, CBS Evening News, CBS Early Show, CBS Up to the Minute, WCBS-TV, NBC Nightly News, CNN, BBC News and 40 affiliate stations from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. The study made the front page of The New York Times and was also covered by the Associated Press, United Press International, Newsday, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Times, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, New Scientist and Nature; and by ABCNews.com, Medical News Today,News-Medical.net and Wired. Further coverage of the study was provided by Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Today’s Science, Neurology Today, and Science & Vie. Dr. Schiff and Dr. Voss also discussed their research on PBS’s Charlie Rose show on July 28, 2006.


DEPARTMENT NEWS

Four Students Receive Public Health Prizes

Weill Cornell graduates and faculty were honored at the 2006 Convocation ceremonies, a celebration that awards outstanding graduates, other medical students, faculty, and staff for distinguished achievement, dedication to scholarship and research, devotion to teaching or service, or demonstration of exceptional professional qualities. The Medical College Convocation, held May 17 in Uris Auditorium, was officiated by Dr. Antonio Gotto, Dean of the Medical College, and Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, Senior Associate Dean of Education. Among the students in the Class of 2006 receiving awards were four selected by the Department of Public Health:

Deva Boone and Tzivia Rachel Moreen received the Elise Strang L'Esperance Prize in Public Health. This prize is awarded to the female students in the graduating class who best reflect the attributes and values of Dr. Elise Strang L'Esperance, who graduated from the Women's Medical College of The New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1901.

Nicholas Matthew Bernthal and Marc Louis Otten were awarded the George G. Reader Prize in Public Health. This prize is given to the graduating students who in the judgment of the Department's faculty, show the most promise in the field of public health.

 

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

 

Department of Public Health Offers Foundations of Clinical Research

This 3-credit, graduate-level course, designed for faculty, fellows, and residents, is a core component in the Masters Degree and Certification Programs in Clinical Investigation offered by the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of Cornell University. The course also is open to physicians who are interested in developing clinical research projects. The course runs from September 7 through November 30, 2006. It is held Mondays and Thursdays, 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. (excluding holidays as noted in syllabus), at 1300 York Avenue, Room F-539. Midterm and final papers are required, as is participation in weekly discussion sections (lab). A tuition fee will be charged

To register or for information contact Maritza Montalvo at (212) 746-1264, or Dr. Heather Gold at (212) 746-1245. Enrollment is limited.


Dr. Shari R. Midoneck to Lead CME Event in Women’s Health September 12

 
Shari R. Midoneck, M.D.
Shari R. Midoneck, M.D.

Shari R. Midoneck, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Public Health and the Nannette Laitman Clinical Scholar of Public Health in Prevention, is the Course Director for a special continuing medical education (CME) program sponsored by the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center called “Leaders in Women’s Health.” The event will be held Tuesday, September 12, from 5:15 to 8:00 p.m., at Weill Auditorium, 2 nd Floor, 1300 York Avenue. Presenting faculty members include Neil B. Kavey, M.D., Director of the Sleep Disorder Center at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, Anne Moore, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Zev Rosenwaks, M.D., Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Midoneck will give the opening and closing remarks and evaluation. Click here for program and registration information .

 

 
Joseph J. Fins, M.D.
Joseph J.Fins, M.D.
Dr. Joseph J. Fins, to Present at Rogers Colloquium

Joseph J. Fins, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry, will speak at the David Rogers Health Policy Colloquium on September 20, 2006, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the Uris Faculty Room A-126, 1300 York Avenue. The title of his talk will be “Brain Injury and the Politics of Stupor.”

 

Upcoming 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.


Heejung Bang, Ph.D.
September 14, 3 - 4 p.m.

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Research Seminar
Heejung Bang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
“On estimating treatment effects under noncompliance in randomized clinical trials: Are intent-to-treat or instrumental variables analyses perfect solutions? ”


September 14, 4 - 5:30 p.m.

Medical Ethics Research Seminar
Ira Byock, M.D.
Professor & Director, Palliative Care Program, Dartmouth Medical School
President of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
“The Doctor-Patient Relationship Through the End of Life”

September 19, 12 - 1 p.m.
Public Health Grand Rounds
Ann Zauber, Ph.D.
Associate Attending Biostatistician, MSKCC
“How much can current intervention reduce colorectal cancer mortality in the U.S.?”

September 28, 1 - 2 p.m.
Prevention & Health Behavior Research-in-Progress Seminar
Robert Fullilove, Ed.D.
Associate Dean for Community and Minority Affairs
Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences
The Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
“HIV and Prisons”

September 29, 1 - 2 p.m.
Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Research-in-Progress Seminar
Stephen Lyman, Ph.D.
Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Foster Center for Clinical Outcome Research; Assistant Professor of Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
Mark A. Callanhan, M.D.
Chief, Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research
Weill Cornell Medical College
“Volume: Outcomes Relationship for Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (AICD) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) Implantation”

October 6, 1 - 2 p.m.
Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Research-in-Progress Seminar
Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research
Weill Cornell Medical College
Lisa Kern, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research
Weill Cornell Medical College
“The Health Information Technology Evaluation Collaborative for New York State”

Robert B. Millman, M.D.October 9, 1 - 2 p.m. CANCELLED
Community & Public Health Programs Research Seminar
Robert B. Millman, M.D.
Chief, Division of Community & Public Health Programs
Weill Cornell Medical College
“The Internet & Adolescent Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs”

 

October 12, 3 - 4 p.m.
Biostatistics and Epidemiology Research Seminar
Susan Oliveria, Sc.D.
Assistant Attending Epidemiologist, MSKCC
“Melanoma survivors: Health behaviors, surveillance, psychosocial factors, and family concerns: A pilot study”

October 19, 3:30 - 5 p.m.
Medical Ethics Research Seminar
Tia Powell, M.D.
Executive Director, New York State Task Force on Life and the Law
“The Doctor-Patient Relationship in a Public Health Emergency: Allocating Ventilators in a Flu Pandemic”

October 24, 12 - 1 p.m.
Public Health Grand Rounds
Martha Bruce, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Sociology in Psychiatry
Dept of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College
“From Epidemiology to Dissemination: The progression of mental health services research”

October 26 , 1 - 2 p.m.
Prevention & Health Behavior Research-in-Progress Seminar
John Graham, Ph.D.
Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Human Development & Family Studies

In addition, two members of the Public Health department faculty will be giving Grand Rounds presentations for the Department of Medicine in September:

Michael G. Stewart, MD, MPH, FACSSeptember 21, 2006, 11:00 a.m., Uris Auditorium
Michael G. Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Otorhinolaryngology
Professor of Public Health
“Outcomes and Quality of Life in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery”

 

Marshall J. Glesby, M.D., Ph.D.September 28, 2006, 11:00 a.m., Uris Auditorium
Marshall J. Glesby, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health
“Metabolic and Morphologic Complications of HIV: Impact on the Heart, Soul, (and Liver)”


 

EAPC Workshops

The Employee Assistance Program Consortium (EAPC) will be offering a series of workshops in the fall covering stress management and communication skills. These workshops are free but reservations are required. Further information for the workshops and the EAPC is available at http://www.youreapc.us/Workshops.shtml.


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