News in Brief

Riccardo Dalla-Favera, MD, and Rodney Rothstein, PhD, were elected this spring to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Dr. Dalla-Favera is the Joanne and Percy Uris Professor of Clinical Medicine, professor of pathology & cell biology, genetics & development, and microbiology & immunology, and director of the Institute for Cancer Genetics. He has been an international leader in the field of lymphoid neoplasia for the past 30 years. Dr. Rothstein is professor of genetics & development and has a joint appointment in the Department of Systems Biology. He has pioneered the use of recombination to alter genomes and has used these methods to isolate novel genes involved in the maintenance of genome stability.

Four P&S faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: Oliver Hobert, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics, elected to the section on biological sciences; Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD, the Mikati Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of medical sciences (in medicine), section on engineering; Charles Zuker, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics and of neuroscience, section on neuroscience; and George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, adjunct professor of microbiology & immunology, section on neuroscience.

More than 100 members of the medical center community stopped by the new Barnes & Noble campus store in November to celebrate its grand opening, which featured live music, book readings, refreshments, and remarks. The event kicked off with selections from “The Music Man,” a musical by Meredith Wilson, performed by the Bard Hall Players. The store relocated to a larger space at Haven Avenue and 169th Street, in the lower level of the Hammer Health Sciences Center. The new site carries academic course material and supplies plus a small selection of general-interest books and periodicals. A café has both indoor and outdoor seating.

Frank R. Smith’62 donated an early 19th century surgical kit to Archives & Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University Medical Center. The kit was a gift from John Anthon to Dr. Smith’s ancestor, Dr. David Hosack, in recognition of Dr. Hosack’s medical services “cheerfully & attentively rendered” to Mr. Anthon’s parents. David Hosack (1769-1835) was an eminent early 19th century American physician, scientist, and educator who served at various times as professor of botany, materia medica, medicine, and physiology at P&S. John Anthon (1784–1863) was a noted New York City lawyer and jurist who was the author of several volumes of legal case reports and a founder of the New York Law Institute.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Faculty of Health Sciences and P&S have renewed their affiliation for five years. P&S supports and advises Ben-Gurion University’s Medical School for International Health, which offers its students specialized training in global health.

Photo Jörg Meyer

Serge E. Przedborski, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized clinician-scientist in the neurobiology of disease, has been appointed the inaugural director of the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative. His work on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis exemplifies the potential of interdisciplinary, basic, and translational science to result in meaningful advances in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of neurologic disease. The center was established to integrate and coordinate Columbia’s research efforts related to the neurobiology of disease. With other initiatives at Columbia, including the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and the new Institute for Genomic Medicine, the center will be part of a comprehensive, universitywide neuroscience enterprise.