The Mailman School of Public Health hosted the second board meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, an independent public-private partnership working to increase global resources to combat the three diseases. The meeting kicked off April 22 with a welcome reception hosted by Dr. Allan Rosenfield, dean of the Mailman School; George Rupp, president of Columbia University; and Tommy Thompson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and head of the U.S delegation to the Global Fund. The three-day meeting brought together representatives from various countries, non-government organizations, the private sector, and others affected by the three diseases. > Board members examined more than 300 grant proposals, and on April 25 the fund announced it would commit up to $616 million over two years to prevent and treat the three diseases in severely affected countries. Some $378 million was awarded to 40 programs in 31 countries, and a fast-track process was implemented to approve an additional $238 million for another 18 proposals, provided certain conditions are met.

The Columbia-Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council presented its Award for Distinguished Service to journalist Morton Kondracke and his wife, Milly, for their advocacy in finding better treatments for Parkinson's disease. Mr. Kondracke recently published "Saving Milly," a personal account of the couple's struggles since Mrs. Kondracke's Parkinson's diagnosis. The award was presented during a luncheon following the council's semiannual meeting April 18. Following the awards presentation, Morton, third from left, and Milly Kondracke, seated, posed with, from left to right, Dr. Gerald Fischbach, executive vice president and dean; John K. Castle, chairman designate of the advisory council; and Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Eric Lander, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the principal leaders in the Human Genome Project, and founding director of the Whitehead Institute's Center for Genome Research, gave the Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Professorship lectures earlier this month. Among the topics he addressed were how comparative genomics can reveal the complexity of gene regulation, the power of chromosomal tracts of genetic polymorphism to study disease, and the use of genomic technologies to distinguish tumors. At the reception following the first lecture, Dr. Lander, right, posed with, from left, Gerald Fischbach, executive vice president and dean, and Jack and Susan Rudin.

The new Center for Bioethics held its first event in the Faculty Club on April 25. Speaker Dr. Renee Fox from the University of Pennsylvania, left, gave a talk titled "The Future of Bioethics—Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?" Pictured with Dr. Fox, from left, are Dr. Ruth Fischbach, professor of bioethics and center co-director; Dr. Robert Klitzman, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and center co-director; and Marjorie Neil, center administrator.

The School of Dental and Oral Surgery has partnered with ArcMesa Educators, a multi-profession provider of continuing education, to develop online continuing education courses for dentists. SDOS will select and develop the content for a minimum of four courses per year, and ArcMesa will publish the material, worth two or more credits, both on the Internet and in print. The first of these courses is expected to be available online by June 2002. More information on courses is available on the ArcMesa web site, www.arcmesa.com, or by calling 800-597-6372.

The Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine co-sponsored the third annual Conference on Gender-Specific Medicine with the NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health last month in Washington D.C. The event focused on the importance of biological sex and gender factors in research and treatment for a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, and psychiatric diseases.

Allan Rosenfield, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions last month regarding global HIV/AIDS initiatives and the need for increased federal funding. His testimony focused on a new initiative coordinated by the Mailman School, MTCT-Plus, which links prevention with care and treatment for HIV-infected women and their families in resource-poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. MTCT-Plus, funded by an unprecedented coalition of private foundations, will add HIV care, support and treatment—including treatment with antiretroviral drugs—to existing programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV.

Gregory N. Bunza, assistant professor of clinical dentistry, completed his yearlong participation in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Institute Fellows program by taking part in the annual Legislative Workshop. During the three-day April event, the fellows learned about federal policy and the legislative process as well as ADEA's legislative priorities. The Leadership Institute is designed to develop the most promising dental faculty to assume leadership positions in education.

Earlier this month, the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion was the site for "Transcending Barriers to Creativity," a touring art exhibit featuring works by artists suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and other neuromuscular diseases. The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, was on display in the lobby May 2-14 as part of a month-long tour commemorating ALS Awareness month.

Rita Charon, professor of clinical medicine at P&S, has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The award was given for her work on the book "Narrative Medicine," a study of how written reflection on patients and illness can increase physician quality of care. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.

Allan Rosenfield, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, the DeLamar Professor of Public Health, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at P&S, was given the Distinguished Service Award by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The award was given in recognition of his efforts to address domestic and international issues relating to population, women's reproductive health, human rights, and health policy.

J. Thomas Bigger, professor of medicine at P&S, received the Distinguished Science Award from the American College of Cardiology in recognition of his many contributions to the field of cardiovascular research. Dr. Bigger's 40 years of work has led to a greater understanding of the mechanism of cardiac arrythmias and their treatment.

David Rothman, the Bernard Schoenberg Professor of Social Medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Society and Medicine, was invited to give the Fielding H. Garrison Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine, held last month. The title of his speech was "The Courtroom as Archive: Vanderbilt, Radiation, and the History of Human Experimentation." Those asked to give the Garrison Lecture are scholars recognized for contributions to medical history or other fields of science and learning.

The Center for Biomedical Communications received a 2002 Videography Award for its program "Jack Elinson, Pioneer of Sociomedical Science," produced in collaboration with the Mailman School of Public Health. The Videography Awards is an organization designed to help set standards within the video production industry. Annual award winners come from video production companies, educational institutions, government entities, broadcast and cable television operations, and other businesses and individuals.

Ronald S. Tikofsky, associate professor of clinical radiology and assistant administrator of the Columbia University/Harlem Hospital IRB, will receive the Kuhl-Lassen Award from the Brain Imaging Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine at the society's annual meeting in June. The award is given in recognition of contributions to the advancement of functional brain imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).