Reporter at Large

Dr. Joseph Haddad Jr., P&S associate professor of clinical otolaryngology/ head & neck surgery, was elected to fellowship in the Triological Society at its 100th annual meeting in May. The Triological Society, also known as the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, is the most prestigious senior honor society in otolaryngology in the United States. Dr. Haddad is also vice chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery and director of pediatric otolaryngology.

This summer, Dr. Kenneth A. Forde was guest lecturer at the Euro-Asian Congress of Endoscopic Surgery in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Forde's lecture topic was "Minimal Access and Open Surgery--Competition or Integration?" Dr. Forde, who has been on the faculty of P&S since 1963, was named the José Ferrer Professor of Clinical Surgery in June.

Dr. Sang W. Lee, CPMC resident in surgery, was awarded the New Jersey Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Award for best poster at the annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons this summer. Dr. Lee conducts research in the lab of Dr. Richard L. Whelan, P&S assistant professor of surgery.

The School of Public Health's National Center for Children in Poverty has appointed Barbara Blum, senior lecturer, as senior fellow in child and family policy. The school is hosting a new National Research Forum on Children, Families, and the New Federalism, which aims to identify and promote strategies that protect and enhance the well-being of poor children and their families during a period of dramatic change in federal and state policies and programs. Ms. Blum is former president of the Foundation for Child Development.

The 1997-98 instructorship supported by the I.D. Mandel Research Endowment goes to Dr. Evanthia Lalla, instructor of clinical dentistry at SDOS. The fund, which was established in 1992, fosters research activity within SDOS. Dr. Lalla previously was a postgraduate student at Columbia, where she focused her research on molecular mechanisms to account for accelerated periodontal disease seen in association with diabetes mellitus. Those research activities offer the possibility of developing specific strategies for identifying and treating diabetic patients at risk for periodontal disease.

Tuyet A. Tran, senior project officer in the Office of Grants and Contracts, received the first-place commendation for her composition, "Sunrise Number 3," in the Paris New Music Review's 60-Seconds for Piano composition competition. Ms. Tran's composition will be performed in December at the Cleveland Institute of Music. All pieces in the piano solo competition were 60 seconds or less in duration.

Dr. Michael R. Rosen, the Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Professor of Pharmacology and P&S professor of pediatrics, will host a 1997 Pfizer visiting professor in clinical pharmacology in October. Dr. Raymond L. Woosley from Georgetown University will be the visiting professor and will spend his time in intensive meetings with faculty and students in anesthesiology, medicine, and pharmacology and give two lectures for the university community. The Pfizer visiting professorship program in clinical pharmacology aims to increase opportunities for education and dialogue in the field of clinical pharmacology, which is critical as new technologies become incorporated into therapeutics and direct patient care. Pfizer uses the professorship to support both established and emerging programs in clinical pharmacology.

Robert L. Brugger has joined the Health Sciences Division as director of design and construction in facilities management. Mr. Brugger joins Columbia from the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Inc., where he was vice president for global accounts. He also spent a major portion of his career with the New York State Urban Development Corporation where he was senior vice president for design and construction. Mr. Brugger will play a significant role in the campus capital program.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a $240,000 grant to Dr. Barron H. Lerner, Angelica Berrie Gold Foundation Assistant Professor, to research the history of breast cancer screening and treatment. Dr. Lerner plans to use the historical record to illuminate the challenging clinical and ethical problems now being raised by genetic testing for breast, prostate, and other cancers. The grant is funded through the foundation's Generalist Faculty Scholars Program, which seeks to encourage generalist physicians to conduct research and develop teaching programs at academic medical centers.

Dr. Robert A. Glick, clinical professor of psychiatry at P&S, has been appointed the new director of the Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, succeeding Dr. Roger A. MacKinnon, who held the position since 1991. Dr. Glick's goals for the center, in addition to preserving its educational and clinical role in the psychiatry department, is a broadening of interdisciplinary scholarship and research in psychoanalysis and related fields.

The National Board of Medical Examiners has re-elected Dr. Linda D. Lewis, P&S associate dean for student affairs and clinical professor of neurology, to a second four-year term as a member-at-large. The National Board of Medical Examiners is a national non-profit organization that prepares and administers qualifying examinations that have widespread acceptance within the licensure system for medicine and the medical education system.

Dr. Richard Axel, the Higgins Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and professor of pathology, is one of the winners of the 1997 Lewis S. Rosentiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research. Dr. Axel is co-recipient with his colleagues, Dr. Linda Buck of Harvard Medical School and Dr. James Hudspeth of Rockefeller University, of the award that acknowledges their pioneering work on the molecular basis of sensory transduction. Dr. Axel was a featured speaker at Dartmouth Medical School's bicentennial symposium earlier this month. He spoke during a session on genetics. Dr. Nancy Wexler, the Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology, also delivered an address during the same session. The symposium kicked off a year-long celebration of the school's 200th anniversary by focusing on "Great Issues for Medicine in the 21st Century: A Consideration of the Ethical and Social Issues Arising Out of Advances in the Biomedical Sciences."

The June 9 issue of New York Magazine listed New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) as "preeminent in research" in its special "Best Hospitals in New York" cover story. A photo accompanying the article showed Dr. John Oldham, director of NYSPI, and Dr. Frederic Kass, associate chairman of psychiatry, senior associate dean for clinical affairs, and P&S professor of clinical psychiatry, in front of the new PI building under construction. Reflected in the glass of the new building is the old PI facility.

Kathleen Savolt, former assistant vice president for financial planning, has assumed the role of assistant dean/assistant vice president for clinical planning. In this role, Ms. Savolt will assume responsibility for enhancing the clinical support infrastructure for faculty practices and clinical departments. Before joining Columbia in 1994, Ms. Savolt was director of strategic planning at Westchester Medical Center.

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