Our Faculty

Irwin Redlener, MD, Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) and Clinical Professor of Population and Family Health, has been appointed as Commissioner of the United States National Commission for UNESCO by the Department of State. In this role, Dr. Redlener will provide expert advice regarding U.S. activities as a member state of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Dr. Melissa Begg, Professor of Biostatistics and Vice Dean for Education, and Dr. R. Todd Ogden, Professor of Biostatistics, were selected as American Statistical Association (ASA) Fellows, the field of statistics’ highest honor. Fellows are chosen through a rigorous process that evaluates excellence and innovation. Drs. Begg and Ogden will be inducted as Fellows at the ASA annual meeting, Fall 2012. (Read more here.)

Jennifer S. Hirsch, PhD, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Deputy Chair of Doctoral Studies of Sociomedical Sciences, received a Guggenheim Fellowship to further study the connection between gender, sexuality, and intimacy in rural Mexico, and how it relates to consumption practices, peer networks, migrant communities, and the U.S. reliance on Mexican labor.  Dr. Hirsch is one of 181 fellows selected for 2012 in the United States and Canada from a group of almost 3,000 applicants, and the only awardee in the category of Medicine and Health. (Read more here.)

Neil Boothby, EdD, Allan Rosenfield Professor of Professor of Clinical Forced Migration and Health, was named the U.S. Government’s Special Adviser and Senior Coordinator for Children in Adversity. Working with the USAID Administrator and the Assistant Administrator of Global Health, he will serve as both the agency’s senior adviser for children in low and middle income countries as well as coordinate U.S. assistance to vulnerable children among U.S. departments and agencies. 

Wafaa El-Sadir, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, was appointed to The Committee on Global Thought, an organization that brings together highly-distinguished faculty at Columbia University to explore global issues from an innovative, interdisciplinary perspective. As a  committee, they  seek "to reconceptualize existing theories and methodologies to confront key issues and challenges stemming from globalization.”

Kenneth Ong, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, was elected to the Board of Directors of Health Information Management & Systems Society, a not-for-profit organization focused on providing global leadership for the optimal
use of health IT.

Linda Fried, Dean and the DeLemar Professor of Public Health, received the Enrico Greppi Prize from the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics for her scientific leadership in developing the foundational theories of frailty as a clinical syndrome. Dr. Fried's definition of frailty is now the norm in both geriatrics clinical practice and research as well as in many other fields, such as HIV. Dr. Fried received the award in a ceremony on November 29, 2011, in Florence, where she gave a talk entitled "Understanding Frailty and Disability as Keys to Healthy Aging."

Bibhas Chakraborty, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Megan Hall, associate research scientist of Epidemiology, and Jeanine Genkinger, assistant professor of Epidemiology, received the 2011 Calderone Junior Faculty Prize.  Applications for the prize were evaluated on the scientific merit and public health significance of the proposed research project and the likely impact of the award on the research career of the applicant. Dean Linda Fried announced the award recipients in November 2011.

Salim Abdool Karim, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, associate professor of Clinical Epidemiology, received the inaugural Olusegun Obasanjo Prize from the African Academy of Sciences for their landmark work developing a microbicidal gel to prevent HIV infection and genital herpes in women. Former Nigerian President, His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in whose name the award is made, attended the ceremony at the African Academy of Sciences on November 10, 2011. 

Robert E. Fullilove, Associate Dean for Community and Minority Affairs and professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences, was recognized as one of 20 “Positive Changemakers” by AIDS Service Center NYC, on November 7, 2011, for his vision and inspiration to those affected by HIV/AIDS. Dr. Fullilove is known for his work on substance abuse, and sexually transmitted infections in urban settings.  

Alwyn T. Cohall, Director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center and Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences and Population and Family Health, received the Allan Rosenfield Award for Public Health and Social Justice from the Public Health Association of New York City for his achievements in the field at its 2011 annual awards ceremony held on November 7th.

Wafaa El-Sadr, Director of ICAP and Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine (College of Physicians and Surgeons), was awarded the 2011 Society Citation Award by the Infectious Diseases Society of America for her outstanding contributions to the field of infectious disease. The prestigious honor, awarded on October 20, recognizes exemplary contributions to IDSA and outstanding achievements in the field of infectious diseases in research, clinical investigation, or clinical practice. For over 10 years, Dr. El-Sadr has led ICAP, a center at the Mailman School that has helped to provide HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs to over a million people in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Richard G. Parker, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was re-elected by acclamation to a third term (from 2011-2014) as a member of the Board of Directors for International Planned Parenthood Federation-Western Hemisphere Region on October 14. The organization promotes the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda in our region.

Salim Abdool Karim, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, was presented the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership Award for Outstanding Senior African Scientist for 2011 at the Sixth EDCTP Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on October 12. Dr. Abdool Karim serves as director of CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa). 

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, received the South African government Department of Science and Technology’s Distinguished Woman in Science Award in the Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences for 2011. The award, presented on August 19, at a gala held at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, recognized her contributions to science broadly and, in particular, the tenofovir gel trial of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa.

Karestan Koenen, Associate Professor of Epidemiology was named President-Elect of the International Society for Traumatic Stress (ISTSS) in September 2011. She will assume her position as President in the fall of 2012. With more than 3,000 members, ISTSS is the largest and premiere global organization concerned with research about the consequences of trauma.

Barbara Barlow, Professor emerita and Special Lecturer in Epidemiology, received the 2011 CDC Foundation Hero Award for 25 years of work in the field of traumatic injury to children and injury prevention. Dr. Barlow, founding Executive Director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, was recognized in a ceremony on Oct. 4, for activities that exemplify the CDC's mission of promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.

Marlyn Delva, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, was honored in the summer of 2011 by the Dr. Toribio Bencosme Hospital in Moca, Dominican Republic, for her work with the hospital. Dean Delva was cited for helping to strengthen the hospital's programs through Columbia University and NYU partnerships that include placing 5-10 students from Mailman, P&S, School of Nursing, and the Schools of Social Work of Columbia and NYU there for practica for the past four years.

Linda P. Fried, Dean and DeLamar Professor of Public Health, received the inaugural Silver Innovator Award from the Alliance for Aging Research on September 13, 2011, at a gala in Washington, D.C., attended by 300 members of Congress and key Executive Branch figures. The prize recognizes her work as a powerful advocate for research and medical technology to improve the health and independence of aging Americans.

Mady Hornig, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, and W. Ian Lipkin, the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology, received the 2011 Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Assessment and Epidemiology. Drs. Hornig and Lipkin co-authored the publication "Epidemiologic investigation of immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy among abattoir workers exposed to porcine brain," which was cited as the best manuscript or original research published in a peer-reviewed journal by scientists working at CDC or Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Zhezhen Jin, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, was selected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association for 2011. The announcement in May 2011 cited his outstanding contributions to research on nonparametric and semiparametric methods, excellence in the development and application of statistical methodology in biomedical research, and outstanding service to the statistics profession.

Unni Karunakara, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health was named by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues to an International Research Panel on protecting human subjects in scientific studies. The Panel includes experts on medical ethics, science and clinical research. The announcement was in response to a request from President Obama to report on the effectiveness of current U.S. rules and international standards for the protection of human subjects in federally funded scientific studies.

Parisa Tehranifar, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, authored a paper  selected for the "Best of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention" session at the 35th anniversary meeting of the American Society for Preventive Oncology (ASPO) held in Las Vegas in April 2011. Dr. Tehranifar was the first author of a paper that reported increasing racial disparities in cancer mortality as cancers become more amenable to treatment and early detection methods. Serving as overall chair for the ASPO annual meeting was Dr. Mary Beth Terry, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, who developed the program over the past 12 months with colleagues at MD Anderson and other cancer centers.

Richard Parker , Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, received the department's Faculty Mentoring Award on March 30, 2011. The award recognizes a senior faculty member for his/her exceptional mentorship and steadfast commitment to junior faculty.

Bruce Armstrong, Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Men's Health Initiatives, received the David Joyce service award from Community Impact (CI), a provider of community services programs to more than 8,000 residents in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Morningside Heights. Dr. Armstrong was recognized for his support of CI service work throughout the year and honored at the group's Annual Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony held at Columbia's Low Library on March 27th.

Deborah Hasin, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, was named recipient of the Jellinek Memorial Award for 2011, given to the person who has made the greatest scholarly contribution to problems in a designated research area relating to alcohol. Dr. Hasin was selected for her research on the epidemiology of alcoholism and the measurement of alcohol use disorders in general populations. She was presented with an honorarium at the international scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism held in Atlanta in the summer.  

John Santelli, Chair of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, was elected President of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM), for a one year term beginning in March 2012. Founded in 1968, SAHM is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to advancing the health and well-being of adolescents through advocacy, clinical care, health promotion, health service delivery, professional development and research.

Magdalena Cerdà, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, won the American Psychopathological Association's 11th Annual Robins/Guze Award, which is given to a promising junior investigator in psychiatric epidemiology based on the overall quality of his or her work. Dr. Cerdà investigates the social epidemiology of risk behaviors and psychiatric disorders, particularly violence, substance abuse, and depression, and the influence of massive disasters on risk behavior trajectories.

Jennifer Hirsch, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was recognized by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) for authoring "One of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2010." Dr. Hirsch's book, The Secret: Love, Marriage, and HIV, was one of 620 books selected as "outstanding" from more than 25,000 titles submitted for consideration by the ACRL, a division of the American Library Association. The book was cited as "a great addition to the existing literature on sexuality, marriage, extramarital opportunities, and HIV risk and a pleasure to read."

Ezra Susser, Professor of Epidemiology at Mailman and Professor of Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, was awarded the American Public Health Association's 2011 Rema Lapouse Award for his outstanding contributions to the scientific understanding of the epidemiology and control of mental disorders. He is the lead author of the primary textbook on psychiatric epidemiology and director of the Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Lifecourse Research which looks at the developmental origins of health in birth cohorts across the globe.

Ying Wei, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, has been named the winner of this year's Noether Young Scholar Award by the American Statistical Association. The award is given annually to an accomplished young researcher to support both research and teaching in nonparametric statistics. As part of the award, she will deliver an invited lecture the year after the award and be asked to report on research performed since receiving the award. Dr. Ying Wei's research interests are in the general area of quantile regression, longitudinal data, and semi-parametric models, with a focus on developing methodologies of longitudinal growth chart construction.

May 4, 2012