Research & Service

Ana F. Abraido-Lanza, PhD, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, received $388,914 from the National Cancer Institute over two years to study cancer screening among Latinas.  

Elaine J. Abrams, MD, professor of epidemiology and of pediatrics (P&S) and director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs' MTCT-Plus Initiative, received $13.5 million over five years from the CDC/National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB Prevention to strengthen TB/HIV collaboration in Lesotho.

Alwyn T. Cohall, MD, professor of clinical sociomedical sciences and population and family health and professor of clinical pediatrics (P&S), received a five-year $5.2 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for a project titled "Technology & Community-Based Approaches to Improve Health in Harlem." The grant will support the Harlem Health Promotion Center, a collaboration of community, academic, and public health groups using research, education, advocacy, and service delivery to improve the health and well-being of the Harlem community.

Ying Kuen Cheung, PhD, associate professor of biostatistics, received $718,169 over two years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study dose and treatment selection in clinical trials.

Joseph H. Graziano, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences and of pharmacology (P&S),  received four National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences supplemental  grants for his research titled "Health Effects and Geochemistry of Arsenic and  Manganese," a Superfund Research and Education project. One supplement, of $128,625, will support his co-investigators at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to implement innovative geospatial technologies and interactive mapping to help assess vulnerable populations residing close to highly contaminated Superfund National Priority List sites. A second supplement, of $48,081, allows Dr. Graziano to plan and host the 2009 annual meeting of the Superfund Research Programs. A third supplement of $27,854 supported salaries for two undergraduate summer students - one from Columbia College and one from Cornell - to work in his laboratory,. A fourth supplement of $240,000 supports the expansion of Dr. Graziano's research on the effects of naturally occurring arsenic exposure from well water on the health of children in Maine.

Heather Greenlee, ND, assistant professor of epidemiology and of medical oncology (P&S), received $764,339 over five years to study the effects of antioxidant supplementation during breast cancer adjuvant therapy.

Naa Oyo A. Kwate, PhD, assistant professor, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, associate professor, both in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, have been selected to receive Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They will receive $334,975 in funding and are among 16 scholars selected nationwide for their work on the hidden health consequences of meritocratic beliefs and how widely ingrained such beliefs are across the United States.  In their project, "On the Content of Our Character: The Myth of Meritocracy and  African American Health," Drs. Kwate and Meyer propose that, for African  Americans, living in a culture that so highly values self-determination can  lead to demoralization, unhealthy coping strategies, and higher rates of  illness and early death. Since 1992, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has supported projects from a number of Mailman School of Public Health researchers.  

Elaine Larson, PhD, professor of epidemiology and professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research (Nursing), and Franklin D. Lowy, MD, professor of medicine and of pathology (P&S), have received a five-year grant of $3.7 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a study titled "Risk Factors for Spread of Staphylococcus aureus in Prisons." A dramatic rise in community-based S. aureus infections, many due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has become an important public health problem. This research will determine how S. aureus enters and persists in prisons, with a long-term goal of developing strategies to prevent and control transmission in prisons and similar crowded environments.

Bruce G. Link, PhD, professor of epidemiology, received $603,225 over five years from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to develop a U.S.-U.K. comparison of discrimination and disparities in health and health service use.

Ruth Ottman, PhD, professor of epidemiology (in neurology and the Sergievsky Center, received a two-year $160,709 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a study titled "Validation of a Standardized Diagnostic Interview for Epilepsy." Dr. Ottman will evaluate the accuracy of clinical classification of epilepsy based on information collected in a standardized telephone interview and produce a web-based computer-assisted telephone interview version of the validated interview that should facilitate epidemiologic research on the causes and consequences of epilepsy.  

James Phillips, PhD, professor of clinical population and family health, received $14.7 million over five years from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's African Health Initiative to develop an exchange of health system innovations between Tanzania and Ghana, two countries that are at the forefront of health development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Leslie Roberts, PhD, associate clinical professor of population and family health, received $1.5 million over five years from the CDC/National Center for Environmental Health to develop methods for better documenting human and child-rights violations in times of armed conflict.