FALL/WINTER 2019

Columbia Dean to Step Down After 14 years, Lee Goldman Medicine to leave leadership roles The Legacy of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons Kira Sergievsky Her epilepsy inspired her family to establish the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center

SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING, INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR PREVENTION, SUICIDE AND HOPE • FROM• FROM THE THE DEAN DEAN

Dear Readers,

In my 2015 book, “Too Much of a Good Thing,” the system and make things better (fatalistic I described four key survival traits that have suicide). Suicide is far more common enabled humans to stay alive for over 200,000 among people who abuse drugs and alcohol. years. One of these was the hypervigilance The alcohol and drugs probably directly needed to avoid getting killed—no small feat contribute to the risk of suicide, but we in prehistoric times, when violence caused also know that drug and alcohol abuse can

JÖRG MEYER up to a quarter of human deaths. Though it be precipitated by the same emotions that seems counterintuitive, some of the mental precipitate suicide. illnesses that can precipitate suicide derive For nearly 200,000 years, our ancestors from the related survival traits: the anxiety fought a veritable arms race between and phobias needed to avoid life-threatening developing more sophisticated ways to kill situations, as well as the withdrawal and and designing better defensive strategies to temporary depression that give us time to avoid getting killed. The good news is that recuperate after a loss. We also need to know the defense is winning. The bad news is when to fight, when to flee, and when to be that the balance has tipped to the point where submissive if we can’t win or escape. our defenses against being murdered are Over time, however, violence has declined, now precipitating anxiety and depression that and the world has gotten much safer. are killing more of us than the violence they Unfortunately, this decline in violence is were designed to avoid. Suicide is the 10th partially offset by the fact that suicide is most common cause of death in the United now about twice as common as murder in States and the seventh leading cause of lost the United States today. More U.S. veterans years of life. Depression is the fifth leading and active-duty service members die each contributor to years lived with disability. year from suicides than the total American Regardless of the reasons behind the military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even statistics, we all can agree that these when guns are involved, suicides outnumber numbers are too high. I invite you to murder and all other causes combined. explore the articles inside this issue to As a result, the same hypervigilant, fear- learn about the progress being made at driven survival mechanisms that helped Columbia to understand and prevent our ancestors know, learn, and remember suicide. Our researchers and experts are how to avoid getting killed now are doing their part to turn the hypervigilance counterproductive because of the anxiety, of our ancestors into research and new phobias, depression, and even suicide that treatments that will reduce the number they can cause. of lost years and lost lives. For individuals, the pain caused by sadness, hopelessness, and depression— With best wishes for a happy and healthy 2020, inadequately treated if treated at all—is what usually leads to suicide. Suicide also can be linked to losing social contact with family and friends (egoistic suicide), to the failure to achieve desired goals (anomic suicide), Lee Goldman, MD, Dean and to frustration about an inability to fight [email protected]

ON THE COVER: Illustration by Scott Bakal Vol. 39 No. 2 Fall/Winter 2019 in thisIssue departments features

2 Letters/Editor’s Note

3 VP&S News

10 Clinical Advances • Is a Genetic Cure for Sickle Cell Disease on the Horizon?

• The Neonatal Comfort Care Program

30 Alumni News & Notes • P rofile: Peter Bolo’85 • N ewest honorary graduate: Lisa Mellman

• Alumni in Print • Anke Nolting to Retire The Survivors Left Behind • Daniela Lamas’08: TV Writer 12 By Christine Yu 43 In Memoriam “Life After Suicide,” a book written by Jennifer Ashton, a 2000 graduate and ABC News chief medical correspondent, describes the hope, strength, resilience, Faculty and alumni who have died help, and love that defined her family’s journey toward healing.

Studying Suicide: Brain Imaging, Neurochemistry, Molecular Genetics 18 Offer Insight By Anne Harding

Longtime studies supported by federal funding have allowed Columbia researchers to identify four behavioral indicators that characterize depressed suicidal individuals and to map the indicators to specific areas of the brain. Each risk factor is potentially modifiable.

Preventing Suicide: Genetic Studies, 24 Screenings, Apps By Joseph Neighbor

Columbia has more people working on suicide prevention research than anywhere in the world, says J. John Mann, recipient of a 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, but even successful identification of individuals at risk will not eliminate 10 the largest challenge: stigma. ColumbiaMedicine Letters Chairman, Editorial Board Thomas Q. Morris, MD Remembering a Mentor Alumni Professor Emeritus of Clinical Medicine I was very saddened to read in the spring/summer edition of Columbia Editor Medicine of the passing of Ralph James Veenema, MD. He was one of Bonita Eaton Enochs my mentors during my 1966-1970 residency at Squier Urological Clinic. Science Editor He was a very meticulous surgeon with a very precise analytical mind. Susan Conova When we presented surgical cases to him he would ask penetrating questions re: the reasoning behind our choices. In cancer cases, he would Contributing Writers Jeff Ballinger Joseph Neighbor stress whether we were operating for “curative” or “palliative” reasons. Alan Dove Rose Spaziani In dissection, he abhorred blunt finger dissection and preferred precise Tim Gahr Christine Yu instrument use for controlled dissection. He did not favor the classic Anne Harding suprapubic prostatectomy because it was not precise or controlled. Alumni News Editor He much preferred the retropubic transcapsular approach where you Marianne Wolff, MD dissect under direct vision. He even perfected a specialized retropubic Alumni Writer prostate retractor (named after him). After I entered private practice in Julia Hickey Miami, Florida, I would, at times, have surgical cases where I realized I was analyzing and planning a procedure and asking myself the same Design and Art Direction Eson Chan questions that Dr. Veenema asked of us during these residency years. He had a great influence on me and many of his other residents. Editorial Board Ian Nisonson’62 Ryan Blake’20 Lisa Mellman, MD James Choi’21 Stephen E. Novak Via email Ron Drusin, MD Carmen Ortiz-Neu, MD Bruce Forester, MD Ajay Padaki, MD Oscar Garfein, MD Richard Polin, MD Sankar Ghosh, PhD Donald Quest, MD send letters to: Lee Goldman, MD Alan Schechter, MD Bonita Eaton Enochs, Editor Tom Hickernell, MD John Schullinger, MD Columbia Medicine Jay Lefkowitch, MD Joseph Tenenbaum, MD Ashley London’21 Jonathan Xu’20 Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons 630 W. 168th St., Box 153 Columbia Medicine is published twice a year for alumni, faculty, New York, NY 10032 students, and other supporters of the Columbia University Email: [email protected] Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. It is published by the college and the VP&S Alumni Association through the VP&S Office of Communications. Additional content can be found in the online edition at columbiamedicinemagazine.org. Lee Goldman, MD Editor’s Note Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine and Chief Executive of Columbia University Irving Medical Center Remembering a Staff Member Christopher DiFrancesco Inside this issue you will read about “Life After Chief Communications Officer Suicide,” the book Jennifer Ashton’00 wrote Address correspondence to: about her family’s recovery from a loved one’s Bonita Eaton Enochs, Editor death. Stigma helps hide many suicides, but they Columbia Medicine 630 W. 168th St., Box 153 touch more people than many of us realize. In New York, NY 10032 July, the Columbia Medicine staff endured its 212-305-3900 BRIAN WINKOWSKI own experience when our editorial assistant for Email: [email protected] 2½ years, Avichai Assouline, died by suicide. He was a talented writer, a gifted filmmaker and screenwriter pursuing a master’s degree, and a Join the medical school’s Facebook page at valued contributor to the magazine in myriad ways. www.facebook.com/columbiaps In the last three months of his life, Avi had opened up about being Alumni should update their addresses by writing the diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Echoing Dr. Ashton’s Alumni Association at the address above or calling the alumni rationale for writing her book, Avi decided to talk about his diagnosis office at 212-305-3498. to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide ideation. Faculty and staff should contact their departmental Avi died when living with his mental illness became unbearable, administrators to update their addresses, which are obtained and even though his byline does not appear in this issue, his inspira- through the Columbia University personnel system. tion informs every word of it. —Bonita Eaton Enochs All others with address changes should contact VP&S Communications at 212-305-3900 or columbiamedicine2 [email protected]. Fall/Winter 2019 News from around the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons VPS& news

Lee Goldman Announces Plans to Leave Posts in 2020

fter 14 years in leadership positions at VP&S and CUIMC, Lee Goldman, MD, will step down as execu- A tive vice president and dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine and chief executive of the medical center on June 30, 2020. He is the longest-serving dean since Willard Rappleye served as dean from 1930 to 1958. When Columbia President Lee Bollinger announced Dr. Gold- man’s plans to step down, he recalled how Dr. Goldman was already a deeply admired figure in academic medicine when he arrived to lead the medical center and medical school in 2006 after chairing the Department of Medicine at UCSF following positions at Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “His name was associated with diagnostic approaches he developed for predicting the cardiac risk of noncardiac surgery and for deter- mining which patients with chest pain require hospitalization, and he was at the forefront of creating the modern concept of hospitalists—innovations that transformed the delivery of medi- cal care.” Lee Goldman and Roy Vagelos at the VP&S graduation in 2018 His career flourished as dean of VP&S and chief executive of CUIMC. President Bollinger cited a host of initiatives that have In education, President Bollinger described Dr. Goldman’s leg- strengthened CUIMC. He singled out his fundraising success— acy as an enduring one. “From the opening of the spectacular new more than $2.5 billion in donations since 2006—and mentioned Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, to the adoption of an his stewardship of intellectual leadership that resulted in the innovative curriculum and state-of-the-art simulation training, launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative and the subsequent cre- and on to the replacement of need-based loans with the scholar- ation of the Institute for Genomic Medicine. ships essential to assembling a diverse student body, the Vagelos “Dr. Goldman’s impact on the medical center’s faculty will be College of Physicians and Surgeons is transformed.” felt for many years to come,” said President Bollinger. He com- In an email to the CUIMC campus in May, Dr. Goldman shared his mitted $55 million to the hiring of women and underrepresented reasons for stepping down in 2020. “My decision is driven by both minorities and facilitated the establishment of the Virginia Knee- personal and professional reasons. By a year from now, I will be 72 land Frantz Society for Women Faculty and the Kenneth A. Forde and have spent nearly 20% of my life as dean here. As deeply satisfy- Diversity Alliance. Four new academic departments were formed ing as that experience has been for me, it will be time for me to come during the Goldman era: Neuroscience, Systems Biology, Emer- full circle and re-focus on the intellectual priorities that first led me to gency Medicine, and Medical Humanities & Ethics. On the clinical a career in academic medicine.” He added a statement of confidence front, Dr. Goldman’s tenure saw the creation of a modern Faculty that VP&S and CUIMC—“both of which were newly named based Practice Organization, expansion to Westchester, New York, and on truly transformative philanthropy during the past two years”— other parts of Manhattan, and enhancement of the clinical col- will continue to thrive and are “ready for their next acts.” laboration with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The growth of “We have worked hard to create a supportive environment in which research funding is a testament to the school’s research progress everyone can succeed. Focus group feedback from faculty, staff, and under Dr. Goldman’s leadership. trainees has informed initiatives to improve the electronic medical

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 3 VPS& news

record, grants management, parental leave policies, staff career oppor- Hammer learning center, Schaefer gallery, and Alumni Auditorium. tunities, child care, and the learning environment,” Dr. Goldman wrote. All together, we have built or renovated nearly 1.7 million square feet He added an acknowledgement of the advantages of having an inte- of space for our students, clinicians, researchers, and staff.” grated health sciences campus. “The successes of the Mailman School Calling himself a temporary steward of VP&S and CUIMC, Dr. of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, and the School of Goldman added, “Success is a team effort, and I will always be Nursing have paralleled the success at VP&S, with curricular innova- personally grateful to everyone whose time, energy, and resources tions and growing academic programs. We have made major invest- have contributed to the success of VP&S and CUIMC.” ments in our campus, not only the new Vagelos Education Center Dr. Goldman will remain on the VP&S and Mailman School of Pub- but also a new, world-class building for the School of Nursing, the lic Health faculties after he steps down from his executive positions.

Ron Drusin, Education Dean, Steps Down

Across nearly six decades at Columbia, Ronald E. Drusin’66 has ics with basic science concepts and clinical skills. The Center for been a medical student, resident, cardiology fellow, cardiologist, Education Research and Evaluation was created to facilitate imple- teacher, alumnus, and administrator at the Vagelos College of Phy- mentation and evaluation of the new curriculum, to foster educa- sicians and Surgeons. tion research on campus, and to help advance the reputation of the “It has been an extraordinary experience to watch the evolution school and faculty nationally. and growth of the medical school, health sciences campus, and “The 2009 curriculum changes shortened classroom time to hospital,” says Dr. Drusin, the Rolf H. Scholdager Professor of open more opportunities for students to explore and understand Medicine at CUMC, who stepped down as vice dean for education their individual passions in medicine and the different paths they in December 2019 after 11 years in the position. could take,” says Dr. Drusin. New programs included a required Dr. Drusin, who grew up in Long Beach, scholarly project to help students nurture a research interest and New York, was torn between a career in the Columbia-Bassett program to immerse a group of students in journalism or medicine, choosing the lat- the delivery of health care to a large, mostly rural population. ter because “I liked science and the role a Lisa Mellman, MD, senior associate dean for student affairs, physician plays in service.” describes Dr. Drusin as an outstanding facilitator. “He has built an As an undergraduate student at Union Col- excellent team of people who are passionate about medical educa- lege, he spent a winter break writing a genet- tion, who work well and collaborate together.” ics paper at the library at Columbia’s medical Dr. Drusin calls changes on campus rapid in recent years. “We’re school. “At that time, I never thought I would all proud of having the Vagelos Education Center, and I’m grateful spend all my days at Columbia,” he recalls. to the Vagelos family for the building and for our scholarship pro- After medical school, Dr. Drusin com- gram,” says Dr. Drusin. “We’ve incorporated the building’s simu- pleted his residency at Columbia. He served lation center into virtually all clinical programs and our Ready 4 in the military as a commissioned officer Residency course.” JÖRG MEYER from 1969 to 1971 at the National Commu- Through the changes and career moves, one constant has nicable Disease Center, now the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- been Dr. Drusin’s bond with his family. He met his wife, Janet vention, before returning to Columbia for a cardiology fellowship. van Adelsberg, when she was a resident at Columbia. She served Dr. Drusin joined the VP&S faculty in 1973, honing his skills as on the VP&S faculty until 2000 and is currently a vice president a cardiologist and forming a practice with two cardiologists. He at GlaxoSmithKline. Their daughter, Madeleine Drusin’16, is a became the first medical director of the heart transplant program fourth-year resident in the combined Columbia-Cornell otolaryn- that opened at what was Columbia-Presbyterian in 1977. gology program, and daughter Olivia is an artist. “My career took new roads as new opportunities arose,” says Dr. “It’s a real privilege to have played a role in the transplant pro- Drusin, who began chairing the VP&S curriculum committee in the gram that’s now a premier program in the country, to take care of 1980s and held the role for more than 30 years. He helped to steer patients with difficult conditions, and to have an impact on the and implement two curriculum revisions, in 1991 and 2009. values and skills our students learn, giving them the best opportu- The changes in the curriculum in the 1990s were radical, eschew- nities for their individual growth,” says Dr. Drusin. ing department-based courses for courses integrating medical top- — Rose Spaziani

4 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Lisa Kachnic: New Chair Anne Armstrong-Coben: New Senior of Radiation Oncology Associate Dean for Admissions Lisa Kachnic, MD, one of the nation’s lead- Anne Armstrong-Coben, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, became senior ing radiation oncologists and a pioneer of associate dean for admissions in July after serving as interim dean for nearly a new approaches to optimize the effectiveness year. She has been a member of the medical school’s admissions committee since of radiation therapy, has been named chair 2011 and briefly served as assistant dean for admissions. of the Department of Radiation Oncology at “I am looking forward to continuing the VP&S tradition of identifying brilliant, VP&S, chief of the radiation oncology service humanistic individuals who grow together individually and as a class on the journey at NewYork-Presbyterian/CUIMC, and the from student to doctor and then go on to contribute to medicine in unique and pro- Chu H. Chang Professor of Radiation Oncol- found ways,” says Dr. Armstrong-Coben, a 1989 graduate of VP&S. ogy. She joined Columbia Sept. 1, 2019. She During her interim year as dean, she convened diverse faculty to form an also serves as associ- Admissions Committee approved by the VP&S Faculty Council to make all ate director for can- admissions-related decisions. Together with the committee, she selected the cer network strategy VP&S Class of 2023, a group of students that includes musicians, athletes, and in the Herbert Irving researchers. Ten percent of the class members come from families of first-gener- Comprehensive Can- ation college students. cer Center. Dr. Armstrong-Coben completed her residency in pediatrics at Columbia Dr. Kachnic joined before joining the Columbia faculty in 1992. She practiced primary care pedi- Columbia from Vander- atrics in Washington Heights in the hospital’s Ambulatory Care Network and bilt University School developed programs for homeless adolescents and children in foster care. of Medicine, where she She has worked closely with VP&S students as an advisory dean since 2011 and was professor and chair as associate director of community pediatrics overseeing service-learning. She has of radiation oncology. received national recognition for curriculum development and implementation She previously served in the areas of community pediatrics and service-learning. She also received the CHARLES MANLEY on the radiation oncol- Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Hope for Children Foundation and the ogy faculty at Massachusetts General Hospi- Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. tal and Boston University School of Medicine. Donald Quest, MD, the J. Lawrence Pool Professor of Neurological Surgery, also She is a fellow of the American Society for Radi- joined the admissions office as assistant dean for admissions, a role he filled on an ation Oncology. interim basis during the 2018-19 academic year. A 1970 graduate of VP&S, he A past president and current governor of the joined Columbia’s faculty in 1978. He was one of the first medical education faculty American Board of Radiology, Dr. Kachnic is members to take part in the Advisory Dean Program launched in 2003 and contin- internationally known for her clinical trial ues to participate in the program as an assistant dean for student affairs. leadership positions in the National Cancer Institute and its cooperative group research bases. She is widely recognized for gastrointes- tinal research that has transformed the stan- dard of care for several cancers by integrating novel radiation delivery techniques. She is vice chair of the radiation oncology commit- tee and co-chair of the ano-rectal subcommit- tee for the SWOG Cancer Research Network research base, where she serves as the multi- modality executive officer. Dr. Kachnic earned an undergraduate degree from Boston College and a medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. She

completed a residency in radiation oncology at AMELIA PANICO

Harvard University, where she was chief resi- Anne Armstrong-Coben, third from left, posed at the 2019 White Coat Ceremony with some of the dent in her last year of residency. Class of 2023 members she helped choose while interim senior associate dean for admissions.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 5 VPS& news

The Legacy of Kira Sergievsky: Her Health Inspired Sergievsky Center Kira Sergievsky was from a family whose history reads like a novel, but people who remember her from her time at Columbia only knew her as an unassuming clerk in the Department of Neurology medical library. She died Jan. 17, 2019, in Florida after a lifetime of severe epilepsy and partial paralysis. She was 80 years old. Ms. Sergievsky, who inspired the establishment of Columbia’s Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center in 1977, was the daughter of a swashbuckling pilot and a shy heiress. Surgery intended to treat her severe epilepsy left her par- AMELIA PANICO tially paralyzed, prompting her parents to found the Sergievsky Center, named for Kira Sergievsky’s mother, to study epilepsy and other neurologi- About the Class of 2023 cal diseases and develop better treatments. 140 students Richard Mayeux, MD, who is now the Sergievsky Professor of Neurol- ogy, Psychiatry, and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Neurol- • 115 MD students ogy, knew Ms. Sergievsky when he was a neurology resident. “I never knew • 12 MD-PhD students her last name, but most of the other residents also knew her,” says Dr. • 10 Columbia-Bassett students Mayeux. He did not know about her influence on his field until after he had • 1 PhD-to-MD student been appointed to the Sergievsky professorship decades later. Ms. Sergievsky’s father, Boris Sergievsky, served in the Russian Air Force in • 2 oral and maxillofacial surgery students World War I, then fought on the Tsarist side in the Russian Civil War before leaving for America. While working as a test pilot for fellow expatriate and Scholarships and financial aid former school friend Igor Sikorsky, he delivered an airplane to the Hochs- • 86% received some form of financial aid child family, which had a vast mining fortune. The young Gertrude Hochs- • 2 9% received scholarships without any parental child fell hard for the dashing former Tsarist pilot, and the two soon married. contributions to tuition or living expenses Their son, Orest Sergievsky, became a famous ballet dancer. Kira Ser- gievsky’s disability limited her movement and speech, but she excelled 70 women/70 men at her work in the medical library. “She was very friendly, very smart, and always very helpful in the library,” Dr. Mayeux says. During his Age range: 20-36 residency, Dr. Mayeux, a chronic insomniac while on call at the hospi- tal, would give lists of books and journals to the head librarian for the nights he was on call, and Ms. Sergievsky would help retrieve them. 30 underrepresented minorities (21%) Between consults Dr. Mayeux would find his materials waiting for him in the reading room, along with a cookie. 7,914 total applications through AMCAS and 7,080 Witnessing their daughter’s struggles, Kira Sergievsky’s parents decided secondary applications (including 1,316 from to use their money to help fight epilepsy, with an emphasis on understand- applicants underrepresented in medicine) ing the condition and finding better ways to prevent and treat it. Mervyn Susser, MB, BCH, chair of Columbia’s epidemiology department at the 1,073 interviews conducted (including 215 for time, persuaded them to set up the Sergievsky Center as an independent applicants underrepresented in medicine) unit within the university, with its director answering directly to the dean. “I took over after Mervyn retired,” says Dr. Mayeux, who adds that the 63 colleges represented Sergievsky family has been as generous in approving the direction of the center as in funding it. “I told the family that I was interested in continu- 32 states represented ing the work on epilepsy, but we were going to broaden the center’s per- spective, and they were very happy with that.” The Gertrude Sergievsky Center now integrates clinical, epidemiologi- 16 foreign countries represented (Brazil, Canada, cal, and genetic research that focuses on diseases of the brain and ner- China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, vous system throughout the life cycle. Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, — Alan Dove Sweden, and Venezuela)

6 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 News in Brief

Rui Costa, DVM, PhD, and Anil K. Rustgi, MD, have been elected to the National Acad- emy of Medicine. Members are elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding achievement, one of the high- est honors bestowed in the field of medicine. Drs. Costa MELANIE EINZIG and Rustgi are among 100 new Velocity, Columbia’s Ride to End Cancer, raised a record $1.5 million in its third ride in October 2019. members elected in 2019. The More than 1,000 riders, volunteers, and supporters participated in the event, which raises funds to sup- contributions of Dr. Costa, an port cancer research and patient care at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. The photo expert on how the brain learns above shows participants who biked from the 10-mile mark to the medical center. and initiates movement, extend to many key areas of neurosci- ence. His work on the brain contributions to the fundamen- In her Laboratory for Stem and organs that mimic human circuitry that drives movement tal molecular understanding Cells and Tissue Engineer- physiology–to test new drugs initiation has brought critical of gastrointestinal cancers. ing at the medical center, Dr. and personalize patient treat- understanding to movement He and his collaborators use Vunjak-Novakovic creates new ment. Dr. Vunjak-Novakovic, disorders such as Parkinson’s genetically engineered mouse ways to engineer human tis- also a member of the National disease. He has developed models and novel 3D culture sues that could repair damaged Academy of Medicine and the powerful new approaches that models to investigate the role organs, help scientists study National Academy of Engi- neering, has appointments in medicine at VP&S and in engi- neering at Morningside.

David Buchholz, MD, has joined Columbia as senior founding medical director for primary care. Working with ColumbiaDoctors and NewYork-Presbyterian, he BARBARA ALPER JÖRG MEYER will lead an expanded primary Rui Costa Anil K. Rustgi Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic care strategy that will provide greater access for patients to combine genetics, cutting-edge of cancer-causing genes and development and disease, and primary care services across imaging technology, and brain- tumor suppressor genes in the provide faster methods to the New York metropolitan machine interfaces. He is direc- pathogenesis of gastrointestinal test new drugs. Her research area, with the goal of improv- tor and CEO of the Mortimer cancers, including esophageal, has potential to develop new ing clinical care for patients B. Zuckerman Mind Brain colon, and pancreatic cancers. materials and techniques to and their families. Dr. Buch- Behavior Institute at Columbia Dr. Rustgi also is associate dean grow bone grafts for facial holz joined Columbia from and professor of neuroscience of oncology and the Irving Pro- reconstruction, create heart Premera Blue Cross near and of neurology at VP&S. fessor of Medicine at VP&S. patches that could repair dam- Seattle, where he was medi- Dr. Rustgi, director of the age after a heart attack, and cal director of provider and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, improve the way lungs are customer engagement. He Cancer Center at Columbia PhD, University Professor, has recovered for transplantation. previously served as executive and NewYork-Presbyterian/ been elected to the American The lab is designing “organs medical director of UCSF Pri- CUIMC, has made substantial Academy of Arts and Sciences. on a chip”–miniature tissues mary Care in San Francisco.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 7 VPS& news

Goal of MD-PhD Student Research: Improve Patient Care

Graduate student Ben Schrank’s paper in Nature started with a clinical and scientific education, enabling our graduates to become hunch. Dr. Schrank, a student in Columbia’s MD-PhD program, research innovators and play a key role in the translation of scien- and his mentor Jean Gautier, PhD, were looking for new proteins tific findings to clinical practice.” that might be involved in DNA repair. “If you’re able to inhibit Dr. Schrank submitted his research to Cell and spent eight DNA repair, you could make cancer treatments more effective,” months interacting with the journal’s editors and revising the says Dr. Schrank, who received his PhD degree in November 2018. draft before the paper was turned down. Rejection stung, but Dr. A mass spectrometry machine analyzed a batch of frog DNA and Schrank pressed on. The paper was strengthened through multiple produced a list of more than 100 proteins that could potentially revisions and was ultimately accepted by Nature with Dr. Schrank play a role. Two possibilities—Arp2/3 and actin—stood out to Dr. earning a first author credit. Schrank and Dr. Gautier, professor of genetics & development in the Dr. Schrank plans a career in radiation oncology, an area closely Institute for Cancer Genetics, who has studied DNA repair for years. tied to the research he has conducted. Since completing his clinical “Our project was high risk, high reward,” says Dr. Schrank. clerkships, he’s come to fully appreciate the thoughtful discussions “There was no precedent in the scientific literature that explained happening at Columbia around patient care and research. “The con- active roles for Arp2/3 and actin. It was a gamble on my part. Jean versations are not just about how we should treat patients,” he says. and I talked and he encouraged me to do the experiments.” “They’re about why we’re providing this treatment for a patient. Those experiments revealed that Arp2/3 and actin are critical What’s the evidence for this treatment?” He believes the MD-PhD JEFFREY SCHIFMAN conductors of DNA repair. The proteins push the ends of broken program is preparing him to go beyond practicing medicine to bring DNA into clusters where repairs are made, and repair falters when change to the field—and that change comes from knowing how to damaged DNA can’t be moved. ask the right questions and find the answers in science. Discoveries like this underscore the mission of Columbia’s MD- “The beauty of research is it’s very autonomous,” says Dr. Schrank. PhD program. Student trainees hone their research skills in the “I came into the lab day and night. I had a list of experiments and labs of faculty mentors, pursuing scientific findings that may be ran them simultaneously. All of my experiments went into the paper.” translated into clinical practice. The program matriculates 12 to 15 students per year, and the program currently has 104 MD-PhD Building Resilience as a Research Scientist students, from those in their first year to those in their final year MD-PhD students are expected to publish their work. The pro- of the program. cess can be grueling. There are no guarantees when conducting “The goal of the MD-PhD program is to train the next gen- research. Aha moments are few and far between. eration of biomedical leaders,” says Steven L. Reiner, MD, direc- “The process of conducting research and turning it into a paper tor of the MD-PhD program. “The curriculum emphasizes both is long and a lot of it is out of your control,” says Matthew Decker, an MD-PhD student in the lab of Lei Ding, PhD, assistant profes- sor of rehabilitation & regenerative medicine and of microbiology Ben Schrank & immunology. “There are many ups and downs, but they’re also a valuable part of your training.” In addition to publishing their research, MD-PhD students have to navigate a program that starts with medical school, then moves to the laboratory, and then back to medical school. “MD to PhD is like switching to a different part of the brain but in an enjoyable way,” says Dr. Decker, who received his PhD in September 2018. “As a PhD student, you are creating new knowledge in a narrow field. As a medical student, you’re learning an incredible amount from a huge field. These are two different modes of learning but doing both gives you a great combination of skills invaluable to a doctor and research scientist.” During the initial MD portion, students follow the same curric- ulum as traditional medical students but also rotate in labs to find the right research mentor. “I wanted to work with an investigator beginning his career,” Dr. Decker explains, “someone who would

SUSAN CONOVA trust me with big ideas and projects.”

8 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 control HSCs: What causes them to generate more stem cells or go on a different path and develop into more mature cells. These processes often go awry in blood cancers. In her paper in Nature Cell Biology, Dr. Lee identified a new fac- tor—called m6a methylation—that pushes HSCs to become mature cells but is not needed once cells have matured. “Our study and oth- ers suggest it may be possible to develop m6A-targeted therapies against leukemia cells without damaging HSC function,” she says. Though excited by the findings, she also experienced some uncertainty. Her research contradicted a long-held assumption among scientists that removing m6A alters gene expression; Dr. Lee found no such change. “I had a moment of doubt,” says Dr. Lee, whose paper was rejected by two other journals before it was accepted for publication. “I ques- tioned my research at first but ultimately I had to trust myself.” Trusting her gut led Dr. Lee to science in the first place, combined Matthew Decker with the example of her parents who were graduate students when they met. In college, Dr. Lee conducted research for three years in an immunology lab and planned to apply to medical school. Her faculty Dr. Decker studied how the body supports production of hema- mentor encouraged her to consider an MD-PhD program, something topoietic stem cells (HSCs), which give rise to all blood cells. With she had not known existed. Going through the program has only the help of machinery that can sort through tens of millions of solidified her interest in a career as a medical scientist. cells, Decker discovered that a growth factor that keeps HSCs healthy is supplied by a surprising source, the liver. These findings could inform how HSCs are stimulated for therapeutic use and Heather Lee lead to improvements in bone marrow transplantation. After 18 months of research, Dr. Decker began preparing a manuscript, which took another month. In the weeks after he submitted the manuscript to Nature and waited for feedback, he continued to conduct experiments and gather more data. The manuscript was turned down, so he submitted it again, this time to Cell, and received another rejection. “One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes people will not be interested in the things you’re interested in and that’s not a reflec- tion of the worth of your research,” says Dr. Decker. He used the comments from the journals, as well as data from ongoing experiments, to improve the paper. Next time he submit- ted the research, it was accepted by Science.

Feeling of Freedom Heather Lee, like Dr. Decker, is an MD-PhD student in Dr. Ding’s JEFFREY SCHIFMAN lab, where she has room to branch out. She is the only one in the lab investigating the behavior of genes within HSCs instead of “My goal is to have a career combining research and medicine,” examining their environment. says Dr. Lee. “The training in Columbia’s MD-PhD program “It’s a great feeling to come to the lab and have your own proj- opens a lot of doors to ask clinical and translational questions and ect, decide the research questions, and then figure out how to those are skills that a lot of other people don’t have. Conducting answer them,” says Dr. Lee, who received her PhD in November biomedical scientific research provides useful information. What 2019. “You can’t find these answers on the Internet.” you find will help people in some way and you’re adding to this What Dr. Lee studies may one day impact treatments for leuke- scientific community that’s trying to understand things better.” mia and other types of blood diseases. She studies the factors that — Rose Spaziani

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 9 New devices, procedures, guidelines for clinicians Clinicaladvances

Is a Genetic Cure for Sickle Cell

Disease on the Horizon? By Jeff Ballinger

esearchers studying early results Currently, the only potential curative risk of treatment-related complications, from ongoing gene therapy tri- option for sickle cell disease is a stem cell especially development of graft vs. host dis- Rals at Columbia have grown transplant using bone marrow or blood ease. The results at Columbia using these optimistic about finding a safer treatment stem cells from related or unrelated donors. unrelated or mismatched transplants are and potential cure for sickle cell disease. Other therapies can reduce symptoms and very encouraging, demonstrating that these Researchers in the Bone Marrow Trans- mortality, but they do not address the root types of transplants can be performed safely plantation and Cell Therapy Program, led cause of the disease. although they are still associated with risks. by Markus Y. Mapara, MD, PhD, are par- Columbia is one of the largest centers “It would be nice to correct the sickle cell ticipating in multicenter trials of two kinds in the nation using stem cell transplants defect with a safer approach and one that is of gene therapies. to treat sickle cell disease, but only a small available to all patients in case a matched “These therapies may completely change fraction of patients have a suitably matched sibling cannot be identified,” Dr. Mapara our approach to taking care of patients related sibling donor. Therefore, use of says. “Columbia is one of the few centers in with this disease,” says Dr. Mapara, pro- unrelated or mismatched related donors is the world which has access to two types of fessor of medicine at CUMC. also an option, but fraught with a higher gene therapy trials for sickle cell disease.” The trial of a gene therapy developed by Bluebird Bio is farthest along. The treat- ment takes stem cells from the patient and inserts a new gene that produces a modi- fied hemoglobin. After the engineered stem cells are trans- planted back into the patient, they engraft into the bone marrow and produce new red blood cells that are less likely to sickle. This procedure has been performed on more than 20 patients, including three at Columbia, says Dr. Mapara. “The results indeed appear to be very, very good,” resulting in increasing total hemoglobin levels, decreases in hemolysis, and apparent reduction of the number of painful vaso- occlusive crises. The other trial also involves genetic modification of a patient’s stem cells. This approach, devised by Vertex Pharmaceuti- cals, uses CRISPR gene editing to disable the gene that turns off the production of fetal hemoglobin, a natural process that typically

SHUTTERSTOCK happens shortly after birth. If the therapy is

10 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 successful, the patient’s stem cells will pro- ferent institution, but the Columbia program estimated three times that many children are duce more red blood cells with fetal hemo- has identified the next three patients to receive born with the disease worldwide each year. globin, which reduces sickling caused by the the therapy and is in the process of stem cell “These patients are sick from the day patient’s sickle hemoglobin. mobilization of these individuals. they are born,” says Dr. Mapara. “Success- “We know that sickle cell patients who nat- These experimental gene therapies are ful treatment would hopefully give these urally produce fetal hemoglobin have fewer restricted to adolescents and adults enrolled patients a normal life.” painful episodes, fewer complications, and in clinical trials, Dr. Mapara says, but could better survival, and in theory this therapy will be used some day on children. More information is available at the program produce similar results,” says Dr. Mapara. Sickle cell disease is present at birth and website, cancer.columbia.edu/bone-marrow- The first patient received this therapy at a dif- affects approximately 100,000 Americans. An stem-cell-transplantation

The Neonatal Comfort Care Program By Susan Conova

Most babies born in hospitals go home healthy with happy par- sometimes more complicated and time-consuming than with other ents, but for some born with life-limiting conditions, these babies infants,” Dr. Parravicini says, “and can even include surgery to may have only weeks, days, or even hours to live. improve the baby’s quality of life. Whether a baby has a short life Columbia neonatologist Elvira Parravicini, MD, associate pro- or a long one, he/she only needs love and comfort, so we always fessor of pediatrics at CUMC, has transformed the way these ask ourselves, ‘How can we help the baby be comfortable?’” infants are cared for, giving parents special time to enjoy mother- The baby’s time with parents and other family members is pri- hood and fatherhood for as long as their child lives. oritized, and babies are placed in postpartum private rooms with Dr. Parravicini became a neonatologist because she wanted to their mothers, not in the hectic NICU, to give parents space and save babies’ lives. “I never imagined I would end up taking care of time to hold, feed, and bond with their children. babies born with terminal illnesses who are destined to live very As word spread about Dr. Parravicini’s program, more families short lives,” she says. chose to deliver their terminally ill babies at Columbia. Over time, Her life changed about 10 years ago during a routine meeting with the support of philanthropic donations, Dr. Parravicini built with other physicians to discuss the care of expectant mothers who a dedicated team consisting of a nurse coordinator, a bilingual had just learned their children would be born with grave condi- social worker, and a program manager. Assisting the core team tions not amenable to medical treatment. Most families facing the are a high-risk obstetrician, labor and delivery room nurse, speech news that their baby will only live for a very short time choose to pathologist, lactation consultant, child life specialist, psychologist, end the pregnancy. This meeting was unusual: Two families, each and chaplain. carrying a fetus with trisomy 18, wanted to deliver their babies. The Neonatal Comfort Care Program helps families navigate If they survive the delivery, babies born with trisomy 18 can have the practical and emotional challenges of caring for a baby with multiple life-threatening problems, including structural heart defects, a life-limiting condition from diagnosis through delivery and airway obstruction, and profound motor and cognitive disabilities. beyond, including short- and long-term bereavement support. Only 5% to 10% of these infants reach their first birthdays. The Neonatal Comfort Care Program now helps more than 100 As the physicians discussed their options, Dr. Parravicini raised families each year. Dr. Parravicini and her team are also committed her hand and suggested comfort care. “To tell the truth, I had no to education by teaching professionals at Columbia and in other idea what comfort care meant at that moment, but I wanted to institutions in the United States and internationally. They hope affirm that there was a way to take care of them,” Dr. Parravicini their specialized approach will become the standard of care for wrote in a 2014 article describing her intuition for what came to these fragile babies around the world. be an innovative treatment for these fragile yet precious babies. “We use all of our medical knowledge and humanity to care Dr. Parravicini decided to revitalize the term comfort care. Tra- for these babies so that they and their parents can experience the ditionally this term has been used to indicate a plan of care that beauty of love and welcoming,” says Dr. Parravicini. strives to keep the baby free from pain but does not address sev- eral other basic needs of a baby, such as bonding, warmth, hun- For more information, visit the Neonatal Comfort Care Program ger, and thirst. “With comfort care, taking care of these babies is website at neonatalcomfortcare.com.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 11 12 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 The Survivors Left Behind

ne day in June 2018, Jennifer MD, died by suicide at the age of 52, 18 days Jennifer Ashton’s Ashton’00 had filmed a segment after his divorce from Dr. Ashton was finalized. Book Discusses for “Good Morning America” Dr. Ashton was blindsided and blamed herself. as chief medical correspondent Her ex-husband did not display any of the clas- Loss Following Ofor ABC News and completed six hours of sic signs of depression or outward symptoms a Suicide in appointments in her medical office when she of other mental health issues that she learned Her Family learned about Kate Spade’s suicide. Later about in medical school. She had seen him while boarding a flight, she received a request three days before his death at their daughter from a senior producer of “Good Morning Chloe’s hockey game. They took family pho- America”: Would she be willing to talk about tos and had dinner together. Everything seemed Kate Spade’s suicide on the next day’s edition? normal. How could she miss this? News of Ms. Spade’s death by suicide had Dr. Ashton told her producer that she would plunged her into a familiar, icy-cold numbness. need to check with her kids first to get their Typically, Dr. Ashton is not one to shy away okay. “I was secretly hoping that they would from discussing difficult or intimate subjects. say, ‘Please don’t do it,’” she says. “Instead, The board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist they said, ‘You have to talk about this. You has discussed everything from maternal mor- have to use your voice and your platform tality to menopause to mass shootings on air. because so many people are suffering and However, she was caught off guard by the pro- going through what we’re going through.’” ducer’s request. This topic? It felt unthinkable She agreed to go on camera on one con- to discuss, let alone publicly in front of mil- dition: Dr. Ashton would not speak in her lions of TV viewers. professional capacity as a doctor. She would Just over a year earlier, Dr. Ashton and her speak as someone whose life has been affected two teenage children, Alex and Chloe, suffered by suicide. This wasn’t just another news story a shocking and devastating loss. Her ex-hus- for her. She wanted to begin to break down

JÖRG MEYER band, thoracic surgeon Robert C. Ashton Jr., the dark stigma that surrounds suicide and the By Christine Yu survivors who are left with anger, guilt, blame, It wasn’t until then that Dr. Ashton realized and a million what-ifs to sort through. that sharing her family’s story could offer sol- Dr. Ashton went on the air the next day and ace and community for the many others who spoke about her family’s experience of losing a have been left behind by a similar unthinkable loved one and coping with and surviving sui- loss. After all, the stories of other survivors of cide. Initially, she was worried that the public suicide loss provided tremendous comfort for would judge her. Instead she was blown away her and her family as they navigated the griev- by the response she received. “I got tweets, ing and healing process. texts, emails, social media mentions, Instagram Dr. Ashton wanted to continue the dialogue messages—all of people saying, ‘Finally, some- that started that morning on “Good Morning one is speaking for what we’re going through.’ I America” about the role conversation and com- was just completely shocked by that,” she says. munity can play in recovering from the death of a loved one by suicide and the work needed to de-stigmatize mental illness. In May 2019, her book—“Life After Suicide: Finding Courage, Comfort and Community After Unthinkable Loss”—was released, which shares her family’s personal experience as well as stories from other families and mental health experts.

A Ripple Effect The CDC calls suicide the 10th leading cause of death across all age groups in the United States, and among health care professionals— physicians, dentists, nurses, and other allied health professionals—the suicide rate is higher on average. The suicide rate among doctors is more than double that of the general popu- lation, according to a review of 10 years of literature presented at the American Psychia- try Association annual meeting in May 2018. Between 300 and 400 physicians die by sui- cide each year, a rate of 28 to 40 per 100,000. Experts believe the high stress environment and intense care-giving demands, which can lead to physical and emotional fatigue as well as burnout, may contribute to these higher rates. “Many go into this field to be healers and caregivers. Sometimes, even with their best efforts, they can’t necessarily save some- body. That can wear on you over time,” says Jane Bogart, EdD, director of the Center for Student Wellness at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Plus, the demanding profession often requires long hours and sac- rifice, sometimes of a person’s own well-being. “Neglect of well-being can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and compassion fatigue, and that neglect can prevent physicians from taking the time they need to address these issues and to

JÖRG MEYER seek support for mental health concerns.”

14 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 But many physicians are reluctant to ask for help. A survey of American surgeons revealed that one in 16 had experienced suicidal ide- ation in the previous 12 months, but only 26 percent sought psychiatric assistance. The stigma associated with mental illness may discourage doctors from asking for help, and some may fear that a mental health diagnosis could jeopardize their medical license or cause issues with their insurance. National awareness of the prevalence of suicidality—suicide ideation, suicide plans and attempts, and completed suicide—has increased, but the stigma remains that makes it difficult for those suffering from mental health issues to get help. It also can leave survivors of suicide feeling isolated, which can compound the intense feelings of grief. Grieving any death is hard, but the loss left death, Dr. Ashton sat in her living room with Grieving any in suicide’s wake is like no other. It’s a differ- three friends who have each struggled through ent kind of death and grief, says Dr. Ashton. a loved one’s suicide. In her book she writes, death is hard, It’s a complex and traumatic process that can “I didn’t have to explain anything to them, but the loss leave suicide loss survivors with mixed emo- or defend, or justify, or atone, or edit myself. left in suicide’s tions, feelings of guilt and anger, and an acute They’d been where I was. They knew. And need to find a reason for why it happened. they’d survived it. I’d survive it too. I had to, wake is like As a doctor, Dr. Ashton was embarrassed for my children. I just couldn’t imagine how.” no other. It’s a that she did not know a lot about suicide. She different kind of was unprepared for the physical and emotional Post-Traumatic Growth trauma. She felt like her family joined a secret While sudden and unexpected events like the death and grief. society. The shame her family felt combined death of a loved one by suicide can trigger post- with the silencing effect of the stigma of men- traumatic stress, Dr. Ashton also experienced tal illness left them unable to share their sto- post-traumatic growth, a term she learned from ries and grief. Dr. Ashton’s instincts told her to her family’s therapist, Sue Simring, DSW, who work through her complex emotions in private has taught at the Columbia School of Social and away from the public eye. “I felt like there Work. Dr. Simring introduced the term to Dr. was a scarlet letter on my chest,” she says. Ashton to describe the deeper understanding of However, the impact of a death by suicide self that can follow tragedy. affects more than just the person’s immediate “I had gotten through most of my adult life as circle of family and friends. A 2018 University a real quintessential type A overachiever. I was of Kentucky study estimated that 135 people accustomed to meeting goals, having successes, are exposed to a single suicide; that’s 6 million and avoiding failure,” she says. She majored people a year. As the rate of suicide increases, in art history and graduated from Columbia more and more people will feel the impact of College in 1991. After completing her pre-med these sudden losses. coursework through the Columbia postbac pre- Yet, the ripple effect can lead to a positive med program, she enrolled at VP&S in 1996, effect too. “As people talk about their experi- where she was elected class president all four ences, they can sometimes do a lot to reduce years of medical school. While completing her stigma. It can be eye opening and also a relief rigorous course load, she gave birth to both of that other people have shared a similar expe- her children. In 2016, she received her master’s rience,” says Dr. Bogart. For example, in the degree in nutrition from Columbia’s Institute of immediate aftermath of her ex-husband’s Human Nutrition.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 15 “When Rob killed himself out of the blue, than a medical emergency. I wasn’t about to with no signs that we learn about in medical wing it with myself or my children,” she says. school, not only was I in shock and devastated Through therapy, she learned to set aside her for my family’s loss, but, for me, I had to come perfectionist’s myth and her aversion to vul- to terms head-on with what I perceived as flaws, nerability and emerged a changed person. She weakness, and failure—all the things that I had describes feeling like a plate shattered into a tried to avoid my whole life,” she says. Dr. million pieces that has been put back together, Ashton felt that speaking about her imperfect with all the glue and broken seams visible on life and how vulnerable she felt after her ex- the surface. Still, she was intact. husband’s death by suicide would challenge the The experience recast Dr. Ashton’s relation- very essence of who she believed she was. ship with her patients too. “Ironically, I feel like Dr. Ashton has been open about the vital that’s part of what makes me a good doctor role therapy has played in her family’s healing. and that’s part of what makes my patients feel Dr. Ashton, Alex, and Chloe were gathered in comfortable. When they feel weak, I’m always Dr. Simring’s office less than 24 hours after Dr. strong for them,” she says. “Going through this Rob Ashton’s death. “The little bit of my brain tragedy and trauma, they knew what happened that was functioning normally knew that this to me and my family. They saw me when I was was a psychological emergency, no different weak and vulnerable. It has opened up a level

‘I Realized I Could Do This’ Jennifer Ashton’s book, “Life After Suicide,” explores the multiple phases of her life after the death of Robert Ashton, MD, the man who had been her husband for 21 years. The excerpt below details her return to work. By Jennifer Ashton

n March 22, just under six weeks since Rob’s suicide, I as she publicly battled her own life-threatening health issues and Owalked into the “Good Morning America” studios. If people wondered at the time where she got the strength. Now I was won- thought I looked haggard and imperfect, oh, well. I did, and I was. dering where I’d find the energy and the fire to lift myself out of If they couldn’t get past that scarlet letter on my chest, oh, well. I my own despair; but there sat Robin, my inspiration for on-air wasn’t there to be “that woman whose husband killed himself.” courage and grace under duress, and her presence bolstered me. I was there to be Dr. Jennifer Ashton, at that time Senior Medical Cameras rolled. Robin and I talked about the possible link Contributor, and soon to be Chief Medical Correspondent, for between silicone breast implants and a rare blood cancer. the network and for GMA, to discuss the cancer risk of breast implants. And if I got emotional and broke down during my seg- ment, oh, well. I’d try my best not to, but there’s only so much you Then, as the segment ended, Robin said, on the air, “You know, can control on live TV. Jen, we’re so glad that you’re back, and our thoughts are with you and your children.” At that moment I knew that, thanks to all these amazing people I spent time with Robin Roberts in her dressing room before we around me, and nine years of on-camera muscle memory, I was went on the air together, and I said yes to her asking if she could going to be okay. Choking back my tears, I realized I could do this. say a few personal words to me at the end of our segment. She and I go back more than five years. I trust her, I admire her, and Excerpted from “Life After Suicide” by Jennifer Ashton, MD. Copy- I respect her more than I have words to describe. There’s no one right © 2019 by JLA Enterprises Corporation. Reprinted by permis- I would rather have had by my side that day. I’d watched in awe sion of William Morris, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

16 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 of understanding and compassion for both of us that didn’t exist before.” As Dr. Ashton opened up to her patients about some of her struggles, her patients were able to relate to her and they, in turn, shared more with her, ulti- mately allowing Dr. Ashton to better address their health concerns.

Life After Suicide When Dr. Ashton was deciding whether to speak on “Good Morning America” that day in 2018, her children helped her realize that silence was not an option. After all, dur- ing their grieving process, she met and heard from people who shared with her and her family their experiences of recovering from the trauma of suicide. She realized that trag- edy could be a communal experience. As she In the book, Dr. Ashton also shares stories Dr. Ashton writes in her book, “If I kept on hiding and from others who have been affected by suicide, stayed silent, wouldn’t I essentially be turning including Melissa Rivers, who lost her father realized that my back on a chance to help some of those to suicide when she was roughly the same sharing her people and participating in, maybe even con- age as Dr. Ashton’s children. “She’s obviously family’s story doning, the same stigma that Alex and Chloe funny like her mother but it was the first time and I found so offensive and unfair?” she really opened up extensively about how could offer solace “Talking about mental health or suicidal- her life has been since her dad’s suicide,” says and community ity and destigmatizing those topics as much Dr. Ashton. These stories provided Dr. Ashton for the many as possible is something that needs constant with a roadmap for navigating the challenges chipping away at, and there’s been tremendous she and her family faced and preparing for others who have progress,” says Dr. Bogart. “For Dr. Ashton to those they would encounter in the future and been left behind come forward is impactful because she’s a very she hopes it can be a similar guide for read- visible person. I remember watching her on ers. Connecting with other families helped her by a similar TV around the time Kate Spade and Anthony reframe her grief and find a path forward. unthinkable loss. Bourdain died by suicide and it brought a lot Dr. Ashton also launched a podcast to con- of recognition to the issue.” tinue to explore the aftermath of suicide and Dr. Ashton’s book, “Life After Suicide,” is part offer insight on how to thrive. She interviews memoir and part researched guide. Dr. Ashton suicide loss survivors such as Ms. Rivers and hopes it will trigger a much-needed discussion Talinda Bennington, the wife of Chester Ben- about mental health and bring some comfort nington, the former lead singer of Linkin Park, to those grieving in silence, who may feel alone plus mental health experts and others who in the aftermath of a loved one’s suicide, and have healed from traumatic experiences, such who are struggling to make sense of their loss. as Robin Roberts and Sheryl Sandberg. In addition to her personal account, Dr. Ash- Mostly, Dr. Ashton hopes to shed a greater ton includes the latest insights from research- spotlight on the growing epidemic of suicide ers and health professionals to help normalize in the United States and the millions of people the process of recovery. “The book is really to left behind each year to grieve and cope with show people that they can live through the most devastating loss. She also continues to raise horrific loss and tragedy” and experience post- awareness of the need to speak loudly about traumatic growth, she says. “I also want to show mental health, not just in hushed tones. people that it’s okay to try to find happiness and “We have to safeguard our mental health peace and healing after this. And it doesn’t mean no differently than we do our cardiovascular that you’re not still missing their loved one.” health,” she says. v

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 17 SCOTT BAKAL STUDYING SUICIDE: Brain Imaging, Neurochemistry, Molecular Genetics Offer Insight

Other Research Examines the Effect—and Limitations—of Ketamine

he questions scientists ask have shaped the the scanner depressed and most came out a lot more unique suicide research being done at Colum- cheerful, which is a pretty amazing thing.” bia: How do the brains of suicide decedents While the mechanisms underlying ketamine’s antide- differ from other brains? What is the link pressant and antisuicidal effects are not yet known, brain between inflammation and stress response? imaging results indicate that glutamate, the brain’s major Is ketamine an answer to treating depression excitatory neurotransmitter, appears to play a role. in suicidal patients? “The reason this kind of research is exciting is that Understanding and preventing suicide are two paths if the antidepressant and antisuicidal mechanism of Tthat Columbia physicians and scientists pursue in a action of ketamine can be figured out, it could open a multipronged effort to respond to the growing problem door to a new generation of antidepressant medicines of suicide. Other investigators devote their careers to that potentially could help people who don’t benefit trying to determine why suicide is considered an option from current treatments, that could potentially work for so many depressed and despairing individuals. faster than current antidepressants which can take a A recent success in research that has been translated month or more to take effect, whereas ketamine works to patient care is the finding that ketamine quickly within hours,” says Michael F. Grunebaum, MD, who reduces suicidal ideation in depressed patients. Because is conducting clinical research on ketamine for depres- the drug, known as a club drug, can be abused and has sion and suicidal ideation. negative side effects for long-term use, researchers are Ketamine has several side effects that make it a poor studying the drug’s mechanism of action in hopes of candidate for long-term treatment of depression: disso- identifying a safer but equally fast-acting alternative. ciative symptoms, interstitial cystitis, and possible brain In one study, leading suicide researcher J. John damage. “It would be a huge benefit to have good medical Mann, MD, and colleagues administered the drug options for reducing suicidal thoughts quickly and safely intravenously to depressed patients while they were and that perhaps could be administered in the emergency undergoing brain imaging. “They basically went into room to acutely suicidal patients,” says Dr. Grunebaum.

By Anne Harding “If you have the potential to use a medication that reduces model of suicidal behavior. This model proposes that suicidal thoughts in a few hours that could potentially genetic and nongenetic or epigenetic factors mold reduce length of stay in the overcrowded emergency room the brain, cognition, and stress responsivity to create and avoid the need for costly inpatient hospitalizations, a predisposition to suicidal behavior. Certain neuro- that would be wonderful.” chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, and dysregulation within the hypothalamic pituitary adre- FINDING A WAY TO USE PERSONALIZED nal axis make some individuals especially vulnerable MEDICINE TO PREVENT SUICIDE to stress. Early-life adversity, such as physical or sexual Dr. Mann uses functional brain imaging, neurochem- abuse, can change the structure and chemistry of the istry, and molecular genetics to investigate the causes brain through epigenetic mechanisms that are chemi- of depression and suicide. His research, and most cal modifications of the genome intended to improve studies in the field, are based on the stress-diathesis adaptation to the environment.

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

n the path to becoming a doctor, medical students may grapple for those who identify as first-generation students, women of color, O with any number of challenges, from imposter phenomenon to LGBTQIA+, those with social anxiety, or students who have expe- homesickness to anxiety and depression. rienced the loss of a loved one. “Medical students are embarking on a career that we hope they “A sense of belonging is important for maintaining well-being have for a long time,” says Jane Bogart, EdD, director of the Cen- and we offer students opportunities to find this support through ter for Student Wellness, which provides multiple entry points,” says Dr. Bogart. resources to help students cope with The Student Health Service is developing a new interprofes- their challenges. “This longevity depends sional initiative, the Student Well-Being Collective. “The collective on an ability to understand their chal- will work on systems, policies, and processes for enhancing mental lenges and what they need to maintain health and well-being on campus,” says Dr. Bogart. The Student good emotional health. Being able to Health Service also is working in partnership with the Jed Foun- recognize how and when to seek help is dation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting emotional a skill. Our goal is to develop this skill health and preventing suicide in American teens and young adults, through a web of support and caring.” as a member of the Jed Campus Program. The Student Health Service is com- Medical students learn about resources available to them during prised of medical services; mental health orientation and also during a session called “On Becoming a Doc- services staffed by psychologists, social tor,” presented by Claire Haiman, PsyD, director of mental health workers, and psychiatrists; and the Cen- services, and Michael Devlin, MD, professor of psychiatry at CUMC. ter for Student Wellness, which includes “We have a lot of experience with the MD curriculum and where the AIMS Program (Addiction Informa- the stressors may be,” says Dr. Bogart. She and Dr. Haiman speak Jane Bogart tion and Management Strategies). The about self-care at the beginning of the psychiatric medicine course services are integrated for seamless oper- taken by students in their first year. During Ready 4 Residency for ations and in 2019 were physically united when they moved into a students in their fourth year, Dr. Bogart and Dr. Devlin teach a ses- shared space at 100 Haven Ave. sion on using emotional intelligence skills during residency training. Central to the Student Health Service’s effort is fostering a cam- In addition, for the past three years Dr. Bogart and a medical stu- pus community of faculty and staff attuned to the signs of students dent have co-taught the narrative medicine elective, “Making Mean- in distress and how to help. All Columbia public safety officers on ing: Using Emotions to Foster Relationships Essential to the Practice the medical center campus and staff in student affairs and housing of Medicine.” The elective grew out of the scholarly project by Dylan offices receive training. Students have a number of resources avail- Marshall’18, now a resident in the Department of Medicine. Dr. able for support: emergency contact with an on-call clinician 24/7 Marshall’s scholarly project, funded by a Steve Miller Fellowship in the event of a crisis, online scheduling for mental health services in Medical Education, was titled “Emotional Intelligence: Fostering appointments, availability of wellness appointments through the Relationships Essential to Making the Practice of Medicine Sustain- Center for Student Wellness and AIMS for strategic conversations, ably Meaningful, Thus Preventing Medical Student Burnout.” and several groups through mental health services, including groups —Rose Spaziani

20 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 J. John Mann Elizabeth Sublette PORTRAITS BY JÖRG MEYER

An internal stressor such as a psychiatric illness Understanding which depressed individuals will and an external stressor such as an adverse life event become suicidal is crucial. “The health care can trigger suicidal behavior in such vulnerable indi- viduals. “You rarely see a suicide in the absence of a system cannot focus equally on every patient psychiatric illness, and most of the time when people with a psychiatric disorder.” die the illness is not being treated,” says Dr. Mann. Research, prevention, and treatment should focus on “Patients go through an incredibly complex and why suicidal patients are not being treated so underly- advanced set of measures. They get multimodal brain ing problems can be addressed. imaging with three major modes of imaging, and then Given the role of early life experience in molding they get tested in the lab for stress responsiveness and brain development, several complementary studies are how they handle these stressors, and then we use a underway, including animal experiments, which repli- method called ecological momentary assessment to see cate the effects of early-life adversity, and MRI and PET if they’re responding to social interactions and adversity scans on the brains of people who have died by suicide. in the same way that they seem to respond in the lab.” Dr. Mann’s initial studies, done with Victoria Arango, Through this research, funded by a grant for post- PhD, and Mark Underwood, PhD, used postmortem mortem neurochemical studies of suicide and entering brain tissue from suicide decedents to evaluate the biol- its 16th year with support by a major NIMH center ogy of suicidal behavior. Now research includes living grant, Dr. Mann and his colleagues have identified patients who have a history of suicidal thoughts and four behavioral indicators that characterize depressed behaviors. Data yielded by each study are used to cre- suicidal individuals and have mapped the indicators to ate computational models of neural circuits, regulation specific areas of the brain. of emotion, stress responses, and suicidal behavior that researchers hope will someday be able to predict risk. Mood regulation: Depressed suicidal people tend to be “We’ve been doing this over a number of years, pessimistic. “When they’re depressed they feel more and the measurements have evolved,” says Dr. Mann. profoundly depressed, desperate, hopeless, and pessi-

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 21 mistic about the future than other patients,” says Dr. ience and survival, Dr. Mann notes, “sometimes it back- Mann. “They are more likely to devalue the probabil- fires, and when you grow up some of these modifications ity of getting better.” are really not helpful, they are potentially harmful.” By the time a person has their first episode of depression, Decision-making: Depressed suicidal individuals have a he adds, “they probably already have the predisposition different approach to making decisions. Suicide, which wired in.” will immediately relieve their psychic pain, looks like a The good news, Dr. Mann notes, is that each of better choice than trying an antidepressant, which can these risk factors is potentially modifiable. “The mood take several weeks to work and might not even help. part is treatable, the decision-making is also educable. “Everybody’s got a sort of sweet spot where they switch You can change the options by getting faster and bet- between the delayed and the immediate reward. These ter antidepressants, for example, or you can change people tend to switch to the immediate reward earlier,” the way the person approaches decision-making. With Dr. Mann says. “This decision-making style also has its social perceptions, biofeedback can change people’s own neural circuitry.” response to social signaling, and problem-solving is also something that one can address. People can be Social perceptions: Depressed suicidal patients often trained to tackle problems in a more systematic and seem reluctant to ask for help. “The reason they’re reluc- constructive fashion, which may give them more tant is important and discoverable,” says Dr. Mann. options and choices.” “They tend to be hypersensitive to critical social cues He adds that identifying the different components and less sensitive to positive social cues, so they perceive may help clinicians design a treatment strategy that is the world to be more critical and less helpful than other more individually relevant, “a kind of a personalized people do. We can also see this in their brain scans. We medicine approach to suicide prevention.” know which bits of the brain are involved in social cog- Understanding which depressed individuals will nition, and the response to positive signals is weaker and become suicidal is crucial, Dr. Mann adds. “The health the response to negative signals is stronger. So it’s not care system cannot focus equally on every patient with just what they tell us. We can see this in the brain.” a psychiatric disorder. The clinician needs some help in PORTRAITS BY JÖRG MEYER figuring out ‘This is a high-risk patient, this is a low- Learning and problem-solving: When faced with chal- risk patient.’ We need these kinds of multipronged lenges, depressed suicidal individuals are not good at tools for better classifying patients in terms of risk. It’s coming up with solutions. They are less able to formu- fundamental to prevention.” late new approaches to problems and tend to respond more rigidly. They feel like they’ve run out of options ZERO SUICIDE INITIATIVE and feel stuck. Losing suicidal patients to follow-up is a significant prob- lem for unintegrated health care systems, says Barbara While brain modifications in these four areas likely rep- Stanley, PhD, who has developed clinical tools to help. resent a combination of genetic and epigenetic changes She collaborated with Gregory K. Brown, PhD, of the with the latter seeking to improve an individual’s resil- University of Pennsylvania to create the Safety Planning Intervention, an evidence-based tool that helps clinicians and suicidal patients develop a six-step plan for staying safe after hospitalization or ED visits. Who’s Who It is part of the Zero Suicide framework, an aspira- tional model aimed at reducing suicide in health care · Victoria Arango, PhD, former professor of clinical neurobiology (in psychiatry) systems, that Dr. Stanley and Columbia colleagues are and now chief of the central-peripheral interactions pathophysiology program implementing as a quality improvement initiative using in the National Institute of Mental Health Division of Translational Research evidence-based tools to identify and keep at-risk patients · Michael F. Grunebaum, MD, special lecturer in psychiatry from falling through gaps in the health care system. Of · J. John Mann, MD, the Paul Janssen Professor of Translational Neuroscience individuals who died by suicide, 40% saw a doctor in (in Psychiatry and in Radiology) the preceding month. Many of the doctors consulted · Barbar a Stanley, PhD, professor of medical psychology (in psychiatry) at CUMC were primary care physicians, sought out because of · M. Elizabeth Sublette, MD, PhD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry medical issues: poor appetite, lack of energy, inability to concentrate. Because depression often masquerades as · Mark Underwood, PhD, professor of clinical neurobiology (in psychiatry) another ailment, doctors who administer tests for can- cer or anemia often miss the depression.

22 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Mark Underwood Michael F. Grunebaum

The Zero Suicide approach suggests suicide can “ It would be a huge benefit to have good medical be reduced by focusing attention on individuals who options for reducing suicidal thoughts quickly and are patients in health care systems and by implement- ing simple strategies to identify, intervene, and refer safely and that perhaps could be administered in patients at risk. In collaboration with the New York the emergency room to acutely suicidal patients.” State Office of Mental Health, Dr. Stanley is leading an NIMH study to test the efficacy of the Zero Suicide “While patients are doing a stress test, we measure model training in 165 behavioral health clinics across markers of inflammation to see if there is a correlation New York state. “We have provided clinicians in the between inflammatory markers and stress response community a series of strategies, kind of a template and if that pattern is different in suicidal people versus or schematic, for suicidal patients who come to their nonsuicidal people,” Dr. Stanley explains. clinics,” Dr. Stanley explains. “Integrating services is a With a grant from the American Foundation for Sui- tough challenge, but we need to work toward reduc- cide Prevention, Dr. Sublette also has investigated the ing suicide among our patients to zero. These patients association between three potentially modifiable fac- are right in front of us and we have the opportunity tors linked to suicide risk in depressed patients: plasma to intervene. We have to attack the problem from proinflammatory cytokines, plasma omega-3 polyun- all these different perspectives at this point, because saturated fatty acids, and aggression. She previously whatever we’re doing is clearly not enough.” found associations between low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the risk of a later suicide attempt and STUDYING RESPONSES TO STRESS has found correlations between levels of omega-3s in Dr. Stanley also studies suicidal individuals in the lab, the blood and patterns of glucose uptake in the brain. investigating the relationship between stress respon- If inflammation does turn out to play a role in sui- siveness and suicide risk, and is collaborating with M. cide vulnerability in depressed patients, Columbia Elizabeth Sublette, MD, PhD, to identify associations researchers will have discovered yet another poten- among stress, suicidal behavior, and inflammation. tially modifiable suicide risk factor.v

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 23

SCOTT BAKAL PREVENTING SCREENINGS, APPS SCREENINGS, GENETIC STUDIES,

SUICIDE: INDIVIDUALS AT RISK EXPLORE NEW WAYS NEW EXPLORE RESEARCHERS RESEARCHERS BY JOSEPH NEIGHBOR TO IDENTIFY TO IDENTIFY

o one can explain why the suicide thoughts or actions, to identify patterns in behavior rate in the United States has gone up known to have some connection to suicide. nearly every year of this century— The Silvio O. Conte Center for Suicide Preven- despite decreases worldwide over the tion at Columbia and the New York State Psychi- same period—but experts agree that atric Institute also focuses on prevention efforts by suicide is preventable. learning about the fundamental causes of suicide. NSuicide attempts in the United States are also Funded by the NIMH, the center brings together increasing. In contrast to these two statistics— clinical, laboratory, brain imaging, and big data increases in suicides and suicide attempts—more analytic capabilities to probe how genes and child- people than ever are seeking help, effective thera- hood adversity—nature and nurture—combine to pies exist, and prescriptions for antidepressants create a predisposition to suicidal behavior. and mood stabilizers are at all-time high numbers. The center is led by J. John Mann, MD, a pio- None of this has stanched the tide. neering suicide researcher who received the 2019 “All of us have lost people in our lives,” says Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Randy Auerbach, PhD, an expert in adolescent Foundation for Suicide Prevention. One of the depression and suicide who also co-directs the World center’s goals is development of a model to predict Health Organization World Mental Health Interna- suicide risk, recognizing that not all people with tional College Student Initiative. “But it’s different depression die by suicide. when you lose someone by their own hand. You feel One avenue of research is the study of the heri- for the family. You also feel for the individual, how table component to suicide. The Conte Center is much this person must have been suffering, how part of a worldwide consortium of investigators painful each day of their life must have been where trying to identify specific genes that may contribute they felt this was their best option that day. It’s some- to suicide risk. “It will take time, but we will get thing we feel shapes the type of work we do.” there,” says Dr. Mann. “When you combine that He also has received federal funding to lead with clinical information about people who have a the NIMH study called Mobile Assessment for psychiatric illness, we should be able to narrow it the Prediction of Suicide (MAPS). The study uses down to the subgroup most at risk for suicide. They smartphones to collect data from 200 high-risk ado- are the ones who really need protection and focus Randy Auerbach lescents, most of whom have a history of suicidal in terms of treatment and prevention.”

Teaching Future MDs About Suicide

Learning about suicide risk and prevention is part of the course- interview at least one work at VP&S from the first semester’s “Foundations of Clinical patient suffering from sui- Medicine” course. cidal ideation. At the end By their second semester, students take a psychiatric medicine of medical school, in the course taught by Janis Cutler, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry. Ready 4 Residency course, In one session of the course, standardized patients act out symp- students participate in toms of depression and students screen them for suicidal ideation. a session that provides Janis Cutler Their small group preceptors guide them in techniques for talking guidance on when to hos- to patients about suicide. “Students struggle at first with asking pitalize suicidal patients. direct questions,” says Dr. Cutler. “They worry about being impolite “Suicide is a global public health crisis,” says Jonathan Amiel, or giving a patient harmful ideas. Asking the right questions is MD, associate professor of psychiatry and senior associate dean important in getting a patient to express suicidal thoughts.” for curricular affairs at VP&S. “Our medical school is committed to In time for major clinical year, students learn to assess patients ensuring graduates are prepared to do their part in helping to pre- for suicidality when giving bad news to patients. All are required vent suicide by learning how to identify at-risk patients in medical to complete a five-week psychiatry clerkship in hospital and clinic settings and helping those who have attempted or are at risk for settings, where they rotate in a psychiatric emergency room and suicide to access quality care.” — Rose Spaziani

26 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Barbara Stanley

PORTRAITS JÖRG MEYER

But even identifying someone at risk of suicide Suicide prevention experts want Tim Cook doesn’t identify everyone who is in jeopardy. “We understand suicide attempters are more depressed to get up in front of Apple customers and more impulsive,” says noted suicide researcher one day and tell them how the iPhone is Barbara Stanley, PhD, “but we haven’t been able to walk up really close to the suicide event itself. It’s going to help prevent suicide. like trying to predict who will have a myocardial infarction the week or days before it occurs. We are the Conte Center additional funding to test this not very good at identifying near-term risk.” approach in the patients being studied and link the mobile app findings to the brain imaging and stress Mobile Assessment for the Prediction of Suicide lab measurements used by the Conte Center. That’s where the MAPS project may help. Tone of “The ultimate advantage is that if we’re able to voice. Language use. Quality of sleep. How often utilize this assessment in real time, we’ll be able to one reaches out to friends or leaves the house. The identify features that relate to transitions between contours of a smile in a picture. Many of these suicidal thinking and behaviors,” says Dr. Auerbach. behavioral markers are known to be associated with “We can then start to think in creative ways about depression and suicide. Dr. Auerbach hopes to use how to deliver ‘just-in-time’ interventions—not nec- the data collected from smartphones to create com- essarily where somebody is ultimately going to make putational models that capture how suicide risk is a decision to end their life but ideally when they start expressed in real time. The NIMH has just awarded wading into a territory where they’re at risk.”

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 27 Self-reporting is a limitation of many mental health studies. Subjects aren’t always transparent. They can be mistaken. Even the most mindful might not be able to tell when they are in a precarious state. MAPS sidesteps many of these obstacles by requiring minimal user interaction. The app runs in the background. Subjects have periodic check-ins, to see how they might be feeling, but the true value is in the data they provide by going about their lives, material from which predictive algorithms can be made. Dr. Auerbach aims for findings that are reliable and replicable, but to what extent will insights gleaned from teenage subjects be applicable to other demographics? “The potential is enormous,” says Dr. Mann, who also works on the project. “It’s unproven technology, but it has a lot of common sense opportunity. By combining all the other things we’re doing with our patients, we’re enriching the information we are collecting. One day we want Tim Cook to get up there in front of Apple custom- ers and tell them not how the iPhone is going to be good for their cardiovascular health, but how it’s going to help prevent suicide.”

More Traditional Approaches As high tech as MAPS is, Columbia also has been at the forefront of suicide prevention efforts with the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), a Madelyn Gould simple but proven effective questionnaire to assess suicidality. Based on decades of research, it has saved lives since it was introduced in 2007. The Research has laid the groundwork for the Columbia Protocol, as it is known, is considered the gold standard in assessing suicide risk and has launching of a three-digit national hotline number—988—as recommended by the Federal Communications Commission. Who’s Who been adopted by schools, hospitals, jails, and mili- · Randy P. Auerbach, PhD, associate professor tary organizations in more than 45 countries. of psychiatry “We knew that if we wanted a real change, we · Madel yn Gould, PhD, the Irving Philips Professor needed a simple common method for asking about of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC suicidal thoughts and behaviors that everyone can · J. John Mann, MD, the Paul Janssen Professor use,” says Kelly Posner, PhD, who leads the work. of Translational Neuroscience (in Psychiatry and “With the C-SSRS, we are well on our way to mak- in Radiology) ing the language of asking about suicide accessible · Kell y Posner, PhD, clinical professor of medical to everyone and suicide screening routine across all psychology (in psychiatry) public health settings.” · Barbar a Stanley, PhD, professor of medical Dr. Stanley helped to create an intervention for psychology (in psychiatry) at CUMC use once patients have been identified as being at risk by tools like the C-SSRS. The Safety Planning

28 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Intervention is helpful in managing the dangerous period post-discharge following hospitalization * or an ED visit for a suicide attempt or because of About Suicide in the United States suicidal thoughts. Dr. Stanley’s research has found • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death across all age groups. that a simple safety plan created with the patient, which details warning signs, coping strategies, and • In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide, resources to be used if suicidal thoughts or feel- a 31% increase over 2001. ings return, can give that person a sense of control • One person dies by suicide every 11 minutes. in vulnerable moments. A 2018 study on suicidal patients in VA hospitals found that a safety plan, • Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people along with follow-up calls from a clinician 72 age 10 to 34. hours after discharge, cut the odds of that patient • Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among people re-attempting suicide by 50% in the next six age 35 to 54. months. Twice as many sought mental health care when they were distressed if they left the hospital • The number of suicides in 2017 was more than double the with the safety plan. number of murders.

* CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION The Media’s Role in Prevention Another area of Columbia suicide prevention research is led by psychiatric epidemiologist Madelyn Gould, PhD, MPH. In three decades of research that has been line and telephone crisis services as important to continuously funded by the Centers for Disease Con- the national strategy. Now, media reports of sui- trol and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental cides routinely provide a suicide hotline number.” Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Dr. Gould has shown how Challenges Remain and why suicide is contagious and elucidated the news From cutting-edge explorations of the genetic and media’s role in promoting—or stemming—the spread neurochemical roots of suicide to common sense of suicidal behavior. methods to identify those at risk, Columbia investi- She has contributed to the CDC’s community gators are contributing to the body of research that JÖRG MEYER response plan for suicide clusters and recommen- could make a difference. “We have more people dations to optimize media reporting of suicide and working on suicide prevention research than any- has been a member of national and international where in the world,” says Dr. Mann. workgroups that update media recommendations. Among the challenges that remain: Some people National Suicide She currently leads the evaluation of the National who die by suicide never come into contact with Prevention Lifeline Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the national network the health care system at all because they are unin- 24/7 free and of telephone crisis services that has emerged as an sured, or underinsured, or they live in remote areas. confidential support important part of suicide prevention programs. The largest challenge, though, is stigma. Unlike for people in distress, Her findings have led to improvements in services, HIV or cancer, suicide has not prompted mas- prevention and crisis including an initiative to have crisis centers offer sive activism or increased funding for research or resources for you or and provide clinical follow-up to suicidal hotline treatment. People continue to suffer in silence, and your loved ones, when a suicide ends one person’s pain, it transfers callers. The evaluation findings have also laid the and best practices groundwork for the launching of a three-digit that pain to many more people who are left behind for professionals. national hotline number (988), as recommended to mourn the loss. Reducing the stigma associated by the Federal Communications Commission in with suicide is on the agenda of everyone focused 800-273-TALK (8255) August of 2019. In November, a team of senators on suicide prevention. “Stigma is a huge barrier to introduced a bipartisan bill to make 988 the three- treatment of all mental illnesses,” says Dr. Mann. digit number to reach the National Suicide Hotline. “Breaking down the barrier will help identify peo- “The 2001 U.S. National Strategy for Suicide ple who suffer in silence so we can get them the care Prevention barely mentioned crisis hotlines,” says they need and it will help patients understand that Dr. Gould, “but the 2010 National Action Alliance they have an illness that is not their fault and needs for Suicide Prevention prominently referenced Life- to be treated like any other type of illness.” v

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 29 Alumni By Marianne Wolff’52, Alumni Editor, News&n o t e s and Bonita Eaton Enochs, Editor

1957 Harold Varmus was featured The 2019 Jacobson Innovation speaker in September at an Award of the American College event for students who spent of Surgeons was presented to the summer conducting research Henry Buchwald. This presti- through the VP&S Program for gious award honors pioneering Education in Global and Popula- tion Health. Harold, the Lewis Thomas University Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, recalled his time during medical school in an apprenticeship at a mis- sionary hospital in India, where Ludwig Gutmann’59 Walter Franck’64 medical staff treated patients with leprosy, advanced tubercu- a short story published in the Columbia-Bassett Medical Pro- losis, and other diseases infre- journal Neurology. gram and was a senior associate quently observed in New York dean at Columbia. City. His experience was part of AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS AMERICAN 1963 his inspiration for making a gift Henry Buchwald’57, right, with See Alumni in Print to read At the 2019 alumni reunion, ACS president Ronald Maier about a two-volume set co-writ- Story Musgrave gave a talk, ten by Paul Mosher. Paul is a “From Farm Kid to Rocket Man living surgeons and was given to psychoanalyst in private practice and Way Beyond: Excellence, Henry in recognition of his five in Albany, New York. Exploration, and Evolution,” decades of work, particularly in during the Dean’s Day Program. the field of metabolic surgery. At 1964 Story is a retired NASA astro- the event, Henry was described Walter Franck, professor emeri- naut—the only one to fly aboard as “a true surgeon-scientist who, tus of clinical medicine, received all five space shuttles—and cur- through creativity and persever- the VP&S Distinguished Service rent professor of design at the ance, has made seminal contri- Award in Clinical Science at the Art Center College of Design in butions to science and society.” 2019 graduation ceremony. The Pasadena, California. award is the highest clinical honor Harold Varmus’66 1959 presented by VP&S. Walt worked 1965 Ludwig Gutmann, professor of for 42 years at Bassett Medi- See Alumni in Print to read about neurology at the University of cal Center as a rheumatologist, a book co-edited by Robert to VP&S to establish the Varmus Iowa, received the American physician leader, researcher, and Lisak, the Parker Webber Chair Global Scholars Fund to pro- Academy of Neurology Award teacher. For 28 of those years, he in Neurology at Wayne State vide stipends for a few students for Creative Expression of served as Bassett’s physician-in- University School of Medicine. to conduct novel global health Human Values in Neurology for chief, and he also co-directed the Previously, he was vice chair of research projects at international neurology at the University of sites for eight weeks to one year. Pennsylvania, chair of neurology at Wayne State University, neurol- 1968 ogist-in-chief of the Detroit Medi- At the 2019 alumni reunion, Gail send your news via mail, fax, cal Center, and chief of neurology Williams served as the honorary or email: at Harper University Hospital. chair of the Dean’s Day Program. Mail: Columbia Medicine Editor Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons 1966 1969 630 W. 168th St., Box 153 Ron Drusin stepped down At the 2019 alumni reunion, New York, NY 10032 from his role as vice dean for John P. Bilezikian received the education at VP&S at the medal for Outstanding Achieve- Fax: 212-305-4521 end of December 2019. See ments in Medical Research. John Email: [email protected] Page 4 for a profile of his is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. career at Columbia. Silberberg Professor of Medicine

30 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Read the latest e-newsletter for alumni at www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org/webextras

Charlotte Cunningham-Run- At the 2019 alumni reunion, dles, the David S. Gottesman James A. Reiffel, professor emer- Professor of Immunology at Anke Nolting to Retire After Nearly 40 Years itus of medicine at VP&S, gave a Mount Sinai School of Medicine talk, “Beneath the Surface Lies a Anke Nolting, PhD, associate and director of the immunode- Silent Killer: the High Incidence dean and executive director ficiency clinic at Mount Sinai of ‘Subclinical’ or ‘Silent’ Atrial of development and alumni Hospital, received the Virginia Fibrillation and its Risks,” during relations at VP&S, retired Kneeland Frantz’22 Distin- the Alumni Day Program. Dec. 31, 2019, after nearly 40 years of service to the 1970 VP&S Alumni Association. Michael Parry, the Thomas J. In making the announce- Bradsell Chair of Infectious ment, Lee Goldman, EVP Diseases at Stamford Health, and dean, said, “We are received a United Hospital enormously grateful to Anke Fund’s 2019 Excellence in for her dedication to our Health Care Award for Quality Anke Nolting institution. Her warmth and Improvement Champions. The presence have welcomed award recognizes Michael’s dedi- generations of students, faculty, alumni, and donors through our cation to patient care and his doors—relationships she continued over the years.” leadership in hospital epidemiol- Dr. Nolting joined Columbia University in 1968 as a foreign ogy and infection prevention at Charlotte Cunningham-Rundles’69 exchange student and spent two years in the laboratory of both the local and national level. neurologist Malcolm B. Carpenter and two years in Eric Kandel’s Center for Neurobiology & Behavior. She joined the guished Women in Medicine Donald Quest is the new assistant VP&S Alumni Association in 1980. Her team has nurtured Award during the 2019 alumni dean for admissions at VP&S generations of alumni in the medical school and actively engaged reunion. Charlotte is also pro- after being interim assistant dean. them in many programs and projects. Under Dr. Nolting’s gram director of allergy immu- leadership, endowment of professorships increased, including five nology fellowship training at 1972 professorships funded by Clyde Wu’56. Scholarship endowment Mount Sinai. Ken Tomecki has been elected funds, such as the Kenneth A. Forde Diversity Scholarship, also president of the American Acad- increased. Her work also contributed to the establishment of Anne Moore gave a talk, “Breast emy of Dermatology (AAD), the key programs in genetics and nurture science, including the Judy Cancer: 50 Years of Progress,” largest dermatology organization Sulzberger’49 Human Genome Center and the Clyde Wu’56 during the Dean’s Day Program in the world with more than Center for Molecular Biology. “Anke also helped to spearhead at the 2019 alumni reunion. She 20,000 physicians. He becomes the launch of the Wu Family China Center through her strong also served as chair of the 50th president-elect in March 2020, partnership and friendship with Clyde’56 and Helen Wu and the extended Wu family,” said Dr. Goldman. “These are but a few of Anke’s accomplishments.” Elizabeth Williams, director of the VP&S Alumni Association, will serve as the primary point of contact for the alumni association.

and professor of pharmacol- successful of its kind and has ogy at VP&S, vice chair of the provided novel insights into nat- Department of Medicine for ural history, mechanisms of bone international education and loss, and pathogenesis that have research, chief emeritus of the led to international standards Division of Endocrinology, and for diagnosis and management. Anne Moore’69 Ken Tomecki’72 director emeritus of the Meta- He is also a pioneer in studies bolic Bone Diseases Program at of hypoparathyroidism and CUIMC. He is known world- osteoporosis. John’s interna- anniversary class and delivered at the next AAD annual meeting, wide for landmark research that tional work led to the establish- welcoming remarks on Alumni then president in March 2021. has defined primary hyperpara- ment of the Osteoporosis Center Day. Anne is the medical direc- Ken was a member of the AAD thyroidism. His research, now in of Armenia, a Eurasian hub, tor of the Weill Cornell Breast board for four years and AAD its 35th year of continuous NIH which features outreach, diagno- Center and professor of clinical vice president in 2016-2017. He funding, is the longest and most sis, care, and research. medicine at Weill Cornell. is vice president of the Interna-

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 31 Alumni News&n o t e s

tional Society of Dermatology eral hospitals. He also estab- dedicated to the prevention, starting multiple initiatives on and just completed a term as lished the EMG laboratory at diagnosis, and treatment of social determinants of health, vice president of the American Rockville General. He served as core injuries, as well as research the opioid crisis, mental health, Dermatological Association. president of the medical staff at and education. and health equity. Mary also is He is a member of the editorial the Hebrew Home and Hospital the FXB Professor of the Practice boards of the Journal of the in Hartford and established its Valerie Rusch became president of Health and Human Rights at American Academy of Derma- neurology and movement disor- of the American College of Sur- Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of tology and the International ders clinic. He was president of geons, the world’s largest surgi- Public Health. Journal of Dermatology. His the Hartford County Medical cal organization, in October. workday destination is still the Association, councilor of the At the 2019 alumni reunion, Cleveland Clinic, his home for Tolland County Medical Associ- Daniel McCrimons, clinical more than three decades. ation, and president of the Con- assistant professor at California necticut State Medical Society. Northstate University College of 1974 Medicine, gave a talk, “A Plea At the 2019 alumni reunion, 1975 for the Preservation of all Physi- Allan Schwartz received the At the 2019 alumni reunion, cians to Become Care-Giving award for Outstanding Achieve- David P. Roye received the Student Doctors: A Long and ments in Clinical Medicine. At award for meritorious service Gratifying Experience,” during Columbia, Allan is the Har- to VP&S and its alumni the Alumni Day Program. old Ames Hatch Professor of association. David has dedicated Medicine, the Seymour Milstein his professional life to improving Jerry Sebag delivered the inau- Professor of Cardiology (in life for children in the United gural Robert Machemer Lecture Valerie Rusch’75 Medicine), and vice chair of the States and abroad. He is chief to the European Society of Oph- Department of Medicine. He of the pediatric orthopedic thalmology in June. Presented also is chief of the cardiology service at Morgan Stanley The college sets standards for at an international biennial con- division and physician-in-chief Children’s Hospital of NYP surgical practice and education, gress representing 44 national of the Vivian and Seymour and the St. Giles Professor of representing 80,000 surgeons societies, Jerry’s keynote lecture Milstein Family Heart Center. Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery from all specialties. As the col- addressed the unmet needs of Under his leadership, the car- at VP&S. In 2013, he presided lege’s 100th president, Valerie is patients suffering from vitreous diology division has attained over the official opening of only the fourth woman to hold eye floaters that degrade contrast international prominence as one the Weinberg Family Cerebral the position. She is currently sensitivity function and nega- of the leading centers for cardiac Palsy Center, dedicated to vice chair for clinical research tively impact quality of life. research, innovation, patient providing comprehensive in the Department of Surgery at care, and education. care to cerebral palsy patients Memorial Sloan Kettering. 1980 transitioning to adulthood. Nancy Anderson has been Michael M. Krinsky has prac- 1979 named director of the maternal ticed neurology in Connecticut See Alumni in Print to read The New York Academy of child health systems program in since 1979. He trained in inter- about a new book by William C. Medicine gave its Stephen Smith the Department of Midwifery at nal medicine at St. Luke’s Hos- Award for Distinguished Con- pital and neurology at Mount tributions in Public Health to Sinai Hospital, where he was Mary T. Bassett. NY Academy chief resident. He held teaching of Medicine awards honor appointments at Mount Sinai individuals for distinguished as preceptor in the Department contributions in health policy, of Neurology and as an instruc- public health, clinical practice, tor in human medicine. He also and biomedical research. Mary, served on the faculty at the Uni- director of Harvard’s François- versity of Connecticut. He held Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center several positions at the Hartford for Health and Human Rights, Easter Seals Rehabilitation Cen- was recognized for her work as ter, was a consultant to state New York City Health Com- William C. Meyers’75 Nancy Anderson’80 agencies, and was instrumen- missioner. As commissioner, she tal in establishing the Evoked transformed public health in Potential Testing laboratories Meyers. Bill is an authority on New York by addressing struc- Bastyr University in Washington at Mount Sinai, Manchester core health, and he established tural biases to help close persis- state. The master of arts in Memorial, and Rockville Gen- the Vincera Institute, which is tent racial gaps in health and by maternal-child health systems

32 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 offers experienced midwives the “Ghanaian doctor transform- and other qualified maternal- ing spine surgery in Ghana.” child health professionals the opportunity to become 1985 influential leaders in education, See Alumni in Print to read research, policymaking, program about a book co-written by management, and advocacy to Brian A. Fallon. Brian is a physi- improve the health of women cian and psychiatrist with an and children. Nancy, a board- interest in anxiety and in the certified pediatrician with neuropsychiatric manifestations an MPH in maternal-child of infectious diseases. He is cur- health from the University of rently director of the Lyme and Richard Braunstein’89 James Watkins’91 Washington, spent five years Tick-Borne Diseases Research working in Mozambique Center at Columbia. and 12 years working for the School of Medicine at Hofstra/ awards dinner as part of the U.S. Department of Social and Health 1986 Northwell. He serves as presi- Ski & Snowboard Congress in Services in Washington state. Steve Auerbach retired after dent of the Northwell Health Park City, Utah. The nomination She taught public health at reaching the maximum 30 years Eye Institute. read in part: “Jamie has traveled Evergreen State College and of active duty service as medical with us for several years now and was adjunct faculty at Bastyr epidemiologist with the U.S. Pub- At the 2019 alumni reunion, Lau- has been a great ambassador for before joining the faculty full lic Health Service, including stints rence Huang, chief of the HIV/ our program. He often travels to time in 2016. with the Centers for Disease Con- AIDS Chest Clinic at Zuckerberg the lesser known locations that trol and Prevention in Atlanta, in San Francisco General Hospi- have minimal medical support Oheneba Boachie-Adjei received Micronesia, and in his home of tal, gave a talk, “AIDS: From and is able to provide a high level a 2019 Black Star GUBA Award New York City with the regional Washington Heights to Kampala, of medical expertise and give our for exceptional contributions office of the Health Resources Uganda,” during the Alumni Day staff and athletes a high level of to medicine. The Black Star and Services Administration. His Program. Laurence is also profes- confidence when they are train- GUBA awards celebrate the work involved community health sor of medicine at UCSF. ing or competing. He is also a centers, health care for the home- resource for many different medi- less, national health services corps, Donald M. Thea, a Boston Uni- cal scenarios and is able to con- health professional shortage areas, versity professor, received the nect us with experts in a variety and more. He looks forward in 2019 Horace Mann Award from of specialties.” Despite receiving retirement to becoming even more Antioch College. The award is chemotherapy for lymphoma at active on the executive board of presented to alumni of Antioch the time, Jamie traveled to South Physicians for a National Health who have had a “profound effect Korea as a doctor for the U.S. Program in New York City and on the present or future human team during the 2018 Winter other single-payer and health, condition.” Donald was recog- Olympics. He has worked with social, and economic justice work. nized in particular for his research the team for eight years, begin- He lives in New York City with on the transmission of HIV from ning shortly after the Vancouver his wife and their two children mothers to children, as well as Olympics when he joined the “when they are home.” for his work investigating malaria men’s speed team in Chile. Jamie Oheneba Boachie-Adjei’80 and childhood pneumonia. writes that even though he gradu- 1989 ated in 1991, he spent most of his achievements of individuals and Anne Armstrong-Coben is the At the 2019 alumni reunion, time in the Class of 1989. businesses with ties to Ghana. new senior associate dean for Susan Vaughan, associate pro- Oheneba returned to Ghana after admissions at VP&S. Read fessor of psychiatry at CUMC, 1991 PSY a long career in the United States about her appointment on gave a talk, “Dreaming of a At the 2019 alumni reunion, to be CEO, surgeon-in-chief, and Page 5 of this issue. Neuroscience-based Psycho- Lisa Mellman became an medical director of the Founda- analysis: 30 Years at Columbia,” honorary alumnus. Lisa is tion of Orthopedics and Complex Richard Braunstein has been during the Alumni Day Program. senior associate dean for student Spine Orthopedic Hospital. He appointed senior vice president/ affairs and the Samuel Rudin received a Lifetime Achievement executive director of Northwell 1991 Professor of Psychiatry at Award from the Hospital for Health’s ophthalmology service The U.S. Ski Team awarded CUMC. Lisa has received several Special Surgery in June 2013 and line and is the Arlene and Arthur James Watkins its J. Leland awards for clinical excellence, in 2015 was featured on CNN’s Levine Professor and Chair of Sosman Award. The award was teaching, and psychoanalysis African Voices documentary as Ophthalmology at the Zucker presented during the chairman’s and is a distinguished fellow

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 33 Alumni News&n o t e s

of the American Psychiatric lows a diverse group of patients Fetal Care Center, Arizona’s only Association and a past president as they go through the emotional program offering advanced fetal of the American Association and physical journey of surgical diagnosis and newborn medical of Directors of Psychiatry transitioning. and surgical intervention. She Residency Training. She is also is director of the reproduc- profiled on Page 36 of this issue. 1996 tive anomalies and differences of Kathleen van Leeuwen founded sex development clinic at Phoe- 1995 the Phoenix Children’s Hospital nix Children’s. Jess Ting is featured in a docu- mentary that premiered at Lin- Carlos Jose Rodriguez has coln Center as part of the New joined Montefiore Health System York Film Festival. The film and the Albert Einstein Col- Carlos Jose Rodriguez’96 goes behind the scenes at Mount lege of Medicine as vice chair Sinai, where Jess led the hospi- for academic affairs, director tal’s first genital reassignment of cardiovascular research, and He also earned an MPH degree surgery for a transgender person. director of cardiovascular epide- from Columbia. Since then, Mount Sinai has miology. As a national leader in established a Center for Trans- the study of cardiovascular risk 1997 gender Medicine and Surgery, factors for minorities, Carlos has Delphine Taylor was appointed and Jess’s team has performed focused his research on heart co-chair of the subcommittee

more than 1,000 transgender Kathleen van Leeuwen’96 disease, heart failure, and other that oversees the fundamentals surgeries. The documentary fol- cardiovascular health disparities. curriculum at VP&S. She directs

Book of Profiles of Alumni: The Caring Heirs of Samuel Bard

Distinguished alumni and their family members attended a 2019 Alumni Reunion Weekend book signing of “The Caring Heirs of Doctor Samuel Bard,” published by Columbia University Press. The new anthology brings together 55 profiles of Columbia-educated doctors who made fundamental contributions to medicine, academia, public health, and society in the past 80 years. The profiles relied on first-person interviews to reveal the personal underpinnings of each of these renowned doctors’ professional achievements. Author Peter Wortsman, who was managing editor of alumni publications at VP&S from 1987 to 2018, sums up the book: “A medical mosaic of sorts, these doctors’ histories invert the stethoscope,

as it were, permitting the reader to listen in on the JENNY GORMAN heartbeat of American medicine at its best.” AT THE MAY 2019 BOOK SIGNING. Back row from left: Dean Lee Goldman, Thomas Books are on sale through the Alumni Associa- Morris’58, Fadlo Khuri’89, Thomas Gorham (widower of Davida Coady’65), Thomas tion. Inquiries can be made via email (psalumni@ Frieden’86, and Ron Cohen’81; Bottom row from left: Jane Blumberg (daughter of Baruch Blumberg’51), David Wu, MD (son of Clyde Wu’56), Eve Slater’71, Karen Hein’70, columbia.edu) or phone (212-305-1472). Suzanne Oparil’65, author Peter Wortsman, Kenneth A. Forde’59, P. Roy Vagelos’54, and Story Musgrave’64

34 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Daniela Lamas’08: TV Writer

When Daniela Lamas’08 boarded a plane Can Stop Humming Now: A Doctor’s Stories from Boston to Los Angeles in January 2019, of Life, Death, and In Between.” she was on the verge of a new plot twist She was eager to apply her experiences to in her career. She would be taking a two- a medical drama, especially one known for month break from the intensive care unit at its bold, complex take on medicine. She has Daniela Lamas’08 Brigham & Women’s Hospital to write a few long been a fan of medical television—she episodes for the second season of the Fox has watched the 15 seasons of “ER” twice— the hospital,” says Daniela. “In the begin- medical drama “The Resident.” and relished the chance to conjure storylines ning, I was drawing on my experiences as an Until then, Daniela was a pulmonary and where the outcomes follow her script. attending physician in pulmonary and criti- critical care doctor who also was on the faculty Since her first stint on “The Resident,” she cal care medicine. Lately I’ve been thinking a of Harvard Medical School. She has put her has signed on as a writer for the show’s third lot more about what it was like to be a medi- writing skills to work as a medical reporter at season, which debuted in September. cal student and a resident and returning to the Miami Herald, as a contributor to the New “There’s a real deep desire and drive in those formative memories to plumb them for York Times, and as the author of a book, “You me to tell stories about what’s happening in ideas to bring to the writer’s room.”

the “Foundations of Clinical of the “Body in Health and in the Journal of the National Medicine” seminars course. Disease” course. Comprehensive Cancer Care Network that examines non- See Alumni in Print to read about 2008 profit funding for cancer a book co-written by Jacqueline At the 2019 alumni reunion, research. The paper finds that Worth. Jacqueline’s practice, Vil- Thomas E. Lo, president of the lage Obstetrics, delivers babies at VP&S Alumni Association, Mount Sinai Hospital. delivered welcoming remarks on Dean’s Day and at the VP&S 1998 Alumni Gala. Matt Iseman, cohost of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” and 2009 Jennifer Sotsky’16 stand-up comic, was a co-grand See Alumni in Print to read about a marshal of the Indianapolis 500 book of short stories by Jacob M. race on May 26, giving the tra- Appel. Jacob is a physician, in narrative medicine and a ditional “drivers to your cars” attorney, bioethicist, and social resident at CUIMC. command during a pre-race cer- critic based in New York City. He emony. He also is hosting “Live taught for many years at Brown 2019 Suneel Kamath’13 Rescue,” a documentary series University and currently teaches At the 2019 alumni reunion, on the A&E network. at the Gotham Writers’ Work- Kyle Bolo received the award shop and the Icahn School of despite ample funding for oncol- given to a graduate in recogni- 2000 Medicine at Mount Sinai. ogy, many of the deadliest and tion of interest in and devotion to See Alumni in Print to read most common cancers—such as VP&S and its alumni association. about a book written by Shan- 2012/13 PhD gastrointestinal cancer, gyneco- non Sovndal. Shannon is a fel- Nsikan Akpan was science logical cancer, and lung cancer— House Staff Alumni low of the American College of producer on a “PBS NewsHour” are comparatively underfunded. James C. Chan, who completed Emergency Physicians and is cur- series that received a George a research fellowship in pedi- rently the medical director for Foster Peabody Award. The 2014 atric nephrology at Columbia Med Evac (Rotor Wing Service) five-part series, titled “The See Alumni in Print to read from 1968 to 1970, has edited and multiple fire departments in Plastic Problem,” investigated about a book co-written by a multiauthored volume, “Clini- Colorado. Previously, he was a the damage being done by Bianca Calderon-Brown. cal Disorders of the Kidney.” team physician for the Garmin- single-use plastic. Bianca is a pediatrician in the James is currently a professor Sharp professional cycling team. Bronx and a member of the of pediatrics at Tufts University. 2013 faculty of the Albert Einstein Columbia pediatric nephrologist 2003 Suneel Kamath recently com- College of Medicine. Natalie Uy, MD, and Catherine Salila Kurra was appointed pleted a fellowship in hematol- Kavanagh, MD, a postdoc clini- co-chair of the subcommittee ogy/oncology at Northwestern 2016 cal fellow in pediatric nephrol- that oversees the fundamentals University, and he has joined the See Alumni in Print to read ogy at VP&S, are among the curriculum at VP&S. Salila is Cleveland Clinic as a gastroin- about a book co-written by authors. The book provides a one of six VP&S advisory deans testinal oncologist. Suneel Jennifer Sotsky. Jennifer is comprehensive overview of the and directs the endocrine section also recently published a paper a physician with a specialty literature on kidney disorders.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 35 Alumni News&n o t e s

Lisa Mellman PSY’91/HON’19: Keeping it All in Perspective

By Julia Hickey

he view from Lisa Mellman’s 11th floor office in “It’s no secret amongst VP&S students that the buck the Vagelos Education Center stretches on a clear stops with Dean Mellman,” says fourth-year medical T day over Washington Heights rooftops to the student Sarah Soo-Hoo, whose mother was suffering Bronx and East River to the Whitestone and Throgs Neck from stage 4 lung cancer when she matriculated as a first- bridges into Queens, tiny at the horizon. Looking out at year. “I knew I could rely on her as my rock. Medical this expanse, one notices a framed map of Colorado, Dr. school can be very stressful, to say the least. But during Mellman’s home state, tipped against the window. this time of so much chaos and unpredictability, Dean “I love maps. I love seeing how things are laid out, and Mellman made sure that medical school would be the how you get from point A to point B,” says Dr. Mellman. least of my worries.” These are apt words from the senior associate dean for The two personalized a schedule that would allow Ms. student affairs at VP&S since 2005 and the Samuel Rudin Soo-Hoo time with family, without giving up on her goal Professor of Psychiatry at CUMC, who, since arriving at to complete an MBA before graduation in 2021 from the Columbia for residency in 1982, has dedicated her life to MD/MBA dual-degree program. When her mother died easing the transitions of students, trainees, and patients the night before the start of her OB/GYN clinical rota- from A to B and points beyond. tion, Ms. Soo-Hoo contacted Dr. Mellman. She told Ms. Soo-Hoo, “Take all the time you need.”

Always in Motion Admittedly “always in motion,” by 7 a.m. Dr. Mellman is either swimming laps at her local Y or counseling psy- chiatric patients at Columbia before beginning her duties in the student affairs office. And though constant move- ment might prove unsettling to some, velocity has firmed her poise and streamlined her diction. From outlining Columbia’s strengths in the biological and psychody- namic aspects of psychiatry that drew her to residency here to welling up with emotion when describing the 11th grade teacher who urged her to take AP chemis- try, launching her resolve to become a doctor, she speaks with a deliberate cadence that is calm and reassuring. “I think touching the careers of thousands of stu- dents and residents really is the most meaningful thing to me. Because I know they have in turn touched so many patients’ lives, have developed new discoveries in research, have just gone on to so many roles in medi- cine,” says Dr. Mellman. “And the mother in me—they

JENNY GORMAN are all like my children—it just touches my heart.”

36 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Dr. Mellman’s mother, Genevieve, was born and raised in Guatemala to Jewish parents who emigrated from Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. “She was smart. She could have done anything,” Dr. Mellman says of her mother, who died in 2013. “But she didn’t grow up in an era where she had those opportunities.” Genevieve moved to Denver, Colorado, was married, and had Lisa as her second child by the age of 20. As a youth Dr. Mellman joined her grandparents for summers abroad when they lived in Brazil and Israel. Her mother completed college in her 50s and used her Spanish flu- ency to launch a career as a court interpreter. After falling in love with biochemistry during her AP chemistry class in high school, Dr. Mellman attended the University of Colorado. But it was not until her final clerkship while pursuing an MD at Case Western Uni- versity that she experienced the epiphany that psychia- try was the specialty for her. “Meaning has enormous importance to me, and so does trust,” she says. Psychia- try allowed for deep connections with patients across AMELIA PANICO cultures and life experiences. She also met her husband, Torbjoern Nygaard, MD, Club, activities that foster the humanism and self-knowl- Lisa Mellman at Case Western, while he was a resident and she was an edge to become empathetic physicians. She offers daily with Christopher Travis’19 at intern, both in medicine. advising hours to help students chart their career paths Match Day in Always motivated to study Spanish, Dr. Mellman was and writes, with assistance from her staff, each student’s March 2019. not surprised to end up in the Latino community of MSPE, the all-important performance evaluation that is Washington Heights for psychiatry residency at Colum- essential to their residency application. bia, where she rose to chief resident. She was asked to “It’s the process that I love, not just the outcome,” Dr. co-direct an inpatient unit on the 12th floor of the Neu- Mellman says of her collaborative roles as dean, psychia- rological Institute, the same floor where she now treats trist, and administrator. “The people part is really vital patients. “I have gone full circle,” she says. for me, because the changes occur within a relationship.” Dr. Mellman soon started psychoanalytic training and Dr. Mellman has taken on new roles as of late, with a gave birth to the first of her two sons before directing the silent cameo in three Bard Hall Players productions (her outpatient clinic. In 1993, she was named associate direc- personal favorite was as a terrified patient in the dentist’s tor for the psychiatry residency, pursued scholarly projects, waiting room in “Little Shop of Horrors”) and, not least, and joined major psychiatry education organizations. She as an honorary member of the VP&S Alumni Association. served as president of the American Association of Direc- “To be honored by the institution in which I have tors of Psychiatry Residency Training, chair of the fellow- developed my entire career, and to be honored in this ship program for the American Psychoanalytic Association, way, so surpasses any expectations I ever had in my life,” and chair of committees in graduate medical education and she says. “When I came here to interview as a resident, I in psychotherapy for the American Psychiatric Association. wanted to be like those faculty members that I admired In these roles, she helped establish competencies for train- so much, and it blows my mind to be one of them.” ing, including in psychotherapy, throughout the country. After nearly four decades of big-picture thinking at “Those were very, very busy years,” she says of her Columbia, Dr. Mellman manages to find time to tend to early years at Columbia, but then adds, “I mean, all the her own well-being with her family and friends, weekly years were busy years!” dates with her grandchildren, and golfing. She was an advisory dean at VP&S in 2003 before “The depth of focus that’s required in golf I find enor- succeeding long-time student affairs dean Linda Lewis as mously relaxing,” she says. “As a life-long learner, I love senior associate dean for student affairs. the challenge of the game and being in the zone. When I Dr. Mellman now oversees all aspects of student life, am playing or when I’m at the driving range, everything including student-run clinics, athletics, and the P&S else just fades away.”

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 37 Alumni News&n o t e s

alumni in print By Tim Gahr

Off the Tracks: Cautionary Tales of a chapter on “Immune-Mediated letes, as well as the entire public interested in About the Derailing of Mental Disease of the Neuromuscular Junction,” how the engine of our body really works. Health Care (Volumes 1 & 2) and he co-authored an introduction on Paul W. Mosher’63 and the fundamentals of neuroimmunology Jeffrey Berman, PhD and a chapter on “Therapies of Conquering Lyme Disease: IPBooks, 2019 Neuroimmunologic Diseases.” The Science Bridges the Great Divide book gives readers a practical, clinical, Brian A. Fallon’85 and Dr. Mosher has co-authored two vol- and scientific background on a diverse Jennifer Sotsky’16 umes about the many and varied ways range of common and rare neurologic Columbia University Press, 2019 that the relationship between patient and disorders. Clinical chapters cover the therapist can go awry. While thousands epidemiology, pathology, pathogenesis, Now out in paperback, this authoritative of studies have concluded that 75% to and pathophysiology of diseases and book published in hardcover in 2017 80% of patients who participate in psy- describe testing, diagnosis, and treatment gives patients and health care practitioners a chotherapy show improvement, the power in real-world situations. The book is a timely overview of the cutting edge science of this treatment makes it dangerous resource for physicians and other health that is transforming how Lyme disease is when misused. The first volume focuses care practitioners who care for people addressed. With more than 400,000 cases on boundary violations in the treatment with neuroimmunologic diseases. diagnosed each year, Lyme disease is the most relationship, while the second surveys common tick-borne illness in the United events in mental health history, ranging States, but doctors remain deeply divided on from a landmark court case to bizarre Introducing the Core: Demystifying how to treat the disease, which has diverse surgeries, even covering what happened the Body of an Athlete manifestations and for which diagnostic tests when psychoanalysis met the alien abduc- William C. Meyers’75 have significant limitations. Drs. Fallon and tion craze. Dr. Mosher and his co-author SLACK Books, 2019 Sotsky take a frank look at the unique chal- present these stories not to condemn lenges the disease presents, ultimately finding modern treatment methods, but to provide Dr. Meyers is lead editor and author of this hope. They believe that new and emerging cautionary tales for mental health profes- book, which features contributions from diagnostic tests, treatments, and prevention sionals striving to understand their role in more than 40 world-renowned experts in strategies will be able to stop the expansion the treatment relationship and to use their the fields of athletic training, orthopedics, of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases and best judgment with patients. and sports medicine. On top of its sig- reduce the number of cases. nificance in sports, the core, until now, has remained a mystery to most physicians and Neuroimmunology athletes. The book illuminates the role of The New Rules of Pregnancy Robert Lisak’65 the core through the perspectives of diverse Jacqueline Worth’97, Adrienne L. Oxford University Press, 2019 experts not afraid to challenge prevailing Simone, MD, and Danielle Claro wisdom and who argue strongly that the Artisan Books, 2019 Dr. Lisak co-edited this newest volume in term “sports hernia” should be banned from Oxford University Press’s Contemporary the medical literature. The book is for health Dr. Worth has co-authored a comprehensive Neurology Series. He also was first author care professionals, elite and amateur ath- yet accessible book on self-care during preg-

38 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 nancy. “Calm” and “chill” are not words he also founded an elite-level sports training NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, which most people associate with pregnancy, but and wellness management business. uses the phrase in its marketing campaign.) Dr. Worth and her co-authors are trying to change that. Their book answers questions busy readers are likely to have during preg- Amazing Things Are Minority Empowerment: nancy, from the practical (“Can I fly while Happening Here: Stories How to Achieve Professional pregnant?”) to the more complex (“What Jacob M. Appel’09 Success in America makes it postpartum depression?”). The Black Lawrence Press, 2019 Bianca Calderon-Brown’14 and book even covers the so-called “fourth tri- Randall Brown mester,” which involves nursing and trying Dr. Appel’s latest collection of short stories Floricanto Press, 2019 to get back to normal life. In a blurb, Amy “renders our post-9/11 world through a Poehler writes that the book “contains all variety of personalities, each narrating their Dr. Calderon-Brown’s new book, co-writ- you need to know about the amazing scifi unique and startling stories,” according ten with her husband, Randall Brown, is a adventure that is having a baby.” to author Marilyn Krysl. Among the nine guide for people of color navigating their short stories included in this collection are professional futures. Drawing on their “Canvassing,” which previously appeared experiences at four Ivy League institutions, Cycling Anatomy (2nd Edition) in Subtropics, and “Helen of Sparta,” which Dr. Calderon-Brown and her husband Shannon Sovndal’00 appeared in the Iowa Review. In a blurb, provide a road map for minority students Human Kinetics, 2019 author Peter Markus writes that these stories struggling with everything from racism are “written with equal doses of heft, hilarity, and microaggressions to setting goals and The second edition of Dr. Sovndal’s book and heart.” Dr. Appel has published more organizing. Chapters like “Money” and includes 89 of the most effective cycling than 200 short stories and several novels, “Don’t be Afraid to Get Help” concisely exercises plus step-by-step descriptions plays, poems, and works of social criticism. summarize what young people can do to to help cyclists increase their speed, prepare themselves for the challenges they strength, and endurance. Full-color (Editor’s Note: The title of Dr. Appel’s will face from America’s educational and anatomic illustrations depict the active collection of stories has no connection to professional establishment. muscles involved in cornering, climbing, descending, and sprinting. Readers will learn not just the basics, but also how to modify exercises to target specific areas of send books (published within the past two years) to: the body and to minimize common cycling injuries, ultimately learning how to put it Bonita Eaton Enochs, Editor Please include an email address Columbia Medicine for the editor’s use only. all together to develop an individualized Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons training regimen. Dr. Sovndal writes from 630 W. 168th St., Box 153 experience: As a team physician for the New York, NY 10032 Garmin-Sharp professional cycling team Send inquiries about books to [email protected] for seven years, he has worked every major race in Europe and the United States, and

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 39 Alumni News&n o t e s

• ALUMNI PROFILE

Peter Bolo’85, the Optimist

By Julia Hickey JENNY GORMAN

t was during a second-year lecture by psychoan- ship by employing alter egos: There was the identity alyst Eric Marcus, MD, about primary process “R. Mutt,” who submitted a urinal titled “Fountain” I thinking—the language of dreams—that Peter to a nonjuried art show in 1917 (it was rejected). His Bolo’85 realized psychiatry could be for him. feminine nom de plume “Rrose Selavy” was variously “Wow, I am sitting here in medical school in this lecture interpreted as: Eros, c’est la vie (“Passion, that’s life”), that could be in art history,” he says. “Or philosophy.” or arroser la vie (“to make a toast to life”), or la vie Imagining the nonlinear bursts and symbolic struc- en rose (literally, “life in pink,” or to see the world A 1985 photo tures of the unconscious mind brought the young stu- through rose-colored lenses). shows Peter Bolo receiving the gold dent relief from the objective world of medical school As for the artistically inclined Dr. Bolo, himself quite medal given to a and made him think about his love for modern art: “It dapper with a shock of gray hair to match his tweed graduating student in recognition doesn’t follow the normal rules of time and percep- suit, one could imagine him having pursued another of interest in tion that we think of in our secondary process, logical career, perhaps as a Broadway performer. Although he and devotion world. It’s something that you need to relax with and is the first to admit feeling the lure of a creative path, to the school and its alumni let your mind wander a bit,” he says. he chose medicine for the security it provided. association. His No wonder that, to this day, his favorite artist “I’m practical,” he says. son, Kyle Bolo’19, received the same remains Marcel Duchamp, the irreverent father of Besides, who is to say that Dr. Bolo isn’t living la award in May 2019. conceptual art who intentionally obscured his author- vie en rose?

A Dramatic Beginning At age 4, Peter Bolo fell down concrete steps face-first into his backyard while carrying a glass of water. He was hysterical, as he tells it, and his mother rushed him to the nurse who lived next door in their Detroit suburb. “I didn’t even know what a nurse was,” says Dr. Bolo, but she stopped the bleeding from a gash the length of his index finger and calmed his nerves. The experience left a strong impression, and as the third of four children in a family in the auto business, he decided, “In addition to the fact that I wanted to do something different than everyone in my family, that if people asked me, ‘What do you want to be, little boy, when you grow up?’ that I would say I wanted to be a doctor.” Soon he was glued to the television set for house calls of “Marcus Welby, MD” and Dr. Gannon on “Medical Center.” Fifty years later, Dr. Bolo is chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Overlook Medical

40 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 Center and resiliency advocate of Atlantic Health Sys- As undergraduate students at the University of tem in Summit, New Jersey, where the “no-man’s land” Michigan, the pair had met across wooden study car- that greeted him when he arrived in 1999 has flourished rels in the library when he was just 17, “which is a under his direction into a 24-bed voluntary inpatient really good place to meet very stable, hard-working, unit with extensive outpatient programs and luminous successful people,” Dr. Bolo says with a smile. She was skylights. Among his greatest accomplishments: “using two years ahead of him in her studies. humor to make frightened people comfortable.” As a dermatologist and psychiatrist couple, “I always During psychiatry rotations at VP&S, he found tease people that we go from the superficial to the deep. the symptoms of delusion, hallucination, and mania Plus, there is so much psychiatry in dermatology and for that others found horrifying to be fascinating. Then- that matter all fields of medicine,” he says. resident Lisa Mellman (now senior associate dean for Although Dr. Bolo would have preferred to stay at student affairs) taught him the mental status exam, the Columbia, says Dr. Almeida, they settled in New Jer- psychological equivalent of a physical exam. sey, “a place that was easier for me to work and be a “I loved the fact that you yourself were your exami- working mom.” nation tool, as opposed to a stethoscope and a whole The two have traveled around the world together bunch of lab values and radiographic findings. And and want to see more, including more visits to the that dovetailed with my interest in acting.” With the place Dr. Almeida’s family is from, Goa, India. They Bard Hall Players, he played both the sexually adven- recently hiked Machu Picchu with their children and turous “Woof,” anthropologist Margaret Mead in the toured Japan in October with classmate Peter Bran- hippie rock musical “Hair,” and lovesick Lysander in den’85 and his wife, Pennie. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Dr. Almeida volunteers at Columbia once a month to Empathy is essential to both acting and doctoring, supervise residents, which gave her a chance to visit one of Dr. Bolo says. “Getting into character and becom- their three children, Kyle Bolo, until he graduated in May ing another person requires an ability to imagine and 2019. He is now a resident in ophthalmology at USC. experience emotions that another is having, and that “Dad always says that medicine is still a very good field acting skill translates into being able to perceive and and that the human connection aspect is unparalleled,” briefly feel what patients and families are experienc- says Kyle, who was just as involved in student life as his ing and better understand their worries and reactions.

Empathy and compassion go hand in hand here.” Laila Almeida Besides, he never got too comfortable with the sight and Peter Bolo of blood. While other students vied for time dissecting in 1978 a cadaver, Dr. Bolo competed to dissect the least. On the first day, he cut just “one little piece of the arm,” and then “took a step back.”

From the Superficial to the Deep Bringing joy to medical contexts is not only Dr. Bolo’s specialty, but a pastime. While at VP&S in 1983, he proposed to his wife, Dr. Laila Almeida, during her grueling internal medicine residency at NY-Presbyte- rian Hospital, where she spent every other night on call. “I was an intern feeling sorry for myself because it was my birthday,” said Dr. Almeida, who now has a private dermatology practice in New Jersey. Dr. Bolo convinced her to take a dinner break and duck into the tiny Nourishment Station off the cardiac intensive care unit. “I didn’t want to wait after I got the ring so I decided to just meet her on her own terri- tory since she was never home and I thought it would be kind of fun and witty,” he said. He proposed to her between the sink and an ice machine.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 41 Alumni News&n o t e s

father was. In May 2019, Kyle received the gold medal managed care companies who act as gatekeepers to given to a graduating student in recognition of interest in psychiatric coverage, especially for the marginalized and devotion to the school and its alumni association, the or elderly in his program or for Alzheimer’s patients same award that his father received in 1985. with behavioral disturbances. He also has developed intensive outpatient pro- Two Commitments grams to treat adult psychiatric and addiction illness Dr. Bolo says his primary commitment is to have fun so that patients who graduate from inpatient services every day at work. “I couldn’t see myself in the ste- can remain in the fold. And in a separate project, reotypical psychiatric office with a Persian carpet, two Dr. Bolo advocates for increased goals-of-care con- Eames chairs, and one patient. That’s too sedentary versations throughout the medical center, with more and I’m too gregarious for that, so I decided to work patients documenting their choices about what care in hospitals on interdisciplinary teams.” they want and do not want. This has driven down use He has been known to bring a hockey stick to a of ICU by those in the dying process. smartboard presentation (“the boardroom never had a He has built a staff and culture of people who truly want to help others. “You hire people and let them know: ‘These are our values,’” he says. To promote a culture of compassion and collabo- ration, Dr. Bolo tends to the emotional needs of the hospital’s many caregivers, which include not only physicians but also nurses, case managers, social workers, crisis clinicians, and concierges. He opens the hospital’s bimonthly Schwartz Center Rounds with a mindful meditation exercise and healthy food. During these multidisciplinary sessions, staff have a support- ive space to share their vulnerable first-person experi- ences of working with patients and families. He is thrilled about a palpable reduction in stigma against mental illness in the past decade and credits the millennial generation and high-profile celebrities who speak openly about their experiences. “The brain is the most complicated, interesting organ, in my opinion. It shouldn’t just be viewed only as a black box onto which we project our bias and historical myths about mental illness. The brain is an organ just as the heart is, and you can have brain fail- ure just like you can have heart failure,” he says. Dr. Bolo inherited his mother’s unflagging sense of optimism, he says, which is helpful in a clinic where The Bolo family, pointer!” he says) and to spice up a lecture about phy- the patients arrive very sick, often having failed other clockwise sician resiliency by serenading the hospital C-suite and treatments. “I am super into hope and my main thing is from top left: Henry, Kyle, department chairs with Miley Cyrus pop songs “Party to try to instill hope in everybody that I speak with. It’s Isabel, Peter in the USA,” “Wrecking Ball,” and “Malibu.” (Yes, all about solidifying that therapeutic relationship, which Bolo, and Laila Almeida three, and his favorite is “Malibu.”) is the currency of the healing.” He involves patients, The area of workforce burnout and resilience is a whenever possible, in making a plan of action together new playground for Dr. Bolo, who describes the execu- and shaking on it. tive aspects of health care as fascinating rather than Dr. Bolo’s second commitment takes into account frustrating and the incentives of the Affordable Care each patient’s unique layers and identity—as well as his Act to keep people well as “a personal call to arms.” own. “I have found it invaluable in successfully con- Dr. Bolo fights to remove barriers to accessing men- necting with and impacting patients to always identify tal health care and cites situations in which his team something I truly appreciate about them, whether I works hard to demonstrate medical necessity to the choose to let them know or keep it to myself.”

42 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 in memoriam

Kenneth A. Forde: Surgeon, Alumnus, Trustee, Friend

Just a few weeks after the 2019 VP&S alumni Clinical Surgery in 1997. The Trustees named reunion, when he celebrated his 60-year class him the Jose M. Ferrer Professor Emeritus of reunion with his fellow P&S Class of 1959 Clinical Surgery upon his retirement. classmates, Kenneth A. Forde died at his home As a surgeon, he gained prominence through June 2, 2019, of heart failure. He was 85. his contributions to gastrointestinal endoscopy He was so much more than the words that and colorectal surgery. An early proponent of fit in the headline above: He also was a mentor the importance of colonoscopy for screening, and teacher, a trusted and compassionate physi- he came onto the national stage when he per- cian, a researcher, a pioneer in his surgical field, formed a televised colonoscopy on “Today” and a generous benefactor. Retired since 2006, anchor Katie Couric. It had a positive effect Dr. Forde remained active at Columbia Uni- on screening rates nationwide. He co-founded versity and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as the Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic a Columbia University Trustee and NewYork- Surgeons—SAGES—and served as president of Presbyterian Trustee, a member of the Colum- SAGES and the New York Surgical Society. bia University Irving Medical Center Board He received multiple honors from his of Advisors, and a member of the Board of undergraduate alma mater—City College of Visitors of Columbia’s School of Nursing. His New York—and from Columbia (including foundation, the Kenneth A. and Kareitha O. multiple awards for teaching) and the VP&S Forde Private Family Foundation, commit- Alumni Association. He received the Colum- Ken Forde ted $1 million to establish the Kenneth A. bia University Alumni Federation Medal and Forde, MD, Teaching Scholar Fund in the car- was president of the VP&S alumni associa- diology division of VP&S, just the latest of his tion for two years. He was longtime co-chair research scientists, and allies across the medi- donations to VP&S. of the Class of 1959. cal center to empower the community through The six decades since his graduation from A professorship and an endowed scholarship networking opportunities, diversity awareness, Columbia included 50 years on the VP&S fac- were established in his name by his patients. mentoring relationships, and community ser- ulty. He joined Columbia upon returning from Among the organizations that honor his vice and leadership development opportunities. Army service, starting his academic career as an service to Columbia is the Kenneth A. Forde At a memorial service held in July at the assistant in surgery. He rose through the ranks Diversity Alliance, established in 2014 to bring Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhat- to become professor of clinical surgery in 1983 together minority medical students, resident tan, Spencer E. Amory, MD, the current Jose and was named the Jose M. Ferrer Professor of physicians, fellows, graduate students, faculty, M. Ferrer Professor of Surgery, spoke directly to his mentor: “You gave us ample reason to say nice things about you. Today I offer these two words: ‘Thank You.’ Thank you for shar- ing your skills in endoscopy, the future of surgery as you described it. Those skills have brought relief to thousands within and beyond our borders. Thank you for your strategic and material support in promoting minimal access surgery at Columbia and through SAGES. I was an early beneficiary. Patients and sur- geons continue to enjoy the rewards of your foresight. Thank you for modeling exceptional communication, diagnostic skills, humility, compassion, and forgiveness. Thank you for the confidence you demonstrated in allowing me to care for your patients. Thank you for lis- tening and for supporting me during my pro- fessional and personal challenges. We thank you and Mrs. Forde for graciously accepting the role of ‘Papa and Mama Forde.’” Dr. Forde’s wife of 60 years, Kareitha “Kay,” died in 2017. He is survived by his son, Trevor, two grandchildren, and a sister.

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 43 in memoriam

OTHER FACULTY DEATHS 2019. See more in Alumni Ann S. Jennings-Purnell, MD, and teaching position at Harvard Christopher J. Allegra, MD, In Memoriam, Class retired assistant clinical profes- Medical School and returned to assistant clinical professor of of 1962. sor of medicine at Harlem Hos- St. Luke’s as director of medi- psychiatry, died Sept. 5, 2019. pital, died March 9, 2019. cine in 1957. St. Luke’s became John T. Flynn, MD, professor a Columbia University teaching David H. Baker, MD, the James of ophthalmology, died Donald F. Klein, MD, professor hospital under his leadership. Picker Professor Emeritus of March 19, 2019. emeritus of psychiatry, died From 1975 to 1988, he ran the Radiology and former chair of Aug. 7, 2019. first NIH-funded center for obesity radiology, died Sept. 25, 2019. Thomas P. Jacobs, MD, the research. He later consulted on Roy and Diana Vagelos James R. Malm, MD, professor clinical research and devoted spe- Myles Behrens, MD, professor Professor of Medicine, died in emeritus of surgery, died cial attention to ketone esters as a of ophthalmology, died April 5, April 2019. Sept. 21, 2019. See more in therapeutic agent for Parkinson’s Alumni In Memoriam, and Alzheimer’s diseases. He was Class of 1949. a dedicated amateur historian, authoring numerous articles on the Edward L. Nickoloff, DSc, pro- history of the Florida west coast. fessor emeritus of radiology Dr. Van Itallie is survived by his (radiation physics) (in envi- five children, six grandchildren, ronmental health sciences) at and four great-grandchildren. CUMC, died March 11, 2019. 1946 Paul J. Poppers, MD, former Horace M. Shaffer, who prac- faculty member in anesthesiol- ticed internal medicine in his ogy, died June 10, 2019. hometown of Trenton, New Jersey, until 1987, died Sept. 5, Myles Behrens James R. Malm Robert Richard Strome, MD, 2019. He was 96. After graduat- assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology, died May 30, 2019.

Theodore Van Itallie, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, died Sept. 14, 2019. See more in Alumni In Memoriam, Class of 1945.

Gerald S. Weinberger, MD, assis- tant professor of clinical anesthe- siology, died July 10, 2019. Horace M. Shaffer’46 Thomas P. Jacobs Edward L. Nickoloff ALUMNI 1945 ing with his MD, he served in Theodore Van Itallie, an obesity the Navy on the ship USS Frank- expert and leading researcher in lin D. Roosevelt. He was an metabolic diseases, died Sept. 14, intern at Bellevue Hospital and 2019, at the age of 99. He dem- completed his residency at Vet- onstrated that weight loss was erans Hospital. He studied the a function of calorie reduction classics, humanities, languages, and publicly refuted the “calories and visual arts, and he practiced don’t count” school of weight loss. Dzogchen, a form of Tibetan He served in the Navy Medical Buddhism. Dr. Shaffer is sur- Corps and saw active duty in the vived by his wife, Joyce, three of Pacific theatre before completing his four children, two stepchil-

Donald F. Klein Theodore Van Itallie residency training at St. Luke’s dren, seven grandchildren, and Hospital. He accepted a research two great-grandchildren.

44 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 1948 captain in combat in South Korea, age of 95. Dr. Silverberg enjoyed Paul Gulyassy, a nephrologist, Arthur Aufses, an esteemed and as commanding officer of the bluegrass, Lindying, water ski- died May 15, 2019. He was 90. surgeon and chair of surgery at 8th Field Hospital in Nha Trang, ing, tennis, and food. He is sur- He completed his residency at Mount Sinai Health System in Vietnam, during the Tet offensive. vived by his wife, Shirley, three UCSF, with a pause to join the New York City for 22 years, died He later practiced dermatology children, several grandchildren, Army medical corps at Fort Knox, April 15, 2019. He was 93. He in Farmington, New Mexico. He and a great-grandson. Kentucky, where he achieved the introduced laparoscopic surgery, loved international travel. He is rank of captain. He later joined oversaw the expansion of ambula- survived by his wife, Carolyn, 1953 the biomedical research team of four children, five grandchildren, Marvin Zimmerman, an internist, Dr. William Schwartz at Tufts Uni- and three great-grandchildren. died April 21, 2019. He was 90. versity. In 1962, he joined UCSF’s After completing his internship at new Cardiovascular Research Insti- James Royal Malm, professor Mount Sinai Hospital, he served tute. He was assistant professor emeritus of surgery at VP&S, as a doctor at the Air Force base of medicine at Moffitt Hospital, died Sept. 21, 2019. He was 94. at Laredo, Texas. He went on UCSF, and was later recruited to He enlisted at age 17 in the V12 to residency at Yale New Haven create the nephrology division at Navy College Training Program Hospital. He enjoyed traveling UC Davis, where he stayed for and attended Princeton before to exotic places and was an avid more than 20 years. Dr. Gulyassy receiving his MD degree from tennis player and sailor. He loved loved Mexico, the arts, and tennis, Columbia. During the Korean museums and opera and was a which he played into his 80s. He War, Dr. Malm was called into founding member of Long Wharf is survived by his wife, June, two active duty and served as a junior Theatre. He is survived by his daughters, and two grandsons. Arthur Aufses’48 medical officer aboard USS Philip- wife, Beverly, three children, and pine Sea, often in Korean waters, six grandchildren. Glenn Langer, a cardiologist who tory surgery, and introduced the and recalled performing an helped disadvantaged students hospital’s transplant program. In appendectomy during a typhoon. 1954 attend college, died June 19, 2019. 1988, Dr. Aufses organized the He returned to New York City Burton D. Cohen, longtime pro- He was 91. After medical school surgical team that performed the for general and thoracic surgical fessor of medicine at the Albert he served two years in the Army first liver transplant in New York residency training at what was Einstein College of Medicine, in Texas. In 1960, he joined the state. He supported inclusion of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical died Feb. 5, 2019. He served American Heart Association Car- female and minority surgeons. He Center and was appointed to the in the Army in the Pacific dur- diovascular Research Laboratories co-wrote two books about the his- faculty in 1958. He was appointed ing World War II. He trained at UCLA. Beyond being a notable tory of Mount Sinai Hospital. chief of the cardiac surgical service in internal medicine at Bellevue professor of medicine and physiol- in 1960 and held the position for Hospital, where he entered the ogy, he directed cardiovascular 1949 more than 30 years. Dr. Malm new subspecialty of nephrology. research and became vice chair William C. Fisher, an army colo- and his close partner, Dr. Fred- He completed training as chief of physiology and associate dean nel and chief of dermatology at erick O. Bowman, performed medical resident at Memorial for research. Upon retirement in William Beaumont Army Medical pioneering work in and developed Sloan Kettering. Dr. Cohen was 1997, his philanthropy grew into Center in El Paso, Texas, died therapeutic standards for the a clinical investigator for the the Partnership Scholars Program April 22, 2019. He was 95. Dr. surgical treatment of tetralogy of Veterans Administration in New to support pre-college youth. The Fisher served as a medical corps- Fallot. He also created national York and later a career scientist program has awarded scholarships, man during World War II, as a standards for thoracic surgical for the Health Research Council cultural experiences, and mentor- education and residency train- of New York City. He joined the ship support to 622 students in Los ing programs. He retired from staff of the Bronx Hospital (later Angeles and Mendocino counties. surgical practice in 1991 and was Bronx-Lebanon) and became Dr. Langer loved nature, world honored by VP&S with a Distin- director of the Department of literature, music, and dogs. He guished Service Award in 1996. Medicine, a position he held until is survived by his wife, Renate, a He enjoyed tennis, skeet and trap, retirement in 1994. He continued daughter, a stepson, four grandchil- fishing, and golf. He is survived by to publish original research in the dren, and three step-grandchildren. his wife, Constance, four daugh- specialized field of renal failure ters, six grandchildren, and three even after retirement. Dr. Cohen 1955 great-grandchildren. was a dedicated guitarist who Stanley Bergen, the founding also loved tennis, sailing, and president for 27 years of the Uni- 1950 windsurfing. He is survived by his versity of Medicine & Dentistry of

William C. Fisher’49 J. William Silverberg, a psychia- wife, Sunantana, three children, New Jersey, died April 24, 2019. trist, died July 21, 2019, at the and three grandchildren. He was 89. Dr. Bergen was serv-

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 45 in memoriam

ing as first senior vice president versity of Rochester, died June 2, Medicine into the computer era his chief residency in surgery at of the New York City Health and 2019. He was 87. He served as a and made its holdings available to the VA Hospital in West Haven, Hospitals Corporation when the captain in the U.S. Army in Ger- researchers globally by overseeing Connecticut. He opened a private state of New Jersey, in response to many. He completed residency the digitization of Index Medicus practice with his lifelong friend a shortage of doctors and dentists, in psychiatry at Strong Memo- into PubMed, which provides and medical partner, Dr. Harold selected him to establish the health rial Hospital in Rochester. He is free internet access to research Stern, and was affiliated with sciences campus in central New- survived by his wife, Joanna, four published by international, refer- Yale-New Haven Hospital and ark. Breaking ground in 1971, children, eight grandchildren, and eed medical journals. During his the Hospital of Saint Raphael. Dr. it was the first medical school in two great-grandchildren. tenure, the library launched Med- Toole performed one of the first the state and is now part of Rut- linePlus.gov and ClinicalTrials. pulmonary embolectomy proce- gers. He also was instrumental 1957 gov, widely used online reposi- dures during open-heart surgery. in creating the Cancer Institute Hugo L. Deaton, who practiced tories of genetic and genomic He was a golfer, gardener, swim- of New Jersey. Dr. Bergen was a general, vascular, and thoracic sequences. The Unified Medical mer, and devoted hockey fan. He defining figure among New Jersey surgery, died Feb. 12, 2019. Language System was developed is survived by four children and health care policymakers and a He was 87. He completed his to integrate diverse biomedical eight grandchildren. firm believer in health care as a residency at Duke University, vocabularies with inter-operable human right. A native of New then joined his father-in-law, the search terms. Dr. Lindberg also Robert Van Cleve, a cardiolo- Jersey and graduate of Princeton, late Glenn R. Frye, as a partner supervised the free use of clinical gist, died July 8, 2019. He was he also served in the Army and the in the Hickory Surgical Clinic, 87. He completed his internship National Guard. He is survived by where he practiced for 30 years. and two years of residency at the his wife, Suzanne, three children, He served as president of the University of Virginia Hospital, and five grandchildren. North Carolina Surgical Asso- followed by work at Barnes ciation. He was a member of the Hospital in St. Louis. He was John S. Wilson, a surgeon, died Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. lieutenant commander at Balboa Sept. 9, 2019, at age 88. He Dr. Deaton loved sailing, which Naval Hospital in San Diego. served his internship and general he taught himself on the Chesa- He went on to a cardiology fel- residency as chief resident at Bel- peake Bay as a teenager. He is lowship at Harvard and in 1965 survived by four children and moved to Jacksonville, where 11 grandchildren. he became the second board- certified cardiologist in north 1958 Florida. He valued knowing his Donald Lindberg’58 Uriel Barzel, professor of patients, volunteering his time to medicine at Albert Einstein treat people who could not pay, College of Medicine and attend- terminology standards for elec- and teaching doctors and nurses ing physician in endocrinology tronic health records, as well in training. He was an elder and and metabolism at Montefiore as the diffusion of specialized trustee in the First Presbyterian Hospital Medical Center in resources in fields including toxi- Church. He is survived by his the Bronx, died Sept. 19, 2019. cology, health services research, wife, Sarah, four children, and He was 90. public health, consumer health, 11 grandchildren. disaster and emergency response, John S. Wilson’55 Lawrence P. Green, a Navy vet- and the history of medicine. Carl Weiss, an orthopedic sur- eran and member of Lafayette Dr. Lindberg wrote several books geon, died Aug. 1, 2019. He levue Hospital and completed his Church of the Nazarene in Lex- and held recent medical faculty was 84. He served two years as surgical residency at Hartford ington, Kentucky, died July 19, appointments at the University of a captain at Barksdale Air Force Hospital in Connecticut. Before 2019. He was 86. He is survived Maryland and the University of Base in Louisiana. Dr. Weiss moving to Silver City, New by his wife, Shirley, three chil- Virginia. He is survived by later practiced at Garden City Mexico, in 1964, Dr. Wilson dren, 12 grandchildren, and nine his wife, Mary, two children, and Orthopedics in Long Island. He served four years as a captain and great-grandchildren. two grandchildren. is survived by three children and surgeon in the Army, stationed in eight grandchildren. La Rochelle, France, and Fort Sam Donald Lindberg, a groundbreak- Allan Lawrence Toole, a surgeon Houston, Texas. ing expert in medical informatics and associate professor at the 1959 who directed the National Library Yale School of Medicine, died Robert Alan First, an orthopedic 1956 of Medicine within the NIH for 31 Sept. 2, 2019. He was 87. His surgeon and Vietnam veteran who Christopher Hodgman, professor years, died Aug. 17, 2019. He was internship, fellowship, and resi- received a Bronze Star, died Feb. emeritus of psychiatry at the Uni- 85. He led the National Library of dency were at Yale, followed by 9, 2019. He was 85. His post-

46 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019 graduate training was in Boston the endocrine and metabolism public and private education, and at Brigham and Women’s, Chil- clinic at Franklin Square Hos- classical music. He is survived by dren’s, and Massachusetts General pital. He became medical direc- his wife, Nancy, two daughters, hospitals. A major in the Army tor of Prudential Healthcare in and three grandchildren. medical corps, he spent a year Baltimore in 1989 and later chief with the second MASH unit in medical officer for the Tennessee 1962 Chu Lai. He later practiced ortho- Health Partnership in Knoxville, Myles Behrens, a world- pedics in Concord, Massachusetts. a managed care organization with renowned ophthalmologist and He was affiliated with Emerson 180,000 members. Before retire- co-chief of the neuro-ophthalmol- Hospital, Harvard, and Tufts and ment, he was a medical officer at ogy clinic at the Harkness Eye was a fellow of the American the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- Institute at Columbia until his Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. istration’s Division of Medical retirement in 2011, died April 5, Jean K. Miller’59 His hobbies included woodwork- Imaging and Radiopharmaceutical 2019. He was 80. He was recog- ing, gardening, golf, and riding Drug Products. Dr. Janoski enjoyed nized with the Heed Ophthalmic his BMW motorcycle. He owned birder and traveler, she visited golf, fishing, and model cars. He Foundation Award in 1986 for a pack of West Highland terriers. all 50 states and toured around was a communicant for 50 years his leadership, teaching excel- He is survived by his wife, Susan, the globe. In her youth, she was of the Roman Catholic Shrine of lence, and significant clinical and three biological and three chosen a bicyclist and mountain climber. the Sacred Heart in Baltimore. He research contributions to the field children, and two grandsons. She is survived by four children is survived by his wife, Judith, two of neuro-ophthalmology. He is and 10 grandchildren. children, two step-children, and survived by his wife, Marsha, two See Page 43 to read about four grandchildren. children, two step-children, and Ken Forde. S. Richard Prothero, an ortho- nine grandchildren. pedic surgeon, died Jan. 5, 2018. 1961 PhD Mark Izard, a nephrologist whom He was 85. He conducted origi- Gordon I. Kaye was a professor Despine Coulis, a pediatrician colleagues called the “father of nal laboratory research on diabe- emeritus of pathology and labora- and one of only eight women in dialysis in Connecticut,” died July tes in rats as an undergraduate at tory medicine at Albany Medical her medical school class, died 15, 2019. He was 86. Born and Bates College. After his internship College and a pioneer of alkaline May 28, 2019. She was 82. After raised in New York City, he moved at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospi- hydrolysis, or flameless cremation. residency she settled in New to Connecticut for residency, tal in Cooperstown, New York, He died Feb. 9, 2019, at the age Haven, Connecticut, and worked where he was chief resident, presi- he served as a captain in the Air of 83. He received his first intro- in public health to help children dent of the house staff, and editor Force. He completed a residency duction to the excitement of labo- and families. She later practiced of the Hartford Hospital Bulletin. in orthopedic surgery at Colum- ratory research as a child at the in Missouri and Massachusetts, He practiced internal medicine bia, then joined Cape Cod Hos- Brooklyn Botanic Garden near his serving the community at Greater and nephrology for 50 years at pital in Hyannis. He liked to fix home. He was associate professor Lowell Pediatrics until 2000. Hartford Hospital, where he things, starting with bicycles and of surgical pathology and director Devoted to the arts, Dr. Coulis introduced kidney dialysis. He also clocks, and, later, broken bones. of the F. Higginson Cabot Labora- loved the symphony and the developed percutaneous renal nee- Dr. Prothero collected stamps tory of Electron Microscopy at opera. She also traveled exten- dle biopsy. He was on the faculty and was a star athlete, winning Columbia until he was named sively. She took college courses of the University of Connecticut, a the Maine state championship in chair and Alden March Professor almost up to the time of her death. nephrology consultant to the state doubles tennis. He is survived by in the anatomy department at She is survived by her daughter Veterans Administration, chief his wife, Helen, five children, and Albany Medical College in 1976. and three grandchildren. of medicine at Bradley Memorial nine grandchildren. He consulted as editor of the Hospital, and director of dialysis Anatomical Record and reviewer Karl William Waterson, a derma- at Springfield Hospital. He chaired 1961 of several medical journals. In tologist, died Feb. 16, 2019. He the Connecticut Commission on Alfonso H. Janoski, a retired endo- 1993, his research, including the was 83. An Army captain at Fort Dialysis and received many awards crinologist and health care admin- use of nuclear tracing isotopes, led Totten, New York, he later trained from the Kidney Foundation. Dr. istrator, died May 4, 2019. He was him to found WR2 with Dr. Peter in dermatology at UCSF and Izard loved boating, supported the 83. He served from 1965 to 1969 Weber to develop the necessary practiced for more than 40 years arts, and held a lifelong interest in in the Army Medical Corps, attain- equipment for alkaline hydrolysis, in locations including New York, historical preservation. ing the rank of major. Former which safely destroys all patho- California, New Jersey, West Vir- assistant professor of medicine and gens including prions that cause ginia, Missouri, Michigan, and Jean K. Miller, a psychiatrist, director of endocrine laboratories mad cow, scrapie, and chronic New Hampshire, where he started died May 11, 2019, at the age of at the University of Maryland, he wasting diseases. He enjoyed a private practice in 1991. He was 85. She practiced in Bronxville also maintained a private practice cooking, baseball, and boating. a member of several choirs and until March of 2019. An avid from 1982 to 1989 and directed He supported public libraries, delighted his family with rendi-

www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org 47 in memoriam

tions of Neil Diamond. He also Robert M. Schmidt, a physician- May 29, 2019. He was 71. He and major league baseball. He is loved golf. He is survived by his scientist and educator in hema- completed his residency at the survived by his wife, Kathy, and wife, Lucinda, three sons, four tology, died March 12, 2019. University of Pennsylvania and two children. step-children, 10 grandchildren, He was 74. Dr. Schmidt also advanced training in cardiology and a great-granddaughter. received degrees from Harvard, and cardiac electrophysiology. In 1980 Northwestern, and Emory uni- 1979, he became chief of clinical Addition: The notice of Warren 1969 versities. The founding director research at Lankenau Hospital Grundfest’s death (in the Spring/ Olufemi Ogundipe, an internist, of the hematology division at the and Medical Research Center in Summer 2019 issue) should have died Feb. 17, 2019. He was 76. Centers for Disease Control in the Pennsylvania. In 1988, he moved included his sister, Sharon Grund- Known as “Dairo” to high school early 1970s, he made significant to the Likoff Cardiovascular Insti- fest-Broniatowski’73, as a survivor. friends and “Femi” to his wife, contributions to understanding tute of Hahnemann University Dr. Ogundipe was born in Lagos, sickle cell anemia. He was on the Hospital in Philadelphia, where 1982 Nigeria, and attended Haverford faculty of Morehouse School of he directed the cardiology division Jonathan Strongin, who prac- College in Pennsylvania. He com- Medicine and founded the Inter- and fellowship. He authored or ticed pulmonary and critical care pleted his fellowship in endocrinol- national Health Resource Center co-authored more than 150 origi- medicine and served as president ogy at UCLA. A humorous and at Wilcox Hospital in Hawaii. In nal papers. After his academic of the medical staff and chief of jovial man, he was a scholar of the 1983, he returned to San Fran- career, he directed pharmaceutical pulmonary medicine at Cam- arts and sciences who emphasized cisco as chair of the health profes- research at Astra Zeneca. bridge Health Alliance, died Feb. the importance of academics and sions program at San Francisco 9, 2019. He was 67. He trained State University. His productive 1974 in internal medicine at Cam- scientific career was cut short by a James. A. Quinn, a cardiologist, bridge Hospital and Beth Israel traumatic brain injury at the age died Aug. 22, 2019. He was Hospital and completed his pul- of 52. He was a music lover who 70. He was a resident of Cedar monary fellowship at Massachu- played the church organ from a Grove, New Jersey. setts General Hospital. He loved young age. He is survived by two travel, folk music, and his dog. sons and two grandchildren. 1975 Dr. Strongin also earned a PhD Max Kahn, a pediatrician, died in anthropology at Columbia 1972 Sept. 12, 2019. He was 72. He University. He is survived by his Randolph Woodward, an internist served as intern and resident at wife, Ellen, and two children. with a private practice in Atlanta Bronx Medical Center (Jacobi for 38 years, died May 1, 2019. Hospital) and Albert Einstein Col- 1986 He was 73. He studied political lege of Medicine and practiced Cheryl Ann Jay, clinical profes- Olufemi Ogundipe’69 science at Yale, where he wrestled pediatrics at North Central Bronx sor of neurology at UCSF and and played lacrosse, having won Hospital before co-founding Pedi- director of San Francisco Gen- education to his family. His three a state championship in wrestling atric and Adolescent Medicine eral Hospital’s neurology clinic, children, who survive him, became in high school. Dr. Woodward LLP in 1979 with his partner, died Feb. 12, 2019. She loved art a nephrologist, a dentist, and a completed his internship year in Dr. Michael Levi. The practice and was involved with issues of psychiatrist. He is also survived New York City before moving became New York City’s largest, national and international social by his wife, Josephine, and three to Atlanta in 1973, where he non-hospital-sponsored private justice. She was known for her grandchildren. completed his internal medicine pediatric clinic. Dr. Kahn was a eclectic cookbook collection and residency and cardiology fellow- clinical instructor at Albert Einstein extensive travel history. 1970 ship, both in the Grady/Emory College of Medicine and Mount Richard G. Carlson, board-certified program. He loved to travel to Sinai Hospital and School of Medi- in pediatrics and internal medicine, such far-off places as Pakistan cine and clinical associate profes- died Jan. 31, 2019. He was 74. A and the Galapagos, and he hiked sor of medicine at NYU. Sesame native of Connecticut, Dr. Carlson the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Street Parents magazine enlisted graduated from Trinity College. He He enjoyed playing tennis and him as medical adviser from 1996 worked in New York at Presbyte- golf. He was an avid reader. He is to 2001. His pediatric practice rian and Lincoln hospitals. Later survived by his wife, Anneke, two expanded to nearby Scarsdale, he worked for student health ser- children, and five grandchildren. New York, growing from two phy- vices at Albert Einstein College of sicians to 10. Although “retiring” Medicine and became director of 1973 in 2017, Dr. Kahn continued to student health at Columbia. He is Eric Michelson, whose research see patients and make house calls

survived by his wife, JoAnne, and and teaching contributed to car- while pursuing interests including Cheryl Ann Jay’86 three children. diovascular therapeutics, died ancient Greek, Talmudic studies,

48 ColumbiaMedicine Fall/Winter 2019

Vagelos College of Non-Profit Org. Physicians and Surgeons U.S. Postage Paid New York, NY 630 West 168th Street PERMIT NO. 3593 New York, NY 10032

Photofinish

BRUCE GILBERT A Welcoming Place…for People and Art

aven Plaza, a pedestrian oasis on Haven Avenue blocks at each end of the plaza. The artist has chosen a spe- from 169th Street to Fort Washington Avenue, cies of plant or animal for each bollard, from the more recog- H is filled with tables, chairs, and opportunities for nizable aster flowers and cardinals to lesser-known species the medical center community and its neighbors to gather Dutchman’s breeches and trilobites. “This art is my attempt formally or informally to enjoy the open space. Art has now to create environmental awareness,” says Ms. Perez. “We joined what can be found there. A neighborhood artist, keep forgetting that Manhattan is unrecognizable from what Emely Perez, has hand-painted illustrations of flora and fauna it used to be. I want people to know about the plants and ani- native to Upper Manhattan on the bollards, the large, white mals that came before the skyscrapers and everything else.”