2017 Faculty Honors

  • Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, professor of Epidemiology, and Salim Abdool Karim, PhD, professor of Epidemiology, were honored by the Institute for Human Virology (IHV) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service at the 19th Annual International Meeting of Top Medical Virus Researchers in the U.S. They received the award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to research on the AIDS pandemic. The Karims were nominated and voted upon by IHV faculty and accepted the award at a ceremony on October 25th. 
  • Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, professor of Epidemiology, was named one of BBC's seven Trailblazing Women in Science. The BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. 
  • Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, professor of Epidemiology, was appointed UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. The Honorable Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, South Africa, and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé made the announcement in Capetown, South Africa at the launch of a new UNAIDS report, Right to Health. 
  • Joseph Graziano, PhD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences, was appointed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to the Drinking Water Quality Council which will guide New York's actions to ensure all communities in the state have access to clean drinking water. 
  • Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, director of ICAP and professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and Miriam Rabkin, MD, MPH, associate professor of Epidemiology and director for health systems strengthening at ICAP, were guest co-editors of the Journal of International AIDS Society Special Issue, "Reaching the Third 90: Taking Routine Viral Load Monitoring to Scale." They are also authors of the article, "Realizing the Potential of Routine Viral Load Testing in Sub-Saharan Africa."
  • Lisa Rosen-Metsch, PhD, the inaugural Stephen Smith Professor and Chair of Sociomedical Sciences, was named Dean of General Studies, Columbia University, effective January 1, 2018. 
  • David Bell, MD, MPH, associate professor of Population and Family Health and medical director of the Family Planning Program that includes the Young Men's Clinic, was appointed by New York City Mayor William de Blasio to be a member of the city's Sexual Health Education Task Force. 
  • Ana Abraido-Lanza, PhD, professor of Sociomedical Sciences and director of the initiative for Maximizing Student Development, is being honored by the American Public Health Association with the Student Assembly Public Health Mentoring Award for inspiring students through their academic programs during their school years and beyond. Read more.
  • A prize in honor of W. Ian Lipkin, MD, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Mailman School of Public Health has been established at Sarah Lawrence College, Dr. Lipkin's alma mater, to encourage the development of creative science projects at the liberal arts college.
  • Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, PhD, professor of Population and Family Health, will receive the Ronald McDonald House Charities 2017 "Medical Award of Excellence" for his outstanding contribution to improve the health and wellbeing of children.
  • Rachel Shelton, ScD, MPH, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences and a social and behavioral researcher, is co-editor of Health Education & Behavior's special theme issue, "Advancing the Science of Qualitative Research to Promote Health Equity." The special issue showcases how qualitative research is being used to expand the health equity lens across a variety of public health issues such as cancer, HIV, HPV, condom use, childhood obesity, and school nutrition policy. The journal is a publication of the Society for Public Health Education. 
  • Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, director of ICAP and Dr. Mathilde Krim-amfAR Chair of Global Health and Mailman School professor of Epidemiology and Medicine was featured in the PBS NewsHour special series, "The End of AIDS"- which was given the 2017 Communication Award by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The six-part series also included footage of outreach staff from the Harlem Prevention Center.
  • Constance A. Nathanson, PhD, professor of Sociomedical Sciences, received NIH funding for the third time for the Gender, Sexuality, and Health Training (T-32) Program. The funding provides fellowships for doctoral students interested in research and teaching careers focusing on the role of gender and sexuality in shaping reproductive and sexual health, both in the U.S. and abroad.
  • Mark Hatzenbuehler, PhD, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences, has received two R01 grants to study structural stigma and HIV prevention outcomes and anti-bullying laws and youth violence from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respectively.
  • Lisa Bates, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology, was selected for a 2017 Presidential Teaching Award. This award is given to Columbia University’s best teachers for commitment to excellent and often innovative teaching.
  • David Rosner, PhD, Ronald H. Lauterstein Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was honored by The Scientific Committee on the History of Prevention of Occupational and Environmental Disease for his “Outstanding Scholarship on the History of Work and Health.” Read more.
  • John Rowe, MD, Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging, Health Policy and Management, will assume the presidency of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG).
  • Diana Hernandez, PhD, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was named a faculty affiliate at The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Dr. Hernandez will also be the speaker at the Center's April faculty roundtable discussion.
  • Cassie Landers, EdD, MPH, Population and Family Health, joined the board of ChildFund International in January. ChildFund International is a global child development and protection organization which works with local partners to improve the lives of children. The organization currently serves more than 17 million children and family members in 25 countries.
  • James Phillips, PhD, and John Koku Awoonor-Williams, MD, MPH, Population and Family Health, helped author one of the "Top 5 Most Cited Articles Since 2013" public by Global Health: Science and Practice. The article was titled "Lessons learned from scaling up a community-based health program in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana."
  • Virginia Rauh, ScD, John Santelli, MD MPH, and Lindsay Stark, DrPH, MPH, Population and Family Health, have been selected for the newest class of Columbia Public Voices Fellows. Conducted in collaboration with the OpEd Project, this year-long program is designed to help thought leaders influence the public debate.
  • Miriam Laugesen, PhD, associate professor of Health Policy and Management, published her book, Fixing Medical Prices.
  • Lois Quam, MA, an associate in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was named chief executive of Pathfinder International, the nonprofit organization that focuses on reproductive health.
  • Alfred Morabia, MD, PhD, professor of clinical Epidemiology, was a featured speaker at the Boston University School of Public Health's Dean's Symposium of February 1. His talk titled "Defining Health Inequities, provided a historical perspective on how health inequities have been defined and explained over the last 350 years.
  • Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, was elected to the Council of the National Academy of Medicine for a three-year term beginning July 2017. The Council is the governing body of the Academcy elected by the membership.
  • Lloyd Sederer, MD, adjunct professor of Epidemiology, published the book Improving Mental Health: Four Secrets in Plain Sight. Foreword by Patrick Kennedy.
  • Ursula Staudinger, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences, will receive the 2017 SENECA medal, an award for aging research, from the Industry Club D üsseldorf in September 2017.
  • Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, professor of Epidemiology and associate scientific director of CAPRISA (Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa), received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Johannesburg. Read more.
  • Rachel T. Moresky, MD, MPH, associate professor of Population and Family Health and Medicine, was awarded the Global Emergency Medicine Association Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Read more.