2019 Faculty Honors

Andrea A. Baccarelli, MD, PhD, Deborah Hasin, PhD, MS, Frederica Perera, PhD, Katherine Keyes, PhD, Mark Olfson, Melanie Wall, PhD, Salim Abdool Karim, PhD, and W. Ian Lipkin, MD, all members of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health faculty, were named to the Web of Science Group annual list of most highly cited researchers. Read more.
Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPD, MPA, director of ICAP and professor of epidemiology and medicine, was awarded Georgetown University Medical center’s highest honor – the Cura Personalis Award- for her “unwavering compassion and deep dedication to collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches to confront the global HIV/AIDS epidemic." Read more.
Rachel C. Shelton, ScD, MPH, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences, spoke on the ‘Communicating and Working with Special Groups’ Panel at the White House Roundtable on Preventing Overdoses on College Campuses Symposium at The White House. Read more.
Michael S. Sparer, PhD, professor and chair of health policy and management, was named the keynote speaker for the 2019 Duncan Clark Lecture at the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Sparer’s lecture was titled “The Politics of ‘Single-Payer’ (And the Quest for an American Version of Universal Health Insurance).” Read more.
Denise Kandel, PhD, professor of sociomedical sciences, received the 2019 Rema Lapouse Award for Achievement in Epidemiology, Mental Health and Applied Public Health Statistics from the American Public Health Association. Read more.
Charles Branas, PhD, Gelman Endowed Professor of Epidemiology, and chair, Department of Epidemiology, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine during its annual meeting. Election to the Academy recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Read more.
Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, director of ICAP and professor of epidemiology, gave a talk entitled “Bringing precision to the global HIV response” at the 12th Netherlands Conference on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment. Read more.
Alan S. Brown, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and psychiatry received the Lieber Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Schizophrenia Research, an international award given by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. The prize brings public recognition to the outstanding discoveries being made in schizophrenia research. Read more.
Jamie Daw, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and management, was awarded a Health Data 4 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation research grant to examine current postpartum care models and reimbursement policies. Read more.
L. H. Lumey, PhD, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology, and students Shumin Rui (biostatistics) and Chihua Li (epidemiology), presented their abstract “Antihypertensive Treatment Stops Cognition Decline in Elderly Chinese With Hypertension,” at the American Heart Association (AHA), Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2019 Conference and received the Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award for having the highest-ranked accepted abstract to the AHA‎ 2019 Hypertension meetings submitted from the U.S. Read more.
Ashwin Vasan, PhD, MD, assistant professor of population and family health and medicine, was appointed President and CEO of Fountain House, a world-renowned mental health organization. Dr. Vasan will advance Fountain House’s work around mental illness, healthcare, homelessness, criminal justice, and social welfare for marginalized communities. Read more.
Grace Hillyer, EdD, MPH, assistant professor in epidemiology, was selected to present findings from her study, “Comparison of attitudes and beliefs about cancer clinical trial enrollment between physicians, research staff, and cancer patients,” at the 2019 Quality Care Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Read more.
Salim Abdool Karim, PhD, CAPRISA professor of global health in epidemiology, was inducted on July 12th as a fellow of the prestigious science academy, the Royal Society. The academy has included many of the world’s leading scientists over the past four centuries. Dr. Karim's leadership was hailed in a 2014 Nature Medicine article as “one of South Africa’s undisputed leaders in clinical research.” Read more.
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, was the 2019 recipient of the Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Woman Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed by The Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. A geriatrician and epidemiologist, Dr. Fried is an internationally known scientist and leader in medicine and public health. Read more.
Marina Catallozzi, MD, MCSE, David Bell, MD, MPH, and Dawn Hershman, MD, MS, faculty members at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, were named Best Doctors 2019 by NY Magazine. Results are based on a peer-review survey of physicians who they consider the best in their field. Drs. Catallozzi and Dr. Bell are adolescent medicine specialists and Dr. Hershman is a breast cancer specialist. Read more.
Sandra Albrecht, PhD, MPH, and Jeanette Stingone, PhD, MPH, assistant professors of epidemiology, were selected to the Health Data for NYC (HD4NYC) program, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research collaboration between the New York Academy of Medicine and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Drs. Albrecht and Stingone will focus on health equity issues related to birth/childhood and marginalized populations. Read more.
Yuna Lee, PhD, associate professor of health policy and management, Michael Sparer, PhD, chair of health policy and management, John Santelli, MD, professor of population and family health, and Sharon Schwartz, PhD, professor of epidemiology, were honored by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Class of 2019 with faculty teaching awards.
L. H. Lumey, PhD, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology, was featured on the homepage of the journal BMC Public Health as having one of the highest readership for the month of May for his paper, titled “Low awareness of hypertension and diabetes in China elderly causing public health concerns." Read more.
Robert Fullilove, EdD, MS, professor of sociomedical sciences, served on the 2019 panel of judges for the de Beaumont Foundation inaugural 40 Under 40 in Public Health, which recognizes 40 honorees for their approaches and solutions to improve community health and contributions to the field of public health. Fullilove was one of eight judges from the nonprofit, business, and higher education sectors. Read more.
Adam Sacarny, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and management, received the Publication of the Year award from AcademyHealth for his research on overprescribing in Medicare. The award-winning publication, “Effect of Peer Comparison Letters for High-Volume Primary Care Prescribers of Quetiapine in Older and Disabled Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” was published in JAMA Psychiatry. Read more.
Gen Li, PhD, assistant professor of biostatistics, is the inaugural recipient of the Sanford Bolton Award, which recognizes his expertise in integrating diverse data types to provide valuable clinical insights. Read more.
Marni Sommer, DrPH, MSN, RN, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, was the featured speaker at Drexel University’s School of Education and Office of International Programs’ Global Education Colloquium on May 15. Her talk, titled “Addressing Menstruation Globally: Where Have We Come From and Where Do We Go From Here?” explored the origins of the menstrual movement. Read more.
Jamie Daw, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was selected as the recipient of the 2019 AcademyHealth Outstanding Dissertation Award. As the 2019 Outstanding Dissertation recipient, Dr. Daw was honored at a special Presidential Session at the 2019 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting. Read more.
Matthew Neidell, PhD, professor of Health Policy and Management, was selected to be a part of the External Environmental Economics Advisory Committee, a non-partisan research organization that is structured to provide independent advice from experts in the field of environmental economics. Read more.