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February 2005
STATEN ISLAND — Professor Bhanu Chauhan, Co-Director of the NYSTAR-funded Center for Engineered Polymeric Materials at CUNY College of Staten Island, and his students have devised a synthetic route to designer silver necklaces assembled with the help of silicones at a length scale of billionths of a meter across. Designing new materials with otherwise unattainable properties is one of the promises of nanotechnology. In the American Chemical Society Journal Macromolecules, the team of Chauhan and his student Rajesh Sardar disclosed the precision chemistry methods developed at CUNY-CSI to tune the particles' sizes in increments of less than one nanometer. This methodology also allows tailoring of the experimental conditions so that silver particles would assemble themselves into repeating patterns in the form of nanonecklaces. TOP
NEW YORK — Manuel Zevallos, Ph.D., has been named deputy director of City College's Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers, a NYSTAR-supported center. Zevallos will continue to serve as technical and administrative coordinate for CCNY's NASA Center for Optical Sensing and Imaging. TOP
NEW YORK — Professor Glennys R. Farrar, a physicist at New York University, announced that, for the first time, a source of ultra-high energy cosmic rays has been isolated and studied, a major breakthrough in the field. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — The molecule that binds to a receptor (a molecule on the cell surface that triggers a reaction within the cell) in the brain that is known to regulate blood pressure and release of insulin was named "Molecule of the Year 2004" by the International Society for Molecular and Cell Biology Protocols and Researches, Inc. The molecule was identified and described in a study done at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Researchers found that a low carbohydrate diet that reduced total caloric intake by 30 percent prevented the development of a fundamental feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in mice genetically engineered to develop the disease. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Doctors have long known that smell is one of the first senses to fail as Alzheimer's begins its slow and incurable progression. Tracking the process whereby a person loses their ability to smell could play a pivotal role in early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's. And now researchers at Columbia have developed a tool that will aid early detection. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Columbia University students and researchers and their MIT counterparts have begun a novel experiment that will test whether plasma created within a new type of reactor might lead to a fusion energy source. Fusion is an energy source for the future that is free of greenhouse gas emission and does not contribute to global warming. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Common sense leads to the conclusion that if you have blood cells you must have blood vessels and that if you have blood vessels they must have blood to carry. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have presented the first clear evidence that nature ensures both develop together by using a common progenitor cell. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Fierce competition for jobs still looms as the nation emerges from a recession. Compounding this are quick changes in technology, dictating a changing set of skills. Columbia recognizes these realities and is assisting its students before they graduate. Most recently, the Center for Career Education and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) banded together to create a blockbuster career education opportunity for engineering students. See Press Release TOP
BRONX — David Brown, Lorne M. Golub, His-Ming Lee, Robert Greenwald, Maria Ryan, and Kavita Desai were awarded a patent for a method for decreasing low-density lipoprotein. The patent was assigned to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Montefiore Medical Center, and the Research Foundation of State University of New York. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Paul B. Fisher and Malavi T. Madireddi were awarded a patent for mMelanoma differentiation associated gene-7 promoter. The patent was assigned to Columbia University. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Nathan Ellis, James German, and Joanna Groden were awarded a patent for methods for diagnosis and treatment of Bloom's syndrome. The patent was assigned to the New York Blood Center, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Jumming Le, Jan Vilcek, Peter Daddona, John Chrayeb, David Knight, and Scott Siegel were awarded a patent for anti-TNF antibodies and peptides of human tumor necrosis factor. The patent was assigned to New York University and Centocor, Inc. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Paul Diament was awarded a patent for systems and methods for providing optimized patch antenna excitation for mutually coupled patches. The patent was assigned to Columbia University. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — James S. Im, Robert S. Sposili, and Mark A. Crowder were awarded a patent for surface planarization of thin silicon films during and after processing by the sequential lateral solidification method. The patent was assigned to Columbia University. Detail TOP
BRONX — Andrew Eisen was awarded a patent for Drosophila recombination-associated protein and methods for use. The patent was assigned to Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Karl Welte, Erich Platzer, Janice L. Gabrilove, Roland Mertelsmann, and Malcolm A.S. Moore were awarded a patent for human pluripotent hematopoietic colony stimulating factor, method of production and use. The patent was assigned to the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. Detail TOP
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Richard Axel |
NEW YORK — Richard Axel, University Professor at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), accepted the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Nobel banquet held Dec. 10 in Stockholm . Axel won the prize along with Linda B. Buck of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for clarifying how the olfactory system works. Buck was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia when she and Axel jointly published their fundamental paper on the subject in 1991. See Press Release TOP
National Science Foundation Awards
NEW YORK — James L. Leighton of Columbia University is the recipient of a $141,000 NSF grant to research silane reagents and catalysts for asymmetric synthesis of carbinamines. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Young-Tae Chang of New York University is the recipient of a $205,500 NSF CAREER award for directed fluorescence sensor development. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Warren Allmon of the Paleontological Research Institute is the recipient of a $97,927 NSF grant for partial support of computerizing and putting on-line records of the most important portion of the PRI collections. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Andreas Thurnherr of Columbia University is the recipient of a $50,088 NSF grant to investigate how larval behaviors interact with topographically-influenced flows on mid-ocean ridges, and determine how these interactions affect dispersal trajectories, maximal dispersal distances, and relative probabilities of supply to natal versus remote vents. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Myriam P. Sarachik and Jiufeng J. Tu of CUNY City College are the recipients of a $120,000 NSF grant to research spectroscopic and local magnetic measurements in high-spin molecular nanomagnets. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — George Kukla and Mark A. Cane of Columbia University are the recipients of a $164,554 NSF grant to evaluate recent greenhouse warming and the associated sea level rise against the background of long-term variability in sea level since the last glaciation. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — James L. Luteyn of the Botanical Garden is the recipient of a $275,000 NSF grant for plant research in Bolivia and adjacent Southern Peru. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Adam Przeworski of New York University is the recipient of a $110,200 NSF grant to re-examine the impact of political institutions on economic development by collecting and analyzing data going back to the early nineteenth century. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — David Pearce of New York University is the recipient of a $39,627 NSF grant to develop stronger and more robust predictions in economic theory. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Tanya A. Heikkila of Columbia University is the recipient of a $130,427 NSF grant to explore and explain how linkages and relationships among governments and organizations relate to resource management conflicts and attempts to resolve them. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Lilia M. Iakoucheva of The Rockefeller University is the recipient of a $119,471 NSF grant for understanding the role of unstructured proteins and protein domains in protein-protein interactions. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Laurel A. Cooley and William O. Martin of CUNY Brooklyn College are the recipients of a $74,999 NSF grant for developing classroom materials and an instructor's guide to support a linked pair of courses for prospective mathematics teachers. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — I.Dan Melamed of New York University is the recipient of a $79,247 NSF grant to make a qualitative leap in the speed and accuracy of machine translation (MT) between human languages. Detail TOP
National Institutes of Health Awards
NEW YORK — Carol Mancuso of the Hospital for Special Surgery is the recipient of a $503,910 NIH grant for trials of asthma patient education in the emergency room. Detail TOP
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Steven Larson (Courtesy of Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research) |
NEW YORK — Steven Larson of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research is the recipient of a $499,000 NIH grant for the acquisition of a Focus microPET. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Salim Merali of the New York University School of Medicine is the recipient of a $422,500 NIH grant to research S-Adenosylmethionine and Pneumocystis treatment. Detail TOP
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Randolph Marshall (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Randolph Marshall of Columbia University is the recipient of a $471,457 NIH grant for a study of carotid occlusion and neurocognition. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Takashi Mikawa of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the recipient of a $420,000 NIH grant to research the induction of coronary endothelial cell lineage. Detail TOP
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Jonathan Bromberg (Courtesy of Mount Sinai School of Medicine) |
NEW YORK — Jonathan Bromberg of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the recipient of a $423,750 NIH grant to research the induction and function of regulatory T cells. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Isak Prohovnik of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the recipient of a $416,948 NIH grant to the research neuroimaging of genetically defined incipient CJD. Detail TOP
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Jerome Vanderberg (Courtesy of New York University) |
NEW YORK — Jerome Vanderberg of the New York University School of Medicine is the recipient of a $422,500 NIH grant to research the mosquito injection of plasmodium sporozoites into skin. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Joshua Nosanchuk of Yeshiva University is the recipient of a $378,833 NIH grant to research antibody protection in histoplasmosis. Detail TOP
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Erik Falck Pedersen (Courtesy of Cornell University) |
NEW YORK — Erik Falck Pedersen of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the recipient of a $420,000 NIH grant to research Ad5 fiber and penton mts: influence on immune activation. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — David Lawrence of Yeshiva University is the recipient of a $376,638 NIH grant to research intracellular probes for studying PKG activity. Detail TOP
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Alice Prince (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Alice Prince of Columbia University is the recipient of a $402,500 NIH grant to research calcium dependent signaling pathways in epithelial cells. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Geoffrey Abbott of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the recipient of a $375,800 NIH grant to research k+ channel trafficking and modulation in MinK and MiRP1. Detail TOP
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Phillip Factor (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Phillip Factor of Columbia University Health Sciences is the recipient of a $393,350 NIH grant to research the adenosine regulation of alveolar fluid homeostasis. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Paul Bieniasz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center is the recipient of a $362,500 NIH grant to research retrovirus restriction by trima5alpha. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Richard Magliozzo of Brooklyn College is the recipient of a $382,500 NIH grant to research catalysis of isoniazid action by M tuberculosis KATG. TOP
NEW YORK — Sergio Lira of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the recipient of a $347,475 NIH grant to research role of chemokines in diabetes and islet transplantation. Detail TOP
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Gary Bassell (Courtesy of Yeshiva University) |
NEW YORK — Gary Bassell of Yeshiva University is the recipient of a $365,317 NIH grant to research imaging FRMP regulation and function. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Malgorzata Simm of the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Institute is the recipient of a $327,765 NIH grant to research an NFkB antagonist targeting multiple pathogens. Detail TOP
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Shi Yan (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Shi Yan of Columbia University is the recipient of a $362,250 NIH grant to research Erg-1, PKC beta, signalling and atherosclerosis. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Nicholas Geacintov of New York University is the recipient of a $300,298 NIH grant to research isomeric estrogen-DNA adducts: structure and repair. Detail TOP
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Arthur Bank (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Arthur Bank of Columbia University is the recipient of a $362,250 NIH grant to research gene delivery into human hematopoietic cells. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Benoit Roux of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the recipient of a $253,754 NIH grant to research a polarizable force field for proteins and lipids. Detail TOP
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Justin Starren (Courtesy of Columbia University) |
NEW YORK — Justin Starren of Columbia University Health Sciences is the recipient of a $345,789 NIH grant to research managing large complex data streams/outpatient practice. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Deborah Yelon of the New York University School of Medicine is the recipient of a $230,730 NIH grant to research the comparative genetics of cardiac chamber formation. Detail TOP
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Hodaka Fujii (Courtesy of New York University) |
NEW YORK — Hodaka Fujii of the New York University School of Medicine is the recipient of a $338,000 NIH grant to research cytokine signal transduction in the immune system. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Camilo Parada of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center is the recipient of a $217,705 NIH grant to research HIV 1 transcription. Detail TOP
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Margaret Macdonald (Courtesy of The Rockefeller University) |
NEW YORK — Margaret Macdonald of The Rockefeller University is the recipient of a $337,583 NIH grant to research host factors in the alphavirus replication complex. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Asim Debnath of the New York Blood Center is the recipient of a $207,650 NIH grant to research the rational design of CCR5 antagonists as anti-HIV-1 drugs. Detail TOP
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Leslie Vosshall (Courtesy of The Rockefeller University) |
NEW YORK — Leslie Vosshall of The Rockefeller University is the recipient of a $334,043 NIH grant for a genetic analysis of olfactory coding in drosophilia. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Margaret Altemus of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the recipient of a $189,000 NIH grant to research androgen hormones. Detail TOP
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Avrom Caplan (Courtesy of Mount Sinai School of Medicine) |
NEW YORK — Avrom Caplan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the recipient of a $302,524 NIH grant to research chaperone machine structure and function. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Charles Abrams of Yeshiva University is the recipient of a $174,258 NIH grant to research connexin 32 mutations in x-linked CMT. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Guy McKhann of Columbia University is the recipient of a $170,035 NIH grant to research adult subventricular zone gliogenesis in limbic epilepsy. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Gregory Elder of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the recipient of a $79,643 NIH grant for the development of an adult stem cell marking system. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — Lisa Gennetian of Manpower Demonstration Research Corp. is the recipient of a $67,333 NIH grant to research maternal employment, low-income youth, and neighborhoods. Detail TOP
Small Business Innovation Research /
Small Business Technology Transfer Awards
NEW YORK — Phillip Davis of Urovalve, Inc. is the recipient of a $100,000 NIH SBIR/STTR grant to research disposable valved intraurethral catheter feasibility. Detail TOP
NEW YORK — As part of Polytechnic University's 150th Year Anniversary celebration, the university is hosting "The Future of Telecommunications" on Friday, February 11, 2005. This event will start at 8:30 am and will take place at Polytechnic University's Dibner Auditorium, 5 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY. TOP
NEW YORK — The New York Biotechnology Association will be holding their annual meeting on Monday and Tuesday, March 28 & 29, 2005. This event will be held at the Grand Hyatt New York Park Avenue. For more information, contact Joe Tortorice at 1-631-444-8861 or via e-mail at jtortorice@nyba.org. TOP
BRONX — An herbal extract offers considerable help in preventing migraine headaches, according to an international research team led by Dr. Richard B. Lipton of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — The human body uses many mechanisms to fight disease, but perhaps the most important cells in the immune system are the T cells. Helper and killer T cells patrol the tissues as a pair of detectives, searching for cells that are infected or cancerous. In the Dec. 9 issue of ScienceExpress, scientists at Rockefeller University report the discovery of a previously unknown pathway that boosts the ability of helper T cells to "motivate" killer T cells in detecting and attacking dangerous cells. The finding may help scientists to create a more effective immune response against disease and tumor formation. See Press Release TOP
NEW YORK — Seizures are the most life threatening, as well as disconcerting, symptoms of withdrawal in people who are alcoholics and who abruptly stop drinking. Now Rockefeller University scientists, in experiments with mice, have discovered a protein that regulates the seizures induced by ethanol withdrawal. See Press Release TOP
