Faculty Honors

2025

  • The Association of American Physicians, the honorary medical society has elected Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, chair of Environmental Health Sciences faculty for her outstanding credentials in basic or translational biomedical research.
  • R. Graham Barr MD, DrPH, the Hamilton Southworth Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, was also elected to the Association of American Physicians. He has an appointment at the Mailman School.
  • Stephen Morse, PhD, professor of Epidemiology was named the next Editor-in-Chief of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal. He also serves as Chair of the University’s Institutional Biosafety Committee. Dr. Morse served as a Guest Editor-in-Chief throughout the COVID pandemic.
  • Daniel W. Belsky, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and in the Butler Columbia Aging Center received the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research. Cristofalo, dedicated his career to aging research and encouraged young scientists to investigate important issues in the biology of aging. Read more.
  • Kiros Berhane, PhD, the Cynthia and Robert Citrone-Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Read more.
  • Amar Bhide, professor of Health Policy Management, and an expert in innovation, entrepreneurship, and finance, had his book ‘Uncertainty and Enterprise’ reviewed in the Wall Street Journal. The book was also the subject of an opinion piece in The New York Times. He is the author of several books on the economy. Read more.
  • Timur Pakay, Environmental Health Sciences and Director, SHARP Program at Columbia Mailman took part in a panel at The Sakip Sabanci Center for Turkish Studies which screened filmmaker Sedat Pakay's film on James Baldwin's time in Istanbul, titled, "From Another Place" (1973). Timur is the son of the filmmaker. See more. 
  • Epidemiologist Guohua Li, MD, DrPH, selected to represent the U.S. in the Poetry World Cup 2025. Read more

2024

  • Daniel Belsky, Mitchell S.V. Elkind, Deborah Hasin, Katherine M. Keyes, Mark Olfson, and Melanie Wall are identified on Clarivate Analytic's 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers as individual researchers in the sciences and social scientists who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research. The aim of this list is to recognize researchers who have authored multiple highly cited papers ranking in the top 1% for their field(s) and publication year and who have been recognized by an international and wide-ranging network of citing authors. Highly Cited Researchers are 1 in 1,000 of the world's population of scientists and social scientists. Learn more
  • W. Ian Lipkin was awarded the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus honor by the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Read more
  • W. Ian Lipkin, Epidemiology and Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, will be inducted into the National Academy of Inventors' 2024 Class of Fellows.
  • Dean Linda P. Fried was named a 2024 PoliticsNY & amNY Metro Power Player in Health Care. Read more
  • Elaine Abrams, ICAP Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology was awarded the 2024 Martha May Eliot Award for Extraordinary Healthcare Services to Mothers and Children by the American Public Health Association (APHA). Read more
  • W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity for being honored with the Order of the Polar Star—the highest civilian award Mongolia presents to foreign citizens. Read more
  • An internationally renowned cancer epidemiologist, Mary Beth Terry was named executive director of Silent Spring Institute. Terry, a professor in Epidemiology, was chosen for her leadership and expertise in environmental risk factors for breast cancer, as well as her commitment to breast cancer prevention, community engagement, and health equity. Read more
  • American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has selected Nischay Mishra, assistant professor in Epidemiology and the Center for Infection and Immunity to receive the 2025 ASM Award for Early Career Clinical Microbiology Research for his accomplishments in microbiology. 
  • The Royal Society announced that its Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture is awarded to Professor Salim Abdool Karim, MBChB, FFPHM, PhD, CAPRISA Professor for Global Health in the Department of Epidemiology. He is also Director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). The honor was bestowed for Abdool Karim’s scientific leadership, policy advice, epidemiological analyses, and articulate public education, while actively countering disinformation in Africa, particularly South Africa, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more.
  • Renata Schiavo, senior lecturer of sociomedical sciences, was selected as a Fulbright Specialist in the Fulbright Specialist Program  for a three-year tenure. The U.S. Department of State program sends U.S. academics to serve as expert advisors and to engage in two- to six-week, project-based exchanges at host institutions across the globe. 
  • Anindita Dasgupta, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences, was one of the 2024 cohort of Changemakers in Family Planning awardees. The award period is eighteen months, September 1, 2024, through March 1, 2026. The aim of this award is to respond to institutionalized racism in the field of family planning by providing dedicated support for scholars of color to expand their research skills and expertise. Awardees spend 18 months honing research skills and interests and are granted support related to research interests, skills development, mentorship, and networking.
  • Chelsea Clinton, PhD, MPH’ 10 Faculty in Department of Health Policy and Management and Board Member, Named to Selection Committee of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative;  Addresses On-the-ground Humanitarian Challenges Around the World
  • Renata Schiavo, PhD, senior lecturer in Sociomedical Sciences named senior editor and member of the editorial board of the new Journal of Health Equity.
  • These CUIMC faculty members were among faculty receiving Columbia World Projects Impact Awards, which support research from across Columbia University that seeks to address pressing societal challenges with innovative solutions: 
    • Charles Branas, Epidemiology, Mailman; Manuela Orjuela-Grimm, HICCC; Claire Greene, Population and Family Health, Mailman: "Healing Roots: An Evidence Roadmap for Refugee Mental Health Interventions"
    • Sabrina Hermosilla, Population and Family Health, Mailman: "Ubumwe 2.0: Integrating Arts for Education and Psychosocial Support with Children and Youth Affected by Displacement in Uganda"
  • Rosalind Franklin Society announced that Dr. Lariah Edwards, associate research scientist in Environmental Health Sciences, received their annual award for best paper by a woman or under-represented minority in science in the top100 peer-reviewed journals.  Dr.Edwards, who works in the lab of Dr. Ami Zota was cited for her contribution as a role model and mentor for younger scientists following in their footsteps.
  • Professor Jennifer Hirsch was selected to receive a Radcliffe Fellowship for the academic year 2024-2025. The Radcliffe Fellowship Program at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute annually selects and supports artists, scholars, and public intellectuals who bring both a record of achievement and exceptional promise to the Institute. Fellows work on an individual project while deepening the knowledge, ingenuity, and talent of the Harvard University community. At Radcliffe, Hirsch will write a book on data collected among Orthodox Jews in New York City, analyzing constrained marital, sexual, and reproductive self-determination in relation to historical trauma, social inequality, compulsory heterosexuality, and public institutions’ accountability.
  • Diana Hernández and Merlin Chowkwanyun, Sociomedical Sciences, received a Societal Impact Seed Grant from the provost's office for their project "Empowering Rates: Towards an Evidence-Based Equity Toolkit for Utility Pricing." These grants support innovative faculty-led projects that leverage scholarly research for broader societal impact. Hernández's initiative Power Uptown: Tackling Energy Insecurity in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx also will be featured at the Bollinger Convenings, which highlight Columbia’s commitment to its Fourth Purpose by showcasing innovative initiatives that create societal impact and advance human welfare. 
  • Diana Hernandez, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences also received a  Bollinger Convenings at the Forum award for their initiative titled, Power Uptown: Tackling Energy Insecurity in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx.
  • Nour Makarem, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, was elected Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA) conferred by the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention (EPI). Fellowship recognizes and awards premium professional members for excellence, innovative and sustained contributions in the areas of scholarship, practice and/or education, and volunteer service within the AHA/ASA.
  • Myrna Weissman, Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, is the recipient of the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation’s Alma Dea Morani Award. 
  • Ana Navas-Acien was named the next Leon Hess Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, effective July 1, 2024, succeeding interim chair Regina Santella. Read more. 
  • A paper on Pthalates and Preterm Births by Drs. Ami Zota and Julie Herbstman, Selected as National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Paper of the Month
  • Diana Hernández, PhD, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences, and Parisa Tehranifar, DrPH, associate professor of Epidemiology, were among 10 Columbia University Irving Medical Center faculty members who were inducted into the Academy of Community and Public Service on Jan. 30 in recognition of their community and public service efforts. Learn more
  • Research by Tiffany Sanchez and colleagues Anne Nigra and Ana Navas-Acien in Environmental Health Sciences on Blood and Urinary Metal Levels among Marijuana Users was the most read paper in the journal Environmental Health Perspective
  • Diana Hernández, PhD, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences, and Parisa Tehranifar, DrPH, associate professor of Epidemiology, were among 10 Columbia University Irving Medical Center faculty members who were inducted into the Academy of Community and Public Service on Jan. 30 in recognition of their community and public service efforts.