2016 Faculty Honors

Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP and the Dr. Mathilde Krim-amfAR Chair of Global Health was inducted as an honorary member to Sigma Theta Tau - one of the largest nursing organizations in the world.
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, was honored with the 2016 Inserm International Prize, a scientific award given each year by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, the French equivalent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Read more.
Alwyn T. Cohall, MD, professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Population and Family Health, and director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center, co-led an interdisciplinary team which received a grant of $10.3 million from the Manhattan District Attorney's Criminal Justice Investment Initiative. The 4-year award will be used to create a Youth Opportunity Hub in Northern Manhattan. Read more.
Jasmine McDonald, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology, received a Junior Faculty Diversity Grant from Columbia University for her research titled Molecular Changes Related to Infections and Relevant to Pubertal Timing. Read more.
ICAP's Elaine Abrams, MD, professor of Epidemiology, was honored by the HIV Medicine Association for her significant contributions to clinical care, provider education, and research in the field of HIV medicine.
Lynn Freedman, professor of Population and Family Health, was named to the technical advisory group of the High Level Working Group for the Health Rights of Women, Children, and Adolescents established by the World Health Organization and the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. The working group responds to the global demand of the Sustainable Development Goals that no one left behind and that access to human and heatlh rights is expanded for women, children, and adolescents everywhere. Read more.
Ruth Finkelstein, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management, was named 2016 Next Avenue Influencer in Aging. Finkelstein leads the school's translation of interdisciplinary scientific knowledge on aging and its societal implication into policy-focused practice. The goal of her policy work is to maximize productivity, quality of life and health across the life course. Read more.
Alan Brown, professor or Epidemiology and Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center, received the NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. The NARSAD grant provides support for experienced investigators conducting neurobiological and behavioral research. Read more.
Stephen S. Morse, professor of Epidemiology, served as a guest editor of a special issue on superstorm Sandy called Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, the publication of the Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, published by the American Medical Association. Read more.
Dawn Hershman, professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, was selected as a Komen Scholar, an international advisory group to Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization. Read more.
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health and DeLamar Professor of Public Health Practice, was inducted as the 2016-17 president of the Association of American Physicians (AAP), the elected society of the U.S.'s leading physician scientists. Dr. Fried is the first dean of a School of Public Health to be president of AAP. Read more.
John Santelli, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health is a lead partner on The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health, a work plan for responding to the shifting determinants of health and health needs of the world’s youth. Terry McGovern, JD, professor of Population and Family Health, is one of 26 commissioners from 14 countries on the project. Their report will be issued on May 10 in London.
Patrick Kinney, ScD, director of the Climate and Health program and professor of Environmental Health Sciences, is the contributing author to the federal government’s first published report on climate and health, “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment.” His chapter highlights the health risks of rising temperatures. The report also draws on research by Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences, and Kim Knowlton, DrPH, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences.
Diana Hernandez, PhD, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, received a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Lisa Metsch, PhD, chair and Stephen Smith Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was invited to serve on an external review team for the Department of Medical Social Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
Rachel Shelton, ScD, MPH, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was selected Program Chair for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2017-2019, and will be Program Chair for the 2018 national conference. In addition, she will serve on the Board of the Society of Behavioral Medicine for the next three years.
Mindy Fullilove, professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was awarded honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for her distinguished service to the profession of architecture. This is one of the highest honors the AIA gives to an individual outside the field and is granted to only those whose accomplishments are truly outstanding and of national significance. A board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Fullilove's work focuses on the links between the environment and mental health. Read more.
Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, PhD, professor of Clinical Population and Family Health and BRAC vice chair, received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Dhaka University Statistics Department Alumni Association (DUSDAA). He was elected the new chair of the Asia-Pacific Alliance for Human Resources for Health (AAAH) for 2017-2018. He was recognized for his outstanding professional, academic and research achievements as well as his inspiration and influence in the field. Read more.
Diana Hernandez, PhD, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, was named an alumni member of the Graduate School Diversity Advisory Council at Cornell University. Read more.
Ian Lipkin, MD, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, received China’s top science honor for foreign scientists, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, presided by President Xi Jinping. Read more.
Professor Mark Hatzenbuehler, Sociomedical Sciences, was awarded the 2016 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. The award, granted by The Association for Psychological Science, recognizes six psychological scientists who push the limits of their field. Dr. Hatzenbuehler was also the recipient of the 2016 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Early Career) by the American Psychological Association. Read more.