Giving Tuesday Raises Money for Clinical Skills and Simulation Center

The NYMC spirit of giving on Giving Tuesday on November 29 resulted in donations of nearly $70,000 which is earmarked to expand the depth and breadth of programming at the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center. It was the most successful Giving Tuesday at NYMC since its inception in 2012. This year matching funds were graciously contributed by alumnus Ronald P. Gregoire, M.D. ’74, and the NYMC Board of Advisors. Read the full article on Giving Tuesday.

Wen-Hui Wang, M.D., Awarded $2.7 Million NIH Grant for New Options for Hypertension

Wen-Hui Wang, M.D., professor of pharmacology, has been awarded a $2.7 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health for research on the role of the Kir4.1 potassium channel in the regulation of hypertension and potassium excretion in the kidney. Read the full article on Dr. Wang's grant.

NYMC and TU to Host 23rd COVID-19 Symposium on December 8

The 23^rd COVID-19 Symposium in the webinar series sponsored by NYMC and TU will take place on Thursday, December 8, at 12:30 p.m. Presentations will cover what to know about COVID-19 infection, vaccines and boosters while breastfeeding; the increase in opiate-related deaths during the pandemic; vaccine hesitancy in minority communities; the long-term impact of the pandemic on the pharmaceutical industry; and a panel discussion by three county health commissioners. Questions may be submitted to Covid19updates@touro.edu. CME credits are available. Register for the symposium.

M.D./Ph.D. Candidate Jacob Hehir Seeks Therapy for Tinnitus and Treatment-Resistant Epilepsy

After growing up in Southern California, M.D./Ph.D. candidate Jacob Hehir went to school at the University of Chicago where he studied neurobiology and music. It was there that he had his first lab experience and gained a love for science. Read the full article on Hehir.

Fawaz Al-Mufti, M.D., associate professor of neurology, neurosurgery and radiology, and assistant dean for graduate medical education research, was named fellow of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) at the 2022 SVIN annual meeting Los Angeles, California, November 16-19.

Malik Bisserier, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy and of physiology, was awarded a pilot fund from the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, PRIDE-AGOLD Program for his project, “Identifying the molecular modifiers underlying penetrance of familial pulmonary arterial hypertension.” The research addresses critical biomedical questions and bridges the knowledge gaps in the understanding of the clinical penetrance of familial pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Chioma M. Okeoma Ph.D., professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, was a panelist on a webinar, "Blood plasma-derived extracellular vesicles: A minimally invasive tool for predicting response to cancer treatment" on November 29, sponsored by GeneTex, a company that develops reagents for biomedical research, assay development and in vitro diagnostics. 

Esther L. Sabban, Ph.D., the Sidney E. Frank Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and members of her laboratory presented at Neuroscience 2022, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience that took place in San Diego, California on November 12 – 16. From top left: Bistra Nankova, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics; Arax Tanelian, Ph.D. candidate; and Dr. Sabban, presented their work, “Potential mediators to divergent response to single prolonged stress model of PTSD in female rats.” Dr. Sabban and Roxanna J. Nahvi, bottom right, Ph.D./M.D. candidate, Class of 2023, showcased their research, “Transcriptome Profiles in the Locus Coeruleus and Nucleus Accumbens Associated with Resilience and Susceptibility to Single Prolonged Stress in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats.”

December 5 – 11 is National Influenza Vaccination Week. With a severe flu season well underway, it’s a good time to get your flu shot if you haven’t done so already. The Family Health Center has the regular flu vaccine dose and the high dose for seniors. Faculty and staff can contact the Family Health Center at (914) 828-0435 to make an appointment, although walk-ins are welcome. Students can contact Health Services at (914) 594-4234 to schedule an appointment.

Join us in welcoming our new employees at NYMC during the month of November:

• Tyler J. Landis, M.B.A., Assistant Director of Communications, Office of Public Relations
• Lisa Mandras, Administrative Assistant, Office of Student Academic Support
• Christina C. Molahand, Medical Student Clinical Educational Coordinator Phase 2 and 3, Office of Undergraduate Medical Education  
• Amy L. Stermer, M.A., Writing Program Director, Office of Student Academic Support     

From the Office of Human Resources, December 1, 2022.

GRANTS CORNER

Chandra Shekhar Bakshi, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology, received a $47,801 grant from Veralox Therapeutics for "Development of New Inhibitors to Treat Inflammatory Damage of COVID-19."

Malik Bisserier, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy and of physiology, received a $135,303 grant from the NIH for "Role of SIN3a in the Epigenetic Regulation of the Bone Morhogenetic Protein Receptor Type 2 in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension."

Mitchell Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, medicine, cell biology and anatomy and of pathology, microbiology and immunology, received a $533,615 grant from Celularity Iqvia for "Phase 1 Multi-Dose Study of Human Placental...NT Human Interleukin-2 (RHIL-2) in Adults with Primary or Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in Morphologic Complete Remission with Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) or Relapsed/Refractory AML” and a $213,975 grant from Omeros for “A Retrospective Study to Determine the Outcomes of Pediatric Patients with High-Risk HSCT-TMA Patients Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (ALLO-HSCT)."

Daniel Cho, M.D., professor of medicine, received a $50,000 grant from NextCure for “Phase 1/2, Open-Label, Dose-Escalation, Safety and Tolerability Study of NC318 in Subjects with Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors.”

Sanveet Chugh, M.D., associate professor of medicine, received a $61,000 grant from Alexion Pharmaceuticals for "A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ravulizumab in Adult Participants Who Have Thrombotic Microangiopathy Associated With a Trigger."

Simon Hanft, M.D., associate professor of neurosurgery, received a $50,000 grant from Imvax for “Evaluation of Immunological Responses Against Glioblastoma (GBM) Tumors.”

Supriya Jain, M.D., clinical associate professor of pediatrics and of radiology, received a $75,520 grant from Johns Hopkins University for “A Data Science Approach to Identify and Manage Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Kawasaki Disease in Pediatric Patients."

Masashi Kai, M.D., clinical associate professor of surgery, received a $26,000 grant from TransMedics for “The Portable Organ Care System (OCS™) Heart for Resuscitation, Preservation and Assessment of Hearts from Donors after Circulatory Death Continued Access Protocol (OCS DCD Heart CAP).”

Igor Laskowski, M.D., associate professor of surgery, received a $145,605 grant from Bolton Medical for “Terumo Aortic /’Post-Approval Study of the TREO Abdominal Stent-Graft System (P190015) in Patients with Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic and Aorto-iliac Aneurysms.’”

Delong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, received a $145,020 grant from LOXO Oncology for “A Phase 3 Open-Label, Randomized Study of LOXO-305 versus Investigator Choice of BTK Inhibitor in Patients with Previously Treated BTK Inhibitor Naive Mantle Cell Lymphoma LOXO-BTK-20019” and a $121,134 grant from LOXO Oncology for “A Phase 3 Open-Label, Randomized Study of Fixed Duration Pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305) plus Venetoclax and Rituximab versus Venetoclax and Rituximab in Previously Treated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Leukemia LOXO-BTK-20022.”

Dana Mordue, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology, received a $121,934 grant from Stony Brook School of Medicine for "Host Peripheral Blood Biomarkers to Diagnose Active Lyme Disease and Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome."                    

Seigo Nishida, M.D., clinical professor of surgery, received a $121,695 grant from CareDX for “Molecular Assessment and Profiling of Liver Transplant Recipients: The Maple Study.”

Lance Parton, M.D., professor of pediatrics, associate professor of anesthesiology and of obstetrics and gynecology, received a $50,000 grant from Chiesi Pharmaceutical for "An Open-Label, Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Study in Spontaneously Breathing Preterm Neonates with Respiratory Distress Syndrome to Compare Two Procedures for Porcine Surfactant (Poractant Alfa, Curosurf®) Administration: A Less Invasive Method (LISA) During Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) and the Conventional Administration During Brief Invasive Ventilation.”                                                            

Boriana Parvez, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics, received a $50,000 grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals for a “Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial Exploring the Efficacy and Safety of Intra-Nasal Administration of Merotocin in Increasing Milk Production in Maternal Subjects with Preterm Delivery and Inadequate Milk Production - MERMAID (Merotocin In Mothers With Inadequate Milk Production And Infants Delivered Prematurely).”

Karen Seiter, M.D., professor of medicine, received a $24,949 grant from Sellas Life Sciences for “A Randomized, Open-Label Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Galinpepimut-S (GPS) Maintenance Monotherapy Compared to Investigator's Choice of Best Available Therapy in Subjects with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Who Have Achieved Complete Remission After Second-Line Salvage Therapy.”

Libor Velisek, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, pediatrics and of neurology, received a $44,342 grant from Equilibre Biopharmaceuticals B.V. for "Equilibre Biopharmaceuticals Compound EQU-001 for Treatment of Infantile Spasms.”

John Welter, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, received a $145,202 grant from Nabriva Therapeutics for “A Phase 1, Open-Label, Randomized, Crossover Study to Assess the Safety and Pharmacokinetics Following Single Doses of Oral and Intravenous Xenleta (Lefamulin) in Adult Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.”

Steven Wolf, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics, received a $133,906 grant from SK Life Sciences, Inc. for "Open Label Safety and Efficacy Study of Cenobamate (YKP3089) in Pediatric Subjects with Partial Onset (Focal) Seizures" and a $96,822 grant from Noema Pharma for “A Phase 2B, Multicenter, 30-week, Prospective, Cross-over, Doubleblind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study Followed by a 52-Week Open-label Extension Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Basimglurant Adjunctive to Ongoing Anticonvulsive Therapy in Children and Adolescents with Uncontrolled Seizures Associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.”

Gary Wormser, M.D., professor of medicine, pharmacology and of pathology, microbiology and immunology, received a $6,500 grant from Biopeptides for "Development of a Cytokine Release Assay for the Diagnosis of Lyme Disease.”