Academic Honors & Events

Elected to Serve—Robert H. Singer, Ph. D., was elected the Section 22 chair of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In this role, Dr. Singer oversees the election of new members to the NAS within cellular and developmental biology. The NAS is a prestigious nonprofit society of distinguished scholars whose members are elected in recognition of their outstanding achievements conducting original research. Dr. Singer’s election to the NAS in 2013 honored his exceptional accomplishments in cell biology, in particular his work with mRNA molecules and approaches to imaging RNA. He is professor and co-chair of anatomy & structural biology, professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of cell biology,  and co-director of the Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center and of the Integrated Imaging Program. He also holds the Harold and Muriel Block Chair in Anatomy & Structural Biology.

Special Recognition—Joanne Siegel, co-director of our Kennedy Center's University Center for Excellence in Developmental, Service, Training and Research, was invited to join Drs. Tim Shriver and Alicia Bazzano at the Special Olympics Inclusive Health Summit in June. Her team's work to carry out the National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine project was recognized during the event, where she received a certificate of recognition and gave a presentation about our work on the curriculum initiative. Her invitation to the event noted, ”The commitment that Albert Einstein College of Medicine has made to changing medical school curriculum is enormously powerful as an example to other schools.”

Optical Excellence—The National Eye Institute has awarded Dr. Wei Liu and his team $40,000 for developing two different types of organoids that mimic the human retina in complex features. One of the small retinal structures that Dr. Liu’s group created is rich in cones—visual receptor cells responsible for color vision and visual accuity—and the other contains an optic nerve-like structure. The organoids can serve as models for researchers investigating retinal diseases that threaten or severely impair vision, such as juvenile glaucoma and Leber Congenital Amaurosis. In a video about his research, Dr. Liu explains how to grow the organoids. This is Dr. Liu’s third success in the NEI 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge, making him the only winner who has succeeded three times in a row. Dr. Liu is assistant professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences and of genetics.

Dual Honors from NCI—The National Cancer Institute’s Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program has recognized the work of Drs. Howard Strickler and Robert Burk in its Research Highlights for 2020—the first time two articles from the Cancer and Epidemiology, Prevention and Control (CEPaC) program of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center have appeared in the same year. Dr Strickler’s study, Primary HPV and Molecular Cervical Cancer Screening in US Women Living with HIV, originally appeared in Clinical Infectious Diseases. He and his team found that human papillomavirus screening with HPV16/18 genotyping reduced unnecessary colposcopies. Dr. Burk’s paper, Cervicovaginal Microbiome and Natural History of HPV in a Longitudinal Study, was first published in PLoS Pathogens. He and his team demonstrated that features of the cervicovaginal microbiome are associated with human papillomavirus infection progression. Dr. Strickler leads the CEPaC and is professor and division head of epidemiology & population health. Dr. Burk is a member of CEPaC and professor of pediatrics, of microbiology & immunology, of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health, and of epidemiology & population health. 

Young Physician-Scientist Award—The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) has awarded a 2020 Young Physician-Scientist Award to Dr. Niraj Shenoy. Toward supporting the scientific efforts, educational needs, and clinical aspirations of physician-scientists to improve health, the ASCI recognizes individuals who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research. As a principal investigator, Dr. Shenoy’s research interests range from the most basic—interactions between driver pathways, epigenomics (DNA methylation), metabolism, and immune evasion—to early-phase cancer clinical trials. He has been first or senior author on 26 peer-reviewed articles (several in high-impact journals) and has presented his work at many national and international meetings. His knowledge and skills inform his practice as an attending physician in medical oncology at Montefiore. Dr. Shenoy is assistant professor of medicine at Einstein and clinical oncologist in genitourinary malignancies at Montefiore, with a focus on kidney cancer.

Body Double—When a car ages and starts to break down, to keep it running we often buy replacement parts. Could this be a model for human longevity? Yes, suggests neuroscientist Dr. Jean Hébert in his new e-book, Replacing Aging, published by Science Unbound. Dr. Hébert takes a close look at the lab-grown organs and prosthetics/bionics that could make it happen. The book expands on a blog he wrote for Einstein’s The Doctor’s Tablet. Dr Hébert is professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of genetics. 

A Big "PLOS" for Journal—John Greally, Ph.D., D.Med., was appointed editor of the epigenetics section of PLOS Genetics. The peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishes studies providing insights into the biological process that governs heredity of traits in humans, as well as in model organisms—from mice and flies, to plants and bacteria. Epigenetics, which examines changes in an individual or organism that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence, is among the areas of focus covered in the journal. Dr. Greally has previously served on the journal’s editorial board. His lab uses genomic techniques to understand the onset of human disease, specifically focusing on cellular epigenetic models of reprogramming. He is currently writing a textbook, Epigenetics: History, Mechanism and Disease. Dr. Greally is professor of genetics, of medicine and of pediatrics, and director of the Center for Epigenomics, at Einstein. He also is a clinical geneticist at Montefiore.

Under 30 Scholar—Ashley Scott was recognized as a 2019 Forbes Under 30 Scholar. The renowned scholarship program awards a diverse group of college students and recent graduates under age 30 an exclusive pass to attend the company’s flagship Under 30 Summit, which was hosted by Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans this past October in Detroit, MI. Each year, Forbes selects 1,000 students from across the country to participate in its four-day event, designed to bring together young entrepreneurs and leaders in business, technology, and innovation. Ashley’s efforts, partnering with IBM, Brainstorm, and a local, non-profit NYC chapter of Women in Data, to increase diversity and educate women on careers in computer science earned her the honor. She recently completed her Master’s in business administration at Mercy College, in managerial analytics, and is now a data analyst at Einstein, in the office of medical education. She represented Einstein, which was recognized by Forbes last year as one of the best midsize employers in the nation.

Cutting Edge Competition—A recent review article, “Emerging Mechanisms of Cell Competition,” by Nicholas Baker, Ph.D., published in the August 24, 2020 issue of Nature Review Genetics, offers compelling connections from research that will interest those in a range of scientific disciplines. Dr. Baker’s review describes many examples where active competition occurs between cells that differ genetically or otherwise, with the effect of eliminating one cell population from the tissue. He describes research involving the underlying mechanisms of cell competition and how knowledge gained from such studies may be important in cancer, birth defects, and age-related diseases. Dr. Baker also notes that researchers can exploit cell competition to advance tissue replacement in regenerative medicine. A professor of genetics, of developmental & molecular biology, and of ophthalmology & visual sciences, as well as director of molecular genetics, Dr. Baker holds the Harold and Muriel Block Chair in Genetics.

Scholarly Support—Haiying Cheng M.D., Ph.D., has received a research grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS), which is the largest private, not-for-profit source of cancer research funds in the United States. Since 1946, the ACS has primarily funded early career investigators exploring cutting-edge ideas. The award given to Dr. Cheng supports her studies focused on metastatic lung cancer, in particular how the RICTOR gene—which plays important roles in both the onset of cancer and in its progression—may offer a new target for combatting lung cancer’s spread. The aim of the research is to determine whether the gene can provide novel treatment strategies that may increase survival for lung cancer patients. Dr. Cheng’s project was one of just a dozen that were highlighted among 73 ACS grants given this year. She is associate professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and an attending physician in medicine at Montefiore.