News in Brief
Sankar Ghosh, PhD, the Silverstein and Hutt Family Professor of Microbiology and chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his pioneering studies of NF-kB, a family of central regulators of immune cells, and for establishing strategies to target NF-kB in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Because the immune system lies at the heart of many diseases, research in the Ghosh lab seeks a deep understanding of the pathways that establish, maintain, and fine-tune the activity of immune cells. NF-kB plays an important role in regulating inflammation and immune responses, and Dr. Ghosh’s discoveries in the field have implications for the treatment of arthritis, colitis, dermatitis, asthma, and other inflammatory diseases and diseases such as cancer and muscular dystrophy.
Even though bad weather forced the cancellation of the 2022 in-person Velocity fundraising bike ride, participants organized their own personal physical challenges to raise more than $1.1 million for cancer research and patient care at Columbia. Since 2017, cancer survivors, family, friends, nurses, doctors, and researchers have participated in Velocity, Columbia’s Ride to End Cancer, and raised more than $7 million to fuel innovative research and spread hope and love to those facing cancer.
Faculty at VP&S have started the VP&S Latino Association, a group dedicated to fostering the development, presence, and belonging of the Latino community at the medical school. Students from the Black and Latino Student Organization, the Latino Medical Student Association, and NewYork- Presbyterian’s Lang Youth Medical Program joined faculty and school leadership to celebrate the new organization. The group aims to improve the experience of Latinos at VP&S by assisting in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of Latino faculty and trainees and providing mentorship to promote well-being and facilitate social connections. The association also intends to increase representation of Latinos in leadership positions and help shape policy at VP&S; develop and facilitate partnership opportunities with Latino physicians; connect with and support other groups under-represented in medicine; engage with and advocate for the Latino community at large; and decrease disparities and improve health outcomes for the Latino community.