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NYC Council and Borough President Adams Award Downstate $547k in Capital Grants
I’m happy to announce that the New York City Council and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams awarded Downstate $547,000 in NYC Capital Grant funding to support the upgrade and
replacement of the telemetry monitoring equipment for our adult patient population
at the University Hospital of Brooklyn.
Medical monitoring devices are some of the most important pieces of equipment in a
health care facility. Without reliable monitoring equipment, vital health information
can easily be missed that could mean the difference between life and death. Patient
monitoring equipment identifies patients in need or in stress at an early stage, delivers
timely information to clinicians to make informed patient decisions, and aids in patient
safety.
Telemetry equipment also monitors electrical activity of patients’ hearts for extended
periods of time to determine potential problems with heart beats. As a stroke center,
current and state-of-the-art equipment is critical to providing the highest level
of care—these funds will prove invaluable to the quality of care provided to Downstate’s
patient community and, more importantly, will enable us to provide consistently excellent
care and an unmatched patient experience.
On behalf of Downstate and University Hospital of Brooklyn, I’d like to extend my
deep gratitude to Borough President Adams and Councilmember Mathieu Eugene for their steadfast support and commitment to Downstate, its growth, and its continued
success. I’d also like to add a very special thank you to Lori Bruno, MPH, Director of Strategy and Policy Development, for working diligently to secure these
essential capital funds.
Downstate Faculty Collaborate with UAlbany on Epigenetics and Health Disparities
New York has an exceptionally diverse population spanning race and ethnicity, rural
to urban areas, and individuals living in wealthy to poor socioeconomic conditions.
Regrettably, equally good health is not afforded to all New Yorkers.
In a continuing and very productive collaboration between Downstate and UAlbany, several
of our faculty presented at UAlbany’s President’s Forum, “The Role of Epigenetics
in Health Disparities,” on November 15, 2019. Epigenetics refers to changes in the
way DNA is expressed, how it is activated and, essentially, which genes are operating;
the forum examined how factors such as physical environment, emotional state, trauma,
and other stressors can alter the activity of genes and potentially contribute to
different health outcomes. The forum also recognized health disparities—including
those caused by epigenetic changes—as a critical public health priority for New York
State, as well as the nation.
Raavi Gupta, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Downstate, presented her work with UAlbany investigators
on identifying epigenetic factors that lead to twice the incidence and mortality of
prostate cancer in African American patients. Her presentation was entitled, “Prostate
Carcinomas in African-Americans have Distinct miRNA Expression, and Biological Markers
for Poor Prognosis.” Ultimately, her work may help identify genetic factors that could
be used to develop new screening tests and targeted cancer therapies for our patients.
Sabina Hirshfield, Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor in Downstate’s STAR Program, is an expert in conducting
eHealth HIV prevention studies. She presented on HIV Testing and PrEP uptake among
New York Black and Latino Men who have Sex with Men (MSM).
I would like to thank Drs. Gupta and Hirshfield for well-representing Downstate, as
well as Moro Salifu, M.D., MPH, MBA, Chair of Medicine and Director of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center (BHDC),
who gave introductory remarks.
Downstate at SUNY Global Health Summit
On November 18th, Downstate’s very own Jack DeHovitz, M.D., MPH, Distinguished Service Professor and Director of the Special Treatment and Research
(STAR) Program, co-facilitated the SUNY Global Health Institute (GHI) Workshop with
Gene D. Morse, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, from the University of Buffalo—welcoming a broad
spectrum of stakeholders and leaders in healthcare and Public Health for the day-long
event held at the SUNY Global Center in New York City.
The SUNY GHI mission is to provide a mechanism for global health programs at SUNY
Academic Health Centers, system-wide universities and college campuses that will foster
collaboration and innovation in education, training, and research initiatives with
international partners and regional corporate and economic leaders.
Designed to deliver on the Institute’s mission, the day-long workshop brought together
dozens of leaders from across SUNY’s academic health centers to present their ongoing
initiatives and contributions to global health, and to discuss what is needed to bring
SUNY GHI to life.
Following opening remarks, Dr. DeHovitz presented on the origins of GHI, its outlined
strategic goals, and the Institute’s subsequent global health initiatives and activities.
Later in the workshop, Denise Bruno, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor in the School of Public Health’s Department of Community Health Sciences and Director of the Center for Global Health,
spoke to Downstate’s Global Health academic programs and coursework which includes
the Global Health in Developing Countries Elective for medical students, the Global
Health Pathways Curriculum, and the Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program.
The workshop concluded with Drs. DeHovitz and Morse leading a group discussion to
understand best mechanisms to encourage campus participation and what needs to be
done to deliver on SUNY GHI’s outlined goals and objectives.
Many thanks to Drs. DeHovitz and Bruno for their presentations, and to all the contributing
and participating faculty members for helping to shape and support the development
of the GHI.
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The Department of Medicine’s Yair Saperstein, M.D., Chief Internal Medicine Resident, took 3rd place at the 2019 Columbia University
Fast Pitch Competition—Columbia Engineering’s annual elevator pitch competition where
teams have 60 seconds to sell their business ideas to a panel of judges and win up
to $5,000.
