Downstate Faculty Awarded Five Empire Clinical Research Investigator Grants
Sep 1, 2010
Five SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University faculty members have been awarded Empire
Clinical Research Investigator Program (ECRIP) fellowships from the New York State
Department of Health. The ECRIP program encourages teaching hospitals to train physicians
as clinical researchers to advance biomedical research in New York's academic health
centers.
The research projects will be conducted at SUNY Downstate's onsite teaching hospital,
University Hospital at Downstate, and four of the campus's teaching affiliates – Kingsbrook
Jewish Medical Center, Long Island College Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center, and
Kings County Hospital Center.
ECRIP seeks to improve the delivery of high quality health care, while at the same
time fostering young physicians who have an interest in clinical research, with the
goal of encouraging them to eventually lead their own research initiatives. The faculty
awardees appoint fellows or residents to conduct the research under their mentorship.
The awardees, their projects, and their hospital sponsors are:
Ivan Bodis-Wollner, MD, DSc, professor of neurology and ophthalmology and director of the Parkinson's
Disease and Related Disorders Center of Excellence.
Project: Retinal thinning as a marker of progress in Parkinson’s disease
Sponsor: Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
John Danias, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and cell biology.
Project: Interaction between genetic factors and the environment in the development
of glaucoma
Sponsor: Long Island College Hospital.
Ellen Ginzler, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and chief of rheumatology.
Project: Validation of clinical predictors of outcome and therapeutic response in
patients with lupus renal disease
Sponsor: University Hospital at Downstate
Rauno Joks, MD, professor of medicine and chief of allergy and immunology.
Project: Epidemiological study of latency period in development of clinical allergy
among immigrant groups in Brooklyn
Sponsor: Lutheran Medical Center
Shahriar Zehtabchi, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine and associate director of research
in emergency medicine.
Project: Hospital ER as a novel venue for rapid blood testing to screen high-risk
patients for diabetes.
Sponsor: Kings County Hospital Center.
Each faculty sponsor may appoint an eligible graduate medical education (GME) resident
or fellow to a clinical research fellowship on the specified project for one or two
years, with an annual stipend up to $75,000. Each sponsoring hospital also receives
$35,000 to help recruit a nationally prominent investigator in the biomedical sciences.
Drs.Ginzler and Zehtabchi have already appointed 2009 ECRIP fellows. The other three
ECRIP fellowship positions are currently open.
###
About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.