SUNY Downstate Recognized with Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program Awards for 2015
Sep 21, 2015
Brooklyn, NY – As recently announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and its University Hospital at Downstate (UHD) are among 12 academic health centers and teaching hospitals receiving 2015 Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program (ECRIP) Center Awards for the training of new clinical researchers working on cutting-edge biomedical research. In addition, Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC), SUNY Downstate’s neighboring affiliate, and Downstate faculty members have received an ECRIP Individual Award.
Both awards are for two years, with the Center Award totaling $1,260,336 and the Individual Award in the amount of $150,000. Individual Awards were given to 14 teaching hospitals in the state.
“I am greatly pleased that SUNY Downstate faculty members have been recognized with these highly competitive awards,” said John F. Williams, Jr., MD, EdD, MPH, FCCM, president of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
The theme of Downstate’s 2015 ECRIP Center Award is “Diabetes, Heart, and Kidney Disease in a Diverse Population of African Descent.” The project director is Moro Salifu, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, professor and chair of medicine, and the co-project director is Mahmood Hussain, PhD, distinguished professor of cell biology. It is supported by a broadly based team that includes faculty members from the departments of medicine and cell biology and the School of Public Health.
“The constellation of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and end-stage renal disease is the most important health problem in our community,” said Dr. Salifu. “Guidelines in defining risk factors and determining therapeutic interventions are less conclusive for African Americans than whites and the mechanisms of these differences are not fully understood.”
This project will focus on whether disease-related biomarkers can enhance the effectiveness of risk-related guidelines in clinical management. The ECRIP fellows funded by this award will become the foundation of a new generation of academic faculty equipped for contemporary clinical research at a competitive grant-seeking level.
At Kings County Hospital Center, Richard Kollmar, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and assistant professor and director of basic research in otolaryngology at SUNY Downstate, is project director and Richard Rosenfeld, MD, MPH, professor and chair of otolaryngology, is co-project director. They will oversee research conducted by ECRIP Fellow Natalya Chernichenko, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology, on how tumor cells invade intact nerves in the process known as perineural invasion, a devastating metastatic malignancy that affects some 20,000 new cancer patients a year in New York State alone.
The Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program was first established in 2000 by the New York State Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) to enhance clinical research training of GME residents and graduates. ECRIP was recently reconstituted to focus on single-theme awards that represent an area of growth with strategic importance to an institution and its community.
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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.