Dean's Notes

University Swine Flu Updates

2010-12-01T12:16:00.000-05:00

The Columbia Pandemic Planning Working Group is working hard to disseminate timely, accurate information to the Columbia community. The information is developed collaboratively by those experts on campus who are charged with the responsibility for ensuring the general health and safety of the Columbia community.

Visit http://www.columbia.edu/cu/studentservices/preparedness/ for the most up-to-date information.

Second Annual Genetic Counseling Summer Camp Program

2010-06-07T15:19:00.003-04:00

Event Date and Time: Mon., June 7, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

The program was developed to provide as broad and diverse a perspective on the genetic counseling field.

Summer Camp Flyer

Location
Located just twenty minutes north of Manhattan, Sarah Lawrence is a pioneer in the field of human genetics: the College has produced more than half of the nation's professionals in the genetic counseling field.

More Information
http://www.slc.edu/graduate/programs/human-genetics/camp/index.html

Contact
Caroline Lieber, MS, CGC
Director
Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, NY 10708

(914) 395-2605
clieber@slc.edu

The Unite For Sight Global Health & Innovation 2010 Conference

2010-04-17T09:47:00.001-04:00

Event Dates: Sat., April 17-Sun., April 18; Discounted registration rate until Feb. 15

The Global Health & Innovation Conference convenes more than 2,200 students and professionals from 55 countries who are interested in global health and international development, public health, medicine, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, human rights, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, public service, environmental health, and education.

Speakers
Keynote addresses by Seth Godin, Jacqueline Novogratz, Jeffrey Sachs and Sonia Sachs. Social innovation sessions by CEOs and Directors of Acumen Fund, Partners in Health, Doctors Without Borders, Save The Children, HealthStore Foundation, and many others.

Student Rate: $115 before Feb. 15

More Information and Registration

Narrative Medicine Rounds

2010-03-03T15:58:00.001-05:00

Event Date and Time: Wed., March 3, 5-6:30 p.m.

Next Session
Shamita Das Dasgupta
Domestic violence activist and faculty at NYU Law School, Dasgupta reads from "Mothers for Sale: Women in Kolkata’s Sex Trade." Based on hundreds of interviews with women and children sex workers in India, this “unique and urgently needed book” focuses on motherhood, sex work, and human rights in local and national contexts.

Event Location
Faculty Club
P&S Building
630 West 168th Street (between Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue)
4th floor, Room 446

About the Program
Narrative Medicine Rounds are lectures or readings presented by scholars, clinicians, or writers engaged in work at the interface between narrative and health care. Rounds are held on the first Wednesday of each month from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Columbia University Medical Center Faculty Club, followed by a reception. Rounds are free and open to the public. Students, staff, faculty, patients, friends, and interested others are warmly welcome to join us.

Upcoming Sessions

Seminars on Narrative Genetics

2010-02-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

Next Seminar: Thurs., Feb. 25, 2010, 6-8 p.m.

Organization
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy

About the Program
Narrative genetics is a new and interdisciplinary way to understand genetics in our lives, our culture and our politics. The Faculty Seminar on Narrative Genetics, like all ISERP seminars, is free and open to the public. Each workshop will focus on an aspect of narrative genetics and will include a presentation of work in progress. Readings will be posted to the seminar website and on our open Google site (or suggested if a published book) by the presenter to enhance the discussion. Others are encouraged to share their work at these sessions in brief informal presentations, and, if they wish, to post manuscripts to the seminar for comment and discussion.

Schedule of Seminar Meetings 2009-2010
Light refreshments will be served.

February 25, 2010, 6-8 p.m.
Location: 801 International Affairs Building, Columbia University
The Social Life of DNA: Traditional and genetic 'root-seeking' and the implications of these practices for contemporary understandings of race and ethnicity, diaspora, ancestry, and memory
Alondra Nelson, Ph.D., Columbia University, Sociology

April 8, 2010, 6-8 p.m.
Location: 801 International Affairs Building, Columbia University
[topic TBA]
Susan Squier, Ph.D. Brill Professor of Women's Studies, English, and STS, The Pennsylvania State University

May 6, 2010, 6-8 p.m.
Location: 801 International Affairs Building, Columbia University
Social Determinants of Autism
Peter Bearman, Ph.D. Columbia, Sociology, ISERP

Committee Interview Sign-up*

2010-02-22T16:36:00.002-05:00

Sign-up Deadline: Mon., Feb. 22
Interviews: Mon., Feb. 22-End of June**

The committee interview is one of the requirements for Premedical Committee Support. To sign up for an interview, please visit the Premedical Office’s reception desk to request the sign-up book that has been created for this purpose. Sign-ups must be done in-person.

Brief Guide to the Committee Interview:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gs/postbac/committee/

Advisors Schedules for Committee Interviews:
Be sure to sign up for an interview on a date when your advisor will be present (indicated by his or her initials).

Dean Watts: Mondays
Dean Mitchell: Tuesdays
Dean Sunshine: Wednesdays.

*If you have been nominated for linkage, please contact your advisor to schedule your committee interview.
**Dates are subject to change, although advisors will make every effort to maintain the posted schedule.

Bone Marrow Registry Honoring the Friend of Postbac Premed Student

2010-02-20T15:08:00.003-05:00

Event Date and Time: Sat., Feb. 20, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Event Flyer

Event Location
The School of the Future
127 East 22nd Street (at Lexington Avenue)

Message from a Postbac Premed Student
My name is Amanda Zwilling, and I am a Postbac Premed Program student. I am planning a Bone Marrow Drive in honor of my best friend Lindsay Rawot who was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, in November of 2008. When she was first diagnosed during our senior year at Duke, we were all confident that after a few months of treatment she would be cancer-free. However, more than 18 months later, after enduring countless hours of chemotherapy, a month of radiation, innumerable surgeries, and every herbal remedy available, Lindsay is not in remission.

I’m asking that you join in the efforts to help Lindsay beat her Lymphoma, to help save her life. Lindsay is now in need of a stem cell transplant, a process that utilizes a matched donor to revamp her entire immune system. She has been unable to beat her cancer with her body’s own resources, so she is searching for a donor's stem cells to do the trick.

About the Drive
At a donor drive, potential donors give a tissue sample from a simple cheek swab, and are subsequently entered into the national database. The tissue obtained through this cheek swab is then compared to the tissue of people (like Lindsay) with blood cancers who are in need of a matched donor transplant. In order to be a donor, individuals must be between 18 and 55 years of age and in good general health. By putting your tissue sample in the national registry, you are agreeing to consider donating your stem cells to anyone who you may match.

If you won’t be able to attend a drive but would still like to join the national registry, you can visit
https://www.dkmsamericas.org/bone-marrow-donors/become-marrow-donor to order a self-test kit.

Contact
If you have any questions about the effort to save Lindsay’s life, or would like to know where other drives in Lindsay’s honor are currently being organized, please contact TeamLindsayR@gmail.com, or visit http://www.teamlindsay.org.

Resource for Students in their Glide/Application Year

2010-02-12T16:34:00.001-05:00

Attention: EC'10

The AAMC’s FIRST for Medical Education program announces the launch of Financial Literacy 101. This online resource, comprised of seven self-paced modules, is designed for the busy schedules of medical students and applicants. With an average duration of four minutes, the modules cover the following topics: Understanding Identity Theft, Banking and Managing Accounts, Budgeting for Medical Students, Debit versus Credit Cards, Credit Reports and Credit Scores, Students and Credit Cards, and Dealing with Credit Card Debt.

Access Financial Literacy 101:
http://aamc.financialliteracy101.org/welcome.cfm

Join Social Justice Medicine, Postbac Premed Student Group

2010-02-01T12:41:00.002-05:00

Get involved this spring!

Looking for other ways to get involved? Join Social Justice Medicine whose mission is to demonstrate solidarity with underserved communities in the US and around the world through a collective interest and involvement in their healthcare.

Current volunteer projects include sending medical supplies and birthing kits to Third World countries, working at an HIV clinic, mentoring high school premeds, and opportunities to work with similar organizations and initiatives at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

To regularly receive news on events and volunteering opportunities with Columbia Postbac student group Social Justice Medicine, subscribe to receive emails from the SJM googlegroup mailing list.

Visit the SJM blog at http://columbiasjm.blogspot.com/.

GS Specific Information: Receiving VA Benefits

2009-12-23T11:13:00.008-05:00

Spring 2010 Semester

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs provides significant financial aid opportunities to students who served in the U.S. Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001, as well as the dependents of these veterans.

Through a new initiative authorized by the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, higher education institutions can provide eligible student veterans with a tuition waiver or grant that is matched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This program, known as the Yellow Ribbon Program, enhances the base tuition benefits provided by the Post-9/11 GI Bill. More information about the bill’s benefits and eligibility requirements is available on the GS website and at http://www.gibill.va.gov/.

The School of General Studies offers the Yellow Ribbon Program (YRP) Scholarship to up to 150 current Postbac Premed and undergraduate students.

Students Not Currently Receiving YRP Benefits

If you are a qualifying veteran, or the qualifying dependent of a veteran, and you are interested in benefiting from the Yellow Ribbon Program in the Spring 2010 semester, you must submit an application.

As stipulated by the Post 9/11 GI Bill, eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon Program is determined on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not expect to reach our full allotment of 150 students; however, submitting the online application promptly will allow us to begin the review and certification process sooner.

In addition to completing this application, you must submit two copies of the Veterans Certification Request to receive VA benefits each semester. Please follow the steps for submission.

Students Currently Receiving YRP Benefits
Students who currently receive the YRP scholarship do not need to complete the application, but must complete and submit two copies of the Veterans Certification Request every semester in order to receive YRP benefits.

For additional information, please consult the Financial Aid page.