news PS - Columbia University Medical Center

or post-baccalaureate students
from communities that have been
underrepresented historically in
medicine. New York State funds
the program through the Doctors
Across New York initiative in
partnership with the Associated
Medical Schools of New York.
Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D., the
Lieber Professor of Psychiatry,
Lawrence C. Kolb Professor of
Psychiatry, chair of psychiatry,
and director of the New York
State Psychiatric Institute, is
president-elect of the American
Psychiatric Association. His term
as president-elect began in May
2012, and his term as president
begins in May 2013.
Ground was broken in April for
construction of the new Center
for Autism and the Developing
Brain in White Plains. The center
is designed for children, adults,
and families dealing with autism
spectrum disorders. P&S, Weill
Cornell Medical College, and
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
are collaborating with the New
York Center for Autism to develop
the 11,000-square-foot, state-ofthe-art
facility expected to open in
2013. The center will be directed
by Catherine Lord, Ph.D., a leading
autism authority who will hold
appointments at both P&S and
Cornell. The center will streamline
the process from diagnosis
to treatment and maximize the
usefulness of information gained
from multi-level assessments. A
vigorous research program, integrated
treatment, and resources for
community-based providers and
families are also hallmarks of the
planned center.
Bard Hall Gym Gets Facelift
Significant improvements are planned for the gym in Bard Hall. The Bard Athletic Center within Bard Hall
has a pool, basketball court, squash courts, yoga studio, and cardio equipment.
Responses to a user questionnaire stressed the need for more exercise equipment and space that could be
used for multiple purposes. The center will be refitted to include two levels of exercise equipment that look
out over the basketball court.
In addition to athletic center cardio area improvements, much of the facility will have new central air
conditioning and will be more accessibility friendly with ADA shower and locker amenities.
Bard Hall, named for medical school founder Samuel Bard, opened in September 1931, a few years after
P&S moved to Washington Heights to become part of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. The 11-story
art-deco building was designed by James Gamble Rogers, the architect behind many of the medical center’s
original buildings.
New Chair of Ophthalmology
George A. “Jack” Cioffi, M.D., became chair of the Department of Ophthalmology
at P&S March 1. He succeeds Stanley Chang’74, who chaired the
department since 1996 and will remain on the faculty.
Dr. Cioffi joined Columbia – and the hospital as ophthalmologist-in-chief
– from Legacy Health, Devers Eye Institute, and Oregon Health & Science
University. He was chief medical officer and senior vice president at Legacy,
the R.G. Chenoweth Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology at Devers, and professor
of ophthalmology at Oregon Health & Science University.
The internationally recognized glaucoma researcher and clinician joined
Devers Eye Institute in Portland in 1991 as a fellow and built the Institute’s
research department. His research focuses on how circulatory changes in the
optic nerve may lead to glaucoma and on best practices in glaucoma surgery.
He is editor in chief of the Journal of Glaucoma and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the
Glaucoma Research Foundation. Dr. Cioffi received his medical degree cum laude from the University of
South Carolina.
The 2012 residency match results can be found within News Bytes
online at www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/journal
Spring 2012 ColumbiaMedicine 13