Commission on the Status of Health Sciences

Nancy LoIacono is a Research Scientist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. She is an environmental scientist and epidemiologist and has dedicated her career to understanding the effects of exposure to metals (in particular lead and arsenic) on children’s neurocognitive development and the development of adverse health outcomes (cardiovascular and lung disease and diabetes) in adults. She has worked on studies at both the molecular and population levels. She has been involved in several long-term prospective studies that have focused on identifying the adverse effects of exposure to metals, evaluating the effectiveness and safety of various interventions, and formulating strategies to reduce or eliminate these exposures and/or to mitigate their effects.

Sen. Melissa Stockwell, MD MPH is the Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health and the Felice K. Shea Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and a Professor of Population and Family Health in the Department of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health. She is also the founding director of the Department of Pediatrics’ Center for Children’s Digital Health Research. Additionally, she is a practicing pediatrician.

Sen. Jeanine D’Armiento, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine in Anesthesiology, Director of the Center for Molecular Pulmonary Disease in Anesthesiology and Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, and Director of the Center for Lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) and Rare Lung Disease. On the University Senate, Dr. D’Armiento chairs the Executive Committee and serves on a number of other committees. In 2008, Dr. D’Armiento completed a two-year appointment as Associate Dean for Gender Equity and Faculty Development, where she concentrated on professional development programs for women faculty. Dr. D’Armiento served as Executive Director of the Summer Program for Under-Represented Students at CUIMC for close to two decades. She serves on the Executive Board of the Alpha-1 Foundation, which she has chaired. Dr. D’Armiento also serves as a consultant to the Director of the Office of Rare Disease at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. 

Sen. Henry Ginsberg is the Irving Professor of Medicine at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he has conducted basic and translational research on lipid metabolism and cardiovascular disease for 37 years. Dr. Ginsberg was Director of the Irving Center for Clinical Research from 1994 to 2006 and the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research from 2006 to 2017. From 1992 to 2008 and from 2014 until the present, he has been PI on an NHLBI T32 postdoctoral training program in Arteriosclerosis Research. Dr. Ginsberg has published over 400 peer-reviewed and invited papers in journals, and has received funding from the NIH for more than 40 years. He also sees patients with severe lipid disorders and teach. On the University Senate, he serves on the Commission on the Status of Women and on the Structure and Operations Committee, and hopes that his many years on the faculty allow him to offer insights and perspectives relevant to the issues facing the University.

Sen. Greg Freyer is Professor and Faculty Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health.  He directs the DrPH and MS Toxicology programs and the Certificate in Toxicology. Dr. Freyer has been a member of the University Senate since 2011. He co-chairs the Faculty Affairs, Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee and serves on the Budget Committee, Structure and Operations Committee, the Commission on Benefits and the Commission on the Status of Health Sciences.

Dr. Freyer is deeply engaged in developing educational programs, teaches multiple courses and was recipient of both the Mailman School of Public Health Excellence in Teaching Award and the Columbia University Presidential Teaching Award in 2014. Dr. Freyer’s research has focused on cellular responses to environmental insults, particularly related to DNA damage. 

Sen. Gerard A. Ateshian is a SEAS senator representing tenured faculty. He was an undergraduate student at Columbia (SEAS), from 1984 to 1986, and a graduate student until 1991, after which he assumed a faculty position in Mechanical Engineering. He served on the Senate as a non-tenured representative of SEAS faculty in the late 1990s. He is a faculty member in mechanical engineering and in biomedical engineering, and his research focuses on understanding mechanical factors in osteoarthritis, and assisting with the development of treatment methods for this degenerative joint disease.

Sen. Emanuel Clemente (he/him/his) is a Master of Public Health student at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, concentrating in sociomedical sciences. A graduate of the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, Emanuel’s work and academic interests lie at the intersections of medicine, law, and community health. Originally from South Florida and from a Puerto Rican family, Emanuel’s perspective is shaped by his experiences navigating social and structural inequities in health and education. He values organization, transparency, and collaboration as essential tools for effective advocacy and student representation. His background in community outreach, health education, and civic mobilization reflects his commitment to transforming the structures that influence population health outcomes through any role he assumes. 

Joining the University Senate during a pivotal moment in the University’s history, Emanuel is dedicated to representing student voices with transparency, empathy, and integrity. He aims to strengthen the relationship between Columbia’s Morningside and CUIMC campuses, deepen the University’s engagement with the surrounding New York City community, and foster an inclusive academic environment that promotes student wellness, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public service. Emanuel believes in building a public health community that not only studies inequity but actively works to dismantle it.

Sen. David Kessler is a Professor of Pediatrics and Vice Chair of Innovation & Strategic Initiatives in Columbia’s Department of Emergency Medicine. In this role, he works across teams to develop novel programs and lead strategic initiatives to solve complex healthcare challenges. After graduating from Princeton University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s global health track in Pediatrics, he completed Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, and Emergency Ultrasound training at Bellevue Hospital, along with a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from NYU. Dr. Kessler is co-founder of INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education), fostering a global community of investigators dedicated to collaboration, mentorship, and advancing simulation scholarship. His career focuses on improving patient outcomes through innovative technology, with extensive experience in clinical research, grant-funded projects, and international leadership in Simulation and Emergency Ultrasound. He has a long track record of collaboration across the Columbia School of Engineering and Data Science Institute with current research exploring artificial intelligence for automated ultrasound interpretation, virtual and augmented reality for clinical skills training, and simulation-based professionalism education using natural language processing for performance assessment.

Sen. Daniel Peishan Li is a graduate student in Columbia University’s Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences Program, where his work centers on applied data science, statistics, and interdisciplinary social research. He previously earned his B.S. at Emory University, majoring in quantitative science and economics. His interests span machine learning, political behavior, and empirical finance, with experience across investment banking, asset management, and AI adoption. At Emory University, Daniel served as President of Eta Omega Chi, a professional business fraternity aimed at strengthening career development and community-building across campus. As the University Senator representing GSAS/Social Sciences, he is committed to building equal practical support for cross-disciplinary channels, expanding actionable access to academic and career support services, and connecting social science students with the institutional and professional resources they need to thrive.

Sen. Benjamin Bostick is a professor of geochemistry at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and has been a dedicated member of the Columbia University faculty for over 15 years. His research focuses on environmental systems, and he has collaborated extensively with colleagues across Columbia’s campuses. Sen. Bostick recognizes the vital role that research officers play in advancing the University’s mission. As a University Senator, he is committed to implementing changes that bridge the divide between instructional and research faculty. He advocates for stronger connections across academic units and ranks to foster a more integrated and supportive Columbia community. He places a high value on enhancing engagement between research faculty and students and is deeply committed to supporting the research staff who are critical to the University’s scholarly success. Additionally, Sen. Bostick is passionate about expanding the University’s connection with the broader New York City community through research and academic life.

Sen. Andrew J. Einstein is a cardiologist, cardiac imager, and researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He serves as Director of Nuclear Cardiology, Cardiac CT, and Cardiac MRI, Director of the Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship, and a tenured Professor of Medicine, with primary appointment in the Department of Medicine and secondary appointment in the Department of Radiology. Born and raised in New Jersey, Dr. Einstein received an A.B. from Princeton University and attended Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he received an M.D. as well as a Ph.D. in the Department of Biomathematical Sciences. His graduate research focused on developing image analysis methodology in microscopy. He also received an M.S. in patient-oriented research/biostatistics from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. After internship and residency in internal medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, he completed fellowship training at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Einstein’s clinical activities are centered on cardiovascular PET, SPECT, CT, and MRI, and he serves on the attending physician staff in the Heart Institute. His research, which uses each of these modalities, focuses on improving the use of imaging in cardiovascular medicine, with particular interests and current funded projects in quality of healthcare, radiation safety, global health, amyloidosis, artificial intelligence, and device development. It is funded by multiple NIH grants, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and industry.

Dr. Einstein is the author or coauthor of over 300 papers and abstracts, in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Lancet, BMJ, Circulation, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This work has been influential in affecting clinical practice, and has been widely reported in the popular media and cited over 16,000 times in the scientific literature. For it, Dr. Einstein has received the American College of Cardiology's Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s Hermann Blumgart Award, the American Federation for Medical Research's Junior Physician Investigator Award, and the Lewis Katz Cardiovascular Research Prize for a Young Investigator.

He is a member of the editorial boards of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging and the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, and served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. He is frequently invited to lecture on subjects related to cardiovascular imaging, and has addressed organizations such as the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Senate in an AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy briefing. He has served as a member of study sections of the Center for Scientific Review, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and National Cancer Institute. He is Chair of the Academic Cardiology Section of the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the boards of directors of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the Cardiovascular Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. He serves as a member of the Congressionally-chartered National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes, and previously served as a voting member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Einstein has served as a mentor to over fifty trainees at various stages ranging from high school to junior faculty.

Sen. Amir Ziv is James L. Dohr Professor of Professional Practice of Accounting in the Accounting Division of Columbia Business School. Amir Ziv first joined Columbia Business School in 1994. In 2006 he became Vice Dean of the Business School, where, among other responsibilities, he oversaw the MBA and Executive MBA programs (Admission, Students Affairs, Career Management and the Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence). In 2013 he was appointed Professor of Professional Practice. His current responsibilities include serving as faculty director of the Mendelson Center for Undergraduate Business and of the Master of Science in Accounting and Fundamental Analysis (MSAFA) Program. 

Over the years, Amir has taught in degree and executive education programs and is a recipient of multiple (19 in total) teaching awards, including the Columbia Business School’s Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He has also developed and participated in management training and executive development programs at major corporations. Over his career he also served on the faculties of Yale School of Management, and Reichman University, where he founded and headed the executive education division.

Professor Ziv served for over 10 years on the editorial board of the Review of Accounting Studies. His research deals with the effects of accounting regimes and alternatives on economic environments. Specifically, he has studied the role of accounting information in organizational design, financial disclosure, performance evaluation, auditing, and information transmission among strategic players. Dr. Ziv received his Ph.D. from Stanford University, 1990; his M.Sc. from the University of Haifa and Technion, 1986; and his B.A. from the University of Haifa, 1984. He also passed the CPA Examinations, 1985.

Sen. Adena Bargad, PhD, CNM is Associate Professor of Nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. She is a Certified Nurse Midwife with more than two decades of clinical and teaching experience. She has served as Program Coordinator for the Women’s Health Subspecialty in the School of Nursing for over a decade and specializes in women’s sexual and reproductive health care across the life cycle. She maintains an active clinical practice with Planned Parenthood affiliates across New York. Dr. Bargad has designed and led graduate-level nursing curricula that integrate simulation-based education and distributed learning technologies. She is dedicated to preparing the next generation of nurse practitioners and midwives to advance health equity in their practice. Dr. Bargad has been nationally recognized as a PATH Framework trainer for Title X and Essential Access Health which promotes reproductive autonomy and values-centered counseling strategies. She was honored to receive the School of Nursing Teacher of the Year Award in 2023.