Image Credits: Jennifer Conrad
On September 18, 2019, the 5th Annual New York City IBD Research Day was hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine in the Belfer Research Building. This yearly symposium is a collaborative effort of five institutions: The Jill Roberts Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine, The Immunology Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Center for Basic and Translational Research on Disorders of the Digestive System at The Rockefeller University and The Skirball Institute and the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at New York University Langone Health and Columbia University, who joined the group last year. In honor of the late Lloyd F. Mayer, MD, there is a Mayer Prize given yearly. Drs. Sergio Lira and David Artis presented the Mayer Prize to their colleague, Dr. Yasmine Belkaid. Dr. Belkaid, highly esteemed for her research examining the microbiota’s ability to build a immunological response to infection in the GI tract and skin, started the day with her talk on “Regulation of Tissue Inflammation.” Dr. Belkaid also received the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2019 for her outstanding achievements in biomedical research. Throughout the course of the day, the attendees listened to ten presenters, who had traveled from around the globe for this event, engaging in lively Q & A conversations afterwards. Each year, two Trainees or Junior Scientists are given the opportunity to present a talk and this year Ravi Sheth and Yinhu Wang were selected. This event provides the valuable moments for junior scientists to meet and engage in meaningful dialogue with the scientists who have defined IBD research because of their innovative work. The academic institutions of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Rockefeller University, NYU Langone Health, and Weill Cornell Medicine all provided sponsorship for this event. Generous sponsorship was also received from Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, the NY Crohn’s Foundation, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Cure for IBD, Pfizer, and Regeneron and in total, these contributions made the enriching day possible.
