News & Events

An NSAID-related compound called ampyrone appears to safely boost production of the pigment melanin in human skin, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and National Eye Institute investigators. The discovery could lead to the development of an ampyrone-derived treatment for hypopigmentation disorders.

Such disorders, which include severe genetic forms of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) as well as inflammation-caused...

Weill Cornell Medicine has received a four-year, $1.5 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development to increase resources available through BioVenture eLab, the institution’s hub for biomedical entrepreneurship. The grant is among the first the state has awarded through its New York Global Entrepreneurs Program, which was...

A form of glioma, a type of brain cancer, tends to progress towards greater malignancy due to an increasing tendency of the glioma cells to transform into immature, stem-cell-like states, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, the New York Genome Center, Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham. The findings showcase the power of modern laboratory technology for illuminating cancer development and could inform future treatments and...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Birkbeck, University of London, have identified a site where a commonly used anesthetic binds to sodium ion channels, revealing a molecular mechanism that may explain how these drugs dampen communication between neurons. Ion channels are proteins that regulate the flow of charged particles across cell membranes, enabling neurons to generate electrical signals. By reducing this signaling, inhaled anesthetics help suppress brain activity, producing...

New York (July 9, 2026)—Dr. Timothy R. Donahue, a distinguished surgeon-scientist specializing in pancreatic cancer, has been appointed chair of the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, effective Sept. 1.

Building on the academic medical center’s long history of surgical excellence, Dr. Donahue will focus on developing...

The National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant initially worth $8.37 million for Weill Cornell Medicine researchers to study a new gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease in people who have a high genetic risk of developing the condition. The research could garner nearly $14 million in total if prescribed milestones are reached for years three through...

An artificial intelligence system that operates like a collaborative team of medical experts could accelerate clinical trial design, one of the most difficult steps in drug development, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings, published July 7 in Nature Communications, evaluated the potential of the system, called EmulatRx, to simulate, design and improve clinical...

A protein produced by gut immune cells orchestrates both immune protection against pathogens and immune tolerance of gut bacteria, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery illuminates the complex biology of the gut immune system and could lead to better-targeted treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

In the study, published July 7 in Immunity, the researchers sought a better...

As the oldest Baby Boomers turn 80, the country’s nursing homes are bracing for an anticipated surge. The number of people who need help with dementia, disabilities and the activities of daily living is growing at a time when the number of nursing home beds is shrinking. Nearly 10% of nursing homes in the United States closed between 2011 and 2021. In addition, direct care providers are leaving the industry in droves.

In a ...

Patients with advanced prostate cancer may need periodic imaging scans to catch tumor growth even with stable levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein in the blood that doctors routinely monitor for cancer progression, according to an analysis led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Duke University. In some cases, cancer progression was detected on scans even when PSA levels were undetectable.

The recent study...

T cells are an elite fighting force of the immune system, seeking out and destroying diseased cells. But in a prolonged campaign against a chronic condition — like a viral infection, or cancer — the body needs a steady supply of these killer troops. Where and how these killer troops are generated has been a mystery.

That led a team of scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to dig deeper. They found that a small subset of T cells, called...

Chronic psychological stress can help tumors evade immune attack through a chain of molecular events involving gut bacteria and viruses within those bacteria, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings unveil a new layer of cancer biology along with potential therapeutic opportunities.

On a Monday evening on the fourth floor of Helmsley Medical Tower, a Weill Cornell Medicine medical student leans in to take a patient’s history—in Spanish, English or sometimes both—before stepping out to present the case to an attending physician. Months later, that same student may be messaging that patient about lab results, helping schedule a specialist visit or urging them to go to the emergency room if needed.

At the...

Cholesterol-reducing statin medications to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke; personalized cancer therapies; mRNA technologies that revolutionized vaccine development and are now transforming cancer therapy. These are just a few examples of the countless innovations made possible by physician-scientists—physicians who divide their career between clinical practice and rigorous scientific, patient-inspired research.

“What fundamentally defines the value of physician-scientists is...

Loss of GATA6—a transcription factor that controls which genes are turned on or off—can reprogram colorectal cancer cells into more primitive, adaptable states that can then spread to the liver and establish new tumors, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. Understanding how cancer cells acquire the ability to metastasize could reveal new ways to stop this deadly process.

Under normal conditions, GATA6 acts like a molecular “...

A new gene therapy appears to be safe in patients diagnosed with Friedreich ataxia cardiomyopathy, a progressive and fatal inherited cardiac disease, according to a phase 1 clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The treatment may also reduce heart damage, although further investigation is needed. 

The results, published June 17 in JAMA Cardiology...

Prostate-targeted, engineered nanoparticles made of amorphous silica are effective in killing prostate tumors directly while enhancing anti-tumor immunity, according to a preclinical study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering. The particles, derived from silicon dioxide, a common component of healthy foods or fossilized sedimentary structures from single-celled organisms, induced several complete remissions of...

A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology. The development of the new technique, in a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, expands the toolkit available to cell biologists and biophysicists and could someday be useful in devising new strategies against multiple diseases.

A carefully designed metal-free carbon monoxide prodrug—an inactive compound that is converted into its active form in the body—may help prevent some of the deadliest forms of cancer from spreading, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The recent preclinical study, published...

The majority of national climate adaptation plans fail to fully integrate health needs or engage populations most at risk from climate change, found an international team of investigators led by Weill Cornell Medicine.

The study was published on June 10 in Lancet Planetary Health. Senior author Dr. Ilan Cerna-Turoff,...