News & Events

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,...

The eighth cohort of the Biomedical Innovation Challenge showcased its innovations and development plans during a lightning round of pitches and judges’ questions on June 4 in the Belfer Research Building.

The annual event serves as the culmination of BioVenture eLab’s entrepreneurial education...

A circuit that runs from the prefrontal cortex near the front of the brain to a deeper brain structure called the insular cortex appears to mediate the antidepressant effects of a newer form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery could lead to more effective TMS treatment of depression.

In the...

Extreme heat and cold are growing cardiovascular risks that can trigger heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and sudden cardiac death, according to a recent scientific statement by experts at Weill Cornell Medicine and other leading institutions. The statement from the American Heart Association, published in Circulation, outlines contributing factors that endanger health and recommendations to mitigate the rising...

A new technology allows scientists to map, in single cells, the DNA binding sites of transcription factors and other regulatory proteins that control gene activity, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center. With key advantages over methods currently in use, the technology is expected to be a powerful addition to biologists’ toolkit for studying cells in health and disease...

The ASCERTAIN V clinical trial demonstrated that an all-oral drug combination for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an effective alternative to the current standard, which requires repeated hospital or office visits for intravenous treatment. In the international phase 1/phase 2 trial led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Yale University, patients took a regimen of two pills, decitabine-...