News & Events

Melanoma cells release small extracellular packages containing the protein nerve growth factor receptor, which primes nearby lymph nodes for tumor metastases, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

The study results, published on Nov. 25 in Nature Cancer, may one day help doctors determine which patients need more aggressive treatment and could help with the development of new therapies, said...

COVID-19 vaccination of expectant mothers elicits levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 outer “spike” protein at the time of delivery that don’t vary dramatically with the timing of vaccination during pregnancy and thus don’t justify delaying vaccination, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

The researchers, whose...

A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine, Scripps Research and the University of Chicago has identified an important site of vulnerability on influenza viruses—a site that future influenza vaccines and antibody therapies should be able to target to prevent or treat infections by a broad set of influenza strains.

The scientists, whose ...

Building on their longtime commitment to social justice, equity and diversity, Louise and Leonard Riggio have made a $5.6 million gift to Weill Cornell Medicine to establish a named scholarship for medical students with financial need who are Black. This scholarship, which will be awarded as part of Weill Cornell Medicine’s debt-free scholarship program for all financially eligible medical students, will cover the full cost of attendance for all four years of medical school. 

The...

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers are using machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to shed light on genetic mutations associated with spina bifida. In this birth defect, the neural tube that forms the spinal cord during pregnancy, does not close so that spinal nerves are exposed, resulting in paralysis and high risk of other complications.

Their new study, published online Dec. 16 in PNAS, “brings us closer to...

Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified significant differences in the molecular characteristics of tumors from younger and older cancer patients across several cancer types.

Their research, published Dec. 7 in Cell Reports, suggests that cancer treatment could potentially be tailored by age. The study also identified pre-existing drugs that could target mutations predominantly found in...

A new protein variant underlies the ability of gastric cancers to resist an otherwise effective family of chemotherapy drugs, according to a study by a multidisciplinary team at Weill Cornell Medicine. The results suggest a treatment strategy that could improve the prognoses of many patients with cancer.

The study, published Oct. 20 in Developmental Cell, and led by co-first authors, Drs. Prashant...

Pound for pound, the brain consumes vastly more energy than other organs, and, puzzlingly, it remains a fuel-guzzler even when its neurons are not firing signals called neurotransmitters to each other. Now researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have found that the process of packaging neurotransmitters may be responsible for this energy drain.

In their study, reported Dec. 3 in Science Advances, they identified tiny...

A group of immune cells that normally protect against inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract may have the opposite effect in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other brain inflammation-related conditions, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers. The results suggest that countering the activity of these cells could be a new therapeutic approach for such conditions.

The researchers, who reported their finding Dec. 1 in...

A gene mutation linked to Alzheimer’s disease alters a signaling pathway in certain immune cells of individuals with the disease, according to a new study by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The team also found that blocking the pathway—with a drug that’s currently being tested in cancer clinical trials—protects against many features of the condition in a preclinical model. The results could lead to new strategies to block the development of Alzheimer’s disease or slow its progression...

Antibody protection against harmful forms of fungi in the gut may be disrupted in some patients with Crohn’s disease—a condition caused by chronic inflammation in the bowel—according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Previous studies have shown that the immune system plays a key role in maintaining a healthy balance of gut bacteria. In the new study, published Nov. 22 in Nature Microbiology, senior...

A simple surgical technique during cardiac surgery was associated with a 56 percent reduction in the incidence of an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation that can lead to stroke, with no added risks or side effects, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The findings suggest that the method, called posterior left pericardiotomy, has significant potential for preventing prolonged hospital stays and the need for additional...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered how drugs can affect various membrane-spanning proteins in addition to their intended target, potentially causing unwanted side effects. The results illuminate one of the central problems of drug discovery and point to new strategies for solving it.

Any class of drug can have side effects, but those that interact directly with cellular membranes have been especially problematic. "Those drugs tend to affect many membrane proteins,...

Treatment with arginine, one of the amino-acid building blocks of proteins, enhanced the effectiveness of radiation therapy in cancer patients with brain metastases, in a proof-of-concept, randomized clinical trial from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and Angel H. Roffo Cancer Institute.

The study, published Nov. 5 in Science Advances, reported the results of administering arginine, which can be delivered in oral...

Collaborating with traditional healers to deliver point-of-care HIV tests to individuals in rural Uganda quadrupled testing rates compared with standard referrals to HIV clinics, according to a trial by Weill Cornell Medicine and Mbarara University of Science and Technology investigators. The healer-delivered HIV testing model has the potential to significantly improve the uptake of HIV testing among hard-to-reach populations in HIV-endemic regions of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as improve...

Lymphomas can turbo-charge their ability to proliferate by crowding growth-supporting enzymes into highly concentrated compartments within tumor cells, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The preclinical study, published Sept. 3 in Cancer Research, demonstrated that certain aggressive B-cell lymphomas use a protein-shepherding molecule called HSP90 to form and...

A brain circuit that works as a “brake” on binge alcohol drinking may help explain male-female differences in vulnerability to alcohol use disorders, according to a preclinical study led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine.

In the study, which appeared Aug. 23 in Nature Communications, the researchers examined a brain region in mice called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST)—a major node in a...

A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the New York Genome Center, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has profiled in unprecedented detail thousands of individual cells sampled from patients’ brain tumors. The findings, along with the methods...

Convalescent plasma did not reduce the risk of intubation or death for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a large, international clinical trial conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators in collaboration with lead investigators at McMaster University.

The study, published Sept. 9 in Nature Medicine, also revealed that patients who received convalescent plasma experienced...

The master regulator behind the development of antibody-producing cells has been identified in a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings provide new insight into the inner workings of the immune system and may help understand how tissues develop and how certain cancers arise.

The study, published Sept. 23 in Nature Immunology, combined computational analyses with advanced molecular biology and...