News & Events

An experimental therapy showed promise as treatment for an aggressively spreading type of colorectal cancer in preclinical models, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Mesenchymal colorectal cancer (mCRC) accounts for about one-third of all colorectal cancers. Targeted immune therapies aren't effective against this form of cancer because the environment inside the tumor keeps immune cells that would kill the tumor cells at bay. But a team led by...

Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $7.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study whether the antibiotic doxycycline may slow the progression of the chronic lung disease emphysema in people living with well-controlled HIV.

“There are no available treatments for addressing emphysema progression. Inhalers commonly prescribed to patients with the disease only alleviate airway symptoms,” said co-...

The long-term immune response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination was similar in pregnant individuals compared with non-pregnant individuals of reproductive age, according to a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. The similarity in protection is noteworthy, given that pregnancy alters the immune system, and potentially the response to vaccination.

The findings, published Nov. 2 in the...

Acinetobacter pittii (A. pittii), a type of bacteria, is evolving to become more resistant to antibiotics and is finding ways to survive in the harsh environment of the International Space Station, according to new research led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

“Studying bacteria found on the space station and their resistance to antimicrobial drugs is critical for astronaut health,” said principal investigator...

A Medicare system that is meant to assess and incentivize healthcare quality with pay adjustments may not be working as intended, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

In the study, published Dec. 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the researchers analyzed data on more than 80,000 primary care physicians enrolled in Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment...

The Medicaid program allocates nearly $20 billion a year in subsidies to support safety-net hospitals and other health care providers that serve low-income patients. While most of the subsidies are well-targeted — going, as intended, to facilities that disproportionately care for low-income and uninsured patients — potentially up to one-third are not, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and University of Pennsylvania investigators.

The...

Dr. Sandhya K. Balaram, a leading adult cardiac surgeon in New York City, has been named chief of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, effective Nov. 15. She was also recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an associate professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery.

In her new role, Dr. Balaram will expand NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist...

Changes in a single gene open the door for harmful gut bacteria to set off the inflammation that drives Crohn’s disease, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. These findings could one day help doctors better select targeted treatments for patients with this immune disorder. 

This particular host gene, called AGR2, encodes part of the cell’s machinery that helps prepare new proteins properly so that they can help repel “bad”...

Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, plans to return to his research at the end of the calendar year, following his tenure as dean. We sat down with Dr. Choi to discuss the ways the institution had evolved under his six years of leadership.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Weill Cornell Medicine: When you consider where we...

In 2021, a group of scientists led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that the Moderna mRNA vaccine and a protein-based vaccine candidate containing an adjuvant, a substance that enhances immune responses, elicited durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 during infancy in pre-clinical research.

Now a follow-up study...

A gene linked to autism spectrum disorders plays a critical role in early brain development and may shape the formation of both normal and atypical nerve connections in the brain, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Robert J. “Bob” Appel ’53, a vice chair of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Board of Fellows, Cornell trustee emeritus and presidential councillor, died Nov. 19 in New York, at age 91.

An active and enthusiastic Cornell alumnus, Appel was a devoted champion, distinguished leader and esteemed benefactor of the Ithaca and Weill Cornell Medicine campuses. He was a prodigious advocate of living by example and, alongside his beloved wife Helen ’55, took immense pride in advancing Cornell’s mission...

A form of blood cancer known as mantle cell lymphoma is critically dependent on a protein that coordinates gene expression, such that blocking its activity with an experimental drug dramatically slows the growth of this lymphoma in preclinical tests, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.

The discovery, reported Oct. 25 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to new mantle cell lymphoma drugs as...

An unusual type of antibody that even at miniscule levels neutralizes the Zika virus and renders the virus infection undetectable in preclinical models has been identified by a team led by Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian and National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigators. 

Because Zika can cause birth defects when passed from a pregnant person to their fetus, this discovery could lead to the development of therapies to protect babies from the potentially devastating...

When ophthalmologist Dr. John Pena was a first-year resident, he helped to treat a child with a form of cancer that originates in the back of the eye. Dr. Pena used advanced technology to see inside the eye’s clear, gel-like structure called the vitreous, and found abundant microscopic structures that transport biological information from one cell to another. The patient’s case inspired Dr. Pena, then a Weill Cornell Medicine physician-...

The Cornell Board of Trustees and Weill Cornell Medicine Board of Fellows have approved the appointment of physician-scientist Dr. Francis Lee, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, as interim dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and interim provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, effective Jan. 1.

Dr. Lee, who is also psychiatrist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, will succeed...

Error-prone DNA replication and repair may lead to mutations and cancer in individuals who inherit a mutant copy of the BRCA1 gene, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery has potential implications for preventing the development of cancer in patients with these mutations.

The study, published Sept. 12 in Molecular Cell, provides new insights into why individuals who...

After a 16-year tenure leading Weill Cornell Medicine’s finances and operations and overseeing a dynamic expansion across New York City, Stephen M. Cohen on Sept. 30 retired as the institution’s executive vice provost.

Cohen oversaw a range of central administrative departments, including Capital Planning, Facilities Management and Campus Operations, Environmental Health and Safety, Finance, Budget and Financial Strategy, Human Resources, Housing, Risk Management, and Information...

A multidisciplinary team of Weill Cornell Medicine researchers has received a five-year $5.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health to fund a center aimed at developing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to deter cancer development in at-risk groups.

The Weill Cornell Medicine CAP-IT Center for LNP RNA Immunoprevention was selected as one of two...

A typical gut bacterium that can spread through the body and cause a serious infection resists natural immune defenses and antibiotics by enhancing its protective outer layer, known as the cell envelope, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The finding suggests possible new ways to target these bacterial infections.

The research, published Nov. 10 in mBio, illuminates some of the underlying...