News & Events

Vaccinating mothers against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during late pregnancy to protect their newborns is not associated with an increased risk of preterm birth or other poor outcomes, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. Infants are particularly vulnerable to the virus which can cause a serious lower respiratory illness.

The...

Endothelial cells with a distinct gene-expression signature play a key role in the development and repair of blood vessels throughout life, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. 

A multinational team led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators developed a test that will help measure the persistence of HIV in people affected by viral strains found predominantly in Africa—a vital tool in the search for an HIV cure that will benefit patients around the world.

The study, published July 2 in Nature Communications, helps fill a major gap in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research. Most HIV studies...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine with an international team have used liver biopsies to identify cellular and molecular markers that can potentially be used to predict whether and when pancreatic cancer will spread to an individual’s liver or elsewhere, such as the lung.

The study, published on June 28 in Nature Medicine, proposes that information...

Before a cell commits fully to the process of dividing itself into two new cells, it may ensure the appropriateness of its commitment by staying for many hours—sometimes more than a day—in a reversible intermediate state, according to a discovery by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. Their revelation of this fundamental feature of biology includes details of its mechanisms and dynamics, which may inform the development of future therapies targeting cancers and other diseases.

In...

Weill Cornell Medicine received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program to develop new approaches for predicting the spread of cancer cells to the bone in men with prostate cancer, using tumor samples taken at early stages of the disease.

The American Cancer Society projects about 35,250 deaths from prostate cancer in the United States in 2024. “Metastases, especially to the bone, is the leading cause of death in men who have prostate...

The transition to menopause is marked by a progressively higher density of estrogen receptors (ER) on brain cells, a measure that remains elevated in women up to their mid-60s, according to a new brain imaging study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. In addition to revealing new evidence of the brain’s response to this major life change, the study pioneers the use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging as a tool for studying estrogen activity in the brain, which hasn’t been...

“In this accelerator, we not only have our faculty explore their deep scientific questions but also help them expand their mindset to think of themselves as innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Loren Busby, director of BioVenture eLab, a part of Enterprise Innovation. She shared these remarks at the 2024 Business Plan Challenge pitch competition, which took place at Uris Auditorium on June 4.

The accelerator’s cohort of 24 participants...

An artificial intelligence-powered method for detecting tumor DNA in blood has shown unprecedented sensitivity in predicting cancer recurrence, in a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The new technology has the potential to improve cancer care with the very early...

Interactions between two key structures within cells help establish the front-to-back “polarity” that is essential to cell migration, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. These migrations occur in organ development, wound healing, cancer metastasis and many other processes, but how moving cells respond to environmental cues and set up internal structures that enable them to keep going in one direction has not been fully clear.

As the researchers...

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a previously unknown link between two key pathways that regulate the immune system in mammals—a finding that impacts our understanding of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This family of disorders severely impacts the health and quality of life of more than 2 million people in the United States.

The immune system has many pathways to protect the body from...

Short-term space travel causes many of the same molecular and physiologic changes as long-term space missions, but most reverse within months of returning to Earth. Yet, those changes that are longer-lasting and distinct between crew members reveal new targets for aerospace medicine and can guide new missions, according to the results of a massive international research endeavor by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, SpaceX, and other organizations.

Dr....

Pregnancy and new motherhood transform a woman’s body as well as her life. While this is often a joyous time, it can sometime lead to mental health disorders, most often anxiety and depression. These conditions can be detrimental to the mother’s health and that of her child, but despite the high stakes, modern medicine often fails to address them. By teasing out the biological mechanisms underlying these pregnancy-related disorders, investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine are laying the...

Home health aides (HHAs) are vulnerable to stress, isolation and depressive symptoms, which impact their own health as well as their patients’ desire to age in place, according to Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. HHAs are a rapidly growing workforce trained and certified to provide personal and medical care, as well as emotional support, in the home.

“As a doctor, I’ve learned that home health aides are a critical part of patients’ well-being,” said senior author ...

Harmful variants in the BRCA1 gene greatly increase a person’s lifetime risk of developing breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, but most people are unaware they are carriers. In a new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and...

Weill Cornell Medicine scientists have uncovered the first evidence that astrocyte receptors can trigger opposite effects on cognitive function in male and female preclinical models. The findings point to astrocytes, brain cells that support and regulate neurons, as key contributors to sex-specific brain mechanisms.

While many studies have tested the behavioral effects of astrocytic receptors, none of them have addressed whether biological sex plays a role and most have tested only...

Research led by Weill Cornell Medicine provides new evidence that most colorectal cancers begin with the loss of intestinal stem cells, even before cancer-causing genetic alterations appear. The results, published on May 29 in Developmental Cell, overturn the prevailing theory for colorectal tumor initiation and suggest new ways to diagnose the disease before it has a chance to become...

For Dr. Chris Chang, pursuing a career in medicine meant the opportunity to help people, particularly those in underserved communities. Originally from Korea, he moved to the United States when he was five years old, and health care inequity was something he witnessed firsthand.

“I moved around a lot between New Jersey and...

A molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the basic unit of biochemical energy that fuels the activities of all cells. Now a team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus has developed and tested a high-resolution sensor for tracking the real-time dynamics of ATP levels in cells and within subcellular compartments. The new tool represents a major advance over prior ATP sensor technology, and the researchers...

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences highlighted students in the Class of 2024 for their academic achievements during its convocation ceremony on May 15.

The ceremony honored students who are graduating with their master’s degrees, as well as those who earned special awards and prizes for their accomplishments in research, scholarship and service.

In addition to celebrating students, the ceremony also honored graduate school faculty. Dr. Cynthia Leifer (Ph.D. '99),...