News | Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Detailed mapping of CD4⁺ T cells from children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has revealed distinct immune cell subsets with likely roles in disease pathogenesis, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings are poised to redirect lupus research and open the door to more precise therapies that avoid broad immune suppression.

Published Oct. 21 in Nature Immunology, the study used single-cell RNA sequencing to profile CD4⁺ T-cell subtypes from...

Early Brain Differences May Explain Sex-Specific Risks for Addiction

The roots of addiction risk may lie in how young brains function long before substance use begins, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine. The investigators found that children with a family history of substance use disorder (SUD) already showed distinctive patterns of brain activity that differ between boys and girls, which may reflect separate predispositions for addiction. The research, published Nov. 21, in Nature Mental Health, analyzed brain scans from nearly 1,900...

Scientists Identify a Molecular Switch to a Painful Side Effect of Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy activates a stress sensor in immune cells, triggering inflammation and nerve damage, which may help explain why many cancer patients experience debilitating pain as a side effect, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers.

Up to half of all patients receiving chemotherapy experience chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which causes tingling, numbness and pain in the hands and feet. Since there...

Reviving Exhausted Immune Cells Boosts Tumor Elimination

A new study has discovered a molecular signal that tumors exploit to exhaust the T cells meant to destroy them—and how silencing that signal could revive the body’s immunity. The study led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers was published Nov. 17 in Nature Immunology and shows that tumors not only evade the immune system but can actively reprogram immune cells to stop fighting.

“Our dream is to make immune-based therapies available to every patient. To overcome resistance, we must...

Hypertension Affects the Brain Much Earlier than Expected

Hypertension impairs blood vessels, neurons and white matter in the brain well before the condition causes a measurable rise in blood pressure, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The changes help explain why hypertension is a major risk factor for developing cognitive disorders, such as vascular cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

The preclinical study, published Nov. 14 in Neuron, reveals that hypertension may induce early gene...

photo of a gloved hand inserting a syringe into a vial

Common-Cold Coronavirus Could be the Key to a Better COVID-19 Vaccine

Prior exposure to coronaviruses that cause ordinary colds can boost the immune system’s ability to attack a vulnerable site on the COVID-19-causing coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The finding suggests a new vaccination strategy that might provide broader and more durable protection against SARS-CoV-2 strains compared with existing vaccines—and might also protect against other emergent coronaviral threats.

In the study,...

Scientists Identify a Trigger for Obesity-Linked Inflammation

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have identified an early step in a cellular process that leads to inflammation in fat cells and may result in type 2 diabetes in people with obesity.

The findings, published Oct. 28 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, show that a protein called FAM20C acts as a switch that turns on inflammation and insulin resistance in the fat cells of overweight mice. Genetic techniques to remove or block the FAM20C gene in animals improved their metabolic...

Researchers Unveil a Powerful New Gene-Switch Tool

Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a versatile and non-toxic technology for controlling the activity of any gene in a cell. Such “gene-switch” tools allow scientists to “turn on” or “turn off” a target gene to study how it works, model diseases and design new therapies. The tool potentially could be adopted throughout biomedical research, including in the development of gene therapies.

Dr. Samie Jaffrey

NIH Awards $10 Million for the New York Regional Diabetes Research Center

New York, NY (October 23, 2025) Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a five-year, $10.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create the New York Regional Diabetes Research Center (NYR-DRC), a newly expanded multi-institutional center co-led with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Weill Cornell Medicine. The center will focus on discovering scientific knowledge and translating it into improved care for people with diabetes and related...

Galvanizing Blood Vessel Cells to Expand for Organ Transplantation

Scientists have discovered a method to induce human endothelial cells from a small biopsy sample to multiply in the laboratory, producing more than enough cells to replace damaged blood vessels or nourish organs for transplantation, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. Endothelial cells form the inner lining of blood vessels and regulate blood flow, inflammation and healing. Traditional approaches for growing these cells in the lab have yielded only...

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