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Atomic force microscopy images of hepatitis B DNA

Digging Into a Decades-Old Hepatitis B Mystery Suggests a New Potential Treatment

In their effort to answer a decades-old biological question about how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection of liver cells, research led by Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and The Rockefeller University identified a vulnerability that opens the door to new treatments.

The team successfully disrupted the virus’s ability to infect human liver cells in the laboratory using a compound already in clinical trials against cancer —...

New Therapy May Effectively Control HIV in Uganda

A multi-national, multi-institutional study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators found little natural resistance to a new HIV therapy called lenacapavir in a population of patients in Uganda.

The study, published Jan. 30 in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, adds to growing evidence that lenacapavir may be a powerful new tool in the global anti-HIV drug arsenal. Approximately, 1.5 million people are living with HIV in Uganda.

“Our data shows that only 1.6% of the...

Two Weill Cornell Medicine Faculty Members Elected to ASCI

Two Weill Cornell Medicine physician-scientists, Dr. Niroshana Anandasabapathy and Dr. Rohit Chandwani, have been elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) for 2025.

One of the nation’s oldest nonprofit medical honor societies, the ASCI is comprised of more than 3,000 physician-scientists serving in the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry. Members are renowned for translating innovative laboratory findings into...

Cancer’s Ripple Effect May Promote Blood Clot Formation in the Lungs

Blood clots form in response to signals from the lungs of cancer patients—not from other organ sites, as previously thought—according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and University of California San Diego Health. Clots are the second-leading cause of death among cancer patients with advanced disease or aggressive tumors.

While blood clots usually form to stop a wound from bleeding, cancer patients can form clots without...

image showing pancreatic islets in green and islet endothelial cells in red

Mapping of Specialized Blood Vessel Cells May Lead to Diabetes Treatments

The distinct population of endothelial cells that line blood vessels in the insulin-producing “islets” of the human pancreas have been notoriously difficult to study, but Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have now succeeded in comprehensively detailing the unique characteristics of these cells. The resulting atlas advances basic research on the biology of the pancreas and could lead to new treatment strategies for diabetes and other pancreatic diseases.

In the study, published Feb....

Fluorescence image showing the basolateral amygdala with projections from the insular cortex and prefrontal cortex stained red and green

Advanced Brain Circuit-Mapping Technique Reveals New Anxiety Drug Target

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have identified in a preclinical model a specific brain circuit whose inhibition appears to reduce anxiety without side effects. Their work suggests a new target for treating anxiety disorders and related conditions and demonstrates a general strategy, based on a method called photopharmacology, for mapping drug effects on the brain.

In their study, published Jan. 28 in Neuron, the researchers examined the effects of experimental drug compounds that...

photo of Black woman holding her wrist as though it hurts

Communities of Color Face Greater Barriers in Accessing Opioid Medications for Pain Management

Non-white communities had significantly less access to opioid medications commonly prescribed for moderate to severe pain than white communities over the decade beginning in 2011, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.

The findings, published Jan. 21 in Pain, stretched across all socioeconomic groups, and suggest that communities of color may be especially vulnerable to the unintended consequences of efforts to reduce unsafe use of opioid analgesics.

From...

a hand holding a test tube in an illustration of discovery

Three Institutional Scientists Receive Presidential Award

Three Weill Cornell Medicine scientists were honored this week with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government’s highest commendation for outstanding early-career scientists and engineers.

Drs. Steven Josefowicz, Ekta Khurana and Kristen Pleil were among 400 early-career scientists and engineers to receive the award, announced Jan. 14 by the White House.

The award, known as PECASE, was established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton to...

picture of a wine glass with a little red wine in it tipped onto its side

Preclinical Study Finds Surges in Estrogen Promote Binge Drinking in Females

The hormone estrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to “pregame”—consume large quantities of alcohol in the first 30 minutes after it’s offered, according to a preclinical study led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study establishes, for what is thought to be the first time, that circulating estrogen increases binge alcohol consumption in females and contributes to known sex differences in this behavior.

The findings, published Dec. 30 in the journal...

3D illustration of microglia wrapped around parts of amyloid plaques

Immune Cells Digest Alzheimer's Plaques by Spitting Enzymes at Them

Immune cells in the brain called microglia can partially break down large amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease by latching on to them, forming a sort of external stomach and releasing digestive enzymes into the space, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings could ultimately lead to therapies that boost the ability of microglia to break down amyloid plaques.

The study, published Dec. 6 in Cell Reports, shows that the...