News | Page 18 | Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Visualizing innate lymphoid cells in the mouse lymph node: ILCs (green), B cells (cyan), T cells (magenta). Image courtesy of Dr. Saya Moriyama and Dr. David Artis

Discovery May Open Up New Possibilities for Treating Allergic Inflammatory Diseases

A molecule best known for its association with migraines may be a key to new treatments for common worm infections as well as allergic inflammatory disorders such as asthma, according to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The scientists, whose work was published July 25 in Immunity, found a subset of white blood cells that reside in the lungs of mammals and produce the molecule, called CGRP, during worm infection in mice. The...

‘A Beacon of Hope’

By Amy Crawford

Dr. Juan Cubillos-Ruiz got his first look at ovarian cancer early in his doctoral research, which focused on understanding how the microenvironment of a tumor affects a patient’s immune system. “It was one of my first experiments,” recalls Dr. Cubillos-Ruiz, now an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he is also a member of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center. “I got a specimen from a patient to...

Stressful Situation: A scientific illustration shows how T-cells that are exposed to harsh conditions inside a tumor experience endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, depicted by “burning” ER (orange) surrounding the nucleus (purple and turquoise). Mitochondria are seen in bluish gray, with cancer cells in red. Credit: Ella Maru Studio

A Beacon of Hope: Dr. Juan Cubillos-Ruiz Aims to Improve Survival Rates for Ovarian Cancer

By Amy Crawford

IMSD Students Rafael Colon, Viktor Belay, Amanda Simon and Valerie Gallegos

Weill Cornell Graduate School Receives Prestigious Grant to Boost Underrepresented Groups

The Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences has been awarded a competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a program dedicated to increasing the number and enhancing the success of doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds.

The five-year, $2.4 million award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health will fund the Weill Cornell Initiative to Maximize Student Development...

Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Assistant Named PA of the Year

Matthew Laghezza, chief physician assistant in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Lisa Perry Emergency Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, was named 2018 Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant of the Year by the Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants.

The award recognizes physician assistants who demonstrate exceptional service and leadership in emergency medicine, the emergency medicine physician assistant...

Innovative Single-Cell Genomics Technology Allows Study of Cancer Evolution in Unprecedented Detail

A new technology devised by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center (NYGC) enables the measurement of gene mutations and their effects on gene activity within individual cancer cells biopsied from patients.

The advance, reported July 3 in Nature, allows researchers to study, in unprecedented detail, the complex dynamics of cancerous cell populations during the course of disease and in response to therapies. That could lead to more effective new anticancer...

Graduate student Natasha VanWright. All photos: Amelia Panico

Inaugural Class Graduates from Executive M.B.A/M.S. in Healthcare Leadership Program

Healthcare transformation isn’t just a concept to pharmacist Sarah Thompson—it is her passion.

Since joining Coastal Medical, the largest primary care practice in Rhode Island, a decade ago, Thompson has made it her mission to help patients receive high-quality, comprehensive healthcare at the greatest value. At first she directly engaged patients to ensure that they knew how to properly use their medications and that they could afford them. Then, as director of clinical services,...

Dr. Matthew Greenblatt. Photo credit: John Abbott

Skeleton Keys

By Heather Salerno

Heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are known as “silent killers,” so named because they often have subtle symptoms that go undetected. While osteoporosis may seem an unlikely addition to that list, Dr. Matthew Greenblatt says the common bone-thinning disease can be just as quiet, debilitating—and deadly. “For older people who fall and fracture their hip, there is a very low chance they’ll ever walk again,” he says. “And there’s a surprisingly high chance they’...

Commencement Celebrates New Leaders in Medicine and Science

Video of Congratulations to the Class of 2019 | Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Rachel Orleans has achieved a number of firsts in her family: She was the first to graduate from college, the first to earn a Master in Public Health and now, with her graduation May 30 from Weill Cornell Medical College, the first to become a doctor.

“So this is a big deal to us,” said the 31-year-old Ghana native, whose family now lives in Oklahoma. “Graduating today means everything. It’s...

Dr. Katharine Hsu and Dr. Barbara Hempstead

Dr. Katharine Hsu Wins Weill Cornell Graduate School Alumni Award

Dr. Katharine Hsu, M.D. ’94, Ph.D. ’93, professor of medicine and attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, has been awarded the Weill Cornell Graduate School Alumni Award of Distinction.

Since 1997, graduate school alumni have been recognized with this award for their outstanding contributions to biomedical research in education, focusing on science and scholarship, leadership, mentoring and teaching, and service to society.

“I am so honored that my peers...