News | Page 20 | Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Astronaut Twins Study Yields New Insights, Algorithms and Portable DNA Sequencing Tools

Long-term spaceflight causes more changes to gene expression than shorter trips, especially to the immune system and DNA repair systems, according to research by Weill Cornell Medicine and NASA investigators as part of NASA’s Twins Study, which followed the only set of identical twin astronauts for more than two years.

Dr. Christopher Mason, an associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, led one of 10 teams of scientists chosen by NASA to compare...

Smart Money

As a student in immunology and microbial pathogenesis at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Dr. Ting Jia published eight papers in top journals, including four as first author. Working with Dr. Eric Pamer—a member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he serves as head of the Division of Subspecialty Medicine and the Enid A. Haupt Chair in Clinical Investigation—Dr. Jia explored how immune cells and signaling proteins migrate from bone marrow to points of...

Anemia Drug Shows Promise for Treating Leukemias

By Jim Stallard

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common blood cancers in adults. The disease is difficult to treat with chemotherapy and usually proves fatal. However, researchers have identified a potential chink in the armor: AML cells have a greatly reduced ability to export iron compared with normal blood cells, leaving them at risk for iron induced death.

Now, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Sloan Kettering Institute have found a way to exploit this...

Carl Nathan accepts an Exemplary Achievement Award from Joan and Sanford Weill and Augustine Choi

Acclaimed Immunologist Carl Nathan Awarded Joan and Sanford I. Weill Exemplary Achievement Award

Video of Weill Cornell Medicine Honors Dr. Carl Nathan

Dr. Carl Nathan, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded the institution’s Joan and Sanford I. Weill Exemplary Achievement Award.

The Weill Award was established in 2018 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the medical college’s renaming in honor of Weill Cornell Medicine’s foremost benefactors, Joan and Sanford I. Weill. The Weill Award recognizes...

Most Causes of Healthcare Fragmentation Not Related to Medical Need

Most of the reasons why American patients receive care from multiple providers are related to numerous modifiable causes such as patient preferences, physician referrals and health system factors —not medical need—according to a qualitative study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.

“The results of our study show that fragmentation is not just a function of sicker patients seeing more providers,” said first author Dr. Lisa Kern, an associate professor of medicine and of healthcare...

2015 Weill Cornell Medicine Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) Hackathon

Diverse Teams Converge to Solve Healthcare Problems at Weekend Hackathon

For first-year Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences doctoral student Suniyya Amna Waraich, developing new therapies for stroke patients is personal: A close relative was at a family gathering when he had a stroke. Fortunately, the doctors in her family were able to diagnose it early, she said, he has recovered well as a result.

“But even in his case, the weight of constant wariness and anticipation of another stroke is impossible to shake,” said Waraich, who is studying...

Chelsea Clinton Shares Her Insights on Public Health

Chelsea Clinton is a public health advocate, researcher and educator. But being a mother has deepened her passion for children’s health, she explained in a talk on Feb. 5 at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Clinton, a member of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Board of Overseers, spoke to students and faculty about her passion for children’s health as part of the Luminaries in Healthcare Leadership series, during which industry leaders share their perspectives and expertise on cutting-edge issues...

Two Advances in Understanding Lymphomas May Lead to New Therapies

New studies from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have revealed the importance of two gene-regulation proteins in the development of common immune cell cancers called lymphomas.

The studies, published Dec. 10 in Nature Immunology and Oct. 1 in Cancer Discovery, showed that one of the proteins, LSD1, plays a major role in starting and sustaining lymphomas, while the other, TET2, normally prevents lymphomas from developing. The discoveries point to the possibility of new lymphoma...

Dr. Barbara Hempstead Appointed Dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences

New York (January 10, 2019)—Dr. Barbara Hempstead, a preeminent physician-scientist, educator and academic leader, has been appointed dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, effective Jan. 14. She succeeds Dr. Carl Nathan, who led the graduate school since 2017 and completed a planned two-year term.

The Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences offers professional scientific training for doctoral students, researchers in health policy and healthcare...

A Kinder Cut

In 2013, scientists at MIT and at UC Berkeley optimized a way to use bacterial gene sequences to cut and change DNA at precise locations. The genome-editing system, called CRISPR, is cheaper and simpler than previous methods, and it has led to breakthroughs in diagnostics and the creation of more accurate disease models. And because it can permanently modify a living organism’s DNA, CRISPR technology may one day allow physicians to treat genetic diseases—anything from congenital deafness to...