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Gut Neurons Help the Body Fight Inflammation

Neurons in the gut produce a molecule that plays a pivotal role in shaping the gut’s immune response during and after inflammation, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings suggest that targeting these neurons and the molecules they produce could open the door to new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and other disorders driven by gut inflammation.

Hundreds of millions of neurons make up the enteric nervous system, the “second brain” of the...

Two Weill Cornell Medicine Scientists Selected for 2025 Pew Awards

Weill Cornell Medicine faculty member Dr. Anna Nam and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Maria Cecilia Lira have been chosen to join the 2025 class of Pew scholars and fellows.

Dr. Nam, an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been selected as a 2025 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research. Now in its 12th year, the award, emanating from a partnership between The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust, supports early...

Uncovering How a Molecule Responsible for Immune “Brakes” Directs Skin Defenses

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have discovered that PD-1—a molecule best known for putting the brakes on immune cells—also plays a critical role in helping T cells become long-term immune defenders in the skin. Early during infection, PD-1 acts like a steering wheel, guiding T cells to become protective resident memory T cells (TRM) that stay in place. These cells remember invading germs or cancer and quickly mount a response if that enemy reappears.

The preclinical findings,...

How Vessels in the Lungs Switch Gears to Promote Healing

A protein called PAR1 helps lymphatic vessels structurally transform to boost fluid drainage and support healing when the lungs are injured according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine. Injury—whether by infection, toxins, or trauma—can cause fluid buildup in the lungs, making it hard to breathe. In response, the body’s lymphatic system, a network of vessels, tissues and organs, ramps up to clear inflammation. Excess fluid called lymph is removed from the body's tissues and returned...

Fat May Play an Important Role in Brain Metabolism

While glucose, or sugar, is a well-known fuel for the brain, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have demonstrated that electrical activity in synapses—the junctions between neurons where communication occurs—can lead to the use of lipid or fat droplets as an energy source.

The study, published July 1 in Nature Metabolism, challenges “the long-standing dogma that the brain doesn’t burn fat,” said principal investigator Dr. Timothy A. Ryan, professor of biochemistry and of biochemistry...

Immunofluorescent image of cells tagged with red, green and blue labels

Small Molecule Treatment Could Make Islet Transplantation Therapy More Effective

A pretreatment step could help transplanted pancreatic islets survive longer in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. One combination of small molecules extended the cells’ lives in female mice, and adding two molecules to the mixture boosted cell survival in male mice.

The findings, published on June 24 in Cell Stem Cell, could allow physicians to treat more patients with fewer cells.

In type 1 diabetes,...

Immunofluorescent image of mouse hippocampus stained for tau

Alzheimer’s Protective Mutation Works by Taming Inflammation in the Brain

A rare gene mutation that delays Alzheimer’s disease does so by damping inflammatory signaling in brain-resident immune cells, according to a preclinical study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The finding adds to growing evidence that brain inflammation is a major driver of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s—and that it may be a key therapeutic target for these disorders.

In the study, published June 23 in Immunity, the researchers examined the effects of...

purple and pink stained intestinal cells

Immune Tolerance to Gut Microbes Is Initiated by a Key Bacterial Sensor

Thousands of bacterial and other microbial species live in the human gut, supporting healthy digestion, immunity, metabolism and other functions. Precisely how these microbes are protected from immune attack has been unclear, but now a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has found that this immune “tolerance” to gut microbes depends on an ancient bacterial-sensing protein called STING—normally considered a trigger for inflammation. The surprising result could lead to new...

Mapping the Connections Between the Brain’s Structure and Function

Using an algorithm they call the Krakencoder, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine are a step closer to unraveling how the brain’s wiring supports the way we think and act. The study, published June 5 in Nature Methods, used imaging data from the Human Connectome Project to align neural activity with its underlying circuitry.

Mapping how the brain’s anatomical connections and activity patterns relate to behavior is crucial not only for understanding how the brain works generally but...

A man in a suit giving a presentation at a podium

Dr. Nikolaos Koundouros Wins 2025 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award

Dr. Nikolaos Koundouros, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a 2025 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award for Junior Investigators.

Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Rockefeller University present the awards to up to six exceptional investigators each year—at least one from each institution—who are recognized for their notable research achievements,...