News | Page 3 | Graduate School of Medical Sciences

NIH Awards MERIT Grant for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research

Dr. Gregory F. Sonnenberg, The Henry R. Erle, M.D.-Roberts Family Associate Professor of Medicine and head of basic research in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a $3.26 million, five-year MERIT grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to investigate the underlying mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The new...

National Cancer Institute Grant Targets Cancer Disparities

Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University have been awarded a $9.8 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, to help combat cancer disparities fueled by persistent poverty.

The competitive award will engage faculty members from Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University School of Nursing and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences...

Weill Cornell Medicine’s Class of 2023 gathered in Carnegie Hall for their commencement ceremony May 18.

Celebrating Weill Cornell’s Newest Graduates at Commencement

Video of Congratulations to the Class of 2023 | Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Christopher Bourne’s journey to Weill Cornell Medicine’s 2023 Commencement was defined by two of his passions: science and social activism – both informed profoundly by the events of 2020.

Dr. Bourne graduated May 18 with a doctorate in immunology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. But three years ago, when the COVID pandemic struck, his doctoral research, focusing on harnessing...

Drs. Barb Hempstead, Cheryl Dreyfus, and Francis Lee

Dr. Cheryl Dreyfus Wins Weill Cornell Graduate School Alumni Award

Dr. Cheryl Dreyfus, a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been awarded the 2023 Weill Cornell Graduate School Alumni Award of Distinction.

The Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences has been recognizing alumni with this award since 1997 in honor of their outstanding contributions to biomedical research in education, focusing on science and scholarship, leadership, mentoring...

Graduating students wearing regalia pose for a group photo.

Graduate Students Honored at Convocation

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences honored students in the Class of 2023 for their academic achievements during its convocation ceremony on May 17.

The ceremony recognized students who are graduating with their master’s degrees, as well as those who earned special awards and prizes for their accomplishments in research, scholarship and service.

In addition to celebrating students, the ceremony also honored graduate school faculty as well as Dr. Cheryl Dreyfus (Ph.D...

a group of Physican assistant graduates posing for a photo

New Class of Physician Assistant Students Receive Their White Coats

Maggie Rubin always knew she wanted a career where she was working directly with people. She just wasn’t exactly sure how she would do that, oscillating between health care and education. Then she discovered the physician assistant profession while completing her undergraduate degree in human biology and society at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“I instantly knew it was the career for me,” she said. “I loved that it would let me to lean into my curiosity about the human...

A group of people together posing for a photo

Weill Cornell Medicine Community Celebrates Diversity Champions

In a celebration of Weill Cornell Medicine’s commitment to fostering inclusivity in academic medicine, the institution on April 25 honored nearly a dozen faculty, students and staff who exemplify excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Members of the Weill Cornell Medicine community gathered in Griffis Faculty Club for the institution’s Celebration of Diversity, part of the fifth annual Diversity Week. This year’s event, the first hosted in person...

a man in a white coat posing for a picture in a lab

Dr. Matthew Greenblatt Wins Pershing Square Foundation’s Inaugural MIND Prize

Dr. Matthew Greenblatt, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded the Pershing Square Foundation’s Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) Prize to support his work studying how bone cells may influence Alzheimer’s disease progression.

The Pershing Square Foundation was founded in 2006 to support leaders and organizations, including those in health and medicine, in tackling...

Interfering with Antiviral Pathway May Deter Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia

Targeting part of an antiviral pathway triggered by the accumulation of a key pathogen shared in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia may one day offer a new therapeutic approach to deterring or delaying cognitive decline, according to preclinical research led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

The study, published April 24 in Nature Neuroscience, demonstrates that inhibiting an innate immune system enzyme called cyclic GMP–AMP synthase (cGAS) helps neurons become...

Tri-I M.D.-Ph.D. students and program director in a lab.

The Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program Celebrates 50 Years of Excellence

Dr. Joel Blankson first learned about M.D.-Ph.D. programs as he was finishing college. Now a leading expert on HIV pathogenesis and a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, he found the opportunity to create his own educational odyssey, culminating in both degrees—one in medicine, one in a laboratory science—irresistible.

“I applied to the Cornell/Rockefeller program because of the focus on applicants’ potential more than their experience,” said Dr. Blankson, who received his...