A team of nationally recognized tick-experts at New York Medical College (NYMC) made strides in the fight against the tick-borne illness Babesiosis, discovering the drug Tafenoquine may be extremely effective against Babesiosis.  Prevalent in New York State and found throughout the United States, Babesiosis is the lesser known, extremely dangerous tick-borne illness that is a particular health threat to the very old, very young and those patients with compromised immune systems. Take a closer look.

New information about adjuvant therapy to prevent recurrence of breast cancer in women 50 years of age or younger, or premenopausal, emerged today from the landmark Trial Assigning IndividuaLized Options for Treatment (Rx), or TAILORx. An analysis of a pre-specified secondary endpoint in this largest-ever breast cancer treatment trial found that an assessment of a woman’s recurrence risk based on classic clinical features–tumor size and histologic grade, adds prognostic information that is complementary to the 21-gene Recurrence Score (RS) test. Take a closer look.

A genomic collision could explain why many kidney transplants fail, even when donors and recipients are thought to be well-matched, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. This genomic collision is a genetic incompatibility between kidney donor and recipient, causing the recipient to mount an immune attack against the donor protein.Take a closer look.

A new technique developed by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators that creates an unusually stable form of RNA may illuminate many cellular processes and enable new kinds of gene therapies. A study describing the technique was published April 8 in Nature Biotechnology. Take a closer look.

The kidneys of people living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are often under assault, and not all those living with the disease respond to standard treatment. A new report published online in the journal Nature Immunology online May 20 shows how tissue samples from these patients can accurately predict those who are more likely to respond to therapy. SLE is a disease marked by the attack on joints, skin, and kidneys by the body’s immune system. Take a closer look.

University at Buffalo researchers have identified the first human-specific fusion gene-a hybrid of two genes-implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The finding suggests that a neurotransmitter receptor, previously successful in animal studies but that failed in human trials for Alzheimer’s, might still turn out to be a valuable therapy. In a paper published in February in Translational Psychiatry, the UB researchers reported that this human fusion gene acts on a receptor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in memory and learning, and which is reduced in people with Alzheimer’s. Take a closer look.

Exercising the brain by learning and thinking is known to improve cognition. Now a new study by Stony Brook University researchers reveals that higher education is associated with later onset of Alzheimer’s-related accelerated cognitive declines. Their findings are published early online in the Journal of Gerontology. Take a closer look.

Recent studies have documented steep increases in maternal deaths, opioid overdoses, and postpartum depression in the United States, but according to a new report from Columbia University researchers, these trends are closely connected. Maternal mortality has more than doubled in the United States since 1990, to an estimated 18 per 100,000 births, and the United States has the highest rate among wealthier nations. Take a closer look.

Among the 500 largest U.S. cities, 56 have very large life expectancy gaps between census tracts, where on average people in one neighborhood can expect to live 20 to 30 years longer than their neighbors a few miles away. These large life expectancy gaps occur most frequently in cities that have higher levels of racial and ethnic segregation, according to an analysis by researchers in the Department of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine, using data from the City Health Dashboard. Take a closer look.

Cardiomyopathy is a heart condition involving abnormalities of the muscle fibers, which contract with each heartbeat. Nearly half of children with this type of heart disease either undergo a heart transplant or die within two years of being diagnosed. That somber statistic is part of an American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement published on May 28 in Circulation. Take a closer look.

Tyrannosauroid dinosaurs have a long evolutionary history and include iconic giants like Tyrannosaurus rex. Now an international team of researchers including Alan H. Turner, PhD, from Stony Brook University, have uncovered much of the skull and skeleton of a small tyrannosaur from Late Cretaceous rocks in New Mexico. This newly discovered species links the small tyrannosauroids from the Early Cretaceous of North America and China with much larger ones that survived until the end of the Cretaceous-the final days of the non-avian dinosaurs. Take a closer look.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai now provides an Electronic Lab Notebook service for all researchers through an enterprise license agreement with LabArchives. The service is a secure, cloud-based software designed to replace paper notebooks and to help improve designing and documenting experiments.”Mount Sinai is moving into the digital age of research record-keeping, and we really need folks to embrace it, to try it out,” says Reginald Miller, DVM, Dean, Research Operations and Infrastructure. “It’s a great way to collaborate with your colleagues, both internally and externally. It’s a resource that has unlimited user capability, and it’s free.” Take a closer look.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that SUNY Downstate Medical Center has received a seven-year, $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund a new study to expand our understanding of the physical, mental, and psychosocial impacts of HIV and prolonged exposure to anti-retroviral therapy on long-term survivors with HIV. Take a closer look.

Dr. Matthew Greenblatt, an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded the 2019 Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research to support his work studying tumor growth in bone. Established in 2013, the prize is awarded each year to New York-based scientists pursuing compelling cancer research and provides $200,000 in funding annually for up to three years. Take a closer look.

Thanks to a $1.1 million National Institutes of Health grant, researchers at Upstate Medical University now have access to an ultra-high performance mass spectrometer-one of the most advanced available today-enabling them to make further advances in the fields of structural and quantitative proteomics and metabolomics and drug discovery. Take a closer look.

Stephen Albanese, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Upstate Medical University, has been elected president of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) at the organization’s annual meeting in this month. POSNA is a professional society of more than 1,400 surgeons, physicians and allied health professionals dedicated to improving the care of children with musculoskeletal disorders. Take a closer look.

Andrew Kasarskis, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in biomedical data, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer (CDO) of the Mount Sinai Health System. In this new role, Dr. Kasarskis will facilitate the accessibility and sharing of clinical, financial, and administrative data, and open application development, all in support of better patient care, decision-making, and healthcare innovation.  Take a closer look.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine hosted its Seventh Annual Research Day on May 8 to showcase the work that students, residents, fellows and faculty performed in clinics, hospitals and community-based organizations that are relevant to the primary health care of individuals. Take a closer look.