News From AMSNY

Rochester Beacon: A Direct Attack on Research Funding

In an article published by Rochester Beacon’s Smriti Jacob and Justin O’Connor, AMSNY President and CEO, Jonathan Teyan, discussed the devastating impact that proposed NIH funding cuts could have on New York State’s research economy, noting that a 15% cap would mean at least $630 million in lost NIH funding annually statewide. The limit could lead to lab closures, job losses and stalled career growth for early-career scientists. Learn more.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine: The Key to Seeking Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

The vast majority of people who have a substance use disorder (SUD) never seek treatment. At most, 10% of adults with a drug or alcohol use disorder have entered any type of inpatient or outpatient treatment program, as reported by the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Learn more.

New York Medical College: Cutaneous Lupus Clinical Trials May Overlook Darker-Skinned Patients

New research published in JAMA Dermatology by Lillian Xie, a fourth-year medical student at New York Medical College, highlights a critical gap in how cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is assessed in clinical trials. The study found that differences in how skin inflammation, also known as erythema, appears across racial groups may unintentionally prevent some patients—especially those with darker skin tones—from qualifying for trials. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Promising New Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Following diagnosis, the five-year survival rate for patients with the aggressive blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is less than 20%. A phase 1b trial led by Ioannis Mantzaris, M.D., M.S., Eric Feldman, M.D., and colleagues evaluated whether results with the widely used, standard of care AML chemotherapy regimen “7 + 3” (7 days of continuous infusion of cytarabine plus 3 days of daunorubicin) could be improved by adding the drug venetoclax. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Does E-Cigarette Use Increase the Risk of Cancer?

E-cigarette use, including vaping, is often seen as a safer and trendier alternative to traditional tobacco products. However, a new study from researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center published in Scientific Reports suggests an elevation of carcinogenic cellular signaling pathways in exclusive e-cigarette users when compared to non-users. Learn more.

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: New Study Identifies Aggressive Leukemia in Caribbean Populations

Congratulations to Hagar Attia, M.D., PGY3 and Pathology Chief Resident, who earned national recognition at CAP24 in Las Vegas, securing third place in the prestigious Top 5 Junior Member Abstract Program at the College of American Pathologists (CAP) annual meeting. Her groundbreaking research, titled “Distinct Disease Trajectories: Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma in African Caribbean and Japanese Adults,” sheds new light on Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL)—a highly aggressive cancer affecting individuals from the Caribbean and Japan. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Researchers Discover Why Some Colon Cancers Resist Treatment

Researchers at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai have uncovered a major reason why some colorectal cancers (CRC) resist treatment. Their groundbreaking study, published this week in Nature Genetics, reveals that cancer cells can revert to a fetal-like state, helping them survive and grow despite treatment. This phenomenon, termed “oncofetal reprogramming,” enables some tumor cells to diversify their molecular characteristics and behavior, allowing them to evade chemotherapy. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Sleep Patterns May Reveal Comatose Patients With Hidden Consciousness

Several studies in the past decade have revealed that up to a quarter of unresponsive patients with recent brain injuries may possess a degree of consciousness that’s normally hidden from their families and physicians. New research from Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian may soon help physicians identify unresponsive brain-injury patients with hidden consciousness who are likely to achieve long-term recovery by looking for brain waves that are indicative of normal sleep patterns. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Fish, Mercury, and the Developing Brain

There is a growing understanding of the role of chronic low-level exposure to environmental toxicants in human diseases. Mercury, a known neurotoxicant at a high level of exposure, is among the top chemicals identified by the World Health Organization as a “major public health concern.” The presence of mercury in fish has led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recommend that mothers limit fish consumption during pregnancy. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Can Signals in the Brain Determine an Attraction to Sweet Foods?

Researchers at Stony Brook University used genetic manipulation in a laboratory brain model to demonstrate that neurosteroids, signals involved in mood regulation and stress, can reduce the sensitivity and preference for sweet tastes when elevated within the gustatory cortex – a region in the brain most involved with taste. Their findings are published in Current Biology. Learn more.

New York Medical College: Study Finds Alarming Stroke Odds for Pregnant Women With Migraines

Pregnant women with migraines are at a significantly heightened risk for stroke according to a new study conducted by New York Medical College (NYMC) faculty and medical students and published in the Journal of Women’s Health. While the results were broadly consistent with existing literature, which shows that pregnant women with migraines tend to have higher rates of vascular risk factors and a greater risk of stroke and obstetric complications, what stood out for the NYMC researchers were the high-odds ratios. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: New Research Reveals That Meditation Induces Changes in Deep Brain Areas Associated with Memory and Emotional Regulation

Researchers using intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings from deep within the brain found that meditation led to changes in activity in the amygdala and hippocampus, key brain regions involved in emotional regulation and memory.  The study, conducted by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published Tuesday, February 4, in PNAS, may help explain the positive impact these practices have and could contribute to the development of meditation-based approaches for improving memory and emotional regulation. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Drug Designed to Treat Neuropathy Advances in Clinical Trials

A non-opioid investigational drug with promising pre-clinical results in treating neuropathic pain has passed an important hurdle after the study’s safety review committee (SRC) reviewed the data from initial volunteers and recommended to progress into the next dose level in a first-in-human clinical trial. The drug, ART26.12, is being developed by Artelo Biosciences, Inc, based in Solana Beach, Calif. The compound was discovered and initially developed by Stony Brook University’s Iwao Ojima, PhD, and Martin Kaczocha, PhD. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Mapping a Cell-Cleaning Process Across Organs During Aging

Early in her career, Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D., discovered chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA)—a crucial cellular “self-cleaning” process that targets, digests, and recycles old proteins. Dr. Cuervo’s research has shown that CMA dysfunction is a key driver of aging and that declines in CMA—and the resulting buildup in waste material—is associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other age-related diseases. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Many Americans Lack Access to a Gastroenterologist

Almost 50 million Americans—disproportionately in rural areas—must drive 25 miles or more to access a gastroenterologist for diagnosis and treatment of issues involving the digestive system, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The findings, published Feb. 6 in Gastroenterology, have important implications for public health, considering gastroenterologists play a critical role in both preventive and therapeutic care. Learn more.

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: Advancing Pediatric Obesity Research Through Genetics and Innovation

Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern with serious long-term consequences, including an increased risk of early cardiovascular disease. At Downstate, researchers are working to better understand how rare genetic factors contribute to obesity and vascular health in children. Their groundbreaking work aims to refine diagnostic methods and expand treatment possibilities, offering new hope for children affected by severe obesity. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Working Toward a Virtual Cell

Here is the ultimate vision of systems biology: an entire living cell modeled on a computer. Type in a genetic mutation or the chemical formula for an experimental drug, and the virtual cell immediately shifts its biology in response, giving researchers valuable insight into what might occur in the human body and replacing slow, tedious lab experiments. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Ophthalmic Complications in Patients on Antidiabetic GLP-1 Medications Are Concerning Neuro-Ophthalmologists

A small percentage of patients taking the extraordinarily popular GLP-1 medications have experienced vision problems, but a direct causal link with the drugs has not been established. That is the conclusion of a retrospective study published online on Jan. 30 in JAMA Ophthalmology. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: New Therapy May Effectively Control HIV in Uganda

A multi-national, multi-institutional study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators found little natural resistance to a new HIV therapy called lenacapavir in a population of patients in Uganda. The study, published Jan. 30 in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, adds to growing evidence that lenacapavir may be a powerful new tool in the global anti-HIV drug arsenal. Approximately, 1.5 million people are living with HIV in Uganda. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo Researcher Honored With 2025 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award

A novel approach developed by a UB physician-scientist and colleagues to cure hepatitis C virus in people with opioid use disorder using facilitated telemedicine is being honored with a 2025 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award from the Clinical Research Forum. Learn more.

More News

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell: Medical Students and Leading Scientists Gather at Zucker School of Medicine’s Second Annual Neuroscience Research Symposium

For many aspiring physicians and researchers, finding opportunities to present and discuss their work with leading experts is rare. However, on Friday, January 31, 2025, students from 15 different medical schools across the northeastern region gathered at the Einhorn Auditorium at Lenox Hill Hospital for the second annual Northeast Neuroscience Research Symposium. Learn more.