A novel study that surveyed more than 1,000 author citations in the top three peer-reviewed international medical journals showed a significant disparity regarding women and men faculty and authorship. Led by A. Laurie Shroyer, PhD, and faculty colleagues at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, the study calculated authored papers that spanned 18 years (2002-19) in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and The Lancet. Learn more.

 

A University at Buffalo study has found that over the past two decades, more Black men have been dying from obstructive sleep apnea than have white people or Black females. Their death from sleep apnea has continued to rise, in contrast to rates that have flattened for white people and Black females. Learn more.

 

In the latest collaboration between Albany Medical College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, scientists from both institutions are working to develop a potential nasal spray that could be used to combat Covid-19 and other respiratory infections. Led by Jonathan Dordick, PhD, institute professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer, the researchers are attempting to incorporate pentosan polysulfate (PPS), a medication currently approved to treat bladder pain, into a nasal spray format. Learn more.

 

Over the past 15 years, public health authorities have downgraded recommendations for the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test as a screening tool to reduce the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of men with low-grade prostate cancer. Now, researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have found that while these efforts have been effective, the incidence of higher-grade disease and metastasis at diagnosis have risen. The research was published March 22 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Learn more.

 

CAR-T therapy, a form of immunotherapy that revs up T-cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, has revolutionized the treatment of blood cancers, including certain leukemias, lymphomas, and most recently, multiple myeloma. However, Black and Hispanic people were largely absent from the major clinical trials that led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of CAR-T cell therapies. Learn more.

 

In the presence of pancreatic tumors, certain immune cells break down structural proteins into molecules that trigger the building of dense tissue, a known barrier to therapy, a new study finds. Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study revolves around the dense protein meshwork that supports organs and helps to rebuild damaged tissue. Learn more.

 

A protein called CDC7, long thought to play an essential role early in the cell division process, is in fact replaceable by another protein called CDK1, according to a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The finding represents a fundamental advance in cell biology and may lead to new cancer therapies, since cancers frequently alter the molecular machinery of cell division to sustain their rapid growth. Learn more.

 

Two scientists at Upstate Medical University are combining efforts on hydrocephalus research. Neurosurgeon Satish Krishnamurthy, MD, and nationally renowned researcher Frank Middleton, PhD, want to determine why some people develop hydrocephalus following an intraventricular hemorrhage, or brain bleed, while others do not. Helping to fund their work is REaCH Organization, a support group that has been raising money for Krishnamurthy’s Hydrocephalus Research Fund at the Upstate Foundation for many years. Learn more.

 

This spring, a group of Western New Yorkers with multiple sclerosis will begin helping University at Buffalo researchers break new ground in the study of this unpredictable, neurodegenerative disease that affects nearly 3 million people around the globe. Like many northern cities around the world, Buffalo has a higher incidence of MS than more southern locations. Learn more.

 

Cannabis touches everything from public policy to molecular biology to psychiatry, and there are risks and benefits to its use. However, whether you are currently for or against legalized cannabis use, you’re surely short on information. Learn more.

 

New biomedical research from the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) spills the beans—coffee beans, that is—on why people may want to watch their caffeine intake as they age. While caffeine is suspected to trigger or exacerbate cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm) in patients, so far, clinical data have been conflicting. Learn more.

 

Researchers have discovered how Gram-negative bacteria—which cause drug-resistant pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections in hospitalized patients—finish building a crucial component of their outer membrane that shields these pathogens from attacks by the immune system and antibiotics. The new findings could accelerate the development of novel drugs to counteract these potentially deadly bacteria, the source of countless infections in health care settings worldwide. Learn more.

 

Video radiology reports—created for individual patients using easy-to-understand language and clearly annotated images—can be valuable tools to help patients better understand test results, according to a new study published online April 20 in the American Journal of Roentgenology. Learn more.

 

A recent study that shows manipulating and deleting a specific gene (AMN1) from yeast could provide a foundation for a new approach to combatting drug resistance when treating microbial infections or cancer. Led by Gábor Balázsi, PhD, of Stony Brook University, and published in Communications Biology, the study centers on disassembling cell clusters that can form an added barrier of drug resistance in the disease process. Learn more.

 

New research documents for the first time the pollution of public water supplies caused by shale gas development, commonly known as fracking, and its negative impact of infant health. These findings call for closer environmental regulation of the industry, as levels of chemicals found in drinking water often fall below regulatory thresholds. Learn more.

 

Researchers at New York Medical College (NYMC), led by Salomon Amar, D.D.S., Ph.D., vice president for research and professor of pharmacology and of pathology, microbiology and immunology, have found that serious gum disease can be counteracted through the administration of probiotics. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, was conducted by a team of faculty from NYMC, the University of Strasbourg in France and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM). Learn more.

 

New anatomy research from the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) may explain why some individuals are more sensitive to tactile sensations than others. As one of the five senses, touch allows the human brain to collect sensory data about the external environment, with specialized nerve receptors detecting different sensations. For example, while some nerve receptors in the fingers detect pressure, others sense temperature or pain. Learn more.

 

A new report from Upstate reveals an “epidemic hidden in plain sight” of death and injury in the workplace in New York State. According to the report, Occupational Disease in New York State: An Update, an estimated 7,016 deaths annually in New York are due to occupational disease. Additionally, 13 percent of diseases prevalent in the adult working population are attributable to occupational disease, with millions of workers in New York State exposed to hazardous conditions on the job. Learn more.

 

Chad Heatwole, M.D., M.S., has been appointed the new director of the Center for Health + Technology (CHeT) at the University of Rochester. Selected through a national search process, Heatwole took over on a permanent basis on April 25 from Ray Dorsey, M.D., who led the Center since 2013. Learn more.

 

Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Ward Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and Director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, and Helen S. Mayberg, MD, founding Director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics at Mount Sinai, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Election to the NAS is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can achieve, recognizing individuals for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Learn more.

 

To help address the rising tide of Alzheimer’s disease nationwide, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with faculty at Pennsylvania State University and other institutions, have received a five-year, $32 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the ongoing Einstein Aging Study (EAS), which focuses on both normal aging and the special challenges of Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias. EAS was established at Einstein in 1980 and has been continuously funded by the NIH. Learn more.

 

Ercument Dirice, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology, has been awarded a $750,000 grant from JDRF, for his study “GPR75, a novel actor in beta cell regeneration,” which will explore potential new therapeutic approaches for type 1 diabetes. “Lack of insulin producing beta-cells is a common characteristic for both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Compensating for beta-cell loss by stimulating their proliferation has been a hot topic in the diabetes field for decades. Several studies have been reported induction of the beta-cell proliferation but none of them are used clinically yet,” said Dr. Dirice. Learn more.

 

In recognition of comprehensive efforts to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in its workforce and leadership, the Mount Sinai Health System was ranked No. 5 in the nation on DiversityInc’s Top Hospitals and Health Systems list for 2022. Learn more.