Highlights |
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Actively Recruits Volunteers From Hardest Hit Communities for COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
Participating in the Mount Sinai Health System’s clinical trial for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been deeply personal for New York City educator Willie Benjamin Loadholt. He says it has provided him with the opportunity to be proactive, to contribute to a potential solution that could put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been “devastating to the African American community.” For months, Mr. Loadholt says, “Every time I would go on a friend’s Facebook page I would see, ‘We regret to announce the passing or the transition of this person or that person.’ Take a closer look.
|
Albert Einstein College of Medicine: NIH Awards $13.8 Million for Studies on the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Joe Verghese, M.B.B.S., M.S., an international leader in aging and cognition research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, has received two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $13.8 million to conduct studies on pre-dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The first grant totals $7.6 million over five years and will fund a study of a pre-dementia condition called motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) in 11,000 older adults living in six countries. The second five-year grant of $6.2 million will enable researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique intended to alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and improve brain function. Take a closer look.
|
COVID-19 |
NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Experimental COVID-19 Drug Shows Promise in Preliminary Cell Research
An early study in human cells found that an antiviral drug candidate, Pfizer Inc.’s PF-00835231, may be at least as potent as the drug remdesivir in blocking the reproduction of the virus that causes 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). PF-00835231 was shown in preliminary research conducted by NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Pfizer to block the action of the viral enzyme 3CLpro (Mpro). This protease cuts up precursors into working proteins necessary for the reproduction of pandemic virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Take a closer look.
|
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Study Finds That Children’s Immune Response Protects Against COVID-19
The first study comparing the immune responses of adults and children with COVID-19 has detected key differences that may contribute to understanding why children usually have milder disease than adults. The findings also have important implications for vaccines and drugs being developed to curb COVID-19. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine and was conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), and Yale University. Take a closer look.
|
University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Underrepresented Populations Suffer Most from COVID-19 in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Communities
Older residents from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and their caregivers bear the severest brunt from COVID-19 across the entire spectrum of US nursing homes and assisted living communities, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report in two groundbreaking studies in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. For example, nursing homes with disproportionately higher numbers of residents from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds reported two to four times as many new COVID-19 cases and deaths per facility than other nursing homes for the week of May 25, according to a study led by Yue Li, Ph.D., professor of Public Health Sciences. Take a closer look.
|
NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Experimental Drug Blocks COVID-19 Viral Entry Into Lung Cells
An experimental compound prevents the virus that causes 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from entering human airway cells, a new study finds. Posted online recently on the preprint server bioRxiv, the work revolves around the structure of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current pandemic. This virus has on its surface a spike protein that can attach to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a protein on the surface of cells lining human lungs. Take a closer look.
|
University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Can the Common Cold Help Protect you from COVID-19?
Seasonal colds are by all accounts no fun, but new research suggests the colds you’ve had in the past may provide some protection from COVID-19. The study, authored by infectious disease experts at the University of Rochester Medical Center, also suggests that immunity to COVID-19 is likely to last a long time – maybe even a lifetime. The study, published in mBio, is the first to show that the COVID-19-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2, induces memory B cells, long-lived immune cells that detect pathogens, create antibodies to destroy them and remember them for the future. Take a closer look.
|
New York Medical College: Sixth COVID-19 Symposium Continues to Address “What Have We Learned? How can we use What we Have Learned?”
On September 24, nearly eight months after New York Medical College (NYMC) and the Touro College and University System (TCUS) hosted its first COVID-19 symposium, the College hosted its sixth in the series during which faculty experts shared the latest updates on COVID-19. In his introductory remarks, Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer, spoke of the shared sense of frustration, felt throughout our entire nation, around the lack of understanding about when the COVID-19 crisis will finally be under control. “We at New York Medical College and the Touro College and University System are going to keep providing you with the most current information on the pandemic, so that you can negotiate the situation as it evolves,” he said. Take a closer look.
|
Cancer |
Weill Cornell Medicine: New Algorithm Reveals Patterns in how Tumors Extensively Rewrite Their DNA
Cancer cells rearrange, copy, and delete their DNA in complex but distinct patterns, according to new research from a multi-institution team led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center. The investigators developed sophisticated new algorithms to analyze nearly 3,000 genome sequences from human tumors. The results, published October 1 in the journal Cell, reveal three new classes of complex DNA rearrangements, each characteristic of different types of tumors. Take a closer look.
|
Weill Cornell Medicine: Scientists Engineer Customized Blood Vessels to Support Organ Regeneration and Identification of Cancer Treatments
A team led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists has pioneered a method for manufacturing functioning human blood vessels and demonstrated that they can carry blood in lab-grown model organs and tumors. The discovery will enable disease modeling, and may facilitate the future production of human transplantable organs and identification of new precision drugs to treat cancer. The scientists, whose study was published Sept. 9 in Nature, found that a key protein could rejuvenate adult human endothelial cells – the building blocks of blood vessels – returning them to a malleable state in which they readily grow and conform to surrounding tissues. Take a closer look.
|
More Studies |
New York Medical College: Big Breakthrough in Lyme Disease Diagnostics
It’s been forty-five years since the first Lyme disease case was identified in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Yet over the course of the past four and a half decades, there’s been little improvement in Lyme diagnostics. Now the arena of Lyme disease diagnostics is on the verge of changing-thanks in part to Paul M. Arnaboldi, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at New York Medical College. Dr.Arnaboldi is creating a single-step test which should improve the ability to accurately and effectively diagnose Lyme disease-even in the early stages of the disease. Take a closer look.
|
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University Study Reveals Dietary Fructose Heightens Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Diet remains an important part of disease prevention and management, and a new study suggests that consumption of fructose may worsen intestinal inflammation common to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Led by David Montrose, PhD, of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, the study is currently published early online in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Take a closer look.
|
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Comparisons of Glaucoma Surgeries Show Certain Techniques are Safer, More Effective
Two recent studies by a University at Buffalo researcher could help increase safety and minimize expense for patients undergoing glaucoma surgery. The studies were conducted over several years by Asher Weiner, MD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. Weiner is affiliated with UBMD Ophthalmology at the Ross Eye Institute. Take a closer look.
|
More News |
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: With new Technique, Biologists Capture Molecules in Motion
Today’s images of biological molecules, including the COVID-19 virus, are so sharp that individual atoms are just about visible. To construct these kinds of three-dimensional images, snapshots of tens and often hundreds of thousands of molecules trapped in a thin layer of ice are collected with an electron microscope and then combined into a single, sharper, three-dimensional image by a computer. Take a closer look.
|
CUNY School of Medicine: Dr. Albritton Speaking at the Virtual AIDS Research Conference
Dr. Albritton speaks about “Partners In Life: A Couples’ Relationship Strengthening and HIV Prevention Intervention” at the virtual AIDS research conference. Take a closer look.
|
Grants |
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Five Columbia Scientists Receive NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Grants
The NIH has awarded High-Risk, High-Reward grants to five researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons who are pursuing highly innovative research with the potential for broad impact. The NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research program catalyzes scientific discovery by supporting research proposals that, due to their inherent risk, may struggle in the traditional peer-review process despite their transformative potential. Take a closer look.
|
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Selected to Serve as Capacity Building Center and Center of Excellence as Part of the National Cancer Institute’s New Serological Sciences Networ
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will receive more than $7.3 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of the NCI’s new Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet), one of the largest coordinated national efforts to study immunology and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Mount Sinai was selected as one of only four Capacity Building Centers and one of eight Centers of Excellence as part of this new network. Take a closer look.
|
SUNY Upstate Medical University: NIH Awards Upstate Professor’s Lupus Clinical Trial $7.2 Million Grant
An Upstate Medical University professor is the principal investigator on a lupus drug clinical trial that has been awarded a $7.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Upstate Division Chief of Rheumatology Andras Perl, MD, PhD, is leading the study, which is based at Upstate and involves 20 lupus centers from academic institutions around the United States including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of Rochester. This is the first NIH-supported multi-center clinical trial led by an Upstate professor. Take a closer look.
|
Albany Medical College: $2.5M NIH Grant Helps Albany Medical College Researchers Study Persistent Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease
Researchers at Albany Medical College have received a $2.5 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study the regulation of inflammation in atherosclerosis. Also known as clogged or hardening of the arteries, in atherosclerosis, plaque builds up in arteries, inhibiting blood flow over time. Heart attacks, strokes and tissue death can result when these dangerous plaques rupture. It is not currently known why some plaques rupture, but a prevailing theory is persistent or uncontrolled inflammation. Take a closer look.
|
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: School of Social Welfare Professor Receives NIH Grant to Help Urban Youth
Ijeoma Opara, PhD, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, is a recipient of a 2020 Early Independence Award (EIA) from the National Institutes of Health for a project addressing substance use and mental health among urban youth ages 13 to 21. The award includes a five-year $1.84 million grant. Managed by the NIH Common Fund, EIA funds early-stage investigators and provides an opportunity for exceptional junior scientists who recently received their doctoral degree to move immediately into independent research positions. Take a closer look.
|
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Mammogram Device Under Development to use Light, Ultrasound to Better Screen Patients for Breast Cancer
The University at Buffalo has received a four-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new, portable breast-imaging system that has the potential to better identify breast cancer. Called a dual scan mammoscope, the device combines light and ultrasound technology to better screen patients with dense breast tissue – a population that includes nearly half of women. Take a closer look.
|
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine Student Honored for Hypertension Research
NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) student Nicole Maddie has received the prestigious 2020 Hypertension New Investigator Award, sponsored by the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Hypertension. The award, which is typically granted to advanced researchers in the hypertension field, such as Ph.D. and post-doctoral, was announced at the AHA’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2020, a four-day scientific program for clinical and basic science researchers. Maddie was one of 10 qualified new investigators selected to receive this award and present abstracts during this conference. Take a closer look.
|
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: SUNY Downstate Investigators to Collaborate on two Cancer Genomics Research Projects
I am extremely pleased to share that Downstate faculty from the Departments of Medicine and Surgery have been selected by the New York Genome Center (NYGC) to collaborate on two projects – the first addresses pancreatic cancer, with investigators from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Northwell Health serving as Co-PIs; the second targets colorectal cancer, again working with a team from Cold Spring Harbor. Take a closer look.
|
SUNY Upstate Medical University: Upstate Foundation Awards $50,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research
The Upstate Foundation has awarded grants to two Upstate Medical University researchers to support their work on pediatric cancer. Following a competitive grant application and evaluation process overseen by Upstate’s Pediatric Research Advisory Committee, chaired by Leonard Weiner, MD, vice chair of academic affairs, the Foundation is providing funding of $25,000 each for projects proposed by Jeffrey Amack, PhD, associate professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Jason Horton, PhD,assistant professor of Orthopedic Surgery. Take a closer look.
|
![]() |