University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry to Lead $27 Million Heart Failure Medication Study

University of Rochester Medical Center scientists received $27 million to lead a large national study expected to change heart failure care for millions. This is the second $27 million award for the cardiac research team in just four months, for a total of $54 million, underscoring the Medical Center’s impact on heart care. Learn more.

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine: Finding a Cure for Intellectual Disability

Research by a faculty member at the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), could improve understanding of brain cell function and help to deliver a cure for intellectual disability. Approximately seven million people in the United States have intellectual disability, a brain condition that limits the ability to learn everyday tasks and life skills. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Researchers Identify Most Common Long COVID Symptoms in Children and Teens

Researchers from the NIH’s RECOVER Initiative have determined what long COVID looks like in youths, based on the most common symptoms reported in a study of over 5,300 school-age children and adolescents. Using the findings, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers also created indices that contain prolonged symptoms—eight for school-age children and 10 for adolescents—that together most likely indicate long COVID. Learn more.

Albany Medical College Study Identifies Profile of Long Covid

A study led by Albany Medical Center researchers has shown that the blood DNA methylation levels of long Covid patients differ from those of healthy patients, and that long Covid patients share the same blood biomarkers even when they have different symptoms. “This suggests that long Covid is a single disease and not an aggregation of multiple conditions,” said pulmonologist Ariel Jaitovich, MD, the study’s corresponding author and an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Albany Medical College. Learn more.

New York Medical College: COVID-19 Symptoms During the Omicron Surge Differ Between Boosted and Vaccinated Non-Boosted Individuals

Those vaccinated against COVID-19 who had also received the booster vaccine had a significantly lower frequency of body and muscle aches but a significantly higher frequency of nasal congestion and sore throat than those vaccinated who had not received the booster vaccine, according to a new study by New York Medical College faculty that was published in Vaccines. The study also found that as more time passed since receiving the booster vaccine, the rates of fever and cough significantly increased. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Researchers Discover Novel Nanoparticles in Blood With Potential to Transform Cancer Diagnosis

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new class of RNAs packed into tiny particles known as extracellular vesicles (EVs) that could revolutionize how cancer and other diseases are diagnosed. The team found that these molecules undergo changes when cancer is present, suggesting their potential as biomarkers for detecting prostate cancer or as targets for therapy. Learn more.

Cardiology

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Blood Platelet Score Detects Previously Unmeasured Risk of Heart Attack & Stroke

Platelets are circulating cell fragments known to clump up and form blood clots that stop bleeding in injured vessels. Cardiologists have long known that platelets can become “hyperreactive,” causing abnormal clotting that blocks arteries and contributes to heart attack, stroke, and poor blood flow (peripheral artery disease) in the legs of millions of Americans. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Study Shows How Common Genetic Variants in Black Americans Increase Alzheimer’s Risk

Columbia University researchers have discovered how variants of the ABCA7 gene, which are common among Black Americans, increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The variants accelerate neurodegeneration by reducing the amount of neuropeptide Y, a protein essential for maintaining brain synapses and the resilience of brain neurons. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: How Exercise Influences Addiction Recovery is Focus of UB Research

A University at Buffalo neuroscientist whose focus is the brain’s reward system and its role in addiction is helping to illuminate how exercise can aid the brain in addiction recovery. Over the past year, this research has revealed that because exercise acts on the same areas of the brain that addiction does, it has the potential to become an important treatment tool for people with substance use disorder. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Large Study Confirms Significant Frequency of Undetected Responsiveness in Severe Brain Injury

With surprising frequency, patients with severe brain injury can show clear signs of cognitive function on brain scans in response to requests to carry out complex mental work, even when they can’t move or speak, according to an international study co-led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The study, published Aug. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, was the largest-ever investigation of the prevalence of this condition, which is called cognitive-motor dissociation. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Cleaning up the Aging Brain 

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological disorders can be seen as “dirty brain” diseases, where the brain struggles to clear out harmful waste. Aging is a key risk factor because, as we grow older, our brain’s ability to remove toxic buildup slows down. However, new research in mice demonstrates that it’s possible to reverse age-related effects and restore the brain’s waste-clearing process. Learn more.

New York Medical College Study Addresses Hidradenitis Suppurativa’s Impact on Marginalized Populations

Hidradenitis Suppurativa, a persistent and sometimes debilitating inflammatory skin condition, presents a significant health challenge due to its high prevalence of comorbidities and disproportionate impact on marginalized populations, according to a study conducted by New York Medical College students, faculty, and residents. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy App Improves Anxiety in Young Adults

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian found that a self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app, called Maya, significantly reduced anxiety in young adults struggling with mental health challenges. The decrease in anxiety symptoms was clinically and statistically significant at six weeks and continued at the 12-week follow-up period with improvement levels similar to anxiety medication studies. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Potential New Approach to Enhancing Stem-Cell Transplants

A discovery by a three-member Albert Einstein College of Medicine research team may boost the effectiveness of stem-cell transplants, commonly used for patients with cancer, blood disorders, or autoimmune diseases caused by defective stem cells, which produce all the body’s different blood cells. The findings, made in mice, are published today in the journal Science. Learn more.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Children Born Prematurely Fall Into Three Groups

About 13 million babies each year are born prematurely, with preterm birth linked to increases in risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), problems with social development, and lower grades. A problem with past analyses of prematurity, however, is that they do not capture the variety seen in children born preterm, including some with outcomes better than the average results for full-term children. Preterm means birth before 37 weeks of gestation, with full term starting at 40 weeks. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: A Genetic Analysis of Bacteria Strains Causing Lyme Disease Could Transform Treatment

After years of research an international team of scientists has unraveled the genetic makeup of 47 strains of known and potential Lyme disease-causing bacteria. The work paves the way toward more accurate diagnostic tests and targeted treatment against the many strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme disease, which remains the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States and Europe. The team’s findings are published in the journal mBio. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Halting the Dangerous Neurological Effects of the Powassan Virus

While Lyme disease is the most recognized and prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States, other infections transmitted through tick bites can be equally or even more dangerous. One of these is the Powassan virus (POWV). Erich Mackow, PhD, an internationally recognized virologist at Stony Brook University, is conducting research in an attempt to uncover one the most dangerous effects of POWV – neurologic damage. Learn more.

Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University: $6.4 Million NIH Grant Fuels AI-Driven Alzheimer’s Research to Uncover Genetic Links to Cognitive Decline

Collaborating with researchers at Texas’ UT Health Houston, Christopher Gaiteri, PhD, will help develop a deep-learning AI system to link brain imaging with cell-specific genetic factors to better understand the genetic architecture of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline. This five-year, $6.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging will bring together neuroimaging and genetic data that could help researchers learn how and why the disease develops. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Mount Sinai Health System Researcher Receives $4 Million Grant From NIH to Study the Role of the Mammary Gland Secretome in Metabolic Health

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Catalyst Award program has awarded a $4 million, five-year grant to Prashant Rajbhandari, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Mount Sinai Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute, to investigate a new frontier in understanding metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo Awarded $3.6 Million NIH Grant to Address Health Inequities in Western New York

The University at Buffalo has been awarded a highly competitive, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to train early-career faculty members to address health inequities in Western New York. Both UB’s strong community partnerships and the university’s range and breadth of expertise were instrumental in getting the award, university leaders said. Learn more.

Albany Medical College Awarded $2.4 Million to Study Chronic Hepatitis B

Scientists at Albany Medical College have received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the role of dendritic cells in immunity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV infections, which affect nearly 300 million people worldwide and an estimated one to two million people in the U.S., increase the risk of developing serious diseases including cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver and liver cancer. Learn more.

Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University Researcher Receives $2.2 Million Grant Renewal to Continue Innovative Protein Research

Building upon her previous success, an Upstate researcher is turning an early-career award into an established investigator grant, continuing her research on some of the most abundant proteins in the human body. Jessica Henty-Ridilla, PhD, is an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and her lab is focused on investigating the convergence of actin, microtubules, & biomolecular condensates in native and disease states. Learn more.

More News

Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Neuroscience Department at 50: Building on a Tradition of Excellence

When Einstein’s department of neuroscience was created in 1974, it was one of the first such departments in the country. The term “neuroscience,” in fact, had only recently been coined. The department almost immediately became a mecca for promising young scientists, many attracted by the opportunity to be mentored by distinguished faculty members. Learn more.

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell: Future Leaders in Healthcare

On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell held a reception at the Hofstra University Club in Hempstead, celebrating five medical students and their Northwell mentors for the successful completion of their Klar Leadership Development and Innovation Management (LDIM) summer projects. Learn more.