Jan
31
2019
Highlights |
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Four Studies by Mount Sinai Investigators Featured in Special Issue of Science Focused on Big Data
The work of several Mount Sinai researchers who analyze brain genomics data as part of the PsychENCODE Consortium, a collective established in 2015 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is highlighted in four scientific papers published online December 13 in the journal Science as part of a special issue focused on big data. Take a closer look.
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Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Neurons With Good Housekeeping are Protected from Alzheimer’s
Some neurons in the brain protect themselves from Alzheimer’s with a cellular cleaning system that sweeps away toxic proteins associated with the disease, according to a new study from Columbia University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Cambridge. The study, led by neuroscientist Karen Duff, PhD, of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; Hongjun (Harry) Fu, PhD, of The Ohio State University; and Michele Vendruscolo, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, was published online in Nature Neuroscience. Take a closer look.
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Stem Cell |
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: What Prevents Remyelination in the Brain?
New research on remyelination, the spontaneous regeneration of the brain’s fatty insulator that keeps neurons communicating, could lead to a novel approach to developing treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory diseases. The pre-clinical findings published today in Cell Reports by a University at Buffalo team reveal that activation of a specific transcription factor induces in adult stem cells a phenomenon called pathological quiescence. Take a closer look.
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NYU School of Medicine: Experimental Stem Cell Therapy Speeds up Wound Healing in Diabetes
The healing of wounded skin in diabetes can be sped up by more than 50 percent using injections of stem cells taken from bone marrow, a new study in mice shows. The research, led by scientists at NYU School of Medicine, focused on a chain of events in diabetes that makes skin sores more likely to form and less likely to heal. Take a closer look.
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Cancer |
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Study Shows New Way to Group Protein Kinases as Cancer Drug Targets
Protein kinases – a class of signaling molecules – regulate most cellular processes. When protein kinases malfunction, diseases such as cancer can result. This is why certain types of protein kinases implicated in disease are desirable drug targets. A new study published early online in Cell Chemical Biology led by Markus Seeliger, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacological Sciences in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, takes a fresh approach to grouping kinases as potential drug targets. Take a closer look.
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Weill Cornell Medicine: High Body Fat Increases Breast Cancer Risk for Women with Normal BMI
Postmenopausal women with higher levels of body fat have a significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer even if they have a normal body mass index (BMI), according to a new study, published Dec. 6 in JAMA Oncology. Take a closer look.
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Genetics |
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: For Patients with Kidney Disease, Genetic Testing May Soon Be Routine
DNA testing can identify a genetic culprit in about 10 percent of adults with chronic kidney disease and impacts treatment for most of them A new study has found that genes cause about 1 in 10 cases of chronic kidney disease in adults, and that identifying the responsible genes has a direct impact on treatment for most of these patients. Take a closer look.
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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Researchers Use “Blacklist” Computing Concept as Novel Method to Streamline Genetic Analysis
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Rockefeller University have discovered a new use for a long-standing computational concept known as “blacklisting,” which is commonly employed as a form of access or spam control, blocking unwanted files and messages. Using blacklisting as a filter to single out genetic variations in patient genomes and exomes that do not cause illness, researchers have successfully streamlined the identification of genetic drivers of disease. Take a closer look.
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NYU School of Medicine: New Techniques Better Determine How Ancient Viral DNA Influences Human Genes
New laboratory techniques can identify which of our genes are influenced by DNA snippets that are left behind in our genetic code by viruses, a new study finds. Viruses have long been known to reproduce by using the genetic machinery of the cells they invade. Take a closer look.
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Neurology |
University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Study Confirms Central Role of Brain’s Support Cells in Huntington’s, Points to New Therapies
New research gives scientists a clearer picture of what is happening in the brains of people with Huntington’s disease and lays out a potential path for treatment. The study, which appears today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows that support cells in the brain are key contributors to the disease. Take a closer look.
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CUNY School of Medicine: New Research on Altered Glutamatergic Signaling in Brain of Schizophrenia
In the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Hoau-Yan Wang, Associate Medical Professor, was lead author on an article on altered glutamatergic signaling in brain of schizophrenia. Take a closer look.
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University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry Study: Neurons in the Brain Work as a Team to Guide Movement of Arms, Hands
The apparent simplicity of picking up a cup of coffee or turning a doorknob belies the complex sequence of calculations and processes that the brain must undergo to identify the location of an item in space, move the arm and hand toward it, and shape the fingers to hold or manipulate the object. New research, published today in the journal Cell Reports, reveals how the nerve cells responsible for motor control modify their activity as we reach and grasp for objects. Take a closer look.
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Other Studies |
Albert Einstein School of Medicine Responds to the Urgent Need for Effective Ebola Treatments
The current ebolavirus outbreak in central Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ranks as the second largest and second deadliest in history: more than 600 cases and more than 370 deaths as of January 6, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Adding to the tragedy: children-who are much more likely to die from Ebola infection than adults-now account for more than one third of all cases.Take a closer look.
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Weill Cornell Medicine: New Clue to How Lupus Arises
A previously unknown type of T lymphocyte, a class of white blood cell, contributes to the development of an autoimmune disease, called lupus, which causes the immune system to attack healthy tissues and organs and leads to chronic inflammation, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The study, published Nov. 26 in Nature Medicine, suggests that targeting this newly discovered class of T cell, or its biochemical signals, may be a good strategy for treating lupus.Take a closer look.
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CUNY School of Medicine: New Research on the Role of Hydrogen Sulfide in Health and Disease
Dr. Khosrow Kashfi, Associate Medical Professor, recently guest edited a special Issue of Biochemical Pharmacology on “The Role of Hydrogen Sulfide in Health and Disease”. Take a closer look.
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Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients be Safely Discharged from the Emergency Department?
Naloxone has saved thousands of lives. But can patients be safely discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) just an hour after they receive the medication that curtails drug overdoses? According to the St. Paul’s Early Discharge Rule developed in 2000, that’s how long providers should observe patients after naloxone treatment, so long as their vital signs meet specific criteria and they are ambulatory. Take a closer look.
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Weill Cornell Medicine: Center Studies the Economic Costs of Substance Use Disorder
By now, many people are familiar with the grim statistic that opioid overdoses are killing more than 115 Americans every day. But the ongoing crisis has another toll, one that’s less talked about but still highly damaging to society: a financial cost of $78.5 billion per year, including nearly $29 billion to cover substance use disorder treatment and related healthcare. At Weill Cornell Medicine, researchers in the field of health economics work to find solutions to this crisis by developing interventions that save lives while remaining economically feasible-aiming to help people with substance use problems by encouraging policymakers to support initiatives that effectively treat addiction and prevent overdoses.Take a closer look.
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Grants |
New York Medical College Seeks Cure for Emerging Tick-Born Disease with NIH Research Grant
New York Medical College has been awarded $246,000 in federal funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research aimed at developing a new cure for the tick-borne disease Babesia microti. Endemic to the north eastern region of the Unites States and prevalent in the Hudson Valley, Babesia microti has been identified as a major public health threat by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Research. The NIAID, which is one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise the NIH, is mandated with responding to emerging public health threat. Take a closer look.
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Faculty |
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Leading Cancer Researcher to Direct Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Anil K. Rustgi, MD, a leading cancer researcher and physician whose career has focused on gastrointestinal tumors, has been named director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Pending approval of the university’s trustees, Dr. Rustgi will serve as professor of medicine and associate dean of oncology in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Take a closer look.
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Other News |
New York Medical College Researcher Recalls Past Collaboration with Nobel Laureate George P. Smith, Ph.D.
In accepting the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, University of Missouri Professor George P. Smith, Ph.D., said science is like a web of ideas—intricately tied to the work that’s come before. It’s a statement that rings particularly true to Carl V. Hamby, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and Gary P. Wormser, M.D., professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and pharmacology, and vice chair of medicine for research and development. Take a closer look.
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New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine: Why Your Doctor Should Also Be a Scientist
In June 2018, a group of physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University published research on a compound that could stop cancer cells from spreading throughout the body. A few years before that, physician-scientists at the Scintillon Institute uncovered a molecular link between Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes.Take a closer look.
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Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell: Students Share Findings From a Summer Doing Research
The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell hosted its seventh annual Scholarship Day on Nov. 7, 2018, featuring the investigative work of more than 75 Zucker School of Medicine students comprised of both MD and MD/PhD candidates. Take a closer look.
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