Research

Approximately 88% of adults view opioid overdose deaths as a very serious problem with high agreement across political groups, according to a national survey conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. However, political differences over who is responsible may shape the country’s next phase of drug policy.

A new single-cell profiling technique has mapped pre-malignant gene mutations and their effects in solid tissues for the first time, in a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center.

Using participant skin cells reprogrammed into neurons, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have identified genetic signatures associated with HIV infection that may contribute to the cognitive impairment that often occurs in people living with the disease, even when the virus is controlled.

A whole-genome sequencing approach shows early promise over current commercial methods for identifying more patients likely to benefit from PARP inhibitor cancer treatments, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

A class of ultrasmall fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles developed at Cornell is showing an unexpected ability to rally the immune system against melanoma and dramatically improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

Immune cells called B cells make antibodies that fight off invading bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances. During their preparation for this battle, B cells transiently revert to a more flexible, or plastic, stem-cell-like state in the lymph nodes, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. 

A new study from Weill Cornell Medicine uncovers how a viral protein called E4ORF1 precisely activates a specific signaling complex in human blood vessel cells to support cell survival. 

Women with severe coronary heart disease causing narrowing or blockages in the arteries may derive greater long-term benefits from coronary artery bypass grafting compared with percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as stenting, according to a large study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

From light-activated pain relief to next-generation cancer immunotherapies, scientists and clinicians showcased bold ideas for translating lab discoveries into real-world treatments as part of the Accelerating BioVenture Innovation (ABI) program within Enterprise Innovation at Weill Cornell.

People who felt lonely before having a heart attack were significantly more likely to end up back in the hospital within a month of discharge, according to findings from researchers in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. 

While many women assume pelvic floor health issues are simply their fate—part of having vaginal deliveries, getting older, gaining weight or entering menopause, they are not a part of normal aging. Dr. Larissa Rodríguez is working to change perceptions of this disorder, which affects one-in-three women in her lifetime.

Dr. John Blenis's lab discovered that low levels of folate, a B vitamin essential for cell growth, can trigger specific genetic changes found in lung tumors, establishing a link between nutrition and cancer, which may open new dietary approaches for prevention and treatment.

Dr. Hazel Szeto's discovery of a first-in-class compound that had mitochondrial therapeutic potential is now a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug.

Dr. Despina Siolas, assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, is working to personalize treatment for pancreatic cancer and develop new therapeutic regimens that save more patient lives.

Awards, honors and achievements for the month of November.

Dopamine neurons in a part of the brain called the midbrain may, with aging, be increasingly susceptible to a vicious spiral of decline driven by fuel shortages, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Detailed mapping of CD4⁺ T cells from children with systemic lupus erythematosus has revealed distinct immune cell subsets with likely roles in disease pathogenesis, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

The roots of addiction risk may lie in how young brains function long before substance use begins, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine.

Chemotherapy activates a stress sensor in immune cells, triggering inflammation and nerve damage, which may help explain why many cancer patients experience debilitating pain as a side effect, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers.

A new study has discovered a molecular signal that tumors exploit to exhaust the T cells meant to destroy them—and how silencing that signal could revive the body’s immunity.