News

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the week of Jan. 4 - Jan. 11.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College have established the Center for Prostate Cancer at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, a comprehensive center dedicated to research into and the treatment of prostate cancer.

The relationship between a physician practice's adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and quality improvements in patient care remains unclear. However, a new study published in the January issue of Health Affairs by Weill Cornell Medical College and the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) of the New York City Health Department shows evidence that EHR implementation can improve patient care in small physician practices in New York City when combined with sustained high-intensity technical assistance.

A cocktail of three specific genes can reprogram cells in the scars caused by heart attacks into functioning muscle cells, and the addition of a gene that stimulates the growth of blood vessels enhances that effect, said researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University Medical Center in a report that appears online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the weeks of Dec. 21 - Jan. 4.

Dr. Matthew E. Fink, a leader in stroke and critical care neurology, has been named chairman of the Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College and neurologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Many of the most common inpatient surgeries in the United States are performed electively. These surgeries are expected to significantly increase with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. In a new perspectives article, published in the Dec. 27 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, a team of Weill Cornell Medical College researchers are recommending the nation's health care leaders and medical community join forces to establish evidence-based appropriateness criteria to determine which patients are most in need of elective procedures, such as joint replacement surgery, to slow the projected surge in demand and rising costs.

Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean emeritus and co-chairman of the board of overseers at Weill Cornell Medical College, is the co-author of a new book called The Living Heart in the 21st Century. The book, a new edition in The Living Heart best-selling series, is the essential resource guide for patients about cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.

Dr. Matthew E. Fink, a leader in stroke and critical care neurology, has been named chairman of the Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College and neurologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels. More than 10 years later, in a follow-up review of these patients, doctors at Baylor College of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College (where the clinical trial and review took place) and Stony Brook University Medical Center report the outcomes are promising and open the door for larger trials to begin.

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the week of Dec. 14 - Dec. 21.

The debilitating symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, appear to be increased by a lack of inflammation-reducing T cells, report scientists from the Methodist Neurological Institute in an upcoming print issue of The EMBO Molecular Medicine Journal.

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the week of Dec. 7 - Dec. 14

Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and surgeon-in-chief of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, has received the Grand Award of Merit from the American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit (ASILM), the Society's highest honor.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the seventh most frequently diagnosed cancer. The most chemotherapy resistant form of DLBCL, called activated B-cell - DLBCL (ABC-DLBCL), remains a major therapeutic challenge. An international research team, led by two laboratories from Weill Cornell Medical College, has developed a new experimental drug therapy to target this aggressive form of lymphoma.

Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, speaks with Dr. Lewis Cantley, a powerhouse recruit from Harvard Medical School who has recently been named director of the newly-established Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Nearly a year into her tenure as Dean, Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher said Weill Cornell Medical College is poised at the vanguard of excellence in research, education and clinical care.

More than 200 physicians, administrators, public officials and health care leaders attended the American College of Surgeons New York Surgical Quality Forum, titled "Improving Surgical Quality-A Data-Driven Approach," on Nov. 16 in Weill Cornell Medical College's Uris Auditorium.

Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 7.