News from WCM

Two years ago, in a remote region of Ecuador, ophthalmologist Dr. Elwin Schwartz, MD ’76, helped give a six-year-old girl the gift of sight. 

New molecules engineered by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers can enable rapid, direct “editing” of genes in a wide range of cell types, creating an array of research and therapeutic possibilities.

Treating early-stage lung cancers with drugs that unleash the immune system’s ability to attack malignant cells may hinder tumor growth and improve overall survival, according to new research by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. 

Today’s headlines can seem a grim litany of disasters, from hurricanes in the Atlantic and epidemics in South America to conflicts in Africa and droughts in the Midwest. For Dr. Alan Lockwood ’65, MD ’69, though, these calamities all have two things in common: they’re rooted in climate change, and they’re signs of public health crises that the medical profession—as well as other scientists, policymakers and citizens around the world—must address.

Gene mutations detected in blood may predict risk of one of the most common forms of adult leukemia a decade before patients are diagnosed with the disease, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

An existing malaria drug could improve the effectiveness of a new class of cancer therapies, called glutaminase inhibitors, if used in combination, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) discovered in a new study.

For Ralph Hills, getting ready for minor back surgery in December 2014 was no big deal. At 71, the computer consultant was physically fit—regularly playing golf and tennis—and his heart and lungs were in good shape. So when he went for a routine pre-operative blood test, he never expected to get a call referring him to an oncologist near where he lives in suburban Connecticut.

Growing miniature tumors from patient’s cells in the laboratory may help scientists personalize treatments for those with a rare form of prostate cancer, according a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian scientists.  

Every family in America has an immigration story, whether it was a journey by steamship 100 years ago or an arrival by airplane one month ago. In their timely new anthology, Andrew Tisch and Mary Skafidas showcase a variety of voices whose own origin stories illustrate the rich fabric of cultures and backgrounds that comprise the United States.  

Dr. Li Gan, a neuroscientist internationally acclaimed for her research into neurodegenerative diseases, has been appointed director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1.

Dr. Thomas Caputo, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, came to Weill Cornell Medicine in 1982 to serve as its first director of gynecological oncology.

Weill Cornell Medicine, in collaboration with Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, has been awarded a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct prostate cancer clinical trials.

Many cases of early-stage kidney cancer can be treated with a relatively new, nonsurgical procedure used to destroy tumors, a new study by a team led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian suggests.

Dr. Justin Kingery grew up in West Virginia coal country, a world away from Tanzania—but he felt at home in the East African nation from the beginning.

Dr. Anaïs Rameau is passionate about finding a way to restore these patients’ voices and, during Weill Cornell Medicine’s second annual Health Innovation Hackathon last month, challenged participants to do just that.

Patients who receive red blood cell (RBC) transfusions before, during or immediately after surgery are twice as likely to develop life-threatening, postoperative blood clots as those who don’t undergo RBC transfusions, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers.

In an era where misinformation is rampant, more and more scientists—at Weill Cornell Medicine and nationwide—see an urgent need to communicate their work to the public.

At Weill Cornell Medicine—and at many of its peer institutions across the United States—immigrants make rich contributions to research, education and clinical care.

For Susannah Calhoun, her differences are also her greatest strengths. As a congenital amputee, she was inspired to overcome the challenges she faced and pursue a future in science, an interest first sparked in high school and culminating in her PhD.

Tarek Khader’s family is his inspiration. By becoming a doctor, he honors his parents’ sacrifices as Palestinian refugees, striving to become the kind of caring physician he would have wanted for his mother when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.