Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children’s Health

Immune cells called monocytes produce a key inflammatory protein called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) through an unconventional pathway in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Dr. Ashley Nelson, an assistant professor of immunology research in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, has received a 2023 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award from The Hartwell Foundation.

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators discovered that unique bacteria colonize the gut shortly after birth and produce the neurotransmitter serotonin which educates gut immune cells and prevents food allergies.

Dr. Sumit Gupta, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on vulnerable subpopulations of children with cancer, has been awarded the eighth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today. 

Severe COVID-19 infection triggers changes that affect gene expression in immune system stem cells, causing long-lasting alterations in the body’s immune response, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Jackson Laboratory investigators.

Cancers often release molecules into the bloodstream that pathologically alter the liver, shifting it to an inflammatory state, causing fat buildup and impairing its normal detoxifying functions.

A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Scripps Research and the University of Chicago has identified an antibody that appears to block infection by all dominant variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, including omicron, the most recent.

Two Weill Cornell Medicine faculty members, Dr. David Lyden and Dr. Harel Weinstein have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Two Weill Cornell Medicine faculty members, Dr. Gregory Sonnenberg and Dr. Melody Zeng, are recipients of prestigious awards from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) for their accomplishments in the field of immunology.

The Drukier Prize honors an early-career pediatrician whose research promises to make important contributions toward improving the health of children and adolescents.

A multi-institutional team of scientists, led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health, have received a five-year $8.297 grant to continue funding a Center for Lupus Research.

Disruption of the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells entrained to the 24-hour day-night cycle plays a critical role in weight gain, according to a pair of studies by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.  

Dr. Steven Josefowicz, an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has won a 2022 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

A new preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators shows that one specific set of antibodies that is induced naturally by gut beneficial bacteria can be transferred from mothers to infants through breast milk and help infants defend against infection-induced diarrheal illness.

Abnormalities in a type of brain cell called astrocytes may play a pivotal role in causing some behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.  

Melanoma cells release small extracellular packages containing the protein nerve growth factor receptor, which primes nearby lymph nodes for tumor metastases, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

The scientists, whose results are published Dec. 23 in Nature, found that a small subset of antibodies elicited by experimental and existing influenza vaccines target a site at the base, or anchor, of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein—an “epitope” whose significance was not recognized in prior influenza antibody studies.

Dr. Virginia Pascual has received an inaugural Global Team Science Award from the Lupus Research Alliance.

Dr. Erick Forno, a physician-scientist who investigates the risk factors and genomic mechanisms underlying childhood asthma, has been awarded the sixth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today.     

The autoimmune disease lupus may be triggered by a defective process in the development of red blood cells.