A new preclinical study published Jan. 2 in Nature Immunology may lead to therapies that target the earliest stages of cancer, bolstering the idea the inflammasome has a dual role—that while promotes inflammation associated with poor outcomes in late cancer stages, early on it can help prevent cells from becoming cancerous in the first place.“What was striking was that the innate immune system, which includes the inflammasome, has a role beyond infection,” said lead author Dr. Julie...
A new multi-institution study led in part by Dr. Robert Schwartz, a virologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, is striving to answer a key biological question: how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection in liver cells.The research – led in conjunction with teams lead by chemical biologist Dr. Yael David at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Dr. Viviana Risca at The Rockefeller University -...
Dr. Clement Richard Boland, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of San Diego, received the Charles Maltz, M.D., Ph.D. Excellence in Teaching Award by the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in the Weill Department of Medicine during a special reception Feb. 12.The award is bestowed in memory of Dr. Charles Maltz, a faculty member in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology for nearly 30 years. A pillar...
Almost 50 million Americans—disproportionately in rural areas—must drive 25 miles or more to access a gastroenterologist for diagnosis and treatment of issues involving the digestive system, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers led by Dr. Arun Jesudian, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Dr. Jesuidan is a transplant hepatologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. ...
Severe COVID-19 arises in part from the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s impact on mitochondria, tiny oxygen-burning power plants in cells, which can help trigger a cascade of organ- and immune system-damaging events, suggests a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, along with other members of the COVID-19 International Research Team.Severe COVID-19 has been considered an...
A fungus discovered in the mouse stomach may hold a key to fungal evolution within the gastrointestinal tract, according to new research led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The finding suggests that preclinical studies until now have overlooked a major influencer of mouse physiology.Scientists recently have come to appreciate the importance, for human health and disease, of microbes—often called “commensals”—that naturally dwell in the gut. Bacterial commensals, for example,...
Dr. Randy Longman, director of the Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Associate Professor of Medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, recently received the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award to continue his work developing the tools needed to understand how the gut microbiome drives metabolic pathways. The award will provide about $5.6 million over five years to Dr. Longman and his co-principal investigators, Dr. Chun-Jun Guo, Assistant...
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine, including co-corresponding author Dr. Robert Schwartz, an associate professor of medicine in the division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, have used a cutting-edge model system to uncover the mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, induces new cases of diabetes, and worsens complications in people who already have it. The team found that viral exposure activates immune cells that in turn destroy beta (β) cells, the...
Dr. Mohammad Arifuzzaman, a postdoctoral associate in the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, part of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a 2024 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award for Junior Investigators.Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center present the awards annually, recognizing exceptional investigators for their remarkable research...
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered a previously unknown link between two key pathways that regulate the immune system in mammals—a finding that impacts our understanding of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This family of disorders severely impacts the health and quality of life of more than 2 million people in the United States.The immune system has many pathways to protect the body from infection, but sometimes an overactive immune response results in...
