As Vice Chair for Basic and Translational Research, Dr. Lipkin will work closely with departmental and divisional leadership to enhance and foster the research activities of our faculty and trainees.
The researchers have uncovered a self-repair mechanism that could lead to innovative approaches for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases and other intestinal disorders. The article in PNAS reveals findings on a mechanism that allows the single layer of cells that line the inside of the intestines to signal the immune system to repair tissue damage. A defect in this repair system underlies Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
The new findings that innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) directly educate T cells in the intestine to not attack beneficial bacteria, and that impairment of ILC function leads to severe intestinal inflammation. Critically, they also demonstrate that loss of MHCII (a type of machinery that delivers signals to T cells) on ILCs is linked to pro-inflammatory cells in patients with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).
Founded in 1908, the American Society of Clinical Investigation is an honor society of some 3,000 physician-scientists who serve in the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry. Those who become members of ASCI are premier leaders in translating findings from the laboratory to the advancement of clinical practice.
Dr. David Artis and colleagues have published breakthrough findings in Nature that have opened a newly targeted pathway, and ultimately, a new approach for the treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Utilizing a wide array of high tech tools, the team discovered for the first time that ILC2s, a group of innate lymphoid cells, promote the "beiging" of white adipose tissue (a type of body fat) and limit obesity.
Since Dr. Michel Kahaleh joined the department, there has been a 175% increase in advanced endoscopic interventional procedures in gastroenterology as well as the launch of the first pancreatic program at NYP/WCM. Under his direction, there has also been a rise in the number of minimally invasive endoscopic techniques that are highly effective, safe, and spare patients from major surgeries.
Dr. Ype de Jong was interviewed on NY1 regarding recent public outreach about hepatitis C in New York. He also spoke about the rapidly evolving management of this serious disease that infects the liver through blood products, and which can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.
In pregnant women, the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques used for gall stones, strictures, obstructions, or other conditions within the biliary or pancreatic ductal systems, has been problematical due to exposure to radiation for the mother and the fetus. Dr. Michel Kahaleh and his team have successfully modified endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to reduce the estimated fetal radiation exposure, thereby making the procedure safe for pregnant women.
This was the 22nd annual presentation of the DOM Investigator Award, which is presented to members of the Department of Medicine, below the rank of professor, who perform on an outstanding level in the areas of clinical and/or basic biomedical research. The award is generously supported by the Michael Wolk Foundation.
An internationally-recognized leader in the field of hepatitis C, Dr. Ira M. Jacobson (Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology) has been at the forefront of hepatitis C for more than 20 years. His research has included numerous advances regarding therapies, often involving interferon.
