Dr. Lewis C. Cantley, Professor of Cancer Biology in Medicine and the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor in Oncology Research, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. This is a highly prestigious honor for Dr. Cantley, who is the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
In an advance that could eventually offer patients with blood disorders curative therapies derived from their own cells, researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute, WCMC, have been able to directly reprogram vascular cells to long-lasting blood cells that resemble bone marrow stem cells capable of forming the various components of blood necessary for life.
The 23rd Annual Department of Medicine Awards were announced on June 17, 2014. This award is presented annually to members of the Weill Department of Medicine below the rank of professor who perform on outstanding levels in the areas of clinical and/or basic biomedical research. It is supported by the Michael Wolk Foundation.
Initiated in 2002, the Fellow Award in Research is presented annually to fellows within the Weill Department of Medicine who have presented outstanding research. This year's finalists were announced at the June 10 Medicine Grand Rounds (12th Annual).
Dr. Andrew I. Schafer is an expert in the research and treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and a world-renowned physician-scientist in hematology and medical oncology. As Director of the Richard T. Silver, MD, Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Center, he will manage both the biomedical research and clinical activities surrounding MPNs.
Dr. Richard Furman, Division of Hematology & Medical Oncology, and co-authors have published a landmark paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their results utilizing the drug, Idelalisib, in a randomized, double-blinded study (5 countries) suggest that a common form of leukemia may be treated without toxic chemotherapy.
Dr. Jeffrey Laurence, an internationally recognized expert on HIV-AIDS and a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, appeared in an HBO documentary on AIDS.
Building on the Melnick Lab's research identifying novel disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets in B-cell lymphomas, the 4th most common malignancy in the United States. Dr. Béguelin will present her recent discoveries outlining the mechanism of action of a protein called EZH2, which functions as a histone methyltransferase that silences gene expression.
On the heels of numerous advancements by the Melnick Lab, the latest breakthrough involves an experimental new drug that is capable of completely eradicating human lymphoma in mice after five doses. Published in Cell Reports (August 2013), this finding sets the stage for clinical trials that would use an experimental drug for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Dr. Gail Roboz, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leukemia Program at NYP/WC, has been named lead investigator for a Sunesis Pharmaceuticals-funded clinical trial for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). A Phase I/II (open-label, dose escalating) trial, it is set to enroll approximately 40 patients with MDS who previously experienced failed treatment using hypomethylating agent-based therapy.
