News and Updates

Dr. Samara Reck-Peterson Named Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine

Portrait of a woman in a laboratory

New York (January 31, 2025)Reflecting the ongoing evolution of science toward interdisciplinary collaboration, Weill Cornell Medicine has created a new Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, combining expertise from its Departments of Biochemistry and of Physiology and Biophysics. Dr. Samara Reck-Peterson, a nationally renowned mechanistic cell biologist, has been recruited to lead the department, which marshals biochemists, biophysicists and experts in...

Advanced Brain Circuit-Mapping Technique Reveals New Anxiety Drug Target

Fluorescence image showing the basolateral amygdala with projections from the insular cortex and prefrontal cortex stained red and green

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have identified in a preclinical model a specific brain circuit whose inhibition appears to reduce anxiety without side effects. Their work suggests a new target for treating anxiety disorders and related conditions and demonstrates a general strategy, based on a method called photopharmacology, for mapping drug effects on the brain.

In their study, published Jan. 28 in Neuron...

Immune Cells Digest Alzheimer's Plaques by Spitting Enzymes at Them

3D illustration of microglia wrapped around parts of amyloid plaques

Immune cells in the brain called microglia can partially break down large amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease by latching on to them, forming a sort of external stomach and releasing digestive enzymes into the space, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings could ultimately lead to therapies that boost the ability of microglia to break down amyloid plaques.

The...

The Role of an Energy-Producing Enzyme in Treating Parkinson’s Disease

immunofluorescence image of a hippocampal neuron stained for PGK1

An enzyme called PGK1 has an unexpectedly critical role in the production of chemical energy in brain cells, according to a preclinical study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The investigators found that boosting its activity may help the brain resist the energy deficits that can lead to Parkinson’s disease.

The study, published Aug. 21 in Science Advances, presented evidence that PGK1 is a “rate-limiting”...

Cell Division: Before Commitment, a Very Long Engagement

histology of squamous cell carcinoma

Before a cell commits fully to the process of dividing itself into two new cells, it may ensure the appropriateness of its commitment by staying for many hours—sometimes more than a day—in a reversible intermediate state, according to a discovery by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. Their revelation of this fundamental feature of biology includes details of its mechanisms and dynamics, which may inform the development of future therapies targeting cancers and other diseases.

In...

Breakthrough in Understanding Cell Migration

immunofluorescence image of cells labeled in blue and yellow

Interactions between two key structures within cells help establish the front-to-back “polarity” that is essential to cell migration, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. These migrations occur in organ development, wound healing, cancer metastasis and many other processes, but how moving cells respond to environmental cues and set up internal structures that enable them to keep going in one direction has not been fully clear.

As the researchers...

New Molecular Sensor Tracks Energy Use at the Subcellular Level

ATP sensor marks mitochondria in cells

A molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the basic unit of biochemical energy that fuels the activities of all cells. Now a team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus has developed and tested a high-resolution sensor for tracking the real-time dynamics of ATP levels in cells and within subcellular compartments. The new tool represents a major advance over prior ATP sensor technology, and the researchers...

Dr. Timothy Ryan Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Dr. Tim Ryan

Dr. Timothy Ryan, professor of biochemistry in anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.

Dr. Ryan was among 120 new scientists in the United States and 24 internationally named this year to the National Academy of...

Gene Signature May Predict Response to Immunotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

gene signature non-small cell lung cancer


A new study identified a set of 140 genes that may help predict enhanced disease-free survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of immunotherapy and low-dose radiation. The results, published in Cell Medicine Reports on Feb. 23, suggested that this “gene signature” could be used to identify a subclass of lung tumors that is more likely to be eradicated by...

Immunotherapy and Radiation Combo Shows Improved Outcomes for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

CAT scan of non small cell lung cancer

A new study reported that patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of low-dose radiation and immunotherapy had higher progression-free survival compared to patients who received immunotherapy alone two years after treatment. The findings from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons offer hope to those affected by NSCLC, the most common type of lung cancer in the United ...

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