News | Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Cell Division: Before Commitment, a Very Long Engagement

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...

2024 Business Plan Challenge Pitch Competition Supports Innovation for Health Care Challenges

“In this accelerator, we not only have our faculty explore their deep scientific questions but also help them expand their mindset to think of themselves as innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Loren Busby, director of BioVenture eLab, a part of Enterprise Innovation. She shared these remarks at the 2024 Business Plan Challenge pitch competition, which took place at Uris Auditorium on June 4.

The accelerator’s cohort of 24 participants went through weeks of didactic instruction focusing...

Astrocytes Induce Sex-Specific Effects on Memory

Weill Cornell Medicine scientists have uncovered the first evidence that astrocyte receptors can trigger opposite effects on cognitive function in male and female preclinical models. The findings point to astrocytes, brain cells that support and regulate neurons, as key contributors to sex-specific brain mechanisms.

While many studies have tested the behavioral effects of astrocytic receptors, none of them have addressed whether biological sex plays a role and most have tested only...

Class of 2024 Celebrated at Carnegie Hall Commencement

Video of Class of 2024 Commencement Highlights | Weill Cornell Medicine

For Dr. Chris Chang, pursuing a career in medicine meant the opportunity to help people, particularly those in underserved communities. Originally from Korea, he moved to the United States when he was five years old, and health care inequity was something he witnessed firsthand.

“I moved around a lot between New Jersey and parts of New York City, but all the neighborhoods we lived in had one common...

New Molecular Sensor Tracks Energy Use at the Subcellular Level

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...

Weill Cornell Medical College Graduat School 2024 convocation

2024 Convocation Recognizes Exceptional Graduate Students

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences highlighted students in the Class of 2024 for their academic achievements during its convocation ceremony on May 15.

The ceremony honored students who are graduating with their master’s degrees, as well as those who earned special awards and prizes for their accomplishments in research, scholarship and service.

In addition to celebrating students, the ceremony also honored graduate school faculty. Dr. Cynthia Leifer (Ph.D. '99),...

Faculty Members Honored with Distinguished Awards

LeWeill Cornell Medicine faculty members were honored with awards for their exemplary achievements in medical research, education and care May 15-16 during the institution’s commencement activities.

Dr. Thanakorn “T.J.” Jirasevijinda, professor of pediatrics, was awarded the Jeanne and Herbert Siegel Award for Excellence in Medical Education. This prize recognizes a faculty member for exemplary contributions to medical education.

Dr. Ari Melnick, the Gebroe Family Professorship...

illustration of chromatin in the nucleus

GoT-ChA: A New Tool for Detailing How Gene Mutations Affect Cells

A team co-led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center has developed an advanced method for revealing how gene mutations disrupt the normal packaging of DNA. These structural changes, which alter patterns of gene activity in a cell, are known as epigenetic changes and can lead to malignancy.

The new method, described in a paper published on May 8 in Nature, offers biologists a powerful tool that can be applied in many fields of investigation, from basic...

Pregnancy Cytokine Levels Impact Fetal Brain Development and Offspring Behavior

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered in a preclinical model that cytokines, proteins that control immune response, circulating in maternal blood during pregnancy may mitigate an offspring's risk for psychiatric conditions. The findings are surprising because circulating maternal cytokines are at such low levels that they were not implicated in fetal brain development and offspring behavior before.

The study published online in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity on Feb. 29,...

immunofluorescent staining of the coronary lesion

Solving the Riddle of the Sphingolipids in Coronary Artery Disease

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have uncovered a way to unleash in blood vessels the protective effects of a type of fat-related molecule known as a sphingolipid, suggesting a promising new strategy for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

In the study, published March 8 in Circulation Research, the researchers showed that boosting levels of a sphingolipid called S1P in artery-lining endothelial cells slows the development and progression of coronary artery disease in an...

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