Breakthroughs

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is home to a team of premier faculty and staff biostatisticians who are a driving force of data analytic innovation and excellence. In this episode, Denise Scholtens, PhD, a leader in biostatistics at Feinberg, discusses the growing importance of the field of biostatistics and how she leverages her skills to collaborate on several projects in Maternal and Fetal Health.

Northwestern Medicine scientists are at the forefront of research investigating the most effective ways of treating obesity in children and teens and improving their access to care. In this episode, Justin Ryder, PhD, a clinical and translational obesity scientist at Feinberg, talks about the use of new GLP-1–based medications for childhood obesity and his work on several NIH-funded projects focused on understanding how pediatric obesity impacts chronic disease risk and how biology drives weight regain.

An estimated 32,000 Americans are currently living with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Northwestern investigators have uncovered novel cellular mechanisms involved in two types of genetic ALS that might lead to future targeted therapies. Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, shares insights on these findings recently published in Science Advances and Cell Reports.

Inflammation is a common feature of many diseases and Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified how a calcium channel contributes to inflammation in the brain and lungs. This could aid in finding new types of therapeutics for inflammation-related diseases and conditions. In this episode, Murali Prakriya, PhD, discusses the evolution of this groundbreaking research in ion channels as well as his latest findings published in Nature Communications.

Teens are reporting struggles with their mental health at unprecedented rates, but resources to help these young people deal with anxiety or depression can be difficult to access. In this episode, Ashley Knapp, PhD, assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Robert Simmons, MA, director of social services and public safety at Oak Park Public Library, discuss an innovative community partnership between Northwestern Medicine investigators and a Chicagoland library and how it could be a model for future health interventions.

Thanks to advancements in synthetic biology, scientists are now engineering bacterial communities with the goal of using these cells to monitor and treat diseases. In this episode, Arthur Prindle, PhD, explains how his lab is reprogramming bacteria that may be used in the future to detect disease and deliver therapeutics for many different conditions, including cancer, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

A new study published in the journal Nature details breakthrough T-cell immunotherapy research from Northwestern Medicine. In this episode, Jaehyuk Choi, MD, PhD, senior author of the paper, explains how a gene mutation found in T-cells of patients with lymphoma could hold the key to a potent cancer-fighting immunotherapy for solid tumor cancers, which account for 90 percent of all cancers.

When most of us think about dopamine, we think about reward signals. But new research from Northwestern Medicine, published in Nature Neuroscience, has found a genetic subtype of dopamine neurons that do not respond to rewards at all, and instead, fire when the body moves. Rajeshwar Awatramani, PhD, and Daniel Dombeck, PhD led this work. In this episode they explain how the results could change the field of dopamine research

As the primary investigator of The NIH Toolbox®, Richard Gershon, PhD, has led a team of hundreds of scientists to develop and evolve state-of-the-art digital assessments of cognition, motor, sensation and emotion which has been used by clinicians, investigators and academics for nearly two decades. In this episode, Gershon explains how the third version of The NIH Toolbox® app developed for the iPad, provides test batteries for cognition, motor, emotional and sensory functioning.

Mitochondria are widely known as cellular “powerhouses” for their role in producing energy for cells. But pioneering research from Northwestern Medicine investigators over the last 20 years has proven mitochondria are also major players in lung disease, cancer, brain disease and immune-related diseases. Navdeep Chandel, PhD, a 2023 recipient of the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, leads this research. In this episode he discusses how his team’s recent findings could advance the design and implementation of new therapies.

Northwestern Medicine is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients who are in need of organ transplants. Daniela Ladner, MD, MPH, is leading research that sheds light on the barriers to transplantation as the founding director of the Northwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC). She discusses the groundbreaking research that makes Northwestern a leader in organ transplantation.

Both long-term alcohol consumption and binge drinking can speed up biological aging, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Aging. Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, chief of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention in the Department of Preventive Medicine led the study and discusses the link between genetics and lifestyle in the context of preventing disease.

Mozziyar “Mozzi” Etemadi, MD, PhD, is supporting the transformation of healthcare delivery and patient care at Northwestern Medicine by bringing engineers into direct contact with clinical providers. In this episode, he talks about the explosion of artificial intelligence in healthcare in recent years and how Northwestern Medicine is using this technology to improve healthcare delivery and patient care.

Treating cancer has become increasingly difficult as cells develop resistance. Northwestern investigators have sought to address this issue on the cellular level through the development of a novel FateMap tool, used to predict the future behavior of cancer cells before they are exposed to cancer-fighting drugs. In this episode, Yogesh Goyal, PhD, discusses his latest research, published in Nature, and how his lab is addressing complex problems through an interdisciplinary approach.

The launch of the Simpson Querrey Lung Institute for Translational Science (SQLIFTS) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine aims to expedite the discovery and implementation of innovative lung disease treatments through a patient-centered approach. In this episode, Scott Budinger, MD, the new executive director of the institute, discusses its launch and how it aims to transform lung disease research and clinical care.

The global prevalence of Parkinson's disease has doubled in the past 25 years. While research into this extremely diverse neurodegenerative disorder is very active, there is much left to be uncovered about the underlying cause of the disease. Recently, Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered novel genetic factors contributing to the risk of Parkinson's disease, which may lead to potential therapeutic targets. Steven Lubbe, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology at Feinberg, discusses these findings recently published in the journal Brain.

Disrupting our internal clocks can lead to diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Scientists at Northwestern have uncovered the mechanism behind why late-night eating is linked to weight gain and diabetes. Joseph Bass, MD, PhD, led the study published in the journal Science. He shares the results and details the two decades of work leading to this latest discovery. Bass is chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine in the Department of Medicine.

This episode was released in February 2021, and is being re-shared to offer the research behind the popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Northwestern's Robert Kushner, MD, discusses the drug semaglutide, typically prescribed for treatment of Type 2 diabetes and the results of the phase 3 clinical trial as a treatment for obesity with very promising results. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and in 2022, Kushner was awarded the prestigious Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award from the Clinical Research Forum.

There's strong evidence that physical activity can play an important role in the health and lifespan of cancer survivors. Siobhan Phillips, PhD, MPH, leads the Exercise and Health Lab at Feinberg, which designs, tests, implements and disseminates physical activity interventions to support cancer survivors. In this episode, Phillips details interventions specifically designed for breast cancer survivors, a majority of whom don't meet the recommended standards for weekly physical activity.

Skin diseases from psoriasis to melanoma affect as many as one in three Americans at any given time. Kathleen Green, PhD, has greatly advanced basic molecular research related to skin diseases. She discusses recent discoveries in her lab that could lead to future therapeutic targets.