Media Coverage

Northwestern University professor leading research team trying to stop coronavirus: ‘We are here specifically for this.’

Karla Satchell, a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is leading a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers to examine the atomic structure of the virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, in the Hubei province. Satchell leads the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, a consortium of nine labs at eight schools collaborating on this effort.

Scientists are unraveling the Chinese coronavirus with unprecedented speed and openness

At unprecedented speed, scientists are starting experiments, sharing data and revealing the secrets of the pathogen — a race that is made possible by new scientific tools and cultural norms in the face of a public health emergency.

“The pace is unmatched,” said Karla Satchell, a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

A Placebo for Pain Relief—Even When You Know It’s Not Real

Vania Apkarian, director of the Center for Translational Pain Research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, studies which patients respond to placebo. In a 2016 study in the journal PLOS Biology, he used brain scans to identify the regions in the brain that can predict a response to placebo in 56 chronic knee osteoarthritis pain patients compared with 20 control patients.

Probiotics: Don’t Buy the Online Hype

Many people turn to the internet with health questions, but how reliable is the information you find? When it comes to probiotics, a new study urges caution.

Nearly 20 Years Later, Cancer Rates Higher in 9/11 First Responders

Nearly two decades after terrorists attacked New York’s World Trade Center, certain cancers are striking police and recovery workers who saved lives, recovered bodies and cleaned up the wreckage.

Most people wait too long for knee replacement surgery, study says

Living with knee pain? A new study has found that 90% of Americans with osteoarthritis suffer too long before having a knee replacement that could improve their quality of life.
“When people wait too long, they lose more and more function and can’t exercise or be active, thus leaving them open to weight gain, depression and other health problems,” said lead investigator Hassan Ghomrawi, associate professor of surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Which Teens View Vaping as a Health Threat? Survey Offers Clues

“One of the challenges with educational efforts aimed at getting youth to stop using e-cigarettes or preventing them from starting is that many believe e-cigarettes are harmless,” said study lead author Dr. Thanh-Huyen Vu. She’s a research assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Slimming Down ‘Tongue Fat’ Might Help Ease Sleep Apnea

The findings are “not really surprising,” said Dr. Sabra Abbott, an assistant professor of sleep medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Given the nature of sleep apnea, she said, it makes sense that such changes in the anatomy of the upper airways would improve symptoms.

Rural seniors sent to aftercare have higher mortality than urban peers

The new study focuses on a “huge problem,” said Dr. June McKoy, a health services researcher at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Part of the problem may be that it’s very hard to find home healthcare in rural areas for patients finished with post-acute care, McKoy said.

The female scientist who changed human fertility forever

Teresa Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and head of the reproductive science department, commented on Miriam Menkin’s work to cure infertility. “I think she can be really thought of as co-equal with John Rock,” Woodruff says. “Not just a technician or a pair of hands, as people have argued, but actually the intellectual person doing the work.”