Media Coverage

The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.

  • U.S. News & World Report

    One Key Step Can Help Cancer Patients Quit Smoking

    “With the stress cancer patients are under, they tend to be at higher risk of relapsing for a longer period of time. So we thought providing treatment for longer would be more effective,” said study senior author Brian Hitsman. He’s an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. All of the study participants had concurrent behavioral therapy. Though this therapy wasn’t a focus of the research, Hitsman said that it needs to be studied more closely because it can be a powerful tool to help cancer patients quit smoking. “You can imagine how someone going through a severe or significant disease and treatment process could benefit from the support we provided in this study,” he said in a university news release.

  • Chicago Tribune

    No new HIV cases by 2030? Advocates in Chicago applaud Trump goal but question how it will be carried out.

    But he also questions if enough funding will be available, given the state’s constant fiscal woes. Brian Mustanski, director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said there’s a need for better understanding of how to provide treatment access to young, gay and bisexual men of color, who are disproportionately affected by HIV. In addition to targeting geographic hot spots, he said, prevention efforts also have to focus on “demographic hot spots.”

  • Chicago Tribune

    Does that medicine work for women? Why signing up for a medical study could be your next feminist move

    “This isn’t just a women’s health issue,” says Nicole Woitowich, director of the Illinois Women’s Health Registry and associate director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University, “it’s an everybody’s health issue.”[…]“If we’re not going to be asked to participate in studies,” says Teresa Woodruff, director of Northwestern’s Women’s Health Research Institute, “we should just put our hand in the air. The Women’s Health Registry is a way for us to put our hand in the air.”

  • U.S. News & World Report

    Trump’s Goal of No New HIV Cases by 2030 Is Possible, Health Officials Say

    Brian Mustanski directs the Institute for Sexual and Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He agreed that the elimination of new cases of HIV infection by 2030 is possible — given certain conditions. “If we are going to end HIV transmissions in the U.S., we need research to help understand how to effectively deliver the right interventions to the right communities at the right time,” he said. “Every 44 minutes, a 13- to 29-year-old gay or bisexual man in the U.S. gets diagnosed with HIV,” Mustanski added. “These diagnoses are disproportionally among young men of color — the only group in the U.S. to show increases in the rate of annual diagnoses. Any plan to end HIV transmission in the U.S. must center on the needs of young gay and bisexual men of color in order to be successful.”

  • ABC News

    Sedentary lifestyle could increase risk of colorectal cancer in young women

    “They found an association, but the chance that watching TV is causing the cancer is not likely. People who are more sedentary likely have other risk factors that weren’t accounted for,” said Dr. Rajesh Keswani, a gastroenterologist and medical director of quality for the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center, who was not involved in the study. “This is a reminder to be more active throughout the day. For health care providers it really crystallizes how we should advise people on exercise.”

  • The Wall Street Journal

    Doctors Surprised By Scope of Adult-Onset Food Allergies

    A study published in January in JAMA Network Open found that 10.8% of U.S. adults—more than 26 million—have a food allergy, and about half developed a new food allergy as an adult. “It was definitely more than I expected,” says Ruchi Gupta, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s Hospital and first author of the study. The researchers say they can’t determine definitively if the number of adults with food allergies is increasing because it is the first comprehensive study on the topic and it is difficult to compare studies that use different methodologies. But anecdotally, doctors say they are seeing more adult patients with food allergies and it is important to know the scope of the problem to better understand and manage it.

  • U.S. News & World Report

    Complex vs. Simple vs. Refined Carbohydrates: What’s the Difference?

    WHETHER YOU’RE TRYING to lose weight, manage your blood sugar levels or reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, you’ve probably heard the adage that focusing on whole or complex carbs and cutting down on refined ones can help you achieve your goals. “Carbohydrates often get a bad rap, but each type affects the body differently and many types and sources are beneficial to health,” explains Holly Herrington, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Knowing the differences between each type of carbohydrate is vital to making smarter, healthier decisions with your nutrition.

  • Reuters

    Suicide-risk screening might cut deaths among incarcerated youth

    Correctional facilities may also consider computer adaptive testing for suicide assessments, which changes the questions based on the respondent’s prior answers and can adapt over time if given multiple times, said Karen Abram of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, who also wasn’t involved in the study. “Youth suicide is a preventable public health problem,” she said in an email. “Suicide prevention training for staff is critical, especially training to recognize warning signs for suicide.”

  • Chicago Tribune

    Woke up this morning with chapped lips, scratchy limbs and a face that crinkles like tinfoil? You’ve got vortex skin.

    “As the weather gets colder,” says Dr. Steve Xu, a dermatology instructor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “it gets more drying for our skin, and when you add the wind, that’s extremely drying to skin.”[…]Dehydration can be a danger for South Pole scientists who routinely work outdoors in severe cold, but it’s also an enemy of healthy skin, even in smaller doses, says Xu. “When it’s very dried out, your skin just doesn’t provide the kind of barrier you’re used to.” Dryness leads to cracking “dry riverbed skin” and allows your skin to be easily irritated. “All kinds of things can get in there,” Xu says, “chemicals from cosmetics, other things.”

  • Reuters

    Daily plate of fried chicken tied to higher risk of premature death

    The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove that fried foods directly impact longevity. Another drawback is that it relied on women to accurately recall everything they ate. Even so, the results offer fresh evidence that how food is prepared can have a big impact on health, said Dr. Clyde Yancy of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Poultry and fish are generally regarded as ‘heart healthy’ dietary choices but the process of frying changes the health consequences,” Yancy, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.