Media Coverage

Children younger than ever are able to set aside hopes for the future, in the form of tiny ovarian and testicular tissues saved by Chicago hospitals. This week, Woodruff co-authored an article in the journal JAMA Oncology emphasizing fertility options for ages “from birth upwards.” Dr. Teresa Woodruff, a pioneer in the field of oncofertility, a term she coined to combine oncology and patients’ fertility options, also leads the Oncofertility Consortium, a Northwestern University-based national group to explore reproductive futures. Hospitals around the country send young patients’ tissue samples to Chicago for research. Parents struggle to absorb the realization of their worst nightmare — that those flu-like symptoms are, in fact, cancer — much less think decades ahead. “That’s our job, to make sure they think about it,” said Kristin Smith, a Northwestern patient navigator for patients of reproductive age.

Dr. Robert Murphy, Director of the Center for Global Health for Northwestern Medicine, talks about the Zika Virus.

That doesn’t mean that moderate exercise has no benefits. “It’s good if you want to lower your blood pressure, alter your HDL scores, or decrease your heart rate,” said Jeff Bernard, an exercise physiologist at Northwestern Medicine. “All of those are improved with moderate intensity workouts.”

Older people should probably pay special heed. They are more likely to have reflux, Dr. Semla said, in part because the muscle that prevents stomach acid from rising into the esophagus weakens with age. Older adults are therefore more likely to take these drugs, and also more vulnerable to the diseases and disorders associated with them, especially with long-term use.

That doesn’t mean that moderate exercise has no benefits. “It’s good if you want to lower your blood pressure, alter your HDL scores, or decrease your heart rate,” said Jeff Bernard, an exercise physiologist at Northwestern Medicine. “All of those are improved with moderate intensity workouts.”

Researchers want to know if that type of fat leads to more inflammation and insulin resistance, which could be causing cardiovascular disease, says Namratha Kandula, the principal investigator at the Northwestern University Masala site and an associate professor of medicine at Feinberg School of Medicine. “The assumption has always been that the reason South Asians have more heart disease is because they have more diabetes and insulin resistance,” Dr. Kandula says.

“The biology of aging is becoming more evident every day that goes by,” said Vaughan, who is also physician-in-chief at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “We’re understanding that there are specific changes about cells and tissues as they age, and that there are markers that aging cells make and it’s possible to identify those molecules and theoretically slow down the aging process.”

Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained that shoveling in the morning can be even more problematic. He explained in a 2014 interview that hormone levels in the morning make blood “stickier” for people at greater risk of a heart attack. “We should all realize that over the winter season, we’re just more vulnerable,” Yancy said in an earlier interview. “Take it easy.”

Recently, I asked Northwestern University Assistant Professor and Founder of PRIMR, Dr. Nicholas Soulakis, to tell me how he plans to use data science to innovate health care. Dr. Soulakis is a public health scientist whose research focus lies at the intersection of epidemiology and informatics; he is particularly interested in understanding the expanding, data-rich environment created by health information technology, and leveraging computationally techniques to monitor and improve healthcare quality.

The foundation — commonly known throughout the neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side as Live Like John — donated $500,000 on Dec. 1 to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.