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.

  • Today

    Many popular sunscreens don’t meet protection guidelines, study finds

    “There is a gap in consumer knowledge on sunscreen,” Shuai Xu, co-author and a resident in dermatology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told TODAY.

  • Fox News

    Americans may be overspending on inadequate sunscreen products, study suggests

    Researchers at Northwestern University found that about 40 percent of the most popular sunscreens on the website do not meet the American Academy of Dermatology’s quality guidelines, including water or sweat resistance. Their study, published Wednesday in JAMA Dermatology, also suggested consumers spend an estimated 3,000 percent more on products than necessary.

  • CNN (National)

    Most popular sunscreens might not be the most effective

    Dermatologists “are often asked to recommend sunscreens, and we wanted to know what consumers prefer,” said lead study author Dr. Steve Xu. “This way, we are suggesting popular products they will actually use that will protect them.”

  • CBS News (National)

    Surprising number of popular sunscreens don’t meet protection standards

    “The results were surprising in some ways,” said study author Dr. Steve Xu, a resident in the department of dermatology at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, in Chicago.

    Play VIDEO
    Sunscreen ingredients can cause allergic reactions
    “But, there are some important caveats,” he added. “The definition of a ‘sunscreen’ has broadened a lot. Sunscreens are no longer just bright blue bottles thrown in beach bags,” he noted, with less-protective moisturizers now often substituting for more sunscreen-specific products.

  • ABC News

    Consumers Often Choose Sunscreens Which Fall Short of Dermatology Association Guidelines, Study Finds

    Researchers from multiple institutions, including Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, looked at the top-rated one percent of sunscreens on Amazon to see whether people are picking the sunscreens that provide the best protection. Researchers picked the sunscreens that had both the highest ratings and highest number of reviews by consumers on Amazon.

  • The Washington Post

    Researchers now have a much more nuanced understanding of whether we should eat pasta

    Along with normalizing bowel movements, fiber-heavy foods can be helpful in weight loss. Foods with lots of fiber tends to have fewer calories for the same volume of food. That’s key for maintaining a healthy body-mass index and diet, said Linda Van Horn, a nutrition professor at Northwestern University’s medical school. “You feel fuller when you’ve consumed those kinds of food,” Van Horn said. “That’s why any high-fiber whole grain provides this sense of fullness that helps you to reduce your total intake of calories.”

  • The New York Times

    Why Dieters Flock to Instagram

    Last year, Bonnie Spring, a professor in preventive medicine at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, published one of the few existing studies on why people turn to digital communities for weight loss. Dr. Spring said that Instagram may have success as a dieting platform because it is actually “a little bit less socially connected” than other platforms, serving the online dieters who value privacy and want minimal interaction with others. “Some people feel highly motivated and egged on to succeed when they can post their accomplishments on a leader board and compare their progress to others’,” Dr. Spring said. “Others cave under that kind of pressure and public scrutiny.”

  • The Washington Post

    4 in 10 highly rated sunscreens don’t meet American Academy of Dermatology guidelines

    Given that the marketplace has led you in the right direction with so many other consumer products, you might be wondering whether it’s a good place to read up on the sunscreen you’ve been meaning to buy as summer kicks into high gear. The answer, according to a study published Wednesday by Shuai Xu of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, is yes and no.

  • Reuters

    Many popular sunscreens don’t meet suggested guidelines

    Nearly 10 percent of all sunscreen sales in the U.S. occur on Amazon.com, but many of the most popular sun protection products sold there don’t meet standards set by medical professionals, a new report says. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, sunscreens should provide broad spectrum protection against ultraviolet (UV) A and B rays, be water resistant and have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. But less than two-thirds of the most popular sunscreens on Amazon met those standards, researchers report.

  • The Wall Street Journal

    Obama Administration Awards $55 Million for Research on Genetic Links to Disease

    The Obama administration said it is awarding $55 million to hospitals and companies to begin ambitious national research into the genetic makeup of a million or more Americans that is the planned cornerstone of the White House’s “precision-medicine initiative.” NIH has selected four universities to be the primary regional medical centers in the national undertaking. They are Columbia University in New York, in partnership with Weill Cornell Medical College and Harlem Hospital; Northwestern University in Chicago, in partnership with the University of Chicago, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services LLC and the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Arizona, Tucson, in partnership with Banner Health; and the University of Pittsburgh.