Recent News

Former Dermatology Chair Samuel Bluefarb Dies Samuel M. Bluefarb, MD, professor emeritus of dermatology, died at his home in Kilua-Kona, Hawaii, on June 7. He was 94. He was chair of Northwestern’s Department of Dermatology from 1962–77 and the first Walter J. Hamlin Professor of Dermatology. The Chicago Dermatology Society’s Annual Bluefarb Lecture is named[…]

June 4, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Broadcast Media: Tamara Kerrill Field at (847) 491-4888 or attlk@northwestern.edu Old Memory Traces in Brain May Trigger Chronic Pain, as Newly Identified Drug Relieves Suffering CHICAGO—Why do so many people continue to suffer from life-altering, chronic pain long after their injuries have actually healed?[…]

June 1, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Researchers Find Deadly Effects of Prescription Drugs Six Years before FDA and Drug Firms CHICAGO—Northwestern University’s Charles L. Bennett, MD, PhD, is a super sleuth of potentially deadly prescription drug reactions. He leads a national SWAT team of physicians called RADAR (Research on Adverse[…]

Celebrating a Quarter Century of Service An event is considered successful when the attendees won’t stop talking with each other long enough to walk next door into an elegant room offering a meal fit for royalty. That’s exactly what happened at the reception held June 4 at the Wyndham Chicago Hotel for faculty members who[…]

School Welcomes William Muller as Pathology Chair William A. Muller, MD, PhD, has been appointed professor and chair of the Department of Pathology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, effective July 1. He succeeds Janardan K. Reddy, MD, who has served in that post for the past 14 years and and will remain on the[…]

June 19, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Northwestern Finds Drug That Rejuvenates Neurons to Protect Against Parkinson’s Disease CHICAGO—Northwestern University researchers have discovered a drug that slows—and may even halt—the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The drug rejuvenates aging dopamine cells, whose death in the brain causes the symptoms of this devastating[…]

June 11, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Broadcast Media: Tamara Kerrill Field at (847) 491-4888 or attlk@northwestern.edu Many Physicians Don’t Use Use Patients’ Names on First Visit CHICAGO—Physicians do not address patients by name in half of first-time visits, even though nearly all patients want this personal greeting, according to new[…]

Pedaling Across America in 67 Days The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) will hold its annual assembly in Boston this September. As president of this medical society for some 7,000 practicing physiatrists, Joel M. Press, MD, GME ’88, plans to check out the meeting site in mid-August and at the same time,[…]

June 26, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Broadcast Media: Tamara Kerrill Field at (847) 491-4888 or attlk@northwestern.edu First Study Transplanting Angina Patients’ Purified Stem Cells Shows Safety Researcher First Tests Cell Extraction Technique on Himself CHICAGO—The first U.S. study to transplant a potent form of purified adult stem cells into the[…]

June 12, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Feinberg School Awarded $4 Million to Train Vascular Medicine Specialists CHICAGO—Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has been awarded $4 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to train vascular medicine specialists. Northwestern is one of seven institutions around the country[…]

Legal Landscape Affects Practice of Medicine Feinberg School faculty member Katie Watson, JD, discusses recent U.S. Supreme Court cases of special interest to physicians. Katherine (Katie) L. Watson, JD, lecturer in the Medical Humanities & Bioethics Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says the legal landscape affecting the practice of medicine is changing[…]

May 8, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Researcher Explores Estrogen’s Effect on Seizures CHICAGO—In more than a third of women with epilepsy, seizures fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, due in part to continually fluctuating effects of estrogen on the neural circuitry in the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in[…]

Graduates Reminded to Listen for Patients’ Stories The official Feinberg School of Medicine graduation convocation program listed 162 members of the Class of 2007 who received their MD degrees during ceremonies held May 18 at Navy Pier. Dean Lewis Landsberg, MD, who welcomed the 1,500 or so family and friends in attendance and congratulated the[…]

Medical Examiner Seeks Justice for Crime Victims Dr. Yvonne Milewski, chief medical examiner for Suffolk County, New York, has traveled to places such as Croatia and Kosovo as a volunteer for Physicians for Human Rights. Forensic pathology is oftentimes about life as much is it is about death. As a medical examiner, Yvonne I. Milewski,[…]

May 22, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Genetic Marker Linked to Aggressive Prostate Cancer CHICAGO—Northwestern University researchers have discovered that a recently identified genetic marker for prostate cancer is linked to a highly aggressive form of the disease. These findings ultimately will aid the development of a simple blood test to[…]

Student to Help Incarcerated Women Relieve Stress through Yoga Practicing yoga has brought medical student Adrienne R. Hampton so much physical and spiritual joy that she figures others—particularly the medically underserved—could benefit from a little “downward-facing dog” in their lives. One of 30 health profession students recently selected for the 2007–08 Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows[…]

May 8, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Scientists Work to Reverse Cancer CellsCHICAGO—In earlier work, Northwestern University scientist Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, and colleagues discovered that aggressive melanoma cells (but not normal skin cells nor less aggressive melanoma cells) contain specific proteins similar to those found in embryonic stem cells. This[…]

May 22, 2007 Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Study Finds Drug-Coated Stents Safe for Coronary Artery Blockages CHICAGO—A Northwestern University study reports reassuring news for millions of patients with drug-coated stents to treat coronary artery blockages. The medicated stents are generally safe and effective whether they are used for blockages approved by[…]

Contact: Marla Paul at (312) 503-8928 or atmarla-paul@northwestern.edu Linda Teplin Tracks Health of Youth Who Fall Between the Cracks CHICAGO—During polite chitchat at cocktail parties, someone will ask Linda A. Teplin, PhD, what she does for a living. Dr. Teplin then rivets guests with stories about her research on youth in the juvenile justice system—their[…]

Terra Incognita Premieres at Northwestern When college student Carrie Kaufman suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury after diving off a pier into a Wisconsin lake, friends quickly pulled her from the water. Although unable to move her arms and legs, Carrie had the presence of mind to offer advice to her frantic companions, according to[…]