Recent News

Hughes Legacy Lives On at Medical School The tragic death of prolific filmmaker and life-long Chicagoan John Hughes on August 6 at age 59 was felt personally at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. A long-time resident of the North Shore, Mr. Hughes love for Chicago not only translated into producing movies showcasing the[…]

Too Many Ways to Say “It Hurts” Dr. Cella There are at least 100 ways to say, “It hurts!” And that is the problem. David Cella is on mission — backed by nearly $10 million in National Institutes of Health funds — to revolutionize the language of pain, as well as fatigue, depression and anxiety.[…]

Dr. Woodruff Receives Mentoring Honor Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, was selected by members of the Medical Faculty Council as the 2009 Mentor of the Year. Dr. Woodruff is the director of the Institute for Women’s Health Research, the director of the Oncofertility Consortium and a professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. She was also[…]

Northwestern Develops Physician Assistant Program James Van Rhee The Feinberg School will offer a Physician Assistant Program that will have as its academic home the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Pending a successful provisional accreditation visit in December 2009 and positive review by the Accreditation Review Commission in March 2010, the program will welcome[…]

Stealthy Gene Network Makes Brain Tumors Flourish Dr. Bredel The brain tumor afflicting Sen. Edward Kennedy—a glioblastoma—is the most aggressive and wily form of brain cancer. It has foiled researchers’ decades-long efforts to thwart its explosive growth in the brain. The lethal tumor – the most common brain tumor in humans—nimbly alters its genes like[…]

Dr. Taiwo Stands Out Among Young Investigators Dr. Taiwo Babafemi Taiwo, MBBS, is the recipient of the 2009 John Carey Young Investigator Award presented at the recent AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) Network meeting in Washington, D.C. The award was established to recognize junior investigators who best exemplify the ideals of the ACTG and the[…]

Dr. Kibbe Honored with Presidential Early Career Award Melina Kibbe, MD, associate professor of surgery at the Feinberg School, has been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award, established in 1996, is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are in the[…]

New Department Expands Scope of Outcomes Research Dr. David Cella This spring, Feinberg School of Medicine announced the creation of the Department of Medical Social Sciences, which will focus on outcomes science, health measurement, quality of life issues, and the development of statistical tools to use in related research. The new department is led by[…]

Dr. Mirkin Receives Lemelson-MIT Prize for Invention Dr. Chad Mirkin Northwestern University researcher and Feinberg School professor of medicine Chad Mirkin, PhD, one of the world’s leaders in nanotechnology research and its application, has been awarded the prestigious 2009 $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. For Dr. Mirkin, good things come in small packages — specifically one billionth[…]

Unfit Young Adults on Road to Diabetes in Middle Age ►Commentary on fitness and diabetes Most healthy 25 year olds don’t stay up at night worrying whether they are going to develop diabetes in middle age. The disease is not on their radar, and middle age is a lifetime away. As it turns out, many[…]

Dean Jameson Honored for Endocrinology Contributions (R) Dr. J. Larry Jameson J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean of the Feinberg School, has received the Fred Conrad Koch Award, the highest honor bestowed by The Endocrine Society in recognition of exceptional contributions to endocrinology. In bestowing the honor,[…]

Bike-to-Work Week, June 13-19 Northwestern University has been working with various groups to promote transportation alternatives to ease traffic congestion and parking demand on the Chicago Campus. One transportation alternative that is relatively inexpensive, healthy, and non-polluting is commuting by bike. Whether you’ve considered biking to work but never tried it, are a regular bike[…]

Stimulus Funds Science Experience for Young Women Dr. Teresa Woodruff What has President Obama’s stimulus package got to do with research efforts to preserve the reproductive future of cancer survivors? Everything for two recent Chicago high school graduates and two high school science teachers who this summer and next will engage in research in the[…]

Study Finds New Risk for Snoring Pregnant Women A new study from researchers at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that women who reported frequent snoring during their pregnancy were more likely to develop gestational diabetes—a condition than can cause health problems for the mother and baby. The study also found pregnancy[…]

Dr. Thaxton Honored for Nanotechnology Research Dr. C. Shad Thaxton C. Shad Thaxton, MD, PhD, assistant professor of urology, has been named 2009 researcher of the year by Bioscience Technology. Dr. Thaxton’s award is a result of his research using gold nanoparticles to develop new therapeutics for atherosclerosis, a disease caused by an imbalance of[…]

Bike-to-Work Week, June 13-19 Northwestern University has been working with various groups to promote transportation alternatives to ease traffic congestion and parking demand on the Chicago Campus. One transportation alternative that is relatively inexpensive, healthy, and non-polluting is commuting by bike. Whether you’ve considered biking to work but never tried it, are a regular bike[…]