Recent News

Dr. Hendrix Testifies Before Congressional Committee Dr. Mary Hendrix The unpredictable nature of science makes it nearly impossible to know which new discoveries gained through basic research will lead to the next important medical advancement. Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, professor of cancer biology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, says[…]

Dean J. Larry Jameson Challenges and Opportunities for the Feinberg School VIEW VIDEO Drawing parallels between the nation’s and the medical school’s economic challenges and the opportunities they present, Dean J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine welcomed a standing–room–only crowd to[…]

Heartburn Meds Ineffective for Some Asthma Patients Dr. Lewis Smith For nearly 20 years, doctors believed severe asthma symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and breathlessness were triggered, in part, by acid reflux. Asthma sufferers were often prescribed heartburn medication in an effort to help their asthma symptoms. A new national study, led in Illinois by[…]

Stephen Miller Named Award Winner at Research Day (From left) Drs. Lewis Landsberg, Stephen Miller, and Rex Chisholm At the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Lewis Landsberg Research Day, keynote speaker Stephen D. Miller, PhD, Judy Gugenheim Research Professor of Microbiology-Immunology, was named winner of the Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award in Translational Science and Education. Created[…]

Sesquicentennial Banner Is Out of This World The Feinberg School of Medicine’s sesquicentennial banner Certainly the founding fathers of the Feinberg School of Medicine never dreamed that its 150th anniversary would be celebrated in outer space. With the purple and white sesquicentennial banner tucked away in his official flight kit, Feinberg School alum Michael Barratt,[…]

Stem Cell Story Wins Broadcasting Award The documentary film Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, focusing on the stem cell research and personal story of Feinberg School faculty member Jack Kessler, MD, and his daughter, Allison, now a medical student at the Feinberg School, has won a Peabody Award—one of the most prestigious awards in[…]

High Rate of Patients Readmitted to Hospital Dr. Mark Williams When a patient is discharged from the hospital, just about the last thing he or she wants is to be back in again within the next month. But a new national study has found that’s exactly what happens to one out of five Medicare patients,[…]

Sesquicentennial Banner Is Out of This World The Feinberg School of Medicine’s sesquicentennial banner Certainly the founding fathers of the Feinberg School of Medicine never dreamed that its 150th anniversary would be celebrated in outer space. With the purple and white sesquicentennial banner tucked away in his official flight kit, Feinberg School alum Michael Barratt,[…]

Patients’ Stem Cells Could Treat Their Heart Disease Dr. Douglas Losordo Preliminary data presented on March 28 as a late-breaking abstract at the American College of Cardiology’s 58th annual scientific session from the largest CD34+ adult stem cell study for heart disease has shown the first evidence that delivering a potent form of autologous (from[…]

PAD Study Challenges Traditional Thinking Dr. Mary McDermott A recent study by a Feinberg School researcher challenges traditional thinking about what should be considered a normal score for an ankle-brachial index (ABI), a simple test used to diagnose peripheral artery disease. Furthermore the data suggest that even those with a borderline or low normal ABI[…]

Astronaut/Alum Carries University Banner in Space Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, Expedition 19 commander (center), NASA astronaut Michael Barratt (left), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata Astronaut Michael Barratt, who earned his MD from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, blasted off to the International Space Station today (March 26) with a white and purple[…]

NU Trustee Ann Lurie Honored With Humanitarian Award Ann Lurie Northwestern University trustee and philanthropist Ann Lurie has received the 2009 Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Award for Humanitarian Contributions to the Health of Humankind by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The award was presented on March 24 at an awards ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton,[…]

New Dual-Degree Program Offered Dr. Julius Dewald The Northwestern University Graduate School now offers a combined DPT (Doctor in Physical Therapy)/PhD program supported by a new interdisciplinary training grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM). Julius P.A. Dewald, PT, PhD, professor and chair of[…]

Dr. Cella Named Chair of New Department of Medical Social Sciences Dr. David Cella A top researcher on how to measure outcomes among cancer patients and the quality of life for patients in medical clinical trials has been named chair of a newly created Department of Medical Social Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine.[…]

Goodbye Needle, Hello Smoothie!New generation oral vaccine uses dairy probiotics to protect against disease The dendritic cell (green) engulfs the lactobacilli (small blue dots), which release the vaccine. The dendritic cells will induce the proliferation and the activation of T and B cells, which will eliminate the infected cells. Instead of a dreaded injection with[…]

New Global Health Center Meets Multiple Needs Dr. Robert Murphy Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine announces the formation of the Center for Global Health. Through this comprehensive center, the school will facilitate international experiences for its students, trainees, and faculty members, and will promote and build, through local partnerships, sustainable research and education programs[…]

Video: Preserving Fertility in Cancer Patients Drs. Teresa Woodruff (left) and Jacqueline Jeruss Watch a Webinar with fertility researcher Teresa Woodruff, PhD and surgical oncologist Jacqueline Jeruss, MD, PhD, discussing their New England Journal of Medicine article (February 26 issue) on preserving fertilty in cancer patients. print story

Scientists Welcome Lifting of Stem Cell Funding Ban View Dr. Kessler’s live interview on WTTW Dr. John Kessler Feinberg School of Medicine scientists who do research with stem cells said they were relieved that politics would no longer interfere with science, after President Barack Obama signed an executive order Monday to permit federal funding for[…]

Chronic Pain Reorganizes the Brain Dr. Marco Martina Studies of people suffering from chronic pain have shown that depression and specific cognitive declines are associated with the condition. In humans, the prefrontal cortex is known to be important in higher-order cognitive and emotional functions, and a subsection, the medial prefrontal cortex, has been correlated with[…]