Weill Cornell Medicine

Researchers have discovered how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, induces new cases of diabetes and worsens complications in people who already have the disease. From the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors caring for sick patients observed that the virus affected several organ systems, including the lungs, heart, liver, colon, and pancreas. Using a novel model system they developed, researchers led by Dr. Shuibing Chen of Weill Cornell Medicine and Dr. Robert Schwartz of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital found that viral exposure activates immune cells that in turn destroy beta (β) cells, the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. Full story: https://bit.ly/4cY6x6Q

It is important to raise awareness about prostate cancer, which is the most common non-skin cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. Dr. Christopher Barbieri emphasizes the risk factors associated with prostate issues and urges patients to undergo early screening. Regular check-ups, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and understanding family history are crucial for early detection and prevention.

We remember the heroic first responders who risked their lives to save others during the events of September 11. In 2002, the Department of Emergency Medicine faculty members?created?the MS1 First Responder Course to train and support the next generation of doctors and first responders. Our emergency medicine team members recently conducted a course with our incoming class of 2028 medical students, using simulations and debriefs to equip them with the skills to respond to emergencies. Our unwavering commitment is to our students and the greater NYC community, which we are proud to serve as a way to honor and remember those who lost their lives that day.

Join us in celebrating the outstanding members of our community who have recently received awards and honors: ?? Dr. Lisa Newman, of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, was awarded the 2024 Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). ?? Dr. Nili Solomonov received the 2024 Theodore Blau Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association. ?? Dr. Jedd Wolchok was named a fellow of the Academy of Immuno-Oncology by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). ?? Dr. Zhen Zhao was awarded the 2024 IFCC Distinguished Women Scientist Award by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC). ?? Medical student Justin McCaskill was appointed to the American College of Physicians (ACP) Council of Student Members and was selected as the student representative to the American Medical Association. Full announcement: https://bit.ly/3XwNRGL

Following his father, a pioneering heart surgeon, Dr. Michael Kaplitt always knew he wanted to be both a doctor and a scientist. “Ever since I was very young, I've had a curiosity about what causes problems in the human body, and how one could address it,” he says. In a junior high experiment, he fed earthworms egg yolks to see if high cholesterol would give them heart disease -- and that's what happened. Treating patients and doing research are “both equally important parts of my personality,” he says. As executive vice chair of neurological surgery, Dr. Kaplitt combines surgical expertise with advanced training in state-of-the-art stereotactic techniques to treat patients with degenerative brain disorders. “We treat diseases including Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, complex pain, and other things that prevent patients from functioning normally in their daily lives,” he says. It’s exciting “how innovation and technology can change how you practice neurosurgery so you can take questions from the clinic back to your laboratory and vice versa”, he says. To illustrate the speed of innovation in the field, Dr. Kaplitt recalls a firefighter who had a tremor that he treated with deep-brain stimulation early in his Weill Cornell tenure. The technique– groundbreaking at the time–involved surgically implanting an electrode in his brain to stop the tremors. A generation later, Dr. Kaplitt treated the fireman’s son for the same condition with a completely non-invasive ultrasound technique. When he treats patients with focused ultrasound,, “their tremors literally stop instantaneously,” he says. "They go home that evening and they can use a spoon to eat soup. They can drink from a cup. It’s life-changing work. To be among the first to bring these cutting-edge technologies to patients and in some instances, actually develop new treatment approaches is “incredibly satisfying,” he says. Dr. Kaplitt has also been a pioneer in gene therapy, developing the basic techniques now used in most neuroscience labs around the world and performing the first human gene therapy operation for Parkinson’s. He continues to work in his lab at Weill Cornell Medicine on trials to develop gene therapies for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, complex pain and other conditions. “The most rewarding things are, how relatively quickly you can transform people's lives with the technologies that we bring to bear,” he says. Left to right: Heart surgeons Dr. Edward (Ted) Dietrich, Dr. Martin J. Kaplitt (father -center) and Dr. Michael Kaplitt (son - right) when he was an intern at Weill Cornell Medicine in 1995.