MAY 2025 NEWSLETTER

Pioneering New Techniques in the Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease

More than seven million Americans aged 65 years and older currently live with Alzheimer’s disease, according to recent estimates from the Alzheimer’s Association. As the prevalence of the disease increases, so does the need for research that identifies underlying mechanisms of disease to enhance the effectiveness of current therapies and inform new therapeutic strategies.

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Distinguished Molecular Biologist Delivers 2025 Kimberly Prize Lecture

Esteemed molecular biologist Ron Evans, PhD, known for his groundbreaking discovery of the nuclear receptor superfamily, delivered the third Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Lecture to a crowded auditorium of Feinberg faculty, staff, fellows and students on April 30.

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Faculty Profile

Improving Prenatal and Early Life Influences Impacting Infant Health

Leena B. Mithal, ’08 MD, ’16 MSCI, is an associate professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases. As a pediatric infectious disease specialist, Mithal aims to advance understanding of perinatal microbial exposures, immune response and health outcomes.

Read more about her research

Student Profile

Pursuing New Knowledge in Infectious Diseases

Estefany Guzman is a dual degree student in the Driskill Graduate Program pursuing both a PhD and MPH. In the laboratory of  Judd Hultquist, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and of Microbiology-Immunology, she studies pathogens, including COVID-19 and RSV. 

Read more about her research

Staff Profile

Leading and Guiding Departmental Strategy

Grace Kim is the senior program coordinator for the Department of Medical Social Sciences (MSS) at Feinberg. In her role, she helps advance strategic priorities for the department, including programming and planning for research and educational opportunities.

Read more about her work

Campus Events

Research in the News

WebMD, April 23
Tick Season Is Back, but New Lyme Treatment Is on the Horizon
Brandon Jutras, PhD, was featured.

US News & World Report, April 24
Virtual Singing Programs Boost Mood, Well-Being Of Isolated Seniors
Borna Bonakdarpour, MD, was featured.

US News & World Report, May 7
Conversion Therapy Harms Heart Health
Brian Mustanski, PhD, was featured.

Check out More Media Coverage

NUCATS Corner

Enhance Your Research Communication with Acutrans

The NUCATS Institute has established an active collaboration with Acutrans, a provider of professional interpretation, translation, transcription and multimedia localization services designed for healthcare and research settings. This partnership aims to support clinical research teams in effective communications with research participants. 

Services include on-site, video and phone interpreting, as well as document translation across more than 80 languages. Learn more about the collaboration with Acutrans, and how your study team can execute a Statement of Work agreement for their services.

Visit the NUCATS website

Sponsored Research

The Neural Basis of Dopamine-Driven Deficits in Cognition and Perception

• PI: Jones Parker, PhD, assistant professor, of Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
• Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health

Read more about this project

Breakthroughs Podcast

The Science Behind Sleep Health with Minjee Kim, MD

In this episode, Kim shares results of recent studies she has conducted to better understand the role of inadequate sleep on long-term metabolic health in pregnant women and middle-aged adults.

Listen to the podcast episode

New Faculty

Brian Garibaldi, MD, MEHP, joined Feinberg as the Charles Horace Mayo Professor of Medicine and the inaugural director of the Center for Bedside Medicine in September 2024. An accomplished clinical educator, Garibaldi is a nationally recognized leader in innovative bedside teaching methods and a distinguished physician-scientist with expertise in clinical skills assessment, high-consequence pathogens, pandemic preparedness and COVID-19.

He is a co-founder of the Society of Bedside Medicine, a non-profit dedicated to education, innovation and research on the role of the clinical encounter in 21st century medicine. He was formerly the associate program director for bedside medicine at the Johns Hopkins Osler Medical Residency Program and directed the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center, a federally funded special pathogens treatment program.

Galter Library

NIH Accelerates Timeline for Public Access to Research Results

The NIH has taken a significant step forward in its commitment to transparency and public trust by accelerating the implementation of its revised Public Access Policy. Originally scheduled to go into effect on December 31, 2025, the policy will now become effective on July 1, 2025.

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High Impact Research

Basch E, Schrag D, Jansen J, Henson S, Ginos B, Stover AM, Carr P, Spears PA, Jonsson M, Deal AM, Bennett AV, Thanarajasingam G, Rogak L, Reeve BB, Snyder C, Bruner D, Cella D, Kottschade LA, Perlmutter J, Geoghegan C, Given B, Mazza GL, Miller R, Strasser JF, Zylla DM, Weiss A, Blinder VS, Wolf AP, Dueck AC. Symptom monitoring with electronic patient-reported outcomes during cancer treatment: final results of the PRO-TECT cluster-randomized trial. Nature Medicine. Apr 2025; 31(4):1225-1232. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03507-y

Chaikin CA, Thakkar AV, Steffeck AWT, Pfrender EM, Hung K, Zhu P, Waldeck NJ, Nozawa R, Song W, Futtner CR, Quattrocelli M, Bass J, Ben-Sahra I, Peek CB. Control of circadian muscle glucose metabolism through the BMAL1-HIF axis in obesity. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America. Apr 2025; 122(13):e2424046122-e2424046122. doi:10.1073/pnas.2424046122

Chan AW, Boutron I, Hopewell S, Moher D, Schulz KF, Collins GS, Tunn R, Aggarwal R, Berkwits M, Berlin JA, Bhandari N, Butcher NJ, Campbell MK, Chidebe RCW, Elbourne DR, Farmer AJ, Fergusson DA, Golub RM, Goodman SN, Hoffmann TC, Ioannidis JPA, Kahan BC, Knowles RL, Lamb SE, Lewis S, Loder E, Offringa M, Ravaud P, Richards DP, Rockhold FW, Schriger DL, Siegfried NL, Staniszewska S, Taylor RS, Thabane L, Torgerson DJ, Vohra S, White IR, Hróbjartsson A. SPIRIT 2025 statement: Updated guideline for protocols of randomised trials. Plos Medicine. Apr 2025; 22(4):e1004589-e1004589. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1004589

Chan AW, Boutron I, Hopewell S, Moher D, Schulz KF, Collins GS, Tunn R, Aggarwal R, Berkwits M, Berlin JA, Bhandari N, Butcher NJ, Campbell MK, Chidebe RCW, Elbourne DR, Farmer AJ, Fergusson DA, Golub RM, Goodman SN, Hoffmann TC, Ioannidis JPA, Kahan BC, Knowles RL, Lamb SE, Lewis S, Loder E, Offringa M, Ravaud P, Richards DP, Rockhold FW, Schriger DL, Siegfried NL, Staniszewska S, Taylor RS, Thabane L, Torgerson DJ, Vohra S, White IR, Hróbjartsson A. SPIRIT 2025 statement: updated guideline for protocols of randomised trials. BMJ. Apr 2025; 389():e081477-e081477. doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-081477

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Featured Core

Research Computing and Data Services

Northwestern Information Technology partners with the research community to develop and deliver services and support to meet multidisciplinary research needs, enable discovery and foster collaboration among investigators.

Services

• Data Science, Statistics and Visualization
• Data Management and Storage
• Computing and Software
• Training and Consultation

Learn more about the core

Funding Opportunities

Complex Integrated Multi-Component Projects in Aging Research (U19 Clinical Trial Optional)

• Sponsor: NIH, National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Deadline: September 25
• Upper amount: Application budgets are not limited, but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Sponsor: NIH, NIA
• Deadline: September 27
• Upper amount: Applications may request a budget of up to $2.925 million in direct costs per year; the maximum project period is 5 years

Towards a Better Understanding of the Neurological Effects of infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses (R21 – Clinical Trial Optional)

• Sponsor: NIH, NIMH, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)
• Deadline: October 16
• Upper amount: The combined budget for direct costs for the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000; no more than $200,000 may be requested in any single year

Mechanistic Links Between Diet, Lipid Metabolism, and Tumor Growth and Progression (UH2 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Sponsor: NIH, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Deadline: October 24
• Upper amount: Direct costs for the two-year period may not exceed $275,000

Interventions for Stigma Reduction to Improve HIV/AIDS Prevention Treatment and Care in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

• Sponsor: NIH, Fogarty International Center (FIC), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Deadline: November 20
• Upper amount: The combined budget for direct costs for the three-year project period may not exceed $400,000

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