SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWSLETTER
The newsletter of the Feinberg School of Medicine Research Office
 |
Feinberg Scientists Reveal Hidden Dynamics of the Cell’s Smallest Structures |
|
Scientists at Feinberg are reshaping scientific understanding of the cell’s tiniest components—structures once thought to be static, now revealed to be dynamic engines of cellular life. As they probe the inner workings of cells, they are not only expanding understanding of cellular processes but also paving the way for novel therapies and diagnostics. |
 |
Celebrating Scientific Discovery and Collaboration at Research Day 2025 |
|
Feinberg students, staff, trainees and faculty celebrated scientific discoveries and presented their research posters and abstracts at Feinberg’s 19th annual Lewis Landsberg Research Day on Thursday, Sept. 11. |
 |
Nation’s First MIRAVA Polyscope Comes to Center for Advanced Microscopy |
|
Feinberg investigators now have access to one of the most advanced super-resolution imaging systems in the world, thanks to the installation of the MIRAVA Polyscope at the Center for Advanced Microscopy (CAM) at Northwestern University. This groundbreaking instrument—developed by Nobel Laureate Stefan Hell—is the first of its kind in the United States and among the first fully operational systems worldwide. |
Faculty ProfileInvestigating the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Epithelial Cell FunctionBrian Mitchell, PhD, is an associate professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. His laboratory aims to understand the integration of cell signaling and cytoskeletal dynamics on diverse developmental processes including centriole amplification, cell migration and cell polarity. |
|
Student ProfileUnderstanding How Social Drivers Affect Health Through EpigeneticsMindy Szeto is a PhD student in the Health Sciences Integrated Program (HSIP) at Feinberg in the Health and Biomedical Informatics (HBMI) track. Szeto is currently analyzing early life social and environmental exposures and epigenetic mediators contributing to cardiovascular disease risk. |
|
Staff ProfileSupporting Sinus ResearchJames Norton is the research laboratory manager in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Feinberg. In his roles, Norton has supported the research enterprise at Feinberg for more than 20 years. |
|
Campus Events |
||||||||
|
Research in the NewsUS News & World Report, Sept 2 US News & World Report, Sept 2 Chicago Sun-Times, August 25 |
NUCATS CornerRegistration Open for NUCATS Mentor Development SeriesRegistration for the NUCATS Mentor Development Series is now open in MyHR Learn. Please see important links below. This series is reserved for faculty only. All workshops are held in person, limited to 42 participants, and spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If a workshop is at capacity, you will be added to a waitlist within the MyHR Learn system. Please make sure to keep an eye out for confirmation emails from MyHR Learn and accept the associated calendar invites. The NUCATS Mentor Training Certificate Program fulfills the NIH mentoring requirements. Please email Morgan Barrowman with any questions. |
|
Breakthroughs Podcast RewindThe Role of Dopamine in Habit Formation and Compulsive Behavior with Talia Lerner, PhDIn this episode, Lerner discusses how habits both good and bad are formed in the brain, and the role habits may play in diseases of the brain. Her research may change the overall understanding of how habits are formed and could be broken. |
|
New FacultyFumiaki Ito, PhD, joined Feinberg as assistant professor of Microbiology-Immunology in September 2025. Ito studies the molecular mechanisms of viral replication, antiviral immunity, and virus–host interactions involved in various DNA/RNA viruses. Their work uses cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and other biophysical/biochemical techniques to understand complex and dynamic processes by which viruses manipulate and hijack host cells, as well as how the host immune system responds to infection. Prior to coming to Northwestern, Ito was a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA. |
|
Sponsored ResearchAI Driven End-to-End 4D flow MRI Pipeline for Hemodynamic Assessment in BAV DiseasePI: Michael Markl, PhD, vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology and Lester B. and Frances T. Knight Professor of Cardiac Imaging Sponsor: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute |
|
Galter LibraryPreparing for the NIH Common Forms: Updated Timeline and Previews Available in SciENcvIn July 2024, the NIH announced a requirement for all grant proposals to use federal Common Forms for the NIH biosketch and for the Other Support document, and that these documents must be prepared using the NIH platform SciENcv. To support this transition, NIH launched PREVIEW versions of the Common Forms in SciENcv on September 10, 2025. |
|
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY & PUBLIC HEALTHStrategic Initiatives of the UniversityOne of Northwestern’s six research and innovation priorities is to lead in sustainability, broadly defined. Supported by the Office of the Provost, Jennifer Dunn, PhD is leading an initiative to understand current efforts in this space and opportunities to expand the scope of sustainability research and education at Northwestern, including work that leads to improved land, air, and water quality and public health. This initiative aims to find and encourage points of connection across Northwestern’s schools and campuses in order to provide easy entry points for alumni, donors, and others who are interested in funding these endeavors. To inform this initiative, Dunn has held a series of conversations with Feinberg faculty, including faculty members from IPHAM, Medical Social Sciences, Preventive Medicine, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and NUCATS. If your work intersects with environmental sustainability or if you are interested in learning more, please email StrategicInitiatives@northwestern.edu. |
High Impact ResearchNassar AH, Kim C, Adeyelu T, Bou Farhat E, Abushukair H, Rakaee M, Matteson K, Lau SF, Takabe Y, Ocejo A, Ardeshir-Larijani F, Leal T, Ramalingam S, Alam S, Gray JE, Hicks J, Kaldas D, Baena J, Berjaga MZ, Nana FA, Grohe C, Leuders H, Citarella F, Cortellini A, Mingo EC, Pancirer D, Das M, Ellis-Caleo TJ, Cheung JM, Lin JJ, Watson AS, Camidge DR, Sridhar A, Parikh K, Crowley F, Marron TU, Aggarwal V, Ahmed M, Sankar K, Kawtharany H, Zhang J, Owen DH, Li M, Nagasaka M, Pinato DJ, Awosika N, Alhamad K, Puri S, Zaman U, Gupta DM, Lau C, Khan H, Liauw J, Velazquez AI, Brown T, Moliner L, Mosteiro M, Rocha P, Evans M, Vanderwalde A, Elliott A, Nieva J, Lopes G, Ma PC, Borghaei H, Lee M, Young L, Aljumaily R, Mirza H, Kwiatkowski DJ, Herbst RS, Flavell RA, Naqash AR, Chiang AC. Integrated molecular and clinical characterization of pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Nature Communications. Aug 2025; 16(1):7717-7717. Nelson RS, Grossman MG, Klug ZM, Calamari M, Donayre A, Cybulski T, Schooley J, Griffith GJ, Corcos DM, Wright DE, Wallace JC, Yang DS, Wright JA, Rogers JA, Lee SP, Ghaffari R, Aranyosi AJ, Jain M. Remote analysis and management of sweat biomarkers using a wearable microfluidic sticker in adult cystic fibrosis patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Aug 2025; 122(33):e2506137122-e2506137122. Ouyang W, Chen Y, Tan T, Song Y, Dong T, Yu X, Lee KE, Zhou X, Tetz Z, Go S, Zeng X, Shao L, Quan C, Zhao T, Tian Y, Kurabayashi K, Jin H, Ma J, Qin J, Williams B, Li Q, Zhu GD, Alam HB, Stringer KA, Li Y, Ma J. A citrullinated histone H3 monoclonal antibody for immune modulation in sepsis. Nature Communications. Aug 2025; 16(1):7435-7435. Richardson RAK, Hong SS, Byrne JA, Stoeger T, Amaral LAN. The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient, and growing rapidly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Aug 2025; 122(32):e2420092122-e2420092122. |
Featured CoreOutcomes Measurement and Survey CoreThe mission of this core facility is to provide consultation and support for research that involves collecting, analyzing or interpreting self-, proxy-, and observer-report data in culturally diverse populations across the lifespan. Key ServicesResearch Design Consultation Services
Programming & Analysis Services
Research Operations Services
|
Funding Opportunities
|
NIH NewsNIH Launches Initiative to Modernize and Strengthen Biosafety Oversight As the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, NIH is committed to ensuring that gold-standard science is conducted under gold-standard biosafety conditions. Today, NIH is launching its Biosafety Modernization Initiative – a comprehensive effort to modernize and strengthen biosafety policies, practices, and oversight to keep pace with the evolving risks posed by today’s rapidly advancing science and technology. In the coming months, NIH will work closely with the research community and stakeholders to create the biosafety framework of the 21st century. First, NIH will revamp biosafety oversight to address potential risks beyond recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid technologies. At the same time, the widespread use of certain low-risk recombinant technologies may no longer warrant the oversight once deemed necessary, allowing us to reduce red tape for some research. Second, NIH will strengthen our partnerships with institutional oversight bodies to empower Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBC), reinforcing their position as the front lines of biosafety oversight. This will also provide an opportunity for institutional leadership to reassess whether their IBCs are receiving support and resources equal to other institutional committees, such as those who review human subjects research and the care and use of animals. |
Thank You For ReadingWe are testing an updated format for this newsletter. We welcome your feedback. Please share it with us via email. |
|
|
