NOVEMBER 2025 NEWSLETTER

Bringing the Fundamentals of Clinical Care Back to the Bedside

As the inaugural director of the Center for Bedside Medicine, Brian Garibaldi, MD, MEHP, seeks to reinvent the doctor-patient encounter for the 21st century. Research has shown that physicians spend only 13 percent of their time in direct contact with patients in the hospital, amounting to just six minutes per patient per day.

Read the feature

Eleven Feinberg Investigators Named to 2025 Highly Cited List

Eleven Feinberg faculty members were named to the 2025 “Highly Cited Researchers” list, published by Clarivate Analytics. The annual list identifies investigators who have demonstrated significant influence in their field through the publication of highly cited publications over the preceding eleven years.

Read about the list

Faculty Profile

Developing New Diagnostic Tools and Therapeutics for Cerebral Malaria

Rafal Sobota, MD, PhD, '18, '21 GME, is an assistant professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology’s Division of Neurocritical Care. His research focuses on neuroinfectious diseases, particularly cerebral malaria.

Read more about his research

Post-Doc Profile

Studying the Immunological Implications of Lactate

Nikita Mani, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Samuel Weinberg, ’19 MD, ’19 PhD, assistant professor of Pathology in the Division of Experimental Pathology. She studies the immunological implications of lactate, which can be found in high level tumors and virus-infected lungs

Read more about her research

Student Profile

Combining Clinical Care and Research to Improve Patient-Centered Care

Noah Forrest is a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). In the laboratory of Theresa Walunas, PhD, associate professor of Medicine, Forrest investigates lean muscle loss in the setting of a chronic disease and how it impacts patient outcomes.

Read more about his research

Campus Events

Research in the News

CBS News, November 7
Pennsylvania man says experimental drug has helped him recover from cycling accident
Monica Perez, PhD, PT was featured.

Fox News, November 6
New pancreatic cancer treatment ‘wakes up’ immune cells, researchers say
Mohamed Abdel Mohsen, PhD, was featured.

Fox Chicago, October 29
Northwestern scientists develop nanomedicine that wipes out leukemia in animal study
Chad Mirkin, PhD, was featured.

Check out more media coverage

NUCATS Corner

Investigator Development Opportunities Continue to Expand

The NUCATS Institute recently redesigned its Investigator Development resource page. The page is now better organized to help you navigate the clinical research landscape and become a better investigator through our professional education programs, interactive seminars and workshops, and on-demand resources. We can also connect you to additional offerings available outside of NUCATS to meet your needs.

If you are an early-stage investigator aspiring to secure an NIH K grant or your first R01, consider joining the ESI Academy. All early-career faculty and postdoctoral fellows are welcome. Other offerings, like our Master of Science in Clinical Investigation and four-day Leadership & Management Strategies for Clinical Investigators, provide more formal training for individuals interested in enhancing their clinical research techniques or learning more about the business side of science.

Breakthroughs Rewind

Leading Neuroscience Research to Inform Mental Health Treatment with Sachin Patel, MD, PhD

Listen to the podcast episode

New Faculty

Yuta Senzai, PhD, joined as assistant professor of Neuroscience in January 2025. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his PhD from New York University, and his research is investigates how the brain’s internal model of the world emerges from complex interactions within neuronal circuits and from the dynamic interplay between the brain and the external environment.

Sponsored Research

PASSPORT: PASsive Sensing to Prevent stress-related Overeating in Real-Time

PI: Nabil Alshurafa, PhD, associate professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Behavioral Medicine

Sponsor: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Read more about this project

Galter Library

Enhancing Access to Full Text: Rapid Document Delivery for Feinberg

To streamline access to research materials, Galter Library, Pritzker Legal Research Center and Northwestern University Libraries have implemented Article Galaxy Scholar, a new on-demand rapid document delivery service. This service, available for a select number of journals, supplements existing library collections and interlibrary loan services.

Read more about the service

High Impact Research

Alicea Pauneto CDM, Riesenberg BP, Gandy EJ, Kennedy AS, Clutton GT, Hem JW, Hurst KE, Hunt EG, Green JM, Miller BC, Angus SP, Johnson GL, Esther RJ, Guerriero JL, Gao P, Soto-Pantoja DR, Ferris RL, Modliszewski JL, Coleman MF, Chung HK, Milner JJ, Moschos SJ, Wiseman RL, Thaxton JE. Intra-tumoral hypoxia promotes CD8⁺ T cell dysfunction via chronic activation of integrated stress response transcription factor ATF4. Immunity. Oct 2025; 58(10):2489-2504.e8.

Ambalavanan N, Carlo WA, Nowak KJ, Wiener LE, Cosby SS, Bhatt AJ, Watterberg KL, Poindexter BB, Keszler M, D'Angio CT, Brion LP, Narendran V, Rau CA, Cotten CM, Laughon MM, Das A, Rysavy MA, Hibbs AM, Fuller J, Puopolo KM, Katheria A, Patel RM, Bermick JR, Laptook AR, Prelipcean I, Wyckoff MH, Moore R, Merhar SL, Ohls RK, Yoder BA, Perez M, Ghavam S, Meyer LR, Chock VY, DeMauro SB, Jackson WM, Handa D, Walsh MC. Early Intratracheal Budesonide to Reduce Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Extremely Preterm Infants: The Budesonide in Babies (BiB) Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association. Oct 2025; 334(16):1452-1462.

Barnes A, Gaikwad HK, Siegel D, Angarita D, Nebbia M, Anchordoquy T, Bourne D, Stewart M, Yildirim A, Fierro Cota MM, Duffy JT, Haupt BE, Balyasnikova IV, Simberg D. Role of Serum Stability and Lipoprotein Interactions in Lipid Structure-Tumor Accumulation Relationship. ACS Nano. Oct 2025; 19(41):36435-36450.

Bulun SE, Yin P, Wei J, Zuberi A, Iizuka T, Suzuki T, Saini P, Goad J, Parker JB, Adli M, Boyer T, Chakravarti D, Rajkovic A. UTERINE FIBROIDS. Physiological Reviews. Oct 2025; 105(4):1947-1988.

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Featured Core

Northwestern Medicine Enterprise Data Warehouse (NMEDW)

The Northwestern Medicine Enterprise Data Warehouse (NMEDW) is a joint initiative across the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Corporation. Its mission is to create a single, comprehensive, and integrated repository of all clinical and research data sources on the campus to facilitate research, clinical quality, healthcare operations and medical education.

Services Offered

• i2b2: i2b2 is a self-service tool for investigators to explore cohort availability. Learn more about i2b2.
• NMEDW Data Analysts: The NMEDW employs a team of data analysts dedicated to satisfying requests for data from the NMEDW for research purposes. To make a request of an NMEDW data analyst, please go to the NMEDW website from the NU or Hospital networks and log in with your NU or NMHC credentials. Once logged in, click on "Add New Data Request" and follow the form to add the needed information relative to your research request. An NMEDW Research Analyst will contact you shortly.
• NMEDW Pilot Data Program: This is an initiative to help jump-start research projects led by less established investigators who do not yet have adequate funding.  The purpose of this grant is not to internally fund entire research projects; rather, the goal is to allow young investigators to obtain feasibility or early pilot data in order to seek sustained funding.
• Powerusers: Individuals who have skills using advanced database languages can apply to become a Poweruser. Powerusers are granted direct access to the NMEDW to do their work. They must be named on a valid IRB protocol, pass a skills assessment, and take a training course. They are also obligated to comply with all NMEDW policies and procedures.

Learn more about the core

Funding Opportunities

Due to the government shutdown, there haven't been any new funding opportunities posted since we sent October Breakthroughs. Review exisiting funding opportunities on the NIH website.

Explore funding opportunities

NIH News

Due to the government shutdown, there haven't been any new updates from the NIH since we sent October Breakthroughs. You can visit the NIH's website for more information.

Visit NIH Press Room

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