News
Read the latest news from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s basic science academic departments. The links below take you to articles where you can learn more about our faculty’s latest achievements.
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
09.17.2026A novel genetic toolkit may improve the study of how Clostridia bacteria in the gut contribute to disease and reveal new molecular mechanisms that may serve as effective therapeutic targets, as detailed in a recent study published in Nature Biotechnology.
09.02.2026Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a novel high-resolution 3D spatial genomics platform that may enhance future research about how genome organization and genetic alterations contribute to the development of disease, including cancer, as detailed in a recent study published in Nature Methods.
07.23.2026A new study from Northwestern Medicine investigators, in collaboration with Biohub, a program of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has identified potential drug targets for treating psoriasis, according to the study published in Nature Communications.
Cell and Developmental Biology
09.14.2026A Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered a previously unknown signaling system that helps regulate heart growth during development, according to the study published in the journal Genes and Development.
08.11.2026The tissue microenvironments surrounding HIV-infected immune cells look a lot like those surrounding cancerous tumors, according to a new Northwestern study.
06.17.2026Dysfunction in the lymphatic system has been identified as a hidden driver of life‑threatening heart valve disease in patients with Marfan syndrome, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Microbiology-Immunology
06.29.2026A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has offered insight into how Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen, fine-tunes its internal RNA degradation machinery to survive stress and potentially cause infection.
03.12.2026Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered how calcium signaling channels in the brain’s immune cells regulate neuroinflammation and promote the development of behaviors associated with affective mood disorders, according to a recent study published in Science Signaling.
02.04.2026Lyme disease, the bacterial infection transmitted by ticks, is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, with nearly half a million people diagnosed and treated each year, according to the CDC. Two pivotal studies on Lyme disease from the lab of Brandon Jutras, PhD, provide important insights into what may cause persistent Lyme disease symptoms in a subset of patients. This research points to some promising new directions for both diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.
Pharmacology
09.08.2026A new Northwestern Medicine study suggests a major psychiatric risk gene remains important well into adulthood and may influence brain communication, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- 08.28.2026
Targeting the control of protein synthesis in the KCNQ2 gene may serve as a potential disease-modifying strategy for patients with a genetic form of neonatal-onset epilepsy and impaired brain development, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
08.24.2026A new Northwestern Medicine study has identified a previously unknown mechanism by which the NAT10 enzyme promotes cancer cell proliferation, establishing this protein as a promising therapeutic target for cancer.
Neuroscience
- 09.24.2026
A new Northwestern Medicine study challenges traditional ideas about how dopamine influences movement, according to findings published in Science Advances.
- 09.08.2026
A new Northwestern Medicine study suggests a major psychiatric risk gene remains important well into adulthood and may influence brain communication, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
06.03.2026Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that suppressing excitatory synaptic transmission in a small group of neurons in the brain may reverse levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with late-stage Parkinson’s disease without reducing the symptomatic benefits of levodopa treatment, according to a recent study published in Neuron.