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
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.
07.20.2026A Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered how chronic defects in muscle membrane repair can fuel harmful inflammation, according to the study published in JCI Insight.
07.09.2026A new Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has explored the impacts of aging on essential cellular processes, findings that could shape the development of future anti-aging therapeutic strategies.
Cell and Developmental Biology
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.
06.04.2026Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that little-studied DNA structures play a central role in organizing the human genome and controlling gene activity, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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
08.28.2026Targeting 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.
08.06.2026A new study from the laboratory of Gemma Carvill, PhD, has uncovered variants in noncoding regulatory regions of the genome that contribute to the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, findings that could help spearhead the development of more effective precision therapeutic strategies.
Neuroscience
- 06.03.2026
Northwestern 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.
03.19.2026A new Northwestern study in humans and mice has discovered a novel biomarker of schizophrenia that could also serve as a new drug candidate to treat the cognitive symptoms of the disorder.
03.16.2026Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered an FDA-approved compound promotes neuroprotective effects in experimental models of Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.