News and Announcements
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, awards and honors.
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
09.29.2022Investigators discovered that the loss of the gene SLIT2 in circulating tumor cells regulates metastasis of prostate cancer tumors, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
09.14.2022CRISPR pioneer and Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna, PhD is the recipient of the inaugural $250,000 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
09.09.2022Investigators have developed a new imaging technique that increases the detection and identification of proteoforms by four-fold when compared to current methods.
Cell and Developmental Biology
08.30.2022August 17th marked one-year since esteemed friend, colleague and scientist James R. "Jim" Bartles, PhD, passed away.
Jim’s early research focused on membrane polarity, leading to the identification of a novel actin binding protein family, which he named espin. A pioneer in understanding mechanosensation in the inner ear and field of audiology, he devoted his career to demonstrating the importance of espins in the bundling of F-actin in the stereocilia of mouse hair cells and its relevance to normal hearing and in deafness.
Jim’s contributions to the field and legacy live on through his research and scientific scholarship. A recent study with contributions from our late colleague Jim, published in the journal Cytoskeleton, is shared here.
08.02.2022Investigators identified a molecular “brake” that can reduce the activation of damaging cells known to cause primary graft dysfunction — a leading culprit in lung transplant failure.
08.01.2022Cell and Developmental Biology is a field that's integral to finding new therapies for a wide variety of diseases. At Feinberg, Luisa Iruela-Arispe, PhD, a vascular biologist, leads the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology as chair. In this episode, she talks about her research and the future of cell-based treatments for diseases.
Microbiology-Immunology
09.01.2022Northwestern basic scientists are leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to untangle complex intracellular processes.
05.25.2022The Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University is bringing together Feinberg investigators who study immunotherapy to increase collaboration and accelerate high-impact immunotherapy research.
05.24.2022On May 24, 2022, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine celebrated 25 faculty recently appointed with endowed professorships during a group investiture ceremony at The Peninsula Hotel in downtown Chicago.
Karla Fullner Satchell, PhD, was named the Anne Stewart Youmans Professor of Microbiology.
Pharmacology
08.05.2022An immune system kinase promotes tumor inflammation and progression, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
07.06.2022Designed to target AMPAR receptors in the brain, the medication — called perampanel — also modulates kainate receptors.
07.05.2022An enzymatic modifier of messenger RNA has different functions depending on its location, according to a recent study.
Neuroscience
08.24.2022Scientists have uncovered how dopamine connects subregions of the striatum essential for habit formation, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
05.25.2022Northwestern scientists have captured first-of-its-kind in vivo calcium imaging from the CA1 hippocampus (HPC) – the area of the brain essential for memory, spatial navigation and learning – in freely moving rats, offering a better visual representation of how HPC cells organize and change over time.
The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that calcium imaging in rats captures a high number of stable place cells – results consistent with firing patterns seen in electrophysiology and in contrast to mouse imaging studies that only capture a low percentage of place cells. The use of the rat model, which is physiologically more like humans than the mouse model, is also an opportunity to improve experimental processes and holds implications for broadening understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
05.04.2022Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a master gene that programs ear hair cells’ development, overcoming a major hurdle towards restoring hearing.