Updates from the Chair | Microbiology and Immunology

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Weill Cornell Advances TB Research with Support from NIH

September 3, 2021

Tuberculosis (TB) is a wily old killer, one of the deadliest infectious diseases in history and one of the few that naturally infects only humans. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have been pursuing treatments for tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) since the 1950s, and the program continues to excel at explaining TB’s mysteries and pushing toward more effective therapies.

Currently, Weill Cornell Medicine investigators are...

Commentary: Multisector Research Collaborative Aims to Advance Tuberculosis Treatment

August 4, 2021

A better understanding of the biology of tuberculosis (TB) infection and improved drug combinations for the disease are two areas of research in which the TB Drug Accelerator (TBDA) has made strides since its inception a decade ago, according to a commentary whose authors include three Weill Cornell Medicine investigators and an investigator at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus who participate in the collaborative network.

TB is an infectious disease that typically affects the lungs...

Study Reveals Functions of Proteins that Protect Chromosome Ends

December 16, 2020

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have gleaned new insights on the ways cells maintain the tips of their chromosomes, or telomeres. The findings help illuminate a wide range of phenomena, from cancer development to fungal evolution.

The study, published Dec. 16 in Communications Biology, could offer new targets for cancer therapy.

All organisms with linear chromosomes consisting of two intertwined strands of...

Protein Found in Aggressive Ovarian Cancers Promotes Tumor Growth by Bringing In Protective Immune Cells

December 11, 2020

Ovarian tumors can be made more sensitive to immunotherapy by blocking the recruitment of certain cells to the area surrounding the cancer, according to preclinical research by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Unlike some other solid tumors, including lung cancer and melanoma, ovarian cancer generally does not respond to immunotherapy. In a study published Dec. 8 in Nature Communications, researchers looked at...

Commentary: Stemming the Tide of Resistant Infections is Tough but Not Intractable

April 23, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is a striking reminder that viruses scorn borders. Disease-causing bacteria ignore borders, too—but with a difference. While scientists are still seeking to discover antiviral drugs, since the end of World War II the public has had effective antibiotics to fight bacteria. Yet, as bacteria are spreading around the world, so is resistance to these life-saving drugs—a phenomenon known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

We can defeat runaway AMR, but it will take...