Updates from the Chair | Microbiology and Immunology

View Events Calendar for Upcoming events and seminars

Events Calendar

Study Finds Protein Partnership Protects Chromosomes

April 16, 2025

A new study from Weill Cornell Medicine provides insights into how cells maintain the tiny end caps of chromosomes as they divide, a key process in keeping cells healthy. Using yeast, the researchers reveal protein interactions that could explain how the enzyme telomerase is tightly regulated to prevent cells from dividing uncontrollably or aging prematurely. The preclinical study, published April 17 in Nucleic...

Dr. Sabine Ehrt Named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine

April 14, 2025

(New York, April 14, 2025)—Dr. Sabine Ehrt, an internationally renowned leader in tuberculosis research, has been appointed chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1.

The department, which is comprised of microbiologists and immunologists, focuses on the body’s interaction with microbes like...

Study Discovers Tuberculosis Genes Necessary for Airborne Transmission

March 10, 2025

Tuberculosis bacteria rely on a family of genes that help them survive the challenging journey from one person’s lungs to another person’s during coughing, sneezing or talking, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The findings provide new targets for tuberculosis therapies that could simultaneously treat infection and prevent the spread of bacteria.

Until now, very little was known about this transmission process—when...

Designing Self-Destructing Bacteria to Make Effective Tuberculosis Vaccines

February 25, 2025

Working toward more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed two strains of mycobacteria with "kill switches" that can be triggered to stop the bacteria after they activate an immune response. Two preclinical studies, published, Jan. 10 in Nature Microbiology, tackle the challenge of engineering bacteria that are safe for use in controlled human infection trials or as better vaccines. While TB is under control in most developed countries, the...

Prestigious MERIT Grant Funds Research on How the Immune System Can Banish HIV

July 17, 2024

Weill Cornell Medicine has received $4.2 million to study how the immune system in some people infected with HIV can keep the virus under control, which could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for thwarting or eliminating HIV. Dr. Brad Jones, associate professor of immunology in medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill...