Breakthroughs Podcast Archives

A Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Medicine, used a new technique called spatial transcriptomics to examine the brain’s response to Alzheimer's therapies, revealing new molecular targets that could enhanc...

A new $11.7 million award from the National Institute of Mental Health aims to help Northwestern Medicine investigators move the dial on the youth mental health crisis by targeting early warning signs of mental health r...

Women are living longer, healthier lives, but ovarian aging still impacts fertility and hormone production as it always has. In this episode, Francesca Duncan, PhD, discusses novel research into maintaining ovarian func...

Scientists from Northwestern Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have uncovered the first rare genetic disorder linked to a long non-coding RNA gene. In this episode, Gemma Carvill, PhD, explains how this d...

With a new $20 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, Northwestern Medicine investigator, Linda Teplin, PhD, is extending the work of the Northwestern Juvenile Project to study the long-term consequences of...

Understanding the systemic drivers of health disparities within marginalized populations is complex. In this episode, Michelle Birkett, PhD, explains how she uses network and quantitative methodologies to study the heal...

Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson's disease, a condition for which there is still no known cause or cure. Joseph Mazzulli, PhD, has led two recent studies published in Neuron and Nature Com...

New research from the lab of Issam Ben-Sahra, PhD, could rewrite textbooks on our understanding of cellular metabolism and potentially identify new targets for cancer and metabolic diseases such as obesity. The discover...

Jeffrey Gordon, MD, often called “the father of microbiome research,” is the 2024 recipient of the Nemmers Prize in Medical Science. The Nemmers Prize of $350,000 is awarded to a biomedical scientist whose work exhibits...

The MYC oncogene is notorious in the cancer research world because it is implicated in many advanced or aggressive cancers such as treatment-resistant prostate cancer. In this episode, Sarki Abdulkadir, MD, PhD, shares ...

A team of Northwestern Medicine scientists are conducting a new longitudinal cross-sectional study to investigate why some people see to age faster than others. In this episode, John Wilkins, MD, associate director of t...

Northwestern Medicine physician-scientist Jaehyuk Choi, MD, PhD joins the show again to discuss another breakthrough in T-cell research. This time for lupus, a chronic autoimmune condition affecting 300,000 Americans th...

For decades, Marcus Peter, PhD, has drilled into an area of research focused on cell death and the roles of toxic and protective short RNAs, with the goal of developing a novel form of cancer treatment. Now, this same l...

New advances in digital pathology are revolutionizing the analysis of disease, paving the way for greater accuracy and efficiency when it comes to diagnostics, predicting outcomes and treatment. In this episode, Lee Coo...

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is home to a team of premier faculty and staff biostatisticians who are a driving force of data analytic innovation and excellence. In this episode, Denise Scholtens, ...

Northwestern Medicine scientists are at the forefront of research investigating the most effective ways of treating obesity in children and teens and improving their access to care. In this episode, Justin Ryder, PhD...

An estimated 32,000 Americans are currently living with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Northwestern investiga...

Inflammation is a common feature of many diseases and Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified how a calcium channel contributes to inflammation in the brain and lungs. This could aid in finding new types of ...

Teens are reporting struggles with their mental health at unprecedented rates, but resources to help these young people deal with anxiety or depression can be difficult to access. An innovative community partnership bet...

Thanks to advancements in synthetic biology, scientists are now engineering bacterial communities with the goal of using these cells to monitor and treat diseases. In this episode, Arthur Prindle, PhD, explains how his ...

A new study published in the journal Nature details breakthrough T-cell immunotherapy research from Northwestern Medicine. In this episode, Jaehyuk Choi, MD, PhD, senior author of the paper, explains how a gene mutation...

When most of us think about dopamine, we think about reward signals. But new research from Northwestern Medicine, published in Nature Neuroscience, has found a genetic subtype of dopamine neurons that do not respond to ...

As the primary investigator of The NIH Toolbox®, Richard Gershon, PhD, has led a team of hundreds of scientists to develop and evolve state-of-the-art digital assessments of cognition, motor, sensation and emotion which...

Mitochondria are widely known as cellular “powerhouses” for their role in producing energy for cells. But pioneering research from Northwestern Medicine investigators over the last 20 years has proven mitochondria are a...

Northwestern Medicine is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients who are in need of organ transplants. Daniela Ladner, MD, MPH, is leading research that sheds light on the barriers to transplantation as the foundin...

Both long-term alcohol consumption and binge drinking can speed up biological aging, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Aging. Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, chief of Cancer Epidemiology and Preve...

Mozziyar “Mozzi” Etemadi, MD, PhD, is supporting the transformation of healthcare delivery and patient care at Northwestern Medicine by bringing engineers into direct contact with clinical providers. In this episode, he...

Treating cancer has become increasingly difficult as cells develop resistance. Northwestern investigators have sought to address this issue on the cellular level through the development of a novel FateMap tool, used to ...

The launch of the Simpson Querrey Lung Institute for Translational Science (SQLIFTS) aims to expedite the discovery and implementation of innovative lung disease treatments through a patient-centered, bedside-to-bench-t...

Recently, Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered novel genetic factors contributing to the risk of Parkinson's disease, which may lead to potential therapeutic targets. Steven Lubbe, PhD, assistant professo...

Skin diseases from psoriasis to melanoma affect as many as one in three Americans at any given time. Kathleen Green, PhD, has greatly advanced basic molecular research related to skin diseases. She discusses recent disc...

Disrupting our internal clocks can lead to diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Scientists at Northwestern have uncovered the mechanism behind why late-night eating is linked to weight gain and diabetes. Joseph Bass, ...

There's strong evidence that physical activity can play an important role in the health and lifespan of cancer survivors. Siobhan Phillips, PhD, MPH, leads the Exercise and Health Lab at Feinberg, which designs, tests, ...

Northwestern scientists Yuan Luo, PhD, and Catherine Gao, MD, discuss a study they conducted using the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT. The results showcase the online tool's ability to produce convincing medic...

Ann Kennedy, PhD, is a theoretical neuroscientist, investigating neural computation and the structure of behavior. In this episode, she talks about her recent research in the area of aggression and how it's regulated in...

A $30 million dollar, phase 3 clinical trial at Northwestern is set to investigate whether exercise can slow Parkinson's disease progression. Daniel Corcos, PhD, a professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Scienc...

To have the greatest impact on human health, biomedical research findings and evidence-based practices need to be implemented into routine healthcare. What is implementation science, and how can we ensure research succe...

There’s been an uptick in childhood food allergies in recent years, and new evidence from Northwestern shows they’re also becoming more common in adults.

A Northwestern Medicine course called Cooking Up Health is giving medical students, trainees and health professionals the opportunity to learn culinary medicine and food-as-medicine science concepts. Melinda Ring, MD, c...

Understanding how genes function is a vital part of understanding how to better treat cancer. Research led by Mazhar Adli, PhD, is grounded in the development of a systematic approach to identify the function of each ge...

Bariatric surgery is proving to be an effective tool to help teenagers with severe obesity lose weight and reverse the progression of weight-related conditions, according to findings from the Teen Longitudinal Assessmen...

How are habits – both good and bad – formed in the brain, and what role do habits play in diseases of the brain? These are some of the questions neuroscientist, Talia Lerner, PhD, is investigating in her lab. Her recent...

Uniting scientists and harnessing the power of the immune system to fight disease is at the heart of the new Center for Human Immunobiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Stephanie Eisenbarth, M...

In recent years, Feinberg has launched several initiatives to augment human expertise with computational methods and advance the science of human health. Theresa Walunas, PhD, explains how she is using big data from ele...

A celebrated molecular neuroscientist, Jeremy Nathans, MD, PhD, is responsible for landmark discoveries that have changed our understanding of how humans see the world. He is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally, and nearly half of all U.S. adults are currently at risk for heart attack and stroke. Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD, is working to understand the role ...

Alfred George, Jr., MD, is a pioneer in understanding the mechanisms by which ion channel mutations cause a variety of inherited disorders, such as genetic epilepsy. He discusses his recent breakthroughs in the field an...

Cell 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 Developmen...

Providing evidence-based medical care to transgender and gender nonconforming youth has been a challenge in the past, as trans-related healthcare has long been understudied. Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, discusses how gende...

Accelerating new advances in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases is an important goal of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) and the past two yea...

Nearly half of all patients with heart failure have preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, yet there is much that is unknown about HFpEF and how to best prevent it and treat it. Northwestern Medicine cardiologist, Sanji...

Music-based medical interventions can have remarkable therapeutic benefits for patients diagnosed with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and aphasia. Neurologist Borna Bonakdarpour, MD, explain...

A novel gene therapy promoted transfusion independence in more than 90 percent of adult and pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. Study co-author Jennifer Schneiderman, MD, discusses results, p...

Man's best friend is helping scientists find new treatments for brain tumors. Amy Heimberger, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon with extensive training and experience in the field of immunology. She is part of a pro...

Sachin Patel, MD, PhD, is the new chair and Lizzie Gilman Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg and psychiatrist-in-chief at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Norman and Ida Stone Institute of Psych...

Judith Moskowitz, a social psychologist and professor of Medical Social Sciences at Feinberg, talks about how her NIH-funded research and intervention programs will be used to address stress and burnout in Chicago’s fro...

David Gate, PhD, discusses his study on the detrimental role the immune system plays in Lewy body dementias. This disease encompasses two disorders: Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Actor Robi...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. According to a new Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Circulation, about sixty percent of pregnant women in the U.S. ...

In response to the first successful animal heart transplant into a human patient, internationally renowned transplant surgeon Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, reviews some of the scientific developments that have culminated in th...

Gregory Smith, PhD, professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Feinberg, has been investigating a path to long-needed vaccine development for herpes virus. He recently published findings in the journal Nature that bring th...

Since coming to Northwestern in 2013, Deborah Smith Clements, MD, chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine, has established three thriving family medicine residency programs and has been an advocate for im...

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment over the last few decades, though not for glioblastoma — the most common and deadly malignant brain tumor. However, Northwestern Medicine neurosurgeon Adam Sonabend, MD,...

What do we know about the effectiveness of COVID-19 boosters, and how might they better protect us from new variants such as omicron? Alexis Demonbreun, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology, offers insight. She is t...

Millions of molecular proteins are swimming through our body's cells and many studies have discovered that these proteins are the main drivers of all human diseases. Scientists are now mapping proteins the way the Human...

Regenerative nanomedicine is being used to develop new therapies for devastating conditions such as severe spinal cord injuries. Northwestern's Samuel Stupp, PhD, is a pioneer in the field of regenerative nanomedicine a...

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered one of the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease, proving that damaged neuronal mitochondria alone can cause symptoms of the disease, according to a study published in Na...

People who are Black make up the largest group of minorities in need of an organ transplant. In 2019, Northwestern Medicine launched the African American Transplant Access Program to help address this problem. Founding ...

Judd Hultquist, PhD, talks about key variants of SARS-CoV-2 and how his lab is identifying and studying these variants.

Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD, talks about her recent discoveries advancing muscular dystrophy research.

As the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is causing breakthrough infections in some vaccinated people around the world, scientists at Northwestern Medicine are developing and studying potential next-generation COVID-19 vaccin...

As heart conditions like arrhythmia become increasingly common, heart monitoring is becoming an even more important tool for disease prevention and treatment. Northwestern Medicine cardiac electrophysiologist Rod Passma...

Esophageal diseases are extremely common, and symptoms such as trouble swallowing, chest pain, regurgitation and choking diminish quality of life. There can also be psychosocial effects for patients with these diseases,...

Many Chicago caregivers say their children have experienced mental health issues after pandemic-related school closures and remote learning upended their daily lives. A recent survey of more than 32,000 caregivers of Ch...

Listen to a conversation on COVID-19 vaccine safety featuring Eric G. Neilson, MD, and Robert Murphy, MD.

Recently, the director of the CDC officially recommended that pregnant women receive the vaccines for COVID-19. However, pregnant women are less likely than non-pregnant women to get vaccinated and are at greater risk o...

Atopic dermatitis — or eczema — affects about 10 million children in the U.S., and the itching that accompanies this condition can cause pain and distress for kids who can't always verbalize or quantify how much they're...

COVID-19 can be a multi-system disease, impacting many organs and the entire nervous system. Igor Koralnik, MD, has been investigating the neurological complications of the disease and published the first study focused ...

Daniel Batlle, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Northwestern, has been studying ACE2 and its potential therapeutic uses for many years. When the pandemic began, he proposed a h...

Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from the disease than other men. Edward Schaeffer, MD, PhD, has developed a research team to better understand this problem. In this ...

An early clinical trial found that a spherical nucleic acid drug developed at Northwestern kills tumor cells in people with the fatal brain cancer glioblastoma. This is the first time a nanotherapeutic has been shown to...

Minoli Perera, PharmD, PhD, is a pioneer in the area of pharmacogenomics in African-Americans and has some new discoveries to share.

COVID-19 vaccines are being doled out across the nation, almost exclusively to adults. Pfizer's vaccine has been authorized for ages 16 and up and Moderna's vaccine for 18 and up. So when might younger children be vacci...

The drug semaglutide, typically prescribed for treatment of Type 2 diabetes, was used in a phase 3 clinical trial as a treatment for obesity with very promising results. Northwestern's Robert Kushner, MD, led this study...

Since SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in Illinois over a year ago, Feinberg scientists have been tracking the evolution of the disease in the Chicago area. Ramón Lorenzo Redondo, PhD, research assistant professor of Medicine ...

Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, a Northwestern Medicine epidemiologist and population science expert, talks about how COVID-19 is affecting Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color the most and what can be done to h...

Breakthroughs host Erin Spain takes a look back on the year 2020 and how Feinberg scientists responded to COVID-19 while publishing high-impact papers unrelated to the pandemic and making vital discoveries across the re...

Ankit Bharat, MBBS, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine and director of the Lung Transplant program, shares findings that support why lung transplantation should be considered for patients who have develo...

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States, with more than 100,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Surgery is often the primary treatment. A new Northwestern Medicine study shows patients whose ...

A rare blood disorder related to people missing a protein, called PAI-1, was identified in a small Amish community. Douglas Vaughan, MD, studies the community and found that those without the protein seem to live longer...

As flu season begins and COVID-19 continues to spread, Michael Ison, MD, is here to share some of his latest findings. He is part of Northwestern research teams running studies both on COVID-19 and on influenza vaccines...

Millions of people are now living with COVID-19 and their long-term outcomes are unknown. Northwestern's Jeffrey Linder, MD, says more research studies on this group are needed to provide better information about COVID-...

A team of Northwestern scientists have come together from across disciplines to develop a COVID-19 antibody test designed for at-home use. Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD, is part of the team working on this test to determin...

Although COVID-19 doesn't necessarily discriminate, some communities are far more susceptible to the disease. People who are black or African-American are more likely to contract the virus - and to die from it. Clyde Ya...

Monitoring patients and frontline health care workers for symptoms of COVID-19 could get much easier with a small wireless sensor developed by scientists at Northwestern and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Northwestern’s J...

While the world anxiously awaits a vaccine for COVID-19, some physicians on the front lines are trying new or repurposed therapies in an effort to help COVID patients. Benjamin Singer, MD, a Northwestern physician-scien...

This is an update to the Jan. 28, 2020 episode about Northwestern microbiologist Karla Satchell's effort to lead an investigation into the structure biology of the components of COVID-19. The goal is to ultimately under...

In mid-March, the early days of Chicago's COVID-19 outbreak, older adults with multiple chronic conditions didn't think the disease would affect them and reported not changing their behaviors, according to the results o...

Judith Moskowitz, PhD, MPH, is a social psychologist and professor of Medical Social Sciences at Feinberg who studies the impact of positive emotion on health-related and other life stress. She discusses her research an...

As an epidemiologist and infectious disease physician, Chad Achenbach, MD, MPH, has shared his expertise on a variety of global public health crises such as Ebola and Zika outbreaks. In this episode, he sheds light on t...

Abel Kho, MD, is the director of the new Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine at Feinberg. He discusses his vision for the institute and how AI can enhance healthcare.

In this episode we share a recent Northwestern Medical Grand Rounds presentation called: "COVID-19 An Update on the Current Situation" which was given at Northwestern Medicine on March 17, 2020 by Michael Ison, MD, prof...

A new Boston Children's Hospital and Northwestern Medicine study published in JAMA Pediatrics has revealed that more stringent negligence laws, which hold adults responsible for safe storage of firearms, may have potent...

Most people with peripheral artery disease, PAD, have great difficulty walking and few treatments to help. Preliminary results of a new Northwestern Medicine study suggest that cocoa may have a therapeutic effect on wal...

An important finding detailed in a new Northwestern Medicine study warns of the role certain kinds of meat may play in increasing cardiovascular disease risk and premature death. Norrina Allen, PhD, led this research an...

The outbreak of a novel Coronavirus in China is making headlines around the world. Here at Northwestern, microbiologist Karla Satchell, PhD, is leading an effort to investigate the structure biology of the components of...

A new study led by Nina Kraus, PhD, has found that athletes have healthier brains than non-athletes. 

Northwestern Medicine cardiologists Clyde Yancy, MD, and Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, share tips to lose weight or maintain weight and live longer, healthier lives in 2020.

Two Northwestern physician-scientists, Clyde Yancy, MD, and Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, share their thoughts on the latest findings and advances in cardiology to come in 2020. 

It is the most common tumor found in women and is the cause of 200,000 hysterectomies in the United States every year. Yet, uterine fibroids have not been a frequent topic of medical research. Northwestern’s Serdar Bulu...

In a recent Northwestern Medicine study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, female surgical residents reported more mistreatment than men, which was linked to a higher burnout rates and more suicidal thoug...

Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD, talks about her recent discoveries in the genetics of cardiovascular and neuromuscular disorders and what we can expect in the next few years in the field of genetic medicine.

For those with advanced metastatic prostate cancer, treatments are limited, but a new phase 3 international trial shows that a genetically targeted therapy could offer new hope for patients with specific gene mutations ...

Ali Shilatifard, PhD, hopes his discoveries will lead to a super drug that could end childhood leukemia and other cancers.

Northwestern scientists are conducting dozens of experiments and clinical trials aimed at understanding and fighting glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Rimas Lukas, MD, shares re...

Mozziyar Etemadi, MD, PhD, a research assistant professor in Anesthesiology and Biomedical Engineering, is leading deep learning projects in his lab at Northwestern. He talks about a collaboration between Northwestern a...

Tiny bio-artificial kidneys are growing in the lab of Susan Quaggin, MD. She and a team of scientists, with expertise in stem cells, blood vessels and developmental biology, are accelerating the development of such bioe...

Results from a randomized phase 3 clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine could change the way women are treated for later stage endometrial cancer. Northwestern's Daniela Matei, MD, led the tri...

A new Northwestern Medicine study has delivered some sobering news about heart failure. It found death rates due to heart failure are increasing, especially in people under the age of 65 and specifically among black men.

As we age, almost all of us have some memory loss. This age-related affliction is normal, but a new Northwestern Medicine study suggests it can be improved with non-invasive brain stimulation that sends electromagnetic ...

A new approach from the field of ophthalmology shows promise in detecting non-invasive biomarkers of mild cognitive impairment, the precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Northwestern's Amani Fawzi, MD, explains.

A new Northwestern Medicine study reports that adults who ate more eggs and dietary cholesterol had a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death from any cause.

Aside from intense itching and dry, irritable skin, people with a type of eczema known as atopic dermatitis also have significantly higher rates of medical and mental health issues.

Northwestern’s John A. Rogers, PhD, and Amy Paller, MD, have just published a study in the journal Science that shows how ultra-thin, electronic sensors developed in Rogers' lab have the potential to make NICUs wireles...

The landmark Northwestern Juvenile Project, led by Linda Teplin, PhD, has produced some astonishing findings about health risks and premature deaths of delinquent youth.

A rare blood disorder related to people missing a protein, called PAI-1, was identified in a small Amish community. Douglas Vaughan, MD, studies the community and found that those without the protein seem to live longer...

Through his research and practice as a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern, Donald Lloyd-Jones is working to improve and preserve the heart health of Americans, one patient at a time. 

Marilyn Cornelis, PhD, PhD, studies the genetics of coffee consumption, caffeine metabolism and taste preferences and has some new findings to share about one of the most popular beverages in the world.

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, talks about the state of breast cancer in America today.

A common, safe and inexpensive drug for type 2 diabetes, metformin, decreases the risk of heart attacks and strokes triggered by particulate matter air pollution. 

A. Vania Apkarian, PhD, explains his recent discoveries related to chronic pain and how placebos may be a very effective option for some.

Jeffrey Linder, MD, MPH, has developed effective ways to reduce the number of inappropriate prescriptions.

A new blood test developed at Northwestern has the potential to advance treatments of a variety of disorders and diseases.

More than 50 percent of women who are of childbearing age are overweight or obese, which may put them at risk for complications during pregnancy and child birth and affect their babies’ health, too.

Emily Rogalski, PhD, has been studying SuperAgers for a decade and reveals some fascinating findings about their brains and lives.

Kelly Michelson, MD, MPH, discusses the importance of palliative care in pediatric hospitals.

John A. Rogers, PhD, has created a fleet of wireless, wearable devices that have the potential to change the way physicians collect data and treat patients, from NICU preemies to stroke patients in recovery.

Robert Kalb, MD, Director of the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine is optimistic that more breakthroughs in the basic biology of the disease are on the way and a cure is possible.

Becoming a father can impact a man's health, mentally and physically. Craig Garfield, MD, shares insights about modern-day dads that might surprise you.

Katherine Wisner, MD, is working to understand how medications can be used to treat mental illnesses, such as depression, during pregnancy.

Brian Mustanski, PhD, is leading an effort to study, intervene and improve the health of the sexual and gender minority community.

Feinberg scientists Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, and Kiarri Kershaw, PhD, MPH, discuss their striking discoveries in the area of health disparities.

Daniel Brat, MD, PhD, is spearheading the evolution toward precision medicine within the arena of brain tumor diagnostics.

Find out how this scientist, educator and advocate for the underserved is working to improve the cancer mortality gap in Chicago.

Peter Penzes, PhD, says the field of autism neurobiology is ripe for discovery and his team at Feinberg is laying the groundwork for new treatments for the disorder.