Genomic Tug of War Could Boost Cancer Therapy
Wilmot Cancer Institute researchers have uncovered a “genomic tug of war” in animal studies that could influence how well certain patients—and certain cancers—respond to a specific cancer therapy.
Stories
Nancy “Nana” Bennett, Champion of Community Health and Disease Prevention, Retires
A nationally recognized expert, Bennett has made tangible contributions to disease prevention, immunization, and improvement of the health and health equity of our local and regional community.
Keeping a Human in the Loop: Managing the Ethics of AI in Medicine
Increasingly used in medicine, AI raises both hopes and concerns. A URMC bioethicist was part of a national task force that laid out recommendations to ensure AI medical devices help patients and ...
Meet the Next Generation of Cancer Researchers
Education is a hallmark of an academic cancer center, and Wilmot Cancer Institute is building a pipeline of research trainees with fresh energy and a special interest in cancer.
Deaf-to-Deaf Weight Loss Program Helps Participants Drop Pounds
Shedding unwanted pounds is hard – especially if you experience language or cultural barriers to weight loss programs and social supports. URMC clinical trial results show that a weight loss program ...
David Satcher Returns to Recognize Local Community Health Contributions
Four URMC faculty and two staff members were honored at the May 2 ceremony following a keynote address by the award’s namesake, David Satcher, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned champion of public ...
Uncovering How the Biological Clock Impacts Lung Health
URMC study uncovers the mechanism by which a circadian clock molecule contributes to lung scarring and reveals new drugs and drug targets along the way.
Black Patients Less Likely to Get Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery, More Likely to Die
Minimally invasive heart surgeries carry less risk and have shorter recovery times, but a new study led by URMC researchers shows that Black patients have less access to these procedures and are more ...
Expressing Health Equity Through Art
Local K-12 students showed our Office of Health Equity Research what health equity – or the lack of it – looks like to them in a recent art contest. Contest entrants and winners were honored at a ...
Banning Fruity Flavors Did Not Deter Vapers
A new study shows that most adult vapers did not quit in response to the 2020 FDA flavored e-cig ban – with most people switching to flavors or types of e-cigs not covered by the ban. Study authors ...
Personalized Immune Therapy Extended Survival in Patients with Aggressive Brain Cancer
A phase III clinical trial of the DCVax®-L cancer vaccine, conducted at the Wilmot Cancer Institute and other centers internationally, has shown the first meaningful survival extension for patients ...
A Lump in the Night: A Breast Cancer Cautionary Tale
After putting off getting a mammogram for six years, Angelica Perez-Delgado, president and CEO of the Ibero-American Action League, found a lump in her breast in the middle of the night. Now, she’s a ...
A One-Two Punch: Low Levels of Coffee Roasting Chemical and Mild Flu May Damage Lungs
We know that chronic exposure to high levels of a flavoring chemical found in coffee can cause lung damage, but a new URMC study suggests that even short-term exposures to this chemical can damage ...
Updated COVID Boosters Are Here! Here’s What You Need to Know.
As we close out our third COVID pandemic summer, the FDA has authorized updated COVID boosters that target the dominant omicron subvariants of the coronavirus. Find out who is eligible to get the ...
Using Improv to Address COVID Vaccine Hesitancy
URMC researchers have developed a program that combines improv theater with coaching on how to tap into patients’ inner motivations to help health care workers guide their patients to get a COVID ...
Miracle Kids 2022: Abigail “Abby” Quinn
Abby Quinn was a perfectly healthy 13-year-old, making TikTok dance videos and playing multiple sports, when a simple cold landed her in the hospital in June of 2021. That cold, as it turned out, ...
Living Donation Opens New Doors for Colorectal Cancer Patients in Need of Liver Transplants
A new study, led in part by URMC, offers a second chance for terminal cancer patients. It demonstrates the first successful living-donor liver transplants in North America for patients who had ...
‘Immune Distraction’ from Previous Colds Leads to Worse COVID Infections
Counterintuitive results from a new URMC study suggest that prior infection and immunity to one of the seasonal cold coronaviruses may have put people at risk of more severe COVID illness and death.
Meet Five Inspiring Women in Science
On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, female researchers from across URMC share the career choices they made, the obstacles they overcame and their advice for the next generation.
Son of an Omicron: The New COVID Subvariant
First, there was alpha, then delta, then omicron. Now, the World Health Organization has flagged a new COVID subvariant, the so-called “son of omicron.” A URMC expert tells you what you need to know.
Omicron is Spreading: Here’s What Our Scientists Know
The Omicron variant, which emerged in Botswana and South Africa in November of 2021, made its first appearance in Monroe County on December 22 – around the same time it became the dominant variant ...
Misleading Labels: Cannabis e-Cigs Contain Unlisted and Unintended Components
URMC researchers tested 27 cannabis e-cig products and found that none had accurate labeling regarding synthetic THC levels and many contained potentially harmful compounds not listed on the label.
Honing in on Shared Network of Cancer Genes
Using network modeling, Wilmot Cancer Institute researchers have honed in on a set of gene interactions that are critical to malignancy and likely to be fertile ground for broad cancer therapies.
With Omicron on the Rise, Experts Answer COVID Booster Questions
All U.S. adults are now eligible for COVID vaccine boosters, but certain groups are particularly encouraged to get a boost. Get the details and answers to common questions from our COVID vaccine ...
URMC Part of Collaboration Awarded $10M for Pediatric Concussion Research
URMC researchers will enroll 240 children and teens (11-18 years old) from the Rochester area in a collaborative national study to predict which kids will develop prolonged symptoms after concussion.
Lessons from COVID: URMC, RGH Launch Clinical Trials to Test mRNA Flu Vaccine
Researchers at URMC and RGH are joining a clinical trial today to test a new Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA flu vaccine that mimics the technology used in their highly effective, FDA-approved COVID vaccine.
Need a Boost? URMC Experts Answer Your Questions About COVID Vaccine Boosters
Pfizer and BioNTech raised questions last week with news of a plan to seek authorization for COVID booster shots and to develop a new Delta variant COVID vaccine. Our experts answer those questions.
Do COVID Vaccines (and Boosters) Protect You During Pregnancy?
By all accounts, COVID vaccines in use in the U.S. today are highly effective, but pregnant people have largely been left out of the research behind the vaccines. A new study at URMC will follow 135 ...
URMC, RRH Test New COVID Vaccine Against South African Variant
Over a year into the COVID pandemic, we are in a race between vaccines and variants. The longer the novel coronavirus circulates, the higher the likelihood it will pick up a mutation that helps it ...
Why You Can Still Trust the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine
Learn why experts agree that the benefits of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine greatly outweigh its risks. This vaccine can reach vulnerable populations more easily than other vaccines.
First-Ever Lab Model of Human Eye Offers Hope for Macular Degeneration Patients
Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed the first 3D research model of the human retina to study age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that causes loss of central vision.
AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Prevents Symptomatic, Severe Disease
According to interim clinical trial results released today, the COVID vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is 100% effective at preventing severe COVID and 76% effective at ...
New Studies Suggest Vaping Could Cloud Your Thoughts
Two new studies from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have uncovered an association between vaping and mental fog. Both adults and kids who vape were more likely to report difficulty ...
Can the Common Cold Help Protect You from COVID-19?
Seasonal colds are by all accounts no fun, but new research suggests the colds you’ve had in the past may provide some protection from COVID-19. The study, authored by infectious disease experts at ...
Researchers Draw More Links between Vaping, Smoking, Young People, and Coronavirus
Vapers, smokers, and non-smokers with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes are all at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. The scientific explanation behind this is complex and ...
URMC Study Tests if COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Can Treat, Prevent Infection
URMC is joining two national clinical trials testing whether transfusions of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients (also called convalescent plasma) can prevent infection in healthy volunteers or ...
URMC Receives $24 Million to Translate Research Discoveries into Health Improvements
URMC has been awarded another $24.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue efforts to translate scientific discoveries into therapies that improve health. This is the fourth ...
Coordinating Coronavirus Research: Creating Options for Our Sickest COVID-19 Patients
Since COVID-19 hit Rochester in March of 2020, a team of University of Rochester Medical Center clinicians and researchers has mobilized to bring the most promising clinical trials - that address the ...
URMC Launches Clinical Trials to Test Hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 Patients
A pair of national clinical trials testing whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an FDA-approved anti-malarial drug, can keep COVID-19 patients alive and out of the hospital were halted on June 19, 2020. ...
Roswell Park and URMC to Create $19 Million Research Program Focused on Flavored Tobacco
The grant will unite teams from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Rochester Medical Center in an effort to better document and understand one of the fastest-growing ...
Martin Zand to Lead Clinical Research at URMC
Newly appointed Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., hopes to increase the number of high-impact clinical trials at the Medical Center, providing more opportunities ...
Fracking the Immune System
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center are the first to report links between early life exposure to chemicals in ground water near fracking sites and immune system imbalances in ...
The Bugs in Your Gut Could Make You Weak in the Knees
Scientists have long thought that osteoarthritis in people who are obese was a consequence of excess wear and tear on joints, but a new study in JCI Insight shows that the microbiome may be the ...
HPV May Lurk In Your Throat
URMC researchers found human papilloma virus (HPV), the culprit behind cervical and head and neck cancers, hiding in small pockets on the surface of tonsils. They believe HPV may evade the immune ...
URMC Professor Emeritus and Pioneer of Neurotoxicology Dies at 92
Bernard “Bernie” Weiss, ’53 (Ph.D.) was a monumental and beloved figure in the scientific community. He helped found the field of behavioral toxicology and was a defining presence in the URMC ...
URMC Awarded Nearly $6 Million to Study Deadly Bone Infections
The team, in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research, will study how a deadly bacteria gets into bone and how patients’ immune responses to the bug can actually make them sicker and more likely to ...
University of Rochester Awarded $19 Million to Coordinate National Clinical and Translational Science Program
With this new funding from the NIH, the university will create a new coordinating center for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program. The new Center for Leading Innovation and ...
URMC Taps Paige Lawrence, Ph.D., to Lead the Department of Environmental Medicine
B. Paige Lawrence, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Medicine for 11 years, will replace Deborah Cory-Slechta as chair of the department as of August 1. Lawrence will also ...
Stem Cells May Be the Key to Staying Strong in Old Age
A new URMC study, performed in mice, could lead to new approaches to help people stay stronger in old age. The study challenges conventional wisdom with results suggesting that loss of muscle stem ...
Retraining the Brain to See After Stroke
A new study out today in Neurology, provides the first evidence that rigorous visual training restores rudimentary sight in patients who went partially blind after suffering a stroke. Patients who ...
Commentary on Stem Cell Therapies: If You’re Asked to Pay, Walk Away
Retinal specialist Ajay E. Kuriyan, M.D., M.S., warns patients to be wary of stem cell clinics offering unproven therapies for a profit. Kuriyan personally encountered several patients who were ...
A Closer Look at the Eye: Researchers Develop New Retinal Imaging Technique
URMC researchers have developed a new imaging technique that allowed the first glimpse of individual cells in the retina, a layer of tissue at the back of the eye. The new technique could allow ...
Repurposed Drug May Offer Diagnosis, Treatment for Traumatic Nerve Damage
A new study in EMBO Molecular Medicine shows that a multiple sclerosis drug can accelerate nerve repair and functional recovery after traumatic nerve injury in mice. The drug repaired myelin and ...
URMC Researchers Discover Rare Flu-Thwarting Mutation
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have identified a rare, naturally occurring influenza mutation that weakens the virus and could be used to develop new live flu vaccines. ...
$19M Grant Will Help URMC Speed Medical Advances to Patients
The University of Rochester Medical Center has been awarded more than $19 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue programs that remove hurdles in the process of applying ...
The Heart-Brain Connection: The Link Between LQTS and Seizures
Patients carrying certain mutations that cause Long QT Syndrome, a rare cardiac rhythm disorder, have an increased risk for developing seizures and have more severe cardiac symptoms, according to a ...
New Bone Chewing Role for B Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have uncovered a new mechanism of bone erosion and a possible biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis. The group is the first to demonstrate that immune ...
Omega 3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Bacterial Lung Infections Associated with COPD
Compounds derived from omega-3 fatty acids – like those found in salmon – might be the key to helping the body combat lung infections, according to researchers at the University of Rochester School ...
Commentary: Improving Newborn Screenings and Care for Rare Diseases
A University of Rochester-sponsored international conference aimed at improving the current system of screening newborns for rare diseases starts today. The event, which was organized by a URMC child ...
City of Rochester Will Light Up Red for World AIDS Day
Rochester will join cities around the globe when it lights up red on December 1 to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. This is the first year Rochester will participate in this event since the beginning of ...
Study: Extreme Preemies Have a Better Chance of Survival Today
Extremely premature infants born between 23 and 28 weeks of pregnancy are more likely to survive and are healthier after birth today than they were 20 years ago.