Breakthroughs

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 vaccinated for COVID-19? And what needs to happen before then? Northwestern's William Muller, MD, PhD, offers insight.

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, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and shares the results.

Since SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in Illinois over a year ago, Northwestern scientists have been tracking the evolution of the disease in the Chicago area. Ramón Lorenzo-Redondo, PhD, research assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is part of the team leading this work. He talks about the team's research, the new COVID-19 variants and how the vaccines on the market today stand up to them.

Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, a Northwestern Medicine epidemiologist and a population science expert, talks about how COVID-19 is affecting Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color the most, as the pandemic continues and vaccine rollouts lag behind.

In this episode, host Erin Spain takes a look and listen back on some of the top Feinberg research published in 2020. Hear how Northwestern scientists responded to COVID-19 while publishing high-impact papers unrelated to the pandemic and making vital discoveries across the research enterprise during a difficult time.

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 developed irreversible lung disease due to COVID-19.

A $30 million dollar, phase 3 clinical trial is about to begin at Northwestern, investigating whether exercise can slow Parkinson's disease progression. Daniel Corcos, PhD, a professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences is leading the trial and explains what he hopes to accomplish.

A new Northwestern Medicine study shows patients whose colon cancer surgery was performed by a highly skilled surgeon had a 70 percent lower risk of dying over five years compared to patients with a lower skilled surgeon. 

A Swiss Amish community in Indiana has been the focus of ongoing studies led by Dr. Douglas Vaughan, chair of the Department of Medicine at Northwestern. Many members of this Amish community have a gene mutation that appears to protect against biological aging in a variety of ways.  A new experimental drug that effectively lowers the level of the protein associated with this mutation is now being tested as a treatment for people with COVID-19, in a phase 2 clinical trial at Northwestern.

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 on both COVID-19 and on influenza vaccines and treatments.