Breakthroughs

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 vaccines that could be more effective at preventing and clearing breakthrough infections. Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster, assistant professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Feinberg, discusses recent studies from his lab that aim to improve current COVID-19 vaccines. 

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 Passman, MD, who has over three decades of experience in the field, reviews the history of cardiac monitoring and looks to the future. He details his pioneering use of implantable heart monitors for arrhythmia in stroke patients and his partnership with a consumer electronics company to bring wearable cardiac monitors to patients.

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 that includes hypervigilance — a heightened focus on physical symptoms — and symptom-specific anxiety such as fear of choking. Identifying patients with issues could help providers better treat their disease. That's according to a new Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Gastroenterology.

A recent survey of more than 32,000 caregivers of Chicago Public School students found that around a quarter children and adolescents were described as stressed, anxious, angry or agitated in the months after remote learning began. Black and Latinx participants experienced significantly more of these stressors. Dr. Tali Raviv, associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg explains the results and offers insight.

Dean Eric G. Neilson, MD, and Robert Murphy, MD, talk about COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness. This conversation was recorded May 7, 2021. 

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 of hospitalization and death from the disease. Emily Miller, MD, MPH, has been caring for pregnant patients at Prentice Women's Hospital since the onset of the pandemic. She shares results from a new study on the benefit of maternal vaccination and speaks to the history of excluding pregnant women from clinical trials.

A wearable sensor developed by Northwestern University scientists could help better monitor scratching in children with eczema and assess the effectiveness of therapies for eczema and other conditions that cause itch. Steve Xu, MD, explains the results of a study of the sensors published in Science Advances. 

COVID-19 can be a multi-system disease, impacting many organs and the entire nervous system. Igor Koralnik, MD, has been investigating the neurologic symptoms of the disease and published the first study focused on long-term neurological symptoms in COVID-19 “long haulers.” He explains the study and what he is seeing in the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Daniel Batlle, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology-Hypertension at Northwestern, proposed a hypothesis that soluble ACE2 could treat the SARS-CoV-2 virus and lead to full recovery and survival. Now, he has exciting preliminary results to share.

Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from the disease than other men. Dr. Edward Schaeffer has developed a research team to better understand this problem. In this show he talks about his latest discoveries, which are paving the way to precision medicine for aggressive prostate cancer. Dr. Schaeffer is the Chair of the Department of Urology at Northwestern and a Northwestern Medicine urologist with a specialized practice in prostate cancer. 

An early clinical trial in individuals with the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma showed an experimental spherical nucleic acid drug developed by Northwestern University scientists was able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and trigger the death of tumor cells. Lead investigator Priya Kumthekar, MD, explains the results of the study.

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.