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Recent discoveries Marc Sabatine 94 was senior author of a study published on January 13, 2009, on the website for the New England Journal of Medicine that found that approximately one-third of the population has variations in a specific gene that renders them unable to metabolise properly clopidogrel, one of the most commonly prescribed anti-platelet medications. Jennifer Y. Lin 03 was lead author of a study published in an online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that found that using vitamin supplements might have no effect on the development of cancer. Atul Gawande 94 led a study published in the January 14, 2009, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that showed that hospitals could cut surgery complications by about 30 percent and resulting deaths by 40 percent if doctors and nurses followed a checklist of safety rules before, during, and after performing surgery. Stuart Orkin 71 was the lead author of a study that identified a way to get red blood cells to produce a form of hemoglobin normally made only before birth or by young infants, potentially transforming life-threatening inherited anemias into benign conditions. The paper was published in the online edition of Science on December 4, 2008. Joel Hirschhorn 95 led a study published in the December 14, 2008, issue of Nature Genetics that identified six new genetic regions tied to variations in body mass index. Jan Shifren ’88 was author of a study published in the November 2008 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology that found that, while about 40 percent of women surveyed report having sexual problems, only 12 percent indicate that those issues are a source of significant personal distress. Dan Barouch 99 was author of a study that demonstrated for the first time that a T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccine resulted in potent T-cell immune responses leading to long-term immune control of an SIV challenge in monkeys. The article was published on November 9, 2008, on the website for the journal Nature. Melinda Maggard 93 was author of a study published in the November 19, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that found women who become pregnant after weight-loss surgery have easier pregnancies and healthier babies than do obese women who become pregnant. Matthew Meyerson 89 was co-author of a study published in the October 23, 2008, advance online edition of the journal Nature that unearthed a variety of genetic alterations in patient lung tumors and pinpointed 26 frequently altered genes—more than doubling the number already linked to lung cancer. Eric Morrow 01 was co-author of a study published in the July 11, 2008 issue of Science that identified at least six new genes that appear to underlie autism. Vamsi Mootha 98 led a team that identified a genetic mutation responsible for complex I deficiency, a rare and fatal metabolic disorder in infants. The team, whose findings are reported in the July 11, 2008, issue of Cell, pinpointed the mutation using MitoCarta, an online atlas of more than 1,000 proteins that they created. Lecia Sequist 99 was co-author of a study that found a microchip-based device previously used to detect circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream can now be used to analyze genetic changes in those cells. The study was published in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine on July 2, 2008. Mark Schuster 87 led a study published in the British Medical Journal that shows coaching parents at work on how to talk to their adolescent children about sex could be an effective way to reduce risky sexual behavior among teens. Zhenning Liu, PhD 07 was a lead author of a study published on June 29, 2008, in the online journal Nature in which he and his colleagues were able to block the development of prostate tumors in cancer-prone mice by knocking out a molecular unit they describe as a “powerhouse” that drives runaway cell growth. Ziad Obermeyer 08 published a study on war deaths that used a new survey method to show that estimates of global war deaths have been significantly underestimated. The article appeared in the June 21, 2008 online edition of the British Medical Journal. William Pu 73 was senior investigator of a study published online by the journal Nature on June 22, 2008, which pinpointed a new, previously unrecognized group of stem cells that give rise to heart muscle cells. In a report in the June 20, 2008, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Charles Fuchs 86 showed that patients diagnosed with colon cancer who had abundant vitamin D in their blood were less likely to die during a follow-up period than those who were deficient in the vitamin. In an article published on June 16, 2008, in the journal Genes & Development, Stuart Orkin 71 and colleagues developed a mouse model of osteosarcoma, the most common form of bone cancer. The new model will allow researchers to investigate the genetic underpinnings of the disease, as well as devise and test new drug therapies. Reena Pande 01 was lead author of a study that found a strong association between insulin resistance and peripheral arterial disease. The study was published in the journal Circulation. Nicholas Christakis 88 contributed to a study in the June 2008 issue of the Southern Medical Journal which reports that whether hospitals had a chaplain or not was strongly predicted by general demographic and institutional characteristics. Thomas Sequist 99 and colleagues reported in the June 9, 2008, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine the results of a study that showed that African American patients treated for diabetes had worse outcomes than whites seen by the same clinicians at a large group practice in Massachusetts. George Daley 91 was senior author of a study that appeared in the June 9, 2008, online edition of Nature Genetics that shows what happens when fertilized eggs differentiate to build either an embryo or a placenta. Edward Norton 57 was co-author of a study published online in the August 2008 issue of Diabetes Care which found a mathematical relationship between two common blood glucose measurements that can help diabetics better monitor their condition. Thomas Sandora 97 and colleagues reported in a recent issue of Pediatrics that regular wiping of student desks and use of hand sanitizers during the school day can significantly reduce student illness and absenteeism. Jennifer Chan 00 published findings in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed that a family history of colorectal cancer confers increased risk of developing the disease but also appears to predict fewer recurrences and better survival after diagnosis. Abraham Morgentaler 82 reported research at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting on May 20, 2008, which showed that a long-acting intramuscular injection for the treatment of low testosterone restored and maintained testosterone levels to within normal levels in 94 percent of men in the clinical trial. Nicholas Christakis 88 co-authored a study published in the May 22, 2008, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine which found that smokers tend to quit in groups. Joan Miller 84 was co-author of a study in the May 22, 2008, issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation that revealed that anti-HIV drugs may prove effective in reducing vision loss. Lecia Sequist 99 led a study that supports first-line use of targeted therapy to treat lung cancer. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Judy Lieberman 81 was senior investigator of a study that showed that T cells use both the novel pathway and the classical apoptotic pathway to interfere with mitochondrial function and induce cell death. The study appeared in the May 16, 2008 issue of Cell. Pamela Hartzband 78 and husband Dr. Jerome Groopman recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that electronic medical records may not always be accurate, up-to-date, or private as companies such as Microsoft and Google seek a bigger role in managing the data. Paul Ridker 85 led a study that showed that differences in peoples blood levels of C reactive protein stem in part from natural variations in known metabolic genes. The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. Alexander Guimaraes 98 led a team of researchers that found that iron nanoparticles can detect lymph node metastases in a highly sensitive and specific manner in patients with renal cell carcinoma, which accounts for some 20 percent of kidney cancers. Anthony Sung 08 and colleagues reported at a recent meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine that 69 percent of medical students and 74 percent of interns said they had cried at least once. Zoltan Arany 98 helped discover a molecular pathway in mice that spurs the growth of new blood vessels when body parts are jeopardized by poor circulation. Jordan Smoller 91 was the lead author of a study that discovered perhaps the strongest evidence yet linking variation in a particular gene with anxiety-related traits. The study was published in the March 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Christine Albert 90 was co-author of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which showed that giving B vitamins and folic acid supplements to reduce high levels of a blood protein that is a marker for heart disease did nothing to protect women from heart trouble. Photo: ©iStockPhoto.com/zhang Bo |
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