Obstetrics & Gynecology

News and Events

Programs and providers of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine are often the focus of news stories and features appearing in major national media. We invite you to review some stories that typify the breakthrough accomplishments of our remarkable team and highlight the impact our care has had on patient’s lives.

Formalizing Physician-Scientist Career Pathway Key to Creating ‘Healthcare of Tomorrow’

two women in white coats look at MRI scans

Cholesterol-reducing statin medications to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke; personalized cancer therapies; mRNA technologies that revolutionized vaccine development and are now transforming cancer therapy. These are just a few examples of the countless innovations made possible by physician-scientists—physicians who divide their career between clinical practice and rigorous scientific, patient-inspired research.

“What fundamentally defines the value of physician-scientists is their ability to create the healthcare of tomorrow, using their training in clinical medicine and the scientific method as both stethoscope and scalpel,” said Dr. Kyu Rhee, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Colon Cancer Cells May Change Identity to Metastasize

colorectal cancer cells

Loss of GATA6—a transcription factor that controls which genes are turned on or off—can reprogram colorectal cancer cells into more primitive, adaptable states that can then spread to the liver and establish new tumors, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. Understanding how cancer cells acquire the ability to metastasize could reveal new ways to stop this deadly process.

Under normal conditions, GATA6 acts like a molecular “identity keeper” for cells lining the intestine, helping maintain a stable, well-defined state. However, the study, published June 22 in Cell Stem Cell, found that GATA6 expression is significantly reduced in liver metastases in both mice and human colorectal cancer patients, and that low GATA6 levels correlate with poorer clinical outcomes. Colorectal cancer becomes much more difficult to treat once it metastasizes, which is the leading cause of death.

Norihiro Goto

Dr. Norihiro Goto

Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Life-Threatening Inherited Heart Disease

illustration of normal heart and one with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

A new gene therapy appears to be safe in patients diagnosed with Friedreich ataxia cardiomyopathy, a progressive and fatal inherited cardiac disease, according to a phase 1 clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The treatment may also reduce heart damage, although further investigation is needed. 

The results, published June 17 in JAMA Cardiology, indicated that an intravenous infusion of a healthy frataxin (FXN) gene was generally well tolerated and shows early signs of efficacy. These include a decrease in heart wall thickness—enlarged walls are a sign of cardiomyopathy—and reduced levels of troponin I, a marker of heart damage.

headshot of a man

Dr. Ronald Crystal. Credit: Jesse Winter

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