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.

Age Does Not Appear to Drive Cardiovascular Risk in Pregnancy

photo of doctor taking pregnant woman's blood pressure

Underlying cardiovascular risk, rather than older age, drives complications such as venous thromboembolism, cardiomyopathy and heart failure during pregnancy, according to new Weill Cornell Medicine research. The findings may encourage doctors to more actively address cardiovascular health in patients before they become pregnant.

The study, published May 18 in Nature Communications, suggests that instead of pregnancy becoming inherently riskier as people get older, it amplifies a person’s baseline cardiovascular risk, regardless of age.

“Pregnancy seems to be a uniform stress test, so to speak,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Hooman Kamel, vice chair of clinical research and chief of neurocritical care in the Department of Neurology and the Helen and Albert Moon Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine.

headshot of a man

Dr. Hooman Kamel

Medical and PA Students Honored During Convocation

A group of students and education administration pose for a photo

Medical and physician assistant students from the Class of 2026 were honored during convocation May 13 for their dedication to scholarship, excellence in research, devotion to teaching or service and exceptional professional qualities. The ceremonies also recognized exceptional faculty.

 Dr. Robert Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, and Dr. Joseph Safdieh, the Richard P. Cohen, M.D. Senior Associate Dean for Education, hosted M.D. Program Convocation. Dr. Kelly Porta, associate dean of physician assistant studies, Dr. Safdieh and Dr. Harrington hosted the Master of Science in Health Sciences for Physician Assistants Convocation.

M.D. Program Convocation

2026 Student Awards

The Alan Van Poznak Award for Excellence in Anesthesiology

Yilun Ma

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award

Daniel McInerney

The Henry Adelman Memorial Award for Excellence in Geriatric Medicine

Abhay Tiwari

The Anthony Seth Werner, M.D., Memorial Prize

Adam Neal Tucker

The Jay Lawrence Award for Clinical Proficiency in Infectious Diseases

Ariel Gonzalez

Alfred Moritz Michaelis Prize in General Medicine

Caitlin Cristina Unkenholz

Convocation Recognizes Graduate Students’ Achievements

A group of students posing for a photo

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences celebrated students in the Class of 2026 for their academic achievements during its May 13 convocation ceremony.

The ceremony, hosted by Dr. Barbara Hempstead, dean of Weill Cornell Graduate School, honored students who are graduating with their master’s and doctorate degrees, as well as those who earned special awards and prizes for their accomplishments in research, scholarship and service. The ceremony also recognized exemplary graduate school faculty.

2026 Award Winners

Distinguished Student Commencement Speaker Award

Kenneth Wayne Johnson
Pharmacology Program
(Mentor: Conor Liston, M.D., Ph.D.)

Julian R. Rachele Prize

Daniel Barnett, “Mitochondrial complex III-derived ROS amplify immunometabolic changes in astrocytes and promote dementia pathology.” Nature Metabolism. (Mentor: Anna Orr, Ph.D., Adam Orr, Ph.D.)

UkJin Lee, “Postmitotic transcription and 3D regulation show locus-specific and differentiation-specific responses to cohesion depletion.” Nature Genetics. (Mentor: Effie Apostolou, Ph.D.)

David P. Hajjar Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award

Minkui Luo, Ph.D.
Member, Sloan Kettering Institute
Chemical Biology Program

Program Specific Teaching and Mentoring Awards