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.

Improving Lives Through Academic Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship

Harrington and Kappel fireside chat

Why are innovation and entrepreneurship important in academic research? Since the Bayh-Dole Act was passed in 1980, permitting institutions to retain ownership of their inventions arising from federal funding, more than 200 drug treatments and vaccines have been brought to market through academic-commercial partnerships.

Weill Cornell Medicine’s Ninth Annual Dean’s Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship celebrated and fostered this entrepreneurial spirit on Nov. 17 at Weill Cornell's Griffis Faculty Club.

“You have a flywheel effect where research begets innovation, which begets patient impact and revenue,” said Dr. Lisa Placanica, senior managing director of the Center for Technology Licensing at Weill Cornell Medicine, in her welcome remarks. “That puts forth further research and innovation. The impact is transformative for health care and the economy.”

Aging Midbrain Neurons Face Energy Crisis Linked to Parkinson’s

immunofluorescent image of neurons stained for dopamine

Dopamine neurons in a part of the brain called the midbrain may, with aging, be increasingly susceptible to a vicious spiral of decline driven by fuel shortages, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings offer a potential explanation for the degeneration of this neuron population in Parkinson’s disease.

In the study, published Dec. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists examined how midbrain dopamine neurons, which have unusually numerous output branches, handle their high energy requirements. They showed that these neurons under normal conditions create a fuel reserve in the form of clusters of glucose molecules called glycogen. This allows the neurons to keep working for a surprisingly long time even when their usual supply of glucose from the blood is interrupted. However, the researchers also discovered that the neurons regulate their glycogen storage in a way that can leave them highly vulnerable to glucose shortages, especially as their functions begin to decline with aging.

The Winding Road from Bench to FDA Approval for First Mitochondria-Targeting Drug

Hazel Szeto

Jacob Wilson knew something had tangibly changed just six months into a clinical trial evaluating an innovative therapy that targets mitochondria, the energy producing structures inside cells.

A man sitting in a chair

Jacob Wilson. Photo provided.

Diagnosed at 10 with Barth syndrome, an ultra-rare, life-threatening genetic mitochondrial disorder that primarily affects males, Wilson’s energy was too depleted, his muscles too weak to complete life’s simple tasks, like eating and walking. He never felt rested after a good night’s sleep, missed childhood developmental milestones, faced cardiac issues and was immunocompromised. In 2016, he participated in a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of elamipretide, a first-in-class drug that targets mitochondria, to help boost energy production. At first, Wilson got winded after walking a block. Six months later, he was outpacing his parents. And he gained 25 pounds in a year.

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