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.

Dr. Zachary Grinspan Awarded CDC Grant for Epilepsy Research

Dr. Grinspan

Dr. Zachary Grinspan, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a four-year, $1.6 million CDC grant to undertake wide-reaching research aiming to produce a new, more detailed picture of childhood epilepsy.

The CEPIE study (Collaboration to Estimate the Pediatric Incidence of Epilepsy) will combine information from eight different sources—including Medicaid records, electronic health records, national health surveys and databases linking health information about mothers and their children—to determine how often epilepsy occurs in children in the United States. Epilepsy is estimated to affect about six in every 1,000 children, but the most recent national estimates are at least a decade old.

Antifungal Therapy Shows Potential for IBD Patients with Candida Overgrowth

3D illustration of fungi Candida albicans

A commonly used systemic antifungal medication may help reduce symptoms in a subset of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by restoring a healthier gut microbiome, according to a preliminary study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. 

headshot of a man

Dr. Iliyan Iliev

The study, published Sept.1 in Nature Medicine, provides what is thought to be the first evidence that targeting intestinal fungal dysbiosis can reshape bacterial and fungal microbiome dynamics in patients with IBD and establishes a framework for mycobiome-guided precision therapies. It compared the effects of two weeks of treatment with the antifungal mouthwash nystatin or the systemic antifungal medication fluconazole in 53 patients already receiving standard therapies for mild to moderate IBD who had an oral fungal infection called thrush.

Model Helps Scientists Build Better Protein-Degrading Therapies

cartoon showing old and new approaches to blocking proteins

A team of Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has developed a computer model that will help scientists more efficiently develop protein-destroying therapies, a newer type of treatment that is particularly promising for cancer. The study was published July 13 in Nature Communications.

Most drugs use a small molecule to render disease-causing proteins harmless, but protein-degrader therapies aim to destroy the target protein altogether. Eliminating proteins, for example, those with cancer-causing mutations, or proteins produced in harmful excess quantities may offer advantages over disabling a protein. The new model could potentially shave years off the process of developing a new protein degrader therapy.

Dr. Olivier Elemento

Dr. Olivier Elemento

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