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.

Weill Cornell Medicine Receives NIH Grant to Test Novel Male Contraceptive

sperm cells swimming

Weill Cornell Medicine has received a four-year, $8.2 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to develop and test an experimental on-demand male contraceptive pill that temporarily stops sperm in their tracks. Dr. Jochen Buck and Dr. Lonny Levin, both professors of pharmacology at Weill Cornell, are leading the project to help fill an urgent global need for new contraceptive options for men.

levin and buck crop

Dr. Lonny Levin (left) and Dr. Jochen Buck

Currently, about half of all pregnancies worldwide are unplanned, and contraceptive options for men have been limited to condoms and vasectomies. As a result, the burden of contraception largely falls to women, who often rely on long-term use of hormonal contraceptives, which may have a variety of side effects, Dr. Levin said.

Blocking a Cellular Stress Pathway May Help Preserve Insulin-Producing Cells

pancreatic beta cells

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified a molecular pathway that contributes to the death of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Experiments with preclinical models and human pancreatic cells found that blocking certain proteins in the pathway helped protect beta cells from excessive cellular stress. The discovery, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggests a new strategy to preserve the cells that regulate blood sugar and to potentially treat type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Laura Alonso

Dr. Laura Alonso

Diabetes is a complex, chronic disease with two forms. In type 1, the immune system attacks and destroys beta cells, leaving the body with little or no insulin. In type 2, the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin, so beta cells must churn out more of the hormone to keep blood sugar in check. Over time, beta cells can become dysfunctional and some are lost through cell death, further compromising insulin production.

Researchers Discover a Blood-Pressure Drug May Stimulate “Healthy” Brown Fat

brown fat

Losartan, a drug commonly prescribed for high blood pressure, boosts brown adipose tissue or “brown fat” activity and enhances its metabolism, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine, Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers. The findings suggest that repurposing losartan—an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) with a well-known safety profile—may potentially offer a therapeutic approach to stimulate brown fat, which has been linked to improved cardiovascular health. Unlike normal white fat, which stores energy in the body, brown fat burns calories to generate heat. The study also reported, for the first time, that brown fat is associated with reduced prevalence of psychiatric diseases.

The study, published Oct. 14 in Nature, analyzed PET/CT scans that were performed as part of cancer surveillance for over 100,000 patients. The researchers focused on the scans that detected brown fat, which is located in six regions of the body, including the neck, armpit and around organs like the heart and kidneys.

Contact Us