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.

Breaking the Silence on Women’s Pelvic Floor Disorders

Dr. Larissa Rodriguez urologist

Many women assume pelvic floor health issues are simply their fate—part of having vaginal deliveries, getting older, gaining weight or entering menopause. Perhaps they have watched their mothers and grandmothers live with symptoms, such as urinary incontinence and pain. Though pelvic floor disorders happen when the muscles and tissues that support the bladder, bowel and uterus weaken or don’t work properly, they are not a normal part of aging.

But the misconception—that nothing can be done—keeps women from seeking help.

“There are so many people suffering from this, but people don't talk about it and are often embarrassed,” said Dr. Larissa Rodríguez, chair of the Department of Urology and the James J. Colt Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine and urologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Part of the issue is making sure women know that treatments exist: pelvic floor physical therapy, behavioral strategies, medications, devices, procedures and vaginal estrogen, which can reduce urinary tract infections and improve urgency symptoms. In the absence of a well-known spokesperson who can raise awareness about pelvic floor disorders and inspire fundraising for research, Dr. Rodríguez spends time educating women and empowering them to talk to their doctors and seek treatment.

Scientists Identify a Molecular Switch to a Painful Side Effect of Chemotherapy

woman with neuropathy pain

Chemotherapy activates a stress sensor in immune cells, triggering inflammation and nerve damage, which may help explain why many cancer patients experience debilitating pain as a side effect, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers.

Up to half of all patients receiving chemotherapy experience chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which causes tingling, numbness and pain in the hands and feet. Since there are limited options to address this condition, patients are often forced to stop their cancer treatment early. The preclinical research, published Oct. 29 in Science Translational Medicine, may lead to strategies for preventing and controlling CIPN, as well as biomarkers for identifying patients at risk.

“We uncovered a molecular mechanism that maps specifically to immune cells, not neurons,” said co-senior author Dr. Juan Cubillos-Ruiz, the William J. Ledger, M.D. Distinguished Associate Professor of Infection and Immunology in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine. “This provides strong evidence that chemotherapy-induced neuropathy is not just a nerve issue but an immune-mediated inflammatory process driven by cellular stress responses.”

Common-Cold Coronavirus Could be the Key to a Better COVID-19 Vaccine

photo of a gloved hand inserting a syringe into a vial

Prior exposure to coronaviruses that cause ordinary colds can boost the immune system’s ability to attack a vulnerable site on the COVID-19-causing coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The finding suggests a new vaccination strategy that might provide broader and more durable protection against SARS-CoV-2 strains compared with existing vaccines—and might also protect against other emergent coronaviral threats.

In the study, published Oct. 9 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the researchers analyzed human antibody responses to the base of SARS-CoV-2’s outer spike protein. This segment, known as the S2 subunit, mediates the coronavirus’s entry into a host cell, and, because of this critical function, does not vary much between different coronavirus subfamilies. Thus, targeting it successfully could help provide broad protection against existing and future coronavirus threats. Although exposure to SARS-CoV-2 alone elicits a weak antibody response against S2, the researchers found evidence that prior exposure to common cold coronaviruses, especially one called OC43, can prime the immune system for a much more effective anti-S2 response—one that may be able to neutralize a wide range of coronaviruses.

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