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.

Advanced Brain Circuit-Mapping Technique Reveals New Anxiety Drug Target

Fluorescence image showing the basolateral amygdala with projections from the insular cortex and prefrontal cortex stained red and green

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have identified in a preclinical model a specific brain circuit whose inhibition appears to reduce anxiety without side effects. Their work suggests a new target for treating anxiety disorders and related conditions and demonstrates a general strategy, based on a method called photopharmacology, for mapping drug effects on the brain.

In their study, published Jan. 28 in Neuron, the researchers examined the effects of experimental drug compounds that activate a type of brain-cell receptor called the metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2). While these receptors are found on neurons within many brain circuits, the team showed that activating them in a specific circuit terminating in an emotion-related brain region called the amygdala reduces signs of anxiety without apparent adverse side effects. Current treatments for anxiety disorders, panic disorder and associated conditions can have unwanted side effects including cognitive impairments.

New Physician Assistant Students Launch Educational Journey with White Coats

Class of 2027
students

Class of 2027 physician assistant students pose after the ceremony with their new white coats. Credit: Ashley Jones.

Jordyn Green always knew she wanted to work in health care, but an emergency room experience with her father two years ago cemented an enthusiasm for the physician assistant profession. A gardening accident with hedge clippers had landed them in the emergency room, and as her father received care, the PA stitching his fingers turned to her and said she should consider pursuing the medical field — and would be a great candidate.

“That was the deciding moment for me,” said Green, 23, a Westchester County, New York native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Grant Renews Funding for Pain and Aging Center

an elderly woman with gray hair

The Translational Research Institute for Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL), a New York City-based center to help older adults prevent and manage pain, has been awarded a five-year, $5 million renewal grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

The institute, formed in 2009 as one of the Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Aging, investigates innovative, nonpharmacologic methods to mitigate persistent pain, which is estimated to affect nearly half of older Americans. TRIPLL unites Weill Cornell Medicine researchers and social and psychological scientists at the Cornell College of Human Ecology in Ithaca, as well as colleagues from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the University of Michigan, and multiple community-based health care collaborators. The institute seeks to apply insights from psychology, sociology, economics, and communications to develop and implement effective pain management techniques that are acceptable to and practical for older adults.

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