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Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife. The findings shed light on the biological factors that determine which bat species may harbor the virus between outbreaks in humans and how bats may transmit the virus to people.

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Feeling stressed out increases the likelihood that elderly people will develop mild cognitive impairment—often a prelude to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. In a new study, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System found that highly stressed participants were more than twice as likely to become impaired than those who were not. Because stress is treatable, the results suggest that detecting and treating stress in older people might help delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s. The findings were published online today in Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders.

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Investigators at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC), Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s NCI–designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore will present their research findings at the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 57th Annual Meeting and Exposition. Presentations include the first report on a genetic risk factor for avascular necrosis associated with treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children along with new insights into the molecular basis for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a novel approach to the treatment of this disease. ASH 2015 will take place December 5-8, 2015 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

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Investigators at Albert Einstein College of Medicine received $148 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health during the federal fiscal year of 2015. Below are some highlights of those received between July 1 and September 30.

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Now that researchers have successfully sequenced the human genome, understanding how those genes operate is one of the next great challenges. To that end, Albert Einstein College of Medicine is taking the lead role in a five-year, $4.25 million grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop tools that can image genes and the proteins for which they code.

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Anne R. Bresnick, Ph.D., an acclaimed cancer researcher, has been named director of the Belfer Institute for Advanced Biomedical Studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, effective October 1. Dr. Bresnick, professor of biochemistry, succeeds Jonathan M. Backer, M.D., who was recently named chair of the department of molecular pharmacology at the College of Medicine.

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An estimated 25 to 50 percent of preschoolers do not get enough healthy sleep. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to promote healthy sleep among these children. The investigators will partner with Head Start, the early childhood program for disadvantaged preschool children and their families.

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Jonathan M. Backer, M.D., an internationally acclaimed molecular pharmacologist and sought-after mentor to promising young scientists, will chair the department of molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, effective September 17, 2015. Dr. Backer is professor of molecular pharmacology and biochemistry. The department’s prior co-chairs were Susan B. Horwitz, Ph.D., and Charles S. Rubin, Ph.D.

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Steven C. Almo, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in the field of proteomics, has been named chair of the department of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Almo is professor of biochemistry and of physiology & biophysics and holds the Wollowick Family Foundation Chair. Dr. Almo will assume the chair left vacant by Vern Schramm, Ph.D., who has led the biochemistry department for the past 28 years.

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New research on sickle cell disease (SCD) has found that using antibiotics to deplete the body’s microbiome may prevent acute sickle cell crisis and could offer the first effective strategy for warding off the disease’s long-term complications, such as organ failure. The study, conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, could also lead to better treatment for other inflammatory blood-vessel disorders including septic shock. The findings were published online today in Nature.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (http://www.einstein.yu.edu/) and Montefiore Health System (http://www.montefiore.org/) have received a $1.2 million grant from New York State to advance their promising technology for treating paralysis and other effects of spinal cord injuries (SCI). The grant is one of nine totaling $5.7 million announced by Governor Cuomo. The funding will be administered by New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research program and represents the first round of competitive awards since funding was re-instated for the program in 2013.

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Using real-time, high-resolution imaging, scientists have identified how a “doorway” in the blood vessel wall allows cancer cells to spread from breast tumors to other parts of the body. The findings support emerging tests that better predict if breast cancer will spread, which could spare women from unnecessary treatments and lead to new anti-cancer therapies. The research from Albert Einstein Cancer Center and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care published today in Cancer Discovery.

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An innovative three-month elective course has helped make some first-year medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine more confident about dealing with health disparities they’ll likely encounter as physicians, according to a follow-up study published online today in the journal Academic Medicine.

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Periodic telephone counseling can be a highly effective, low-cost tool for lowering blood-sugar levels in minority, urban adults with uncontrolled diabetes. The findings are the result of a clinical trial led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and their collaborators at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (Health Department). The study published online today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have received a $10.5 million, 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue their Diabetes Research Center (DRC), which has been newly named the Einstein-Mount Sinai DRC. The regional collaborative combines Einstein’s basic and clinical research strengths with Mount Sinai’s beta cell and community outreach expertise.

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A team including scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has identified the molecular “lock” that the deadly Ebola virus must pick to gain entry to cells. The findings, made in mice, suggest that drugs blocking entry to this lock could protect against Ebola infection.

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A survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults has found that misperceptions about miscarriage and its causes are widespread. Results of the survey, conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Health System, show that feelings of guilt and shame are common after a miscarriage and that most people erroneously believe that miscarriages are rare. The findings were published online today in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges will deliver the keynote address at the 2015 commencement ceremony for Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein’s 57th graduation will take place at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall on Thursday, May 28 at 3 p.m.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Health System have named Theodore A. Kastner, M.D., co-director of the Kennedy Center, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, and director of its primary clinical arm, the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC). Dr. Kastner assumed the new post on April 6.

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An experimental therapy developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University cut in half the time it takes to heal wounds compared to no treatment at all. Details of the therapy, which was successfully tested in mice, were published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

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As graduating medical students around the country learn their professional fates, members of the class of 2015 at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University celebrated another successful Match Day. An annual rite of passage, Match Day is an event that takes place at medical schools across the country during which fourth-year medical students learn where and in what specialty they will complete their residency—setting the course of their medical careers.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a fluorescence microscopy technique that for the first time shows where and when proteins are produced. This allows researchers to directly observe individual mRNAs as they are translated into proteins in living cells. It should help reveal how irregularities in protein synthesis contribute to human disease processes, including Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related disorders. The research publishes in the March 20 edition of Science.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have designed a new type of vaccine that could be the first-ever for preventing genital herpes—one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, affecting 500 million people worldwide. Using a counterintuitive approach, researchers were able to prevent both infections caused by herpes simplex virus type 2, which causes genital herpes. Findings from the research, conducted in mice, were published today in the online journal eLife.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found a possible clue to why older mothers face a higher risk for having babies born with conditions such as Down syndrome that are characterized by abnormal chromosome numbers.

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Each year nearly 600,000 people—mostly children under age five and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa—die from malaria, caused by single-celled parasites that grow inside red blood cells. The most deadly malarial species—Plasmodium falciparum—has proven notoriously resistant to treatment efforts. But thanks to a novel approach developed by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and described in the January 20 online edition of ACS Chemical Biology, researchers can readily screen thousands of drugs to find those potentially able to kill P. falciparum.

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A study of nearly a half-million Americans has found that following cancer prevention guidelines from the American Cancer Society may modestly reduce your overall risk of developing cancer and have a greater impact on reducing your overall risk of dying. Having a healthy body weight and staying active appeared to have the most positive impact.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University today named Steven A. Porcelli, M.D., the new chair of the department of microbiology & immunology. A noted immunologist, Dr. Porcelli is currently the Murray and Evelyne Weinstock Chair in Microbiology & Immunology and professor of medicine at Einstein.

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Sleep-related breathing problems and chronic lack of sleep may each double the risk of a child becoming obese by age 15, according to new research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The good news is that both sleep problems can be corrected. The study, which followed nearly 2,000 children for 15 years, published online today in The Journal of Pediatrics.

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A study combining patients’ tumor cells with a laboratory model of blood vessel lining provides the most compelling evidence so far that a specific trio of cells is required for the spread of breast cancer. The findings could lead to better tests for predicting whether a woman’s breast cancer will spread. The study, led by researchers at the NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, published today in Science Signaling.

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Six faculty members at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year, 401 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center in collaboration with Developmental Disabilities Health Alliance of New York and Community Resource Center for the Developmentally Disabled, Inc., have received a $2.4 million grant to integrate medical and mental healthcare for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The grant was provided by the New York State Balancing Incentive Program Innovation Fund.

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Rates of depression and anxiety vary widely among different segments of the U.S. Hispanic and Latino population, with the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms in Puerto Ricans, according to a new report from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). The researchers’ findings also suggest that depression and anxiety may be undertreated among Hispanics and Latinos, particularly if they are uninsured. The study was published online in Annals of Epidemiology.

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A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that measuring how fast the brain responds to sights and sounds could help in objectively classifying people on the autism spectrum and may help diagnose the condition earlier. The paper was published today in the online edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and other institutions have developed a potential antibody therapy for Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), one of the two most lethal strains of Ebola. A different strain, the Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), is now devastating West Africa. First identified in 1976, SUDV has caused numerous Ebola outbreaks (most recently in 2012) that have killed more than 400 people in total. The findings were reported in ACS Chemical Biology.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $9 million to renew a grant headed by Robert Callender, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He and his fellow researchers are working to develop drugs by considering the dynamics—including specific atomic motions—of the enzymes that those drugs target.

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Frailty is a common condition associated with old age, characterized by weight loss, weakness, decreased activity level and reduced mobility, which together increase the risk of injury and death. Yet, not all elderly people become frail; some remain vigorous and robust well into old-age. The question remains: why?

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that bacteria that aid in digestion help keep the intestinal lining intact. The findings, reported online in the journal Immunity, could yield new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a wide range of other disorders.

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A study involving nearly 27,000 older adults on five continents found that nearly 1 in 10 met criteria for pre-dementia based on a simple test that measures how fast people walk and whether they have cognitive complaints. People who tested positive for pre-dementia were twice as likely as others to develop dementia within 12 years. The study, led by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, was published online on July 16, 2014 in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have received a grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to translate a basic science finding into a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. This drug discovery project will test chemical compounds on a newly identified target with the goal of developing a drug that acts on an underlying cause of the disease.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have received a $2.5 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to establish a training program to improve the practice of healthcare in real-world settings. The program, in an emerging area called patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), will be housed in the Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore and will prepare established and junior investigators to initiate and lead research in this area.

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The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a $10 million grant to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to fund research into how breast cancer cells move and spread in the body, and how to predict which breast cancer tumors will metastasize.

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The study was led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)─designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and was published online today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

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Research by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine may help explain how some cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can result from environmental influences rather than gene mutations. The findings, published online today in PLOS Genetics, shed light on why older mothers are at increased risk for having children with ASD and could pave the way for more research into the role of environment on ASD.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a signaling pathway in cancer cells that controls their ability to invade nearby tissues in a finely orchestrated manner. The findings offer insights into the early molecular events involved in metastasis, the deadly spread of cancer cells from primary tumor to other parts of the body. The study was published today in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology.

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For otherwise healthy middle-aged women who are overweight or obese, physical activity may be their best option for avoiding heart disease, according to a study that followed nearly 900 women for seven years. These findings were reported in a paper led by authors at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, and published today in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Healthy stem cells work to restore or repair the body’s tissues, but cancer stem cells have a more nefarious mission: to spawn malignant tumors. Cancer stem cells were discovered a decade ago, but their origins and identity remain largely unknown.

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Two risk factors – getting older and eating poorly – are implicated in more than 80 percent of colon cancer cases in developed countries. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have received a $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate how aging and poor nutrition interact to cause the mutations responsible for driving colon cancer development.

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From uncovering the role nerve cells play in metastasis to identifying new cancer-causing genes, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University made notable advances in the understanding and potential treatment of cancer during the past year. Several Einstein faculty members and students will present their recent research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, taking place in San Diego April 5-9, 2014.

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Members of the class of 2014 at Albert Einstein College of Medicine continued a time-honored medical school tradition when they ripped open their personalized envelopes and learned where they will launch their careers as a doctors. On Match Day, fourth-year students at Einstein – and at medical schools around the country – discover where and in what specialty they will conduct their residency training. Residency begins after medical school graduation.