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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a key player in the spread of breast cancer. The findings, published today in the online edition of Nature, identify a critical molecule that helps cancer spread beyond the primary tumor. The research highlights a potential new strategy against metastatic disease. The study’s senior author is Jeffrey Pollard, Ph.D., professor of developmental and molecular biology and of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health at Einstein.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a desktop genome analyzer and browser that allows biologists to rapidly and easily analyze and process their high-throughput data. The open-source software, called GenPlay, is described in the May 19 online edition of Bioinformatics.

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Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Ph.D., R.D. of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University played an important role in the development of the “Best Diets” rankings, which U.S. News released today. Dr. Mossavar-Rahmani, who specializes in nutrition assessment and intervention, is assistant professor of epidemiology & population health at Einstein.

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Fifty years ago, adult-onset diabetes was relatively rare, affecting less than one percent of the adult population in the United States. Today, more than 25 million Americans over the age of 20 battle the disease – an alarming 11 percent of the population. The condition has been renamed type 2 diabetes because nearly a quarter of a million children also have it. The Bronx has been especially hard hit, with approximately 150,000 adults and children affected.

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Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D., and Ekaterina Dadachova, Ph.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have been named winners of Grand Challenges Explorations, a $100 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Their project, “Radioimmunotherapy in patients on anti-retroviral therapy for HIV cure,” involves using radioimmunotherapy to treat HIV/AIDS. Grants have already been awarded to nearly 500 researchers from over 40 countries. Drs. Casadevall and Dadachova’s project is one of more than 85 Grand Challenges Explorations Round 6 grants announced April 28 by the Foundation.

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Belgian physicians report they have cured a young patient with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) using a novel two-drug combination developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The report, published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, marks the first known clinical use of this treatment for XDR-TB, the most deadly form of the disease.

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The Einstein Aging Study, which examines both normal brain aging and the special challenges of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, has recently received a renewal grant of $11 million from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging to continue its work. Richard B. Lipton, M.D., the Lotti and Bernard Benson Faculty Scholar in Alzheimer’s Disease and professor and vice chair of The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, will continue to lead an interdisciplinary team of researchers and health care professionals working to discover dementia’s causes and potential therapies.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified the Aurora A gene - which is vital for tumor growth and known to be expressed at higher-than-normal levels in many cancers – as a target for potential therapies for rhabdoid tumors, aggressive childhood cancers that usually strike children under three years old and affect the brain or kidneys. The disease is extremely rare and is particularly difficult to treat and almost always fatal.

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Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may work in treating a genetic liver-lung disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, according to an animal study in the April 18 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Jayanta Roy-Chowdhury, M.D., professor of medicine and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, is the study’s senior author.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have for the first time observed the activity of a single gene in living cells. In an unprecedented study, published in the April 22 online edition of Science, Einstein scientists were able to follow, in real time, the process of gene transcription, which occurs when a gene converts its DNA information into molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) that go on to make the protein coded by the gene.

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The brain’s hypothalamus plays a key role in obesity and one of its major complications – type 2 diabetes. Nerve cells in the hypothalamus detect nutrients and hormones circulating in the blood and then coordinate a complex series of behavioral and physiological responses to maintain a balance between calories eaten and calories burned. Obesity and diabetes can result when this regulatory mechanism goes awry.

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Just as inhaling cigarette smoke can cause lung cancer, inhaling medication may treat it. Two researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have received a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to clinically develop an inhaled therapy for lung cancer – to be used before the cancer becomes malignant and spreads.

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For many types of cancer, the original tumor itself is usually not deadly. Instead, it’s the spread of a tiny subpopulation of cells from the primary tumor to other parts of the body—the process known as metastasis—that all too often kills the patient. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified two molecules that enable cancer to spread inside the body. These findings could eventually lead to therapies that prevent metastasis by inactivating the molecules.

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Noted AIDS researcher and immunologist Anthony S. Fauci will deliver the keynote address at the 2011 commencement ceremony for Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will speak at Einstein’s graduation, which takes place Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.

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Forty-three percent of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University’s class of 2011 will be going into primary care – 4 percent higher than the national average of nearly 39 percent. Fourth-year medical students at Einstein – and at medical schools around the country – learned today where and in what specialty they will spend their three to seven years of residency training. The much-anticipated annual event, known as Match Day, has been a rite of passage for medical students for nearly six decades, since the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) was established in 1952. This year’s Match, with 16,559 U.S. medical school seniors applying, represents the largest Match to date.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that members of an enzyme family found in humans and throughout the plant and animal kingdoms play a crucial role in regulating cell motility. Their findings suggest an entirely new strategy for treating conditions ranging from diabetic ulcers to metastatic cancer.

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The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $3.4 million grant to Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, both affiliated with Yeshiva University, to identify cognitive factors that influence mobility in older people – in particular, those that could be modified to help older people remain active.

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Few primary care physicians pay adequate attention to patients taking prescription opioid drugs - despite the potential for abuse, addiction and overdose, according to a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study found lax monitoring even of patients at high risk for opioid misuse, such as those with a history of drug abuse or dependence.

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A study of more than 3,000 children shows that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased likelihood that children will develop allergies, according to a paper published in the February 17 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University headed the study.

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Ertuğrul Özbudak, Ph.D., assistant professor of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has won a 2011 Sloan Research Fellowship. Dr. Özbudak was selected for his research into the genetic causes of vertebral malformations that occur during embryonic development and lead to debilitating childhood and adult diseases, including scoliosis, disfigurement, and back and neck pain.

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In an advance that could improve battlefield and trauma care, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have used tiny particles called nanoparticles to improve survival after life-threatening blood loss. Nanoparticles containing nitric oxide (NO) were infused into the bloodstream of hamsters, where they helped maintain blood circulation and protect vital organs. The research was reported in the February 21 online edition of the journal Resuscitation.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed an experimental vaccine that appears to protect against an increasingly common and particularly deadly form of pneumococcal pneumonia. Details of the new vaccine, which was tested in an animal model, are reported in a paper published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s largest organization dedicated to cancer research, has awarded Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., the Rose C. Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research and co-chair of molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, its Eighth Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research.

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In a technique that could eventually shed light on how gene expression influences human disease, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have for the first time ever successfully visualized single molecules of naturally-occurring messenger RNA (mRNA) transcribed in living mammalian cells. The scientific achievement is detailed in the January 16 online edition of Nature Methods. Gene expression involves transcribing a gene’s DNA into molecules of mRNA. These molecules then migrate from a cell’s nucleus into the cytoplasm, where they serve as blueprints for protein construction.

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A researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has helped to develop the first genetic blood test for predicting the chances that in vitro fertilization (IVF) will lead to a successful pregnancy. The test, reported in the online medical journal PLoS One, is based on the finding that different subtypes of the FMR1 gene (also known as the fragile X mental retardation gene) in potential mothers are associated with significantly different chances of conceiving with IVF.

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Intrauterine devices (IUDs) for contraception are safe and effective, but only a small fraction of women in the United States use them. Now, a national survey of family physicians conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has found that family physicians typically have gaps in knowledge about IUDs, are often uncomfortable discussing them with patients, and frequently believe that their patients would not be receptive to talking about IUDs. The findings are published in the December 3 online issue of Contraception.

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A $16-million grant from the National Cancer Institute will utilize specialized expertise developed by Steven Libutti, M.D., professor and vice chair of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein. The research - carried out by a group of institutions, including Einstein, that comprise the Texas Center for Cancer Nanomedicine - could lead to novel ways to diagnose and treat pancreatic cancer using nanoparticles.

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Two researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that our 98.6° F (37° C) body temperature strikes a perfect balance: warm enough to ward off fungal infection but not so hot that we need to eat nonstop to maintain our metabolism.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have been awarded $600,000 from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to study the effect of resveratrol, a chemical compound most notably found in red wine and grapes, on impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in older adults. IGT occurs when blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. The condition is also known as prediabetes.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have made an unexpected finding about the method by which certain genes are activated. Contrary to what researchers have traditionally assumed, genes that work with other genes to build protein structures do not act in a coordinated way but instead are turned on randomly. The surprising discovery, described in the December 5 online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, may fundamentally change the way scientists think about the way cellular processes are synchronized.

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Nearly a quarter of Americans live in rural areas, which consistently report higher cancer mortality rates than urban and suburban areas. Among the complex causes for this disparity is that only 10 percent of physicians practice in rural areas and almost 4 out of 10 rural residents live at least an hour from an urban area. Finding the time, transportation, and financial resources for travel to urban academic medical centers, the standard bearers for quality cancer care, often proves difficult. Most rural residents have their cancer treated in their communities, although a survey suggests rural physicians are less likely to attend national medical conferences and may have difficulty keeping up with important oncology literature.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University researcher Jeffrey Pollard, Ph.D., has received the prestigious Medal of Honor in Basic Science from the American Cancer Society (ACS) in recognition of his research into the critical role the tumor microenvironment plays in modulating cancer behavior, specifically the role that members of the innate immune cells called macrophages play both in normal development and in promoting tumor progression. These macrophages could hold the key to more targeted cancer treatments.

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A team of scientists has found a way to eliminate a debilitating side effect associated with one of the main chemotherapy drugs used for treating colon cancer. The strategy used in their preclinical research—inhibiting an enzyme in bacteria of the digestive tract—could allow patients to receive higher and more effective doses of the drug, known as CPT-11 or Irinotecan.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has launched SuperAgers.com, a new website that features the latest information on more than a decade of aging research. It highlights the work of Nir Barzilai, M.D., director of the Institute for Aging Research, and a team of researchers, coordinators and volunteers examining the genes of the very old through the Longevity Genes Project.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has updated its Strategic Research Plan, the guidepost by which research priorities for the College of Medicine are set and measured. The update is designed to keep Einstein’s research enterprise on course, to determine which investigative areas should be expanded or redirected, and to identify new areas that were underappreciated when the original research plan was formulated.

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Two major international studies looking at data from a quarter of a million people around the globe have found a new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity. Researchers at 280 institutions worldwide, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, conducted the studies. The research, published in the October 10 online edition of Nature Genetics, sheds light on the biological processes involved in body fat distribution, possibly leading to new ways of treating obesity.

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The osteoporosis drug raloxifene may be useful in treating kidney disease in women, suggests a new study led by Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology & population health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

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William R. Jacobs, Jr., Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, has been awarded a three-year, $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis (TB). TB causes almost two million deaths each year, making it the world’s most deadly bacterial infection.

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The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $30 million grant to study the structure and function of thousands of biomedically important proteins.

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A seemingly simple inherited trait – height – springs from hundreds of genetic causes, according to an international team of scientists. The study identified hundreds of gene variants in at least 180 locations that influence adult height.

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Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will hold a congressional briefing in Washington, D.C., aimed at focusing attention on the alarming global diabetes epidemic. Incidence of diabetes is increasing worldwide at a rate that eclipses most other diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2030, more than 366 million people will be suffering from diabetes, 10 times the number affected by HIV/AIDS. Of that 366 million, more than 298 million will live in developing countries.

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By constructing a microscope apparatus that achieves resolution never before possible in living cells, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have illuminated the molecular interactions that occur during one of the most important “trips” in all of biology: the journey of individual messenger Ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules from the nucleus into the cytoplasm (the area between the nucleus and cell membrane) so that proteins can be made.

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A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children.

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Commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect—raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem—and select drugs most suitable for their patients—by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available. The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

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A study led by a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has revealed a unique “partnership” between two types of bone marrow stem cells, which could lead to advances in regenerative medicine.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has been named one of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have received a five-year, $10.8 million grant to develop stem cell-based therapies that could be used to mitigate radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome – part of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) – for military personnel, first responders and the general public.

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Computerized brain fitness programs are known to help seniors improve their memory and focus. Now, a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found preliminary evidence that such programs may help frail seniors walk faster, potentially preventing disability and improving quality of life.

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For the third time in four months, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a research grant aimed at helping people infected with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

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The National Cancer Institute has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University $4.1 million to test the microbicide Carraguard® against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer. The research will evaluate the efficacy of Carraguard®, – a clear gel made from the seaweed derivative carrageenan – in preventing new HPV infections in women.