April Monthly Research Highlights Newsletter

LOS ANGELES (April 30, 2024) -- 

Newswise — Research Town Hall Spotlights New Human Microbiome Research Institute, Access to EIS Programs

More than 100 faculty members who attended Cedars-Sinai’s April Research Town Hall—hosted by Jeffrey A. Golden, MD—learned how to best collaborate with the newly created Human Microbiome Research Institute and the Research section of the Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) division. Read more>

Intensive Blood Pressure Treatment May Help Some Middle-Aged Women

Investigators in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and colleagues report that women with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed with hypertension before age 50 may benefit from intensive blood pressure treatment. The findings were published in Diabetes Care and the study was led by Susan Cheng, MD, MPH. Read more>

Artificial Intelligence Can Evaluate Cardiovascular Risk During CT Scan

A recent study designed and implemented by investigators at Cedars-Sinai and led by Piotr J. Slomka, PhD, found that artificial intelligence can accurately evaluate cardiovascular risk during a routine chest computed tomography scan without contrast. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications. Read more>

Making Resistant Tumors Vulnerable to Treatment

Some soft tissue sarcomas, a rare type of cancerous tumor, are resistant to immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatment. But Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications and led by Jlenia Guarnerio, PhD, have identified a new way to overcome this resistance. This could lead to new treatments for this disease and other cancer types. Read more>

Deeper Dive Into the Gut Microbiome Shows Changes Linked to Body Weight

Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified significant variations in the microbes of the small bowel (small intestine) are strongly associated with various body weights, from a normal body mass index, or BMI, to having obesity. The paper was published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology and led by Ruchi Mathur, MD. Read more>

Predicting Ovarian Cancer Relapse

Using spatial analysis of tissue samples, Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified patterns that could predict whether patients with the most common type of ovarian cancer will experience early relapse after treatment. These patterns, detailed in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances and led by Alex Xu, PhD, could point to possible therapies. Read more>

New Director of Melanoma Research at Cedars-Sinai Cancer

Bin Zheng, PhD, a specialist in targeted therapies and immunotherapy, has joined Cedars-Sinai Cancer as director of Melanoma Research in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Zheng will work with Cedars-Sinai surgical and medical oncology leadership to develop and lead a comprehensive translational and basic science research program for melanoma. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Study Details Workings of Short-Term Memory

Cedars-Sinai investigators, led by Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, have discovered how brain cells responsible for working memory—the type required to remember a phone number long enough to dial it—coordinate intentional focus and short-term storage of information. The study detailing their discovery was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature. Read more>

Boosting the Brain’s Control of Prosthetic Devices

Cedars-Sinai investigators, in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, are believed to be the first to show that tapping the power of the cerebellum, a region in the back of the brain, could improve patients’ ability to control external devices such as robotic limbs. The study was led by Tanuj Gulati, PhD. Read more>

Human Brain Data Should Be Shared

Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, studies the mechanisms behind learning, memory and decision-making, and his work would not be possible without data-sharing and collaboration. He sat down with the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom to discuss the role of data-sharing and scientific collaboration in his work and the broader scientific community. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Joins 40 Health Systems in White House Effort on AI

Cedars-Sinai, under the leadership of Craig Kwiatkowski, PharmD, has joined a White House initiative aimed at ensuring healthcare providers and companies use artificial intelligence (AI) ethically and responsibly. Together with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the AI effort—announced in late 2023—is a consortium involving nearly 40 health systems and insurers. Read more>

An AI Ally for Mental Health

Xaia—eXtended-reality Artificially Intelligent Ally—brings together sophisticated artificial intelligence and extended reality with the powerful spatial computing capabilities offered with Apple Vision Pro. Xaia was developed, trained and tested by Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, and other Cedars-Sinai researchers from multiple disciplines. Read more>

Biomedical Bonanza: Accelerated Understanding of Cancer Means More Treatments and Answers for Patients

Medical science is a meticulous, detailed and exacting process. Months, years and even lifetimes might be spent in the pursuit of a single question. Sometimes, Navid Hafez, MD, MPH, is struck by the breathtaking progress of just the past 15 years. He shared some of his thoughts on the promising developments in this important area of cancer research and care. Read more>

Fetal Cardiology Expert Joins Cedars-Sinai

Pediatric cardiologist Jay Pruetz, MD, has joined Cedars-Sinai as director of Fetal Cardiology and associate director of the Pediatric Congenital Heart Program at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and the Smidt Heart Institute. Read more>

Scientists Identify Key Step in How Teeth Develop in the Womb

Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, and investigators with Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and other research institutions have identified a process responsible for the development of teeth called incisors—a discovery that could one day improve understanding of how birth defects happen. The findings were published in Nature Cell Biology. Read more>

RESEARCH ALERT: Standardizing Analysis of Myocardial Strain

A new study, published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging and led by Alan Kwan, MD, applied a novel artificial intelligence method to measure heart function. The program can be applied to standard heart ultrasounds to measure global, longitudinal myocardial strain, which is a marker of muscle function. Read more>

Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr., MD, Selected as Lyon Family Chair in Plastic Surgery

Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr., MD, vice chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and director of the Division of Plastic Surgery, has been selected as the General William and Willa Dean Lyon Family Chair in Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery. Read more>

Research Day: Scientists Connect, Find Inspiration in Innovation

Cedars-Sinai investigators, faculty members and clinicians came together in Harvey Morse Auditorium on March 27 for the 12th-annual Research Day, featuring keynote speaker David R. Liu, PhD, and more than 120 poster presentations. Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, and Kenneth E. Bernstein, MD, hosted the event. Read more>

A Clinic for Ovarian Cancer ‘Previvors’

The BRCA Ovarian Previvor Clinic at Cedars-Sinai empowers people who have tested BRCA1 or BRCA2 positive to make informed choices about their health. BJ Rimel, MD, the gynecological oncologist who oversees the clinic, shares more. Read more>

Crafting a Clinical Trials Hub

Michael Farkouh, MD, plans to make Cedars-Sinai a one-stop shop for clinical trials. His 2023 appointment as associate dean for Research and Clinical Trials at Cedars-Sinai has galvanized the institution’s focus on creating a new model for clinical trials to increase discoveries that benefit patients. Read more>

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