December Research Highlights

Smidt Heart Institute Proteins Expert Honored With Two Biomedicine Awards

Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Dec. 26, 2023) -- Jennifer Van Eyk, PhD, has been honored by two national organizations for her excellence and leadership in the field of biomedicine: the United States Human Proteome Organization and Northeastern University’s Barnett Institute. For more than 25 years, Van Eyk’s work has focused on clinical proteomics, the study of the structure and function of proteins within the body. Read more> 

Predicting Lymphoma Patients’ Treatment Outcomes

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators have discovered a new way to predict whether a cancer of the immune system will recur in patients treated with a bone marrow transplant. Their study, led by Akil Merchant, MD, and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to use a novel technique called spatial profiling to predict patient outcomes, and could lead to more precisely targeted treatment. Read more>

RESEARCH ALERT: Artificial Sweeteners Significantly Alter the Small Bowel Microbiome

Cedars-Sinai investigators examined the potential effects of consuming non-sugar sweeteners, including both non-aspartame non-sugar sweeteners and aspartame alone, on the composition of the stool and duodenal microbiomes. Compared to controls in the study, scientists noted significant differences in both stool and duodenal (small intestine) microbial diversity and composition. Led by Ruchi Mathur, MD, the study was published in the journal iScience. Read more>

Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy Associated With Lasting Effects on the Heart

New research from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai found that women who developed signs of elevated blood pressure during pregnancy were more likely to have residual evidence of abnormal heart structure and function up to a decade after the pregnancy. The study—led by Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, and Natalie Bello, MD, MPH—published in the journal Hypertension, looked at more than 5,000 Hispanic/Latina women with at least one prior pregnancy and identified those who had hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, such as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia or eclampsia. Read more>

Smidt Heart Institute Opens Aortic Surveillance Clinic

The Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai has opened an Aortic Surveillance Clinic for the evaluation and long-term monitoring of patients with enlarged aortas, or aortic aneurysms, for whom surgery may not be necessary. The clinic, led by Robbin Cohen, MD, is the newest offering from the heart institute’s dedicated Aortic Program, an interdisciplinary team of highly specialized cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, radiologists, genetic counselors, and nurses treating the full spectrum of aortic disorders. Read more>

New Cancer Research Consortium Melds Scientific Disciplines

Cedars-Sinai Cancer is part of an unconventional consortium dedicated to fighting cancer through the integration of diverse scientific disciplines. The effort, known as the Convergent Science Cancer Consortium, is funded through a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Much of the consortium is modeled on the recently established Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center, co-led by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD. Read more>

Study: Solid Organ Transplant Patients Benefit From COVID-19 Treatment

New research from Cedars-Sinai’s Comprehensive Transplant Center found that a monoclonal antibody treatment reduced the risk of COVID-19 in a large group of solid organ transplant patients who were administered the drug as a preventive measure against the disease. The study, led by Stanley Jordan, MD, recently published in the journal Transplant Infectious Disease. Read more>

Experts Offer Virtual Second Opinions for Women With Heart Conditions

The Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai has expanded its popular Virtual Second Opinion Program to women living with or at risk of developing heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death in women. The institute’s specialists from the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center are available to offer a convenient and customized second opinion via an easy-to-use online platform, giving women an opportunity to verify a diagnosis and explore treatment options, empowering them to make informed healthcare decisions. Read more>

New Artificial Intelligence Tool Predicts Mortality After Surgeries and Procedures

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by investigators at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and colleagues at two other institutions accurately predicted how patients would fare after surgeries and procedures. The results, published in The Lancet Digital Health and led by David Ouyang, MD, include data from patients from three healthcare systems: Cedars-Sinai, Stanford University and Columbia University. All patients in the study underwent a surgical procedure, including open heart surgery, other major surgeries, and minimally invasive procedures involving a catheter or endoscope. Read more>

Unique Cell-Based Approach for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Shown to Be Safe

Infusions of potentially therapeutic cells derived from the heart are safe for people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a form of high blood pressure that occurs in the blood vessels of the lungs and typically affects middle-aged women, according to a study led by Cedars-Sinai investigators. The Phase I clinical trial results published in the peer-reviewed journal eBioMedicine, a Lancet journal, and were led by Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, and Michael I. Lewis, MD. Read more>  

Cancer Discovery: How the Liver Defends Itself

Cedars-Sinai investigators have discovered how the liver defends itself against cancer. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hepatology, suggests targets for therapies to protect the liver both from cancers that originate there and cancers that spread to the liver from other parts of the body. Senior author of the study Shelly Lu, MD, says this is the first study to show that the liver has protective mechanisms for defending itself against cancer. Read more>

First Lady Jill Biden Tours Cedars-Sinai Women’s Health Research Labs, Training Center

First lady Jill Biden highlighted the new White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research during a visit to Cedars-Sinai on Dec. 8 as she toured research labs and met with scientists. Biden visited Cedars-Sinai because of the organization’s longstanding commitment to research and clinical care aimed at improving women’s health. While women comprise half the world’s population, most medical research has focused on men, leaving women-focused research underfunded. Read more>

What’s Behind Low Back Pain?

A new Cedars-Sinai study might have cracked the mystery surrounding the cause of a specific type of back pain. Almost 40% of the adult population experiences low back pain due to degenerating disks in the spine, but medical science hasn’t understood exactly why the disks become painful. In a new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Cedars-Sinai investigators—led by Dmitriy Sheyn, PhD—point the way to an answer, and possibly a step toward targeted treatment. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s Selects Pediatric Intensivist to Direct Congenital Cardiac Critical Care

David Epstein, MD, a pediatrician who has dedicated his career to caring for very ill children, has been selected as the new director of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Intensive Care at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s. Epstein—working with colleagues in both Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and the Smidt Heart Institute—will direct intensive care and collaborate with cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, interventionists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, and other healthcare professionals who specialize in caring for children born with a heart condition. Read more>

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