News

Dr. David Lyden, the Stavros S. Niarchos Professor in Pediatric Cardiology and a pediatric neuro-oncologist, has been honored with the AACR–Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship from the American Association for Cancer Research, recognizing his transformative contributions to cancer research.

The award, supported by the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund, recognizes scientists whose innovative and groundbreaking research has demonstrated a far-reaching impact on the detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer. Dr. Lyden will deliver the lecture, titled “Extracellular vesicles and particles drive the systemic complications of cancer,” April 19 during AACR’s annual meeting in San Diego.

“I am humbled to receive this prestigious award highlighting the legacy of Princess Takamatsu and thankful for the support by the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund and AACR,” said Dr. Lyden. “The lectureship will offer the opportunity to highlight our work on the impact of extracellular vesicles on the systemic effects of cancer.”

Prior exposure to one strain of influenza virus may weaken children’s ability to mount an effective antibody response against their subsequent exposure to a different flu strain, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The analysis of the pediatric response to H3N2 and H1N1 influenza A viruses, two of the most common causes of flu, provides insight into the concept of “immune imprinting,” and supports the idea that childhood vaccination, if properly designed, may be able to mitigate its adverse effects.

Immune imprinting, first described in 1960, refers to a long-term bias or skew in the immune response that a first viral exposure can introduce, with potentially serious impairment of subsequent responses to closely related viruses. Imprinting has been difficult to research and is far from being well understood. However, in the study, published March 11 in Nature, the researchers were able to analyze antibodies from participants, including children 2 to 6 years old who had their sequential first exposures to the two types of influenza A viruses circulating in humans. They determined that following an initial H3N2 exposure, antibodies generated that could bind both H3N2 and H1N1 were ineffective at stopping most H1N1 strains.

We recently learned the sad news that pioneering geneticist Dr. Jessica Davis passed away peacefully at her home last week. She served as Division Chief of Medical Genetics at Weill Cornell for over 20 years in the 1980s. As someone who was known for building bridges and fostering collaboration, during her tenure at Weill Cornell she “crossed the street” to participate in teaching conferences and beyond at Hospital for Special Surgery. In 2003 she co-founded the Kathryn O. and Alan C. Greenberg Center for Skeletal Dysplasias at HSS, where she worked until her retirement in 2023. 

Dr. Davis was a Brooklyn native who graduated from Wellesley College and followed in her father’s footsteps to pursue a career in medicine. After earning her medical degree from Columbia University, she was among the first generation of clinicians who combined genetics and compassionate care of disabled children. By all accounts, she was a skilled and caring teacher and mentor. Before coming to Weill Cornell, she began her career at Albert Einstein College of Medicine Hospital and North Shore University Hospital on Long Island. She served as a leader in multiple organizations supporting students, physicians, genetic counselors, and other allied healthcare professionals over the years. Dr. Jessica Davis was a pioneer in clinical genetics who was instrumental in building the foundation of genetics today.

Dr. Sallie Permar and Dr. Karen Acker recently spoke on a panel at the UN Foundation's Global Health Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. to share how effective communications and storytelling contribute to building trust, conveying complex information, and shaping advocacy messaging. They spoke to over 100 global health and vaccine champions representing 38 states. Advocates went on to meet with over 160 Congressional offices to advocate for funding global public health measures like vaccines and malaria research and prevention. Read more about the summit on our department blog.