Brian Cleary is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) and a core faculty member in the Bioinformatics Program. Brian also holds appointments in the Biology and Biomedical Engineering departments, and the Biological Design Center (BDC) at the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering. 

More than 50% of lung-transplant recipients experience a rejection of their new lung within five years of receiving it, yet the reason why this is such a prevalent complication has remained a medical mystery. 

Now, a new Northwestern Medicine study has found that, following transplant and in chronic disease states, abnormal cells emerge and “conversations” between them drives the development of lung damage and transplant rejection.  

These findings not only help answer why rejection occurs, but they also have spurred immediate exploration of new drugs to treat transplant rejection and other lung-scarring diseases.

A new national study led by Trisha Amboree, Ph.D., at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and Jane Montealegre, Ph.D., at MD Anderson Cancer Center highlights the untapped potential of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to close cervical cancer screening gaps. Published in JAMA Network Open, the research found that if FQHCs met national screening goals, they could reach nearly 2 million additional women—many in rural or low-income areas—and save thousands of lives. Because FQHCs serve patients who often face barriers to care, strengthening screening programs there could be one of the most direct and equitable ways to prevent cervical cancer. As Amboree put it, “We should be investing more, not less, in these community clinics. Cervical cancer could be a disease of the past if we do.”

Ants have evolved an acute sense of smell, which requires each sensory neuron to choose one scent receptor out of hundreds. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at New York University have discovered what ants use to solve this biological puzzle: a self-regulating system in which choosing one gene physically silences all its neighbors.