Features

Window Into
the Future

An ambitious research program could hold clues to improving the health of women and their children across their lifespans.
Microscopic image of a yellow arc-shaped membrane.

Caught on Camera

Recordings made in Dr. Simon Scheuring’s lab reveal how elusive molecules embedded in cell membranes get their jobs done — for good and ill.
Portrait of older white man wearing powder blue collared shirt, navy blue suit and a navy tie with white dots.

Risks and Rewards

Alumnus Dr. Anthony Fauci (M.D. ’66) joins Dr. Jay Varma in a candid conversation about the future of public health and more.

Sections

Exterior photo of the front entrance of a modern building.

Two Landmark Anniversaries

Illustration of the inside of the gut, colored in orange with green fungi traveling within the gut.

Filling a Critical Gap in the Gut

From left: A blonde-haired middle aged white woman, wearing a black long sleeved shirt, hugs an older white woman, wearing a blue sweater, as they smile for a portrait

There Is Hope

Also in This Issue

[Illustration of a doctor in a white coat, wrapped in depleting stems of a wilting orange flower.

Nurturing Well-Being

Portrait of a young Black woman wearing a white student doctor coat, circular glasses, and a red-patterned head scarf over her light orange-brown locs.

Medical School, Minus the Debt

Alumni

Vertical portrait of a middle-aged Asian woman wearing a white coat over a black dress, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat.

“There is a widening gap between clinical medicine and laboratory research, fueled by major technical developments and super-specialization in clinical work and research. A specialized population of physician-scientists is necessary to bridge that gap.” Dr. Katharine Hsu (Ph.D. ’93, M.D. ’94) Director of the Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program

Alumni Section

From the Dean

Headshot pencil illustration in black and white, over a red background, of a middle-aged Asian man in glasses wearing a suit coat and tie

When Weill Cornell Medicine was founded in 1898, our mission was clear: to improve patient care. At a time when medical education was primarily taught in large lecture halls, we saw a better, more innovative path forward. Recognizing the critical underpinning of science to medical education and health care, and understanding the need to reach beyond classroom walls, our founders taught students the scientific basis of medicine in labs and dissecting rooms, and provided them with crucial opportunities to engage with and care for the communities surrounding them. 

These are just a handful of the many ways in which we have grounded ourselves in science and the people we serve. As Weill Cornell Medicine marks the 125th year since its founding, it is striking to reflect upon how these values have endured. As humanity and society have progressed, so have we.

We broke barriers by being among the first medical schools to admit women, and later created pipeline programs to increase the number of doctors and scientists from communities historically underrepresented in the STEM fields. That principle — that diversity among medical professionals benefits patients, health care and scientific discovery — is now embedded in the most fundamental way we can recruit and support future physicians: a debt initiative designed to make medical education widely accessible.

Today’s Weill Cornell Medicine also boasts a deep portfolio of research. We highlight in this issue a small sample of this work, which includes basic science discoveries, visionary big data projects and translational science that can benefit the public’s health, as exemplified by distinguished alumnus Dr. Anthony Fauci (M.D. ’66) and our Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response. These varied approaches are critical to advance science and ensure that all people receive the most innovative care possible. 

Though we started as a four-classroom medical school, we have always had big, bold ideas. As we continue to grow and expand, our ethos — to push beyond the expected — will remain our bedrock.

Francis Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine
Interim Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University

Portrait: Sam Kerr

Summer 2023 Front to Back

  • From the Dean

    Message from the Dean

    As Weill Cornell Medicine marks the 125th year since its founding, it is striking to reflect upon how our values have endured.
  • Features

    Window Into the Future

    An ambitious research program could hold clues to improving the health of women and their children across their lifespans.
  • Features

    Caught on Camera

    Recordings made in Dr. Simon Scheuring’s lab reveal how elusive molecules embedded in cell membranes get their jobs done — for good and ill.
  • Features

    Risks and Rewards

    Alumnus Dr. Anthony Fauci (M.D. ’66) joins Dr. Jay Varma in a candid conversation about the future of public health and more.
  • Notable

    Two Landmark Anniversaries

    Weill Cornell Medicine is celebrating more than a century of excellence in medical education, scientific discovery and patient care, commemorating 125 years since its founding.
  • Notable

    Honoring Diversity

    In a celebration of Weill Cornell Medicine’s commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in academic medicine, the institution honored nearly a dozen faculty, students and staff.
  • Notable

    Overheard

    Weill Cornell Medicine faculty members are leading the conversation about important health issues across the country and around the world.
  • Notable

    News Briefs

    Notable faculty appointments, honors, awards and more — from around campus and beyond.
  • Notable

    Dateline

    The Salzburg-Cornell Seminars, now part of the Open Medical Institute (OMI), celebrates 30 years of knowledge-sharing, having served more than 26,000 fellows from 130 countries.
  • Grand Rounds

    There Is Hope

    How immunotherapy offered a new lease on life
  • Grand Rounds

    Medical School, Minus the Debt

    Weill Cornell Medicine’s debt-reduction program.
  • Grand Rounds

    News Briefs

    The latest on teaching, learning and patient-centered care.
  • Discovery

    Filling a Critical Gap in the Gut

    An important discovery positions fungi as a missing part of research on how the gut biome influences health.
  • Discovery

    New Clues to Coma Recovery

    Delays in regaining consciousness may serve a purpose: protecting the brain from oxygen deprivation.
  • Discovery

    Findings

    The latest advances in faculty research, published in the world’s leading journals.
  • Alumni

    Profiles

    Forging critical connections to move research from the bench to the bedside, our alumni are making an impact.
  • Alumni

    Notes

    What’s new with you? Keep your classmates up to date on all your latest achievements with an Alumni Note.
  • Alumni

    In Memoriam

    Marking the passing of our faculty and alumni.
  • Alumni

    Moments

    Marking celebratory events in the lives of our students, including Match Day and Graduation.
  • Second Opinion

    Nurturing Well-Being

    How can the health-care workforce recover from pandemic burnout?
  • Exchange

    High-Risk, High-Reward

    Two enterprising scientists discuss how the ecosystem for innovation at Weill Cornell Medicine provides the support entrepreneurial faculty and students need to turn their promising research into commercially viable drugs and other treatments.
  • Muse

    In the Flow

    Dr. Navarro Millán is a rheumatologist, clinical investigator and multi-instrumentalist.
  • Spotlight

    Making Health Care Affordable and Equitable

    Dr. Cheryl Pegus (M.D. ’88) is a cardiologist working in health-care businesses on new products to meet consumer needs, enhance health equity and improve health outcomes.