Pipeline Program Creates Network of Support for Future Med Student

Eighteen-year-old Joseph Marte is a first year student at CUNY’s 7-year BS/MD program, beginning an educational journey that will result in him achieving his dream of becoming a doctor. That journey started at Staten Island University Hospital’s Physician Career Enhancement Program—a pipeline program for high school students from underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in medicine…. Read More

Researcher talks Stem Cell Science in Western NY

Richard M. Gronostajski PhD Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Biochemistry Director of the Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics Graduate Program Director, Western New York Stem Cell Culture and Analysis Center (WNYSTEM) The biology of adult neural stem cells is like a black box. While these stem cells have the ability to make… Read More

New Doctor: Pipeline Programs Give Kids Like Me a Shot

Joseph Myrie grew up in the Bronx with parents who immigrated from Jamaica and Barbados. He was inspired to pursue medicine both by watching his mother, a nurse, and by his pediatrician, who told him how he could turn his love of science into a career. When Myrie got the opportunity to shadow physicians in… Read More

NYSTEM-Funded Discovery Fuels Research at Mount Sinai Lab and Beyond

Dr. Saghi Ghaffari, MD, PhD  Professor of Cell, Developmental & Regenerative Biology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Dr. Saghi Ghaffari received her first NYSTEM (New York Stem Cell Science Program) award in 2008, when she was working with embryonic stem cells to identify factors that might regulate the cells’ pluripotent properties (their ability… Read More

Physician-Scientist Uses Stem Cells to Research Incurable Cancer

Dimitris G. Placantonakis, MD, PhD NYU School of Medicine Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery Director Neurosurgical Laboratory for Stem Cell Research Dr. Dimitris G. Placantonakis is a physician-scientist—he both removes and researches a specific type of brain tumor, called low-grade gliomas. There are an estimated 20,000 cases of gliomas every year in the U.S., up… Read More

New Doctor Empowered by Experience with Pipeline Program

Albert Fernandez became interested in medicine at an early age after hearing stories from his grandfather who was a physician in Puerto Rico. “What drew me to medicine was seeing the impact my grandfather was able to have throughout his career,” said Fernandez. “I was really impressed by his knowledge and how he was able… Read More

Researcher Works to Repair Heart Damage with Stem Cell Type She Discovered

Several years ago, Dr. Hina Chaudhry, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discovered a new class of stem cells. The stem cells she identified originate in the placenta—making them easy to obtain—and have the ability to form functional heart and blood cells…. Read More

Stem Cell Researcher: Labs are Like a Small Business

Erika Bach, PhD NYU School of Medicine, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Stem cells are often considered the future of medicine, but much is still unknown about how they work. That’s why Dr. Erika Bach and her team are closely studying basic, universal properties of stem cells. They are working to identify the… Read More

NYSTEM Researcher Talks Diseases in a Petri Dish and Precision Medicine

Dr. Todd Evans, Ph.D. Weill Cornell Medicine Associate Dean for Research Peter I. Pressman, M.D. Professor in Surgery In 2017, Dr. Todd Evans and his colleagues published pioneering research on their development of the first-ever human tissue platform to test drugs for colon cancer. Using a “disease in a Petri dish” model derived from stem… Read More