Extending the Healthspan - Northwestern's new Potocsnak Longevity Institute aims to help people live healthier, longer. p. 14 - Northwestern ...
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SPRING 2022 Extending the Healthspan Northwestern’s new Potocsnak Longevity Institute aims to help people live healthier, longer. • p. 14 INSIDE UNLOCKING THE HUMAN NEW CHIEF OF ORGAN INNOVATIONS IN SPOTLIGHT ON DAVID PROTEOME • 18 TRANSPLANTATION • 22 CARDIAC CARE • 26 HOLTZMAN, ’85 MD • 38
FIRST GLANCE Northwestern Medicine Community Spotlight
Learning from
the Best
In January, medical students
learned how to perform cleft lip
repair under the guidance of Arun
Gosain, MD, division head of Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery at
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s
Hospital of Chicago, and professor
in the Division of Pediatric Surgery.
Gosain and his colleagues lead
the Cleft Lip and Palate Repair
Program at Lurie Children’s.
Photo by Jesse Arseneau
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Will Doss, Bridget M. Kuehn, Marla Paul,
Win Reynolds, Melissa Rohman, Kim
Waterman
NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E MAGA ZIN E Spring 2022 CONTENTS
Features
14 18
EXTENDING THE HEALTHSPAN UNLOCKING THE HUMAN PROTEOME
Funded by a very generous gift from Chicago industrialist John Millions of molecular proteins are coursing through our body’s cells at all
Potocsnak and family, Northwestern’s new Potocsnak Longevity times. To better understand them, Northwestern scientists are sequenc-
Institute aims to help people age healthier. ing them the way the Human Genome Project sequenced genes and DNA.
22 26
TRANSPLANT TRANSFORMER THE RIGHT CARE AT THE RIGHT TIME
Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, plans to usher in a new era of technology Whether it’s an acute cardiac episode or chronic unexplained
in transplantation as director of Northwestern’s Comprehensive shortness of breath, Northwestern Medicine’s cardiac teams have
Transplant Center. designed protocols for swift intervention.
Departments
LEADERSHIP PULSE ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE
02 Ahead of the Curve 03 On Campus 28 Trailblazers in Orthopaedics 41 The Healing Power
Match Day, Research Briefs, and more 31 Alumni President’s Message of Storytelling
12 Media Spotlight 32 Progress Notes Jennifer Pien, ’01 MD
13 Faculty Awards & Honors 38 Alumni Profile
ON THE COVER David Holtzman, ’85 MD
Evaluations at the Human
Longevity Laboratory — part of
40 Giving
the new Potocsnak Longevity Investing in digital health and
Institute — will include a blood test
data science
that measures DNA methylation
and other biomarkers of aging-
associated health conditions. The
cover shows a 3D illustration of
DNA methylation. Getty Images.
MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 1
LEADERSHIP
Ahead of the Curve
clinicians, educators, and scholars, we intend led by Neil Kelleher, PhD, director of the
to create the next generation of great phy- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute and a
sician scientists, whose transformational professor of Medicine at Feinberg. As this
leadership will chart the course. global team works to characterize all known
While we cannot know what the prac- proteoforms while systematically discov-
tice of medicine will look like in 30, 40, or 50 ering new ones, the potential and promise
years — when our current trainees will be to impact human health and our study of
deep into long careers — that is indeed the disease is enormous (page 18).
very period we are shaping now. The ques- And Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, the new
tions we pose, the plans we make today, will director of the Comprehensive Transplant
collectively determine the time ahead. Center (CTC), arrived this past fall with bold
This issue of Northwestern Medicine plans to usher in the era of modern immune
magazine offers intriguing examples of such tolerance following transplantation. At
visionary thinking and might inspire you to the helm of a stellar team already making
consider what is possible when brilliant minds strides, his patient-centric approach to
come together with significant purpose. innovation and technology may change the
I
Take, for instance, the new Potocsnak paradigm for transplants (page 22).
N A REMARKABLE PLACE SUCH Longevity Institute, which signals an Finally, we share a quest for a future in
AS OURS — A MEDICAL SCHOOL
”
which there is equity in healthcare. A report
DESIGNED FOR CONTINUOUS from a group of Black McGaw Medical
learning, innovation, and discovery — looking Center alumni who have changed the face
ahead is central to our mission. The students of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
we train today will become future leaders; The questions we pose, — and medicine — over the past five
the knowledge we uncover in the now can
become treatments and cures for tomorrow. the plans we make today, decades is inspiring (page 28).
We are forever grateful to the great
We believe ideas sparked by collabora-
tion have the power to generate electricity,
will collectively determine minds in our midst. We aim to foster an en-
vironment in which grand plans are encour-
catalyze people, and drive meaningful change. the time ahead. aged and people are undaunted by even the
To this end, at a recent research retreat, loftiest, most intimidating goals. Staying
over 300 principal investigators gathered ahead of the curve demands the best of us.
to establish priorities that will guide our
enterprise for the next five years and beyond, ambitious new multidisciplinary approach
positioning us to better meet the greatest to the science of aging. Led by Douglas With warm regards,
challenges of the future. Vaughan, MD, chair of the Department of
Our teaching faculty, likewise, con- Medicine, the institute aims to better un- Eric G. Neilson, MD
tinuously innovate and study the impacts derstand complex biological changes and Vice President for Medical Affairs
of novel education strategies on learning discover therapies and lifestyle interven- Lewis Landsberg Dean
outcomes and downstream patient-care tions that can expand the healthspan for all
quality. The field of medicine is undergoing people (page 14).
tremendous change, and while our rigorous Another example of forward thinking
curriculum has always produced outstanding comes from the Human Proteoform Project,
2 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022
On Campus
Celebrating Match Day 2022
T
orn envelopes littered the
floor once again, as fourth-
year students resumed the
decades-long tradition of cele-
brating their residency matches
in person.
“We’ve had this pent-up
excitement over the last few years,
and the fact that we get to be
together in one space to share this
moment is magical,” said Ketan
Jain-Poster, who matched in oto-
laryngology at Kaiser Permanente
Oakland Medical Center.
On Match Day, an annual
tradition held on the third Friday
of March, all fourth-year medical
students across the country learn
— at the exact same time — where
they will train as residents for the
next three to seven years.
This year, Feinberg students
and their families attended the
Match Day celebration at the Louis
A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey
Biomedical Research Center on
Northwestern’s Chicago campus.
Match Day continued
on the next page →
WRIT TEN BY Will Doss MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 3
PULSE On Campus
“We’ve had this pent-up
excitement over the last few
years, and the fact that we get to
be together in one space to share
this moment is magical.”
KETAN JAIN-POSTER
Residency matches are made by the challenges you’ve faced and
the National Resident Matching solutions you’ve provided have
Program (NRMP), which uses made you an inspiration,” Green
an algorithm to pair graduating said. “You are an exceptional class.”
medical students with available Match Day is the beginning
training positions at U.S. teach- of the end of medical school for
ing hospitals. The model takes students at Feinberg, many of
into account the top choices whom will leave Chicago for train-
of both the students and the ing across the country. Zenaida
residency programs. Enchill, a fourth-year student
This year’s graduating class who matched in orthopaedic
faced enormous adversity due surgery at the Harvard Combined
to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orthopaedic Residency Program,
said the events conjured up mem-
ories of Founders’ Day four years
ago, where first-year students
were welcomed to campus.
“I remember the white coat
ceremony, just down the street,
and now we’re here,” Enchill said.
“I am very grateful for my mentors
and support system, and I’m
incredibly excited.”
Other students will stay
at Northwestern, including
Christopher Yang, a fourth-
year student who matched into
Dermatology at the McGaw
Medical Center of Northwestern
according to Marianne Green, University. Yang said the backing
MD, the Raymond H. Curry, MD, he received from the Northwestern
Professor of Medical Education community was influential in his
and vice dean for Education, who decision to remain in Chicago.
spoke to students and their fam- “Northwestern has been
ilies before the envelope opening. fantastic, the mentors here are
“You’ve had a unique incredible, and I could not have
medical school experience, and done it without them,” Yang said.
4 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022
On Campus
33 students were inducted
into the Feinberg chapter
of the Alpha Omega Alpha
medical honor society.
Honoring Achievement
I
n a ceremony on March 15, the Alpha and apply it to my learning as a resident and to
Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society serving my patients during practice.”
welcomed 43 new members into the New housestaff inductees were announced
Feinberg chapter on the basis of outstanding by Linda Suleiman, MD, ’17 GME, assistant dean
scholastic achievement and significant contri- of Medical Education, director of diversity
butions to medicine. and inclusion for the McGaw Medical Center
Prior to the induction ceremony, Elizabeth of Northwestern University, and an assistant
McNally, MD, PhD, the Elizabeth J. Ward professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Professor of Genetic Medicine, delivered the “It is an immense honor to be inducted
Walter G. Barr, MD, Lecture, speaking about into AOA,” said Katherine McGee, chief resident
the promising future of cardiac risk prediction in medicine and AOA inductee. “I owe so much
using genetic variation. to my mentors, education, and training at
Following the lecture, guests attended Northwestern, which has prepared me for this
Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD, the Elizabeth J. Ward
the induction ceremony, where Shilajit Kundu, continued work, and joining the AOA commu- Professor of Genetic Medicine, delivered the Walter G.
Barr, MD, Lecture, speaking about the promising future
MD, ’07 GME, chief of Urologic Oncology in the nity at Northwestern is an exciting new chapter.”
of cardiac risk prediction using genetic variation.
Department of Urology, welcomed inductees. Marianne Green, MD, the Raymond H.
“We recognize our students, housestaff, Curry, MD, Professor of Medical Education and
and faculty, who not only provide superb care vice dean for Education, welcomed alumni and
to patients, but have gone above and beyond faculty inductees into the medical honor society.
to distinguish themselves to be worthy of AOA “I would like to thank my family for their
induction,” said Kundu, who serves as AOA unrelenting support of my endeavors, and
councilor for Feinberg. everyone at Feinberg who has encouraged,
Susan Goldsmith, MD, ’08 GME, associate supported, and challenged me to better myself,
dean for student affairs and associate professor both professionally and personally,” said
of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Khalilah Gates, MD, assistant dean of Medical
General Obstetrics and Gynecology, welcomed Education, associate professor of Medicine in Faculty AOA inductees (L-R): Crystal Clark, MD, MSc,
the 33 new medical student members into AOA. the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, and associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences and of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Daniela
“My time at Feinberg has been defined by an AOA inductee. Ladner, MD, MPH, professor of Surgery in the Division of
continuously striving for improvement,” said Meron Teklu and Michael Wang, fourth-year Organ Transplantation and of Medical Social Sciences;
June McKoy, MD, JD, MBA, ’01 GME, professor of
Matias Pollevick, a fourth-year student pursu- medical students and AOA inductees, received Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine
and Geriatrics; and Khalilah Gates, MD, assistant
ing a residency in internal medicine who was the Alpha Omega Alpha Scholarship, an award
dean of Medical Education and associate professor of
inducted into AOA. “I hope to take this spirit funded by donors to Northwestern University. Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care.
WRIT TEN BY Will Doss MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 5
PULSE On Campus
Feinberg Among
Top Medical Schools
F
einberg School of Medicine was ranked 17th among OVERALL RANKING
research-oriented institutions by the latest U.S.
News & World Report, immediately after a three-way
17 15
tie for 14th. This is the 15th year in a row Feinberg has
placed in the top 20 of research-oriented medical schools.
“Feinberg continues to be recognized as a member
of an elite group of world-class institutions, which is a
in the nation for years in a row that
testament to the dedication and drive of our faculty, staff, research-oriented Feinberg has been
students, and trainees,” said Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice medical schools in the top 20
president for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean.
“I am proud of the medical school’s leading-edge scientific
SPECIALTY PROGRAM RANKINGS
discovery, innovative medical education, and commitment
to transforming the future of medicine. I have no doubt
that our outstanding reputation will continue to grow in
the future.”
This year, seven of Feinberg’s specialty programs were 6 16 4 15
also recognized among the best in the nation. Obstetrics
and gynecology ranked 6th, surgery was ranked 13th, pedi- in the nation for in the nation in the nation in the nation
obstetrics and for radiology for physical for psychiatry
atrics ranked 14th, internal medicine and psychiatry each gynecology therapy
ranked 15th, radiology rose one spot to rank at 16th, and
anesthesiology was ranked 17th. Physical therapy, assessed
13 14 15 17
every four years by U.S. News, ranked 4th in the nation in
2020. In the U.S. News rankings of public health programs,
Feinberg’s public health program was ranked 24th, the
second-highest ranking for a U.S. public health program
in the nation in the nation in the nation for in the nation for
that is part of a medical school. for surgery for pediatrics internal medicine anesthesiology
6 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022
On Campus
INVESTIGATING
PRECISION NUTRITION
N
orthwestern, the University
of Chicago, Illinois Institute
of Technology, University of
Illinois Chicago, and Rush University
are part of a $170 million National
Institutes of Health (NIH) program
that is the first comprehensive study
to investigate precision nutrition.
The goal of “Nutrition for Precision
New Technology in Medical Education Health” (NPH), powered by the All of Us
Research Program, will be to develop
algorithms to predict individual
F
einberg is bringing the latest tech- students the knowledge and skills to opti- responses to food and dietary routines.
nology into the classroom with its new mize their utilization of those technologies, The Illinois Precision Nutrition
curriculum enhancements. The Augusta ultimately for the benefit of the patients Research Consortium — one of six
Webster, MD, Office of Medical Education has they treat,” Vaidyanathan said.
centers around the country — is com-
begun instruction in Digital Health and Data Anatomy education is, too, getting
posed of Northwestern and its partners.
Science, a curriculum being co-developed a boost of new technology. Feinberg is
Their grant will be $13,321,184 awarded
by David Liebovitz, MD, associate vice chair partnering with Case Western Reserve
for clinical informatics in the Department of University School of Medicine to integrate over five years, pending availability
Medicine and co-director of the Center for its HoloAnatomy software. The software of funds.
Medical Education in Data Science and Digital uses Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 mixed reality Precision nutrition, also known
Health, and Mahesh Vaidyanathan, MD, MBA, headsets, which allow students to visu- as personalized nutrition, will move
assistant professor of Anesthesiology. alize every part of the body as a virtual, away from one-size-fits-all diet recom-
Students will meet several core compe- three-dimensional hologram. Feinberg’s mendations and create a customized
tencies and learning outcomes while learning new anatomy curriculum is currently being
diet plan for individuals based on
about the health data ecosystem; the health introduced to first-year and second-year
individual differences, such as genetics
IT regulatory environment; data science medical students in their Phase 1 Module
and metabolism.
methods and research; digital health decision and to first-year PA students.
support; bias, ethics and health equity; and “We use this technology not as a “We will learn more precisely how
the sociotechnical context for digital health replacement for dissection but to augment to match dietary recommendations to
and data science. and enhance the learning of anatomy in the needs of an individual,” said Linda
“No matter what specialty students a more efficient and effective way,” said Van Horn, PhD, professor of Preventive
choose to practice or where they end up prac- Patricia Garcia, MD, MPH, associate dean Medicine in the Division of Nutrition and
ticing medicine, they will have to utilize digital for curriculum and a professor of Obstetrics one of the senior principal investigators.
healthcare and data science every day of their and Gynecology in the Division of Maternal
careers. This curriculum is designed to give Fetal Medicine and of Medical Education.
2022 NEMMERS PRIZE RECIPIENT ANNOUNCED
J
eremy Nathans, MD, PhD, an investigator The award, which carries a $200,000 Jeremy
Nathans,
at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute stipend, is given to a physician-scientist whose
MD, PhD
and the Samuel Theobald Professor body of research exhibits outstanding achieve-
of the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins ment in their discipline as demonstrated by
Medicine, known for his landmark discoveries works of lasting significance. A jury of distin-
in the molecular mechanisms of visual system guished scientists from around the country
development, function, and disease, is the recip- made the final selection. Nathans will deliver a
ient of the 2022 Mechthild Esser Nemmers Prize public lecture and participate in other scholarly
in Medical Science at Northwestern University. activities at Feinberg in the coming year.
WRIT TEN BY Melissa Rohman and Marla Paul MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 7
PULSE More details on these studies at magazine.nm.org
RESEARCH BRIEFS
DISE ASE DISCOVE RI ES
INVESTIGATING Idiopathic dilated cardiomyop- “dilates,” and becomes weaker, and many
athy (DCM) was found to have patients will ultimately require a heart trans-
PREVALENCE RISK a familial etiology in 30 percent plant. In the case of DCM, the cause of the
OF FAMILIAL HEART of individuals diagnosed with heart muscle’s dysfunction is often unknown,
FAILURE DCM, and the overall risk for a family member though recently investigators have learned
of developing DCM was nearly 20 percent that many cases are common in families, sug-
by the age of 80, according to a family-based, gesting a genetic cause.
cross-sectional study published in JAMA. Furthermore, Black patients, who have
“This study is incredibly important a higher risk of heart failure hospitalization
because our goal at the outset was to create a and death, have historically been underrepre-
large, diverse cohort of patients with DCM and sented in clinical trials exploring heart failure,
their families to understand the risk of devel- underscoring the importance of including
oping heart failure simply by being related to more diverse patient cohorts in studies,
someone who has DCM,” said Jane Wilcox, MD, according to Wilcox. The study findings
’10, ’11 GME, associate professor of Medicine in emphasize that heart failure screening should
the Division of Cardiology and a co-author of be of the same rigor and consistency as is
the study. screening for other genetic illnesses, espe-
In dilated cardiomyopathy, one of the cially among Black individuals, Wilcox said.
leading causes of heart failure in the U.S., one This study was supported by National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute R01HL128857 and a supplement from the
or both of the heart’s ventricles stretches, National Human Genome Research Institute.
CLI N ICAL B RE AK TH ROUG HS
Patients May Benefit From Atrial Shunt
A Northwestern Medicine-led Sanjiv Shah, MD, the Neil J. Stone, MD, Professor
study published in The Lancet of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and
suggests that some patients with lead author of the study. Shah is also director
the most common form of heart of research at the Bluhm Cardiovascular
failure may benefit from a novel, minimally Institute and director of the Northwestern
invasive cardiac implant device called an atrial Medicine HFpEF Program. “The normal re-
shunt. The study also offers new insight into sponse to exercise is relaxation of the blood
the role exercise plays in understanding, diag- vessels in the lungs. Patients with HFpEF who
nosing, and treating this type of heart failure. are able to relax the blood vessels in their lungs
Heart failure with preserved ejection frac- appear to do well with the device, whereas
tion (HFpEF), also called diastolic heart failure, those whose blood vessels can’t relax appear
affects 3 million Americans. Despite being the to do worse when an atrial shunt is implanted.”
most common type of heart failure in the U.S., “What we saw in this study suggests
effective treatments remain elusive, leading to that future clinical trials should specifically
people with this type of heart failure — that is
high morbidity and mortality. investigate the subgroup of patients with
2 million people who could benefit from this
“While the overall trial was neutral, in our HFpEF whose pulmonary blood vessels respond
innovative therapy. This simple, one-time proce-
subgroup analyses we found that what happens normally to exercise,” Shah said. “If future trials
dure could significantly improve quality of life.”
in the heart and lungs during exercise is of prime validate what we found, the potential is enor-
importance in this type of heart failure,” said mous. This subgroup comprises two-thirds of Funding for the study was provided by Corvia Medical.
8 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022 WRIT TEN BY Melissa RohmanResearch Briefs
CLI N ICAL B RE AK TH ROUG HS
Neural Stem Cell Therapy May
Improve Metastatic Cancer
Survival
Neural stem cells (NSCs) therapies, have long stalled progress
engineered by Northwestern to improve patient outcomes.
Medicine investigators used The overexpression of HER2
CLI N ICAL B RE AK TH ROUG HS
in combination with the is observed in about 30 percent of
HER2 inhibitor drug tucatinib improved patients with breast cancer and is
survival in mice with HER2- known to be associated NEW TREATMENT
positive breast cancer brain with advanced disease
FOR METASTATIC
metastases, according
to findings published in
Proceedings of the National OF PATIENTS WITH
50%
and decreased overall sur-
vival. Additionally, about
50 percent of patients
HORMONE-SENSITIVE
PROSTATE CANCER
Academy of Sciences. OVEREXPRESSED with overexpressed HER2-
The study, led by Maciej HER2-POSITIVE positive breast cancer will
A new drug, administered in
Lesniak, MD, chair and BREAST CANCER develop central nervous
the Michael J. Marchese WILL DEVELOP system metastases and combination with standard
Professor of Neurosurgery, CENTRAL are given an average androgen-deprivation therapy
NERVOUS SYSTEM survival rate of 11 to 18 (ADT) and docetaxel chemo-
demonstrates the thera-
METASTASES.
peutic utility of engineered months after diagnosis. therapy, increased survival in patients with
NSCs for drug delivery to While chemotherapy metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer,
brain tumors and may lead to the devel- drugs have improved outcomes for according to a trial published in The New
opment of novel and more efficient thera- patients with primary breast cancer England Journal of Medicine.
peutic options against HER2-positive and patients with systemic metas-
This represents a new strategy for man-
breast cancer brain metastases. tases, more effective targeted ther-
aging metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate
Brain metastases are one of the apies for patients with breast cancer
main causes of mortality for patients metastases in the central nervous cancer (mHSPC), according to Maha Hussain,
with breast cancer. A lack of clinical trials system are desperately needed. MD, the Genevieve E. Teuton Professor of
coupled with the presence of the blood Lesniak is a member of the Medicine in the Division of Hematology and
brain-barrier, which significantly de- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Oncology, a co-author of the study and study
creases the efficacy of existing targeted Center of Northwestern University. steering committee member. Hussain is also
deputy director of the Lurie Cancer Center.
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R35CA197725, R01NS093903,
1R01NS115955-01, R33NS101150, R01NS106379 and R37CA258426. In the current double-blind, phase 3,
multi-site trial, investigators enrolled patients
with mHSPC, randomizing them to receive
either darolutamide with standard ADT and
docetaxel chemotherapy or a placebo with
standard ADT and docetaxel chemotherapy.
During the three-year trial period,
patients receiving darolutamide were 32.5
percent less likely to die compared to patients
receiving the placebo. In addition, patients
receiving darolutamide experienced signifi-
cantly delayed time to developing castration-
resistant prostate cancer — the terminal state
of the disease — and pain progression, helping
reduce negative quality-of-life impacts.
“This is a very important and practice-
changing finding, but there is more to be
Representative immunostainings of brain sections harvested from mice treated with LM008 achieved,” Hussain said.
anti-HER2 neural stem cells (NSCs). The amount of anti-HER2 antibodies released by NSCs (green)
was measured with antihuman IgGs (yellow). Presence of HER2 antibodies binding to the membrane This study was supported by Bayer and Orion Pharma.
of HER2-positive BT474-Br cells (red). Nuclear staining is shown in blue.
WRIT TEN BY Will Doss MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 9PULSE Research Briefs
SCI E NTI F IC ADVANCES SCI E NTI F IC ADVANCES
STUDY FINDS DOPAMINE Investigators Identify New
SIGNALING PROMOTES
COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR
Connections Between Circadian
Northwestern investigators have
Rhythm and Muscle Repair
discovered that dopamine signaling
Northwestern Medicine investi- regeneration and muscle repair has re-
in the brain’s dorsomedial striatum
gators have discovered a novel mained limited.
promotes the development of
mechanism that connects In the current study, Peek’s team
compulsive behaviors in animal models, accord- circadian rhythm-controlled investigated the role of adult muscle stem
ing to findings published in Current Biology. Talia cellular metabolism and regeneration with cell’s circadian clock in controlling muscle
Lerner, PhD, assistant professor of Neuroscience, muscle repair after injury, according to regeneration and tissue repair after acute
was senior author of the study. recent findings published in the journal ischemic injury in mice. They zeroed in on
Corticostriatal circuits are neural circuits Genes and Development. Clara Peek, PhD, the protein Bmal1 — a circadian clock
connecting the brain’s cerebral cortex to the assistant professor of Biochemistry and regulator protein expressed in virtually all
Molecular Genetics, was senior author of the cells in the body — and aimed to identify
striatum, a cluster of neurons within the basal
study. Peek is also an assistant professor of its exact role within muscle stem cells and
ganglia that are responsible for controlling
Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, greater muscle repair.
movement and reward-seeking behaviors. Prior
Metabolism and Molecular Medicine and a Peek and her team found that muscle
research suggested these circuits control the member of the Lurie Cancer Center. repair after injury was greater when mice
expression of compulsive behaviors commonly Disruptions in circadian rhythm — the were active or awake compared to when
observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder body’s internal 24-hour clock that regulates they were inactive or resting. Additionally,
(OCD) and substance misuse disorders. rest and wakeful- the loss of Bmal1 within the muscle stem
While corticostriatal circuits were thought PEEK’S TEAM ness — have been cells led to impaired muscle regeneration.
to be involved, the precise mechanisms that AIMED TO associated with Using metabolomic profiling to study
IDENTIFY the pathogenesis approximately 10,000 activated muscle
cause compulsive
of different met- stem cells in vivo and cultured myoblast
behaviors to emerge THE PROTEIN
abolic disorders, cells, or premature muscle cells, the investi-
have remained unclear. BMAL1’S EXACT
including dia- gators demonstrated that the loss of Bmal1
Lerner and colleagues ROLE WITHIN betes and obesity. reduced the amount of activated muscle
hypothesized that MUSCLE STEM However, research stem cells on the third day after injury.
dopamine activity, CELLS AND regarding its
which regulates the GREATER association This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant R01DK123358, National Cancer
plasticity of corticostriatal circuits, played a MUSCLE REPAIR. with tissue Institute grant R35CA197532 and National Institute on Aging grant P01AG049665.
crucial role in this process.
For the current study, the investigators
studied dopamine activity in two regions of the
brain’s striatum, the dorsomedial striatum and
the dorsolateral striatum, which are involved in
different types of reward learning: the dorsome-
dial striatum is involved with goal-oriented learn-
ing behaviors, while the dorsolateral stratum is
involved with habitual behaviors.
Although it was previously thought that habit
played a role in compulsion, to their surprise, the
team found that dopamine signaling activity was
actually upregulated in the mice’s dorsomedial
striatum, where it predicted the development of
compulsive reward-seeking behavior.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health K99/R00 Award
R00MH109569, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior
Research Foundation, and National Institutes of Health Diversity Supplement
R00MH109569-04S1.
10 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022 WRIT TEN BY Melissa RohmanResearch Briefs
DISE ASE DISCOVE RI ES
GENETIC VARIANT
OF HIGH-RISK
CHILDHOOD
LEUKEMIA REVEALED
A genetic variant changing just
one base pair of nucleotides
greatly increases risk of a high-
risk subtype of childhood acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to
a Northwestern Medicine study published in
Nature Genetics.
Tracing this oncogenic pathway provides ALL oncogenes through a cascade of interac- Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
a template for future studies of other types of tions,” said Yue, who is also an associate pro- is the most common leukemia among children.
cancers as well, according to Feng Yue, PhD, fessor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Genetic contributions to childhood ALL have been
the Duane and Susan Burnham Professor of and of Pathology, as well as director of the previously identified, but the mutations that lead
Molecular Medicine and co-senior author of Center for Cancer Genomics at the Lurie Cancer to subtypes — such as the more-lethal “Ph-like”
the study. Center. “If we can manipulate this pathway, we ALL — have remained mostly uncharacterized.
“In this study, we discovered how an inher- could potentially prevent the development of
This study was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants
ited gene variation regulates multiple known this cancer.” 1R35GM124820, R01HG009906, U01CA200060 and R24DK106766.
CLI N ICAL B RE AK TH ROUG HS
Locoregional
Treating a tumor in the breast “It appears the positive effects of tumor
when distant metastases have removal were not greater than the negative
Therapy Does Not
already occurred does not quality of life generated by the presence of the
improve outcomes in women breast tumor,” Khan said. “This is probably related
with stage IV breast cancer, according to to the bodily injury caused by surgery or radiation,
Improve Breast a new study published in the Journal of
Clinical Oncology.
which can have some long-lasting effects.”
While the results are disappointing, they
Cancer Survival Retrospective studies of treatment
outcomes had suggested there was a
contain an important lesson about retrospective
studies. Critical for understanding health and
benefit to treating the breast tumor, instead generating hypotheses, retrospective trials do
of only treating the metastases, which has suffer from many types of bias — in this case,
long been standard practice, according selection bias, according to Khan.
to Seema Khan, MD, the Bluhm Family “Someone in better overall condition may
Professor of Cancer Research, interim have been offered surgery for the breast tumor,
co-vice chair of research in the Department while only the distant tumor was treated for
of Surgery and lead author of the study. someone in worse condition,” Khan said. “This is
“It’s possible that some subset of pa- one of the cases where the retrospective studies
tients will derive a benefit from treatment were helpful, but the discussion can only be
of the breast tumor, but we were unable to settled with a randomized trial.”
identify such a subset in our trial, so this
remains hypothetical,” said Khan, who is This study was conducted by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and
supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health
also a professor of Surgery in the Division of under the following award numbers: U10CA180821, U10CA180863, Canadian
Cancer Society #704970, U10CA180820, U10CA180868, U10CA180822,
Breast Surgery and a member of the Lurie U10CA180888, U10CA180794, UG1CA189830, UG1CA189859, UG1CA189953,
UG1CA232760, UG1CA233180, UG1CA233193, UG1CA233234, UG1CA233277,
Cancer Center. UG1CA233320, UG1CA233329 and UG1CA233341.
WRIT TEN BY Will Doss MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 11PULSE On Campus Read more about Northwestern faculty’s insights in the media at news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/media-coverage
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
Rare Virus Lineages Were Older Americans Are the Ignored
Predominant in Nigeria in 2021. Victims of the Opioid Epidemic
They Were Hardly Noticed.
In adults ages 55 and older, opioid overdose deaths
Eta, a SARS-CoV-2 variant that circulated in rose tenfold between 1999 and 2019, surging from
Nigeria in early 2021, may have warranted 0.9 deaths per 100,000 people to 10.7, according to
designation as a “variant of concern” had a new study published in JAMA Network Open that
its growth potential been recognized earlier, analyzed two decades of data. Maryann Mason,
according to investigators at Feinberg and PhD, associate professor of Emergency Medicine,
the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Judd was lead author of the study.
Hultquist, PhD, the associate director of the In the near-decade she’s been involved
Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial in opioid overdose research, Mason says she’s
Evolution, said worldwide tracking of “almost never” seen older adults’ drug use
variants was uneven. “Less than 1 percent of addressed in the media or in academic studies.
sequences are from the continent of Africa, This lack of attention, plus a culture rife with
and less than 3 percent are coming from ageism, can conceal the threat opioids pose to
South America,” he told The NewYork Times. older people, according to Mason. “We have
“Eta was able to outcompete the Alpha variant this idea in our mind of what older people are
in the region before the arrival of Delta.” like — what grandma and grandpa are like — and
they’re not people who use recreational drugs,”
Mason told Time. “I think that keeps a lot of
people from looking into this area.”
Revamped ‘Cancer Moonshot’
Could Prevent Deaths and Improve
Quality of Life for Survivors
Most Vaccine-Hesitant Health Care Workers Change Their Minds,
President Joe Biden’s ambitious “Cancer Study Shows
Moonshot” relaunch has a goal of reducing the
Most health care workers at a large U.S. hos- Her team surveyed nearly 4,200 healthcare
cancer mortality rate by at least 50 percent
pital who initially refused COVID-19 vaccines workers at Northwestern Medicine when COVID-
over the next 25 years for a disease that is
eventually went and got their shots, new 19 vaccines became available last winter. At that
expected to kill 609,360 people in the U.S.
research reveals. time, three-quarters said they intended to take
in 2022 alone. Experts worry that cancers
“It shows there is opportunity to change the shots. By spring, a second survey found that
associated with obesity, such as uterine and
people's decisions about not getting vaccinated,” 95 percent had been vaccinated, including 90
pancreatic cancer, could rise.
said lead study author Charlesnika Evans, PhD, percent of those who had been unsure. Of those
Maha Hussain, MBChB, a medical
MPH, professor of Preventive Medicine in the who initially said they didn't plan to get vacci-
oncologist and deputy director of the Robert
Division of Epidemiology. nated, nearly 60 percent had done so by spring.
H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of
Northwestern University, said a continued
focus on prevention and screening was critical
to meeting the rest of the goals in Biden’s plan.
The Coronavirus Invades Cells in the Penis and Testicles of Monkeys,
“The best thing is to not get cancer, and
Researchers Discover
that’s what we need to invest in, so definitely
prevention,” she said. “And if you get cancer, Studies have reported about 10 to 20 “The signal that jumped out at us was the
we want to make it something that can be percent of men with the coronavirus have symp- complete spread through the male genital tract,”
treated, so early detection. The next step toms linked to male genital tract dysfunction. said Thomas Hope, PhD, professor of Cell and
would be making cancer a chronic disease as Men infected with the virus are three to six times Developmental Biology. “We had no idea we
opposed to an acute, deadly disease.” as likely as others to develop erectile dysfunction. would find it there.”
12 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022 PHOTOG R APHY COU RTESY OF Getty ImagesOn Campus
FACULTY AWARDS & HONORS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Peng Ji, MD, PhD, Catherine Woolley, elected to serve on John Rogers, PhD, Each year, Clarivate David Cella, PhD,
associate professor PhD, professor of the Consortium of the Louis Simpson Analytics releases chair of the
of Pathology, has Neurology in the Universities for Global and Kimberly a list of highly cited Department of
been awarded the Ken & Ruth Davee Health Board of Querrey Professor of investigators who Medical Social
2022 Ramzi S. Cotran Department of Directors. 6 Materials Science have “demonstrated Sciences and
Young Investigator Neurology, have been and Engineering, significant and broad the Ralph Seal
Award from the United selected 2021 fellows Stephen Miller, PhD, Biomedical influence, reflected Paffenbarger
States and Canadian of the American the Judy Gugenheim Engineering and pro- in the publication of Professor of Medical
Academy of Pathology, Association for the Research Professor fessor of Neurological multiple papers fre- Social Sciences,
an award that recog- Advancement of of Microbiology- Surgery, has been quently cited by their Neurology, Pediatrics,
nizes investigative Science. Immunology, awarded the 2022 peers during the last Preventive Medicine,
work that has contri- Dermatology and James Prize in Science decade.” Below is a and Psychiatry and
buted significantly to Robert Kushner, MD, of Medicine in and Technology list of the Feinberg in- Behavioral Sciences,
the diagnosis and un- ’80, ’82 GME, the Division of Integration by the vestigators who made in Social Sciences;
derstanding of human professor of Medicine Gastroenterology and Council of the National the list in 2021 and Donald Lloyd-
disease. 1 in the Division of Hepatology, has been Academy of Sciences. the category in which Jones, MD, chair of
Endocrinology, was named an American they were identified: the Department of
Ritu Nayar, MD, honored by the Clinical Association of Bonnie Spring, PhD, Preventive Medicine
professor of Pathology Research Forum with Immunologists 2022 director of the Center Brian Mustanski, and the Eileen M. Foell
and of Medical a 2022 Top 10 Clinical Distinguished Fellow. for Behavior and PhD, director of the Professor of Preventive
Education, was named Research Achievement 7 Health and chief of Institute for Sexual Medicine, Medicine,
vice president of the Award and with the Behavioral Medicine and Gender Minority and Pediatrics, in
Executive Committee prestigious Herbert Rola Kaakeh, PharmD, in the Department of Health and Wellbeing Clinical Medicine;
for the American Pardes Clinical adjunct instructor in Preventive Medicine, and professor of Navdeep Chandel,
Board of Pathology. Research Excellence the Department of has been selected Medical Social PhD, the David W.
2 Award. 5 Preventive Medicine, by Feinberg’s Women Sciences, Psychiatry Cugell, MD, Professor
has been awarded the Faculty Organization and Behavioral of Medicine and
Linda Teplin, PhD, Lucas Pinto, MD, MS, Above and Beyond as this year’s winner of Sciences and in the Biochemistry and of
the Owen L. Coon PhD, assistant pro- Pharmacy Champion the fifth annual Paula Weinberg College of Molecular Genetics, in
Professor of Psychiatry fessor of Neuroscience, award from GoodRx, H. Stern Award for Arts and Sciences, Molecular Biology and
and Behavioral was selected as a recognizing her Outstanding Women in Social Sciences; Genetics and Biology
Sciences and of Sloan Research Fellow advocacy, spirit, and in Science and Chad Mirkin, PhD, and Biochemistry;
Medicine in the in neuroscience, a leadership. Medicine. professor of Medicine Philip Greenland,
Division of Infectious two-year $75,000 in the Division of MD, the Harry W.
Diseases, is the recip- fellowship that is one Derek Wainwright, Jane Winter, MD, Hematology and Dingman Professor
ient of the American of the most compet- PhD, assistant pro- professor of Medicine Oncology and in the of Cardiology and of
Psychology-Law itive and prestigious fessor of Neurological in the Division of Weinberg College of Preventive Medicine, in
Society Award awards available for Surgery, Microbiology- Hematology and Arts and Science, in Cross-Field; Samuel
for Distinguished young researchers. Immunology, Neuro- Oncology and a highly Cross-Field; Clyde Weinberg, MD, PhD, in
Contributions to science, and of Medi- regarded lymphoma Yancy, MD, MSc, Cross-Field; and Sanjiv
Psychology and Law. Lisa Hirschhorn, cine in the Division of expert, will serve vice dean for Diversity Shah, MD, the Neil J.
3 MD, MPH, pro- Gastroenterology and as president of the and Inclusion and Stone, MD, Professor
fessor of Medical Hepatology, has been American Society chief of Cardiology of Medicine in the
Paula H. Stern, PhD, Social Sciences named a NextGen of Hematology for in the Department Division of Cardiology,
( 4) professor emer- and of Psychiatry Star by the American a year-long term of Medicine, in in Clinical Medicine.
itus in the Division of and Behavioral Association for through December Cross-Field;
Pharmacology, and Sciences, has been Cancer Research. 2022.
MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 13EXTENDING THE
HEALTHSPAN
Northwestern’s new Potocsnak Longevity
Institute aims to help people age healthier.
Written by Emily Ayshford and Marla Paul
14 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022T
he notion of a person’s biological or Funded by a very generous gift from
functional age being very different than
the number of times they’ve orbited
The Chicago industrialist John Potocsnak and family,
the institute aims to extend what Vaughan terms
the sun is nothing new. But the idea that one Potocsnak the human “healthspan.”
might be able to find out what actually comprises
aging itself has always seemed like science Longevity Through centers and laboratories, scientists
and clinicians will address the period of life when
fiction. Until now.
The futuristic-sounding Human Longevity
Institute people are at the greatest risk for aging-related
comorbidities — arthritis, dementia, heart disease,
Laboratory at Northwestern — part of the new The Institute is made up of diabetes, aging-related cancer, hypertension,
Potocsnak Longevity Institute — is on a fast track interdisclipinary centers that work frailty — in an effort to help people live not just
to open later this year. to lengthen the human healthspan. longer, but in a healthier and more highly func-
There, a person will find themselves under- tioning way.
going comprehensive evaluations that examine Aging research has accelerated significantly
hearing ability, balance, grip strength, gait speed, in recent years as the Baby Boomer generation
pulmonary function, heart rate variability, and grows older. Recently, Feinberg has identified
cognitive function. A machine learning algorithm aging as a key research theme, and research
will analyze their electrocardiogram. Center funding to the medical school from the National
A blood test will measure their DNA for Population Institute of Aging has risen to more than
methylation and other important Science & $40 million since 2016.
biomarkers of aging-associated
Aging “The idea of actually doing
health conditions, such as something about aging has
levels of inflammation and gone from magical thinking
Center for Potocsnak
coagulation. to theoretical thinking to an
Nanoscience & Center for
The result: the revela- actual, pragmatic possibility,”
Aging Aging & HIV
tion of one’s actual biological Vaughan says.
age. But the laboratory will
do more than merely measure ROOTS IN HIV
biological age: It will provide RESEARCH
opportunities for patients to enroll in The Potocsnak family has supported
longitudinal clinical studies to track the Feinberg for decades through a close
Human Center for
velocity of aging and in interventional relationship with Frank Palella, MD,
Longevity Basic &
investigative programs to determine if the Potocsnak Family – C.S.C. Professor
Laboratory Translational
the rate of aging can be slowed or even of Medicine in the Division of Infec-
Biology
reversed. tious Diseases.
“We now have the tools to Palella has long studied HIV and
measure biological age in everyone,” serves as the director of the Potocsnak
says Douglas Vaughan, MD, director of the Center for Aging & HIV within the Potocsnak
new institute and chair and Irving S. Cutter Longevity Institute, for which he serves as asso-
Professor of Medicine. “And we will most ciate director. When effective combination-an-
certainly have the ability to change the time on tiretroviral therapies to treat HIV were intro-
your clock face — shift it back a bit, or at least HELPING PEOPLE LIVE LONGER, duced in the late 1990s, physicians found that
slow it down. With the new Potocsnak Longevity HEALTHIER LIVES people living with HIV could live much longer
Institute, we will create a multidimensional The Human Longevity Laboratory is just one lives than they previously had.
program unlike any others that currently exist. part of the ambitious multi-center institute, But there was a catch — those living with
We will be able to cultivate and build a contem- whose goal is to foster new biomedical dis- HIV still died 10 to 15 years earlier than people
porary dataset to better understand the trajec- coveries and build on Northwestern’s ongoing without HIV as a result of the premature onset
tory of aging while including people from all research in the rapidly advancing field of aging, of aging-related health conditions that occurred
communities.” also called geroscience. due to having chronically elevated levels of ►
MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 15inflammation and chronically overstimulated
immune systems.
“That means HIV became a good model in
which to explore determinants and interven-
tions for aging processes,” Palella says. “There
is a cross-pollination here between studying
what improves and extends the healthspan
Center for Applied and lifespan of people with HIV and the aging
general population.”
Health Research on Aging Discussions with the Potocsnak family on
expanding HIV research led to broader discus-
sions on aging research, and the idea for the
S
institute was born.
ince 2019, Feinberg’s Center The team is also working to serve
“We are grateful for the opportunity to
for Applied Health Research low-income areas of Chicago to deliver
on Aging (CAHRA) has brought messaging about the need for COVID support the vision put forth by Northwestern’s
together investigators who focus on vaccinations. “Vaccination rates among leaders, scientists, and physicians to help
aging issues to conduct research into middle age and older adults in these people live their longest, healthiest lives pos-
the cognitive, psychosocial, community, areas has really lagged behind, and we’re sible,” Potocsnak shares. “The promise of the
and health system factors that affect a trying to address that disparity,” says amazing work being done by Doug, Frank, and
person’s ability to manage their health. Michael Wolf, PhD, ’02 MPH, director of many others holds the potential to profoundly
the center, and associate vice chair for impact quality of life for millions. My wife Laura,
To say they have had a busy two years is research in the Department of Medicine.
myself, and my family are proud to support this
an understatement. “We have had a very
productive launch, especially in terms CAHRA is also home to Northwestern’s important work as we strive to make the world
of research funding,” says Julia Yoshino Claude D. Pepper Older American’s a better place than when we got here.”
Benavente, MPH, associate director of Independence Center, part of a national
the center. network of National Institutes of Health FROM PROTEINS TO NANODEVICES
centers contributing to aging research. The institute builds on decades of aging
During the To date, the Pepper Center has supported research at Feinberg. A few years ago, Vaughan
COVID-19 pan- 10 early career investigators with funding discovered that a distinct community of Old
demic, CAHRA for pilot projects and/or protected time.
investigators have Order Amish in Indiana have a genetic variant
Now, the center looks forward to working
been conducting that protects them against multiple aspects
with the Potocsnak Longevity Institute.
novel research into of biological aging. Amish people with this
the experiences “Aging research across the university mutation have significantly less diabetes and a
MICHAEL WOLF, of older adults has always been strong but somewhat younger vascular age than those who don’t have
PhD, ’02 MPH with complex care fragmented, and we look forward to the mutation.
director of the needs — whether supporting this long-needed institute It turns out these individuals have very
Center for Applied they were expe- in bringing together faculty for mean-
low levels of PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhib-
Health Research riencing isolation ingful collaborations and helping junior
on Aging itor), a protein that comprises part of a “molec-
and loneliness, investigators advance their career path
ular fingerprint” related to aging or senescence
how their access to healthcare was af- in aging research,” Wolf says.
fected, if their lifestyle and self-care be- (deterioration) of cells.
haviors changed, and ultimately whether Northwestern has contributed to the
COVID-19 has widened inequities in development of an experimental drug with a
health outcomes. Japanese company that blocks PAI-1 that is now
16 NORTHWESTERN M EDICIN E • S PRING 2022being tested in clinical trials, showing that it is
clearly possible to lower PAI-1 levels in adults
without gene editing. One of these trials is in
high-risk patients over age 50 with COVID-19 “The ultimate goal is to push
here at Northwestern. This drug and others
back the onset of age-related
will likely be included in clinical trials per-
formed in the Human Longevity Laboratory. diseases and give people the opportunity
Northwestern investigators are also at
the forefront of studying what are known as
to live healthier, longer.”
SuperAgers — adults over age 80 who have the FRANK PALELLA, MD
memory capacity of individuals who are at least Potocsnak Family – C.S.C. Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases
three decades younger. The institute plans to
collaborate closely with the Mesulam Center
for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s
Disease, the home for this research. biochemical and genetic markers — to “We are going to be reaching out to our fellow
The institute will also build on current demystify the aging process in large popula- Chicagoans to get as much ethnic, socioeco-
research by convening investigators into tions of humans at all ages. nomic, and educational diversity as we can. All
several centers. In the Center for Population The Center for Nanoscience & Aging of these factors impact aging, and we want our
Science & Aging, scientists will utilize and will leverage Northwestern’s strengths to work to reflect the diversity of our community.”
refine existing tools — including well-defined develop nanotechnological devices, novel Those who visit the Human Longevity
diagnostic measures, and innovative anti- Laboratory will become part of a large dataset
aging therapies and drug-delivery platforms. that will help investigators track aging pro-
“It might be wearable devices that track cesses and clinical events and to discover
physiological measures, or drug delivery essential factors with which they can intervene.
systems that can impact different sites in Patients will also have the opportunity to par-
the body,” Vaughan says. “It will bring chem- ticipate in clinical research trials.
istry, nanoscience, nanotechnology, and
engineering all to the table.” A ‘BREATHTAKING OPPORTUNITY’
Work is already underway at the institute,
“We will be able to EDUCATING STUDENTS AND THE with hopes to open the Human Longevity
cultivate and build a PUBLIC Laboratory as soon as possible.
contemporary dataset The institute will also train and educate “This is a breathtaking opportunity to
future clinicians and scientists in aging bring together not just HIV and infectious
to better understand
research disciplines through its Geroscience disease experts, but experts across disciplines
the trajectory of aging Academy, which will develop curriculum to identify and predict aging-related conditions
while including people and educational materials as well as host lec- so we can design interventions that can delay,
from all communities.” tures and community engagement activities. treat, and even reverse them,” Palella says. “To
In fact, community engagement will be have this under one roof is unprecedented.”
DOUGLAS VAUGHAN, MD, a huge priority as the institute gets off the The ultimate goal is to push back the
director of the new institute
ground, especially for patient-focused initia- onset of aging-related diseases and give people
and chair of Medicine
tives like the Human Longevity Laboratory. the opportunity to live healthier, longer.
“We want this institute to be relevant to “Our aspirations are big, but so are our
every community in Chicago,” Vaughan says. abilities,” Palella says.
MAGA ZIN E . N M .ORG 17You can also read
