Breakthroughs

Breakthroughs

Breakthroughs is a podcast about groundbreaking research and the scientists leading these discoveries at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. We are driven by our mission to transform the practice of medicine and profoundly impact human health beyond the individual patient. We believe better answers only come from discovery.

Episodes

December 15, 2025 15 mins

The tiniest parts of the cell may provide new insights into challenging neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). New research from Northwestern University has revealed a key mechanism underlying the development of motor neuron diseases, such as ALS, offering new insights into potential treatment options. This new finding published in the Journal of Neuroscience, comes from the lab of Vladimir Gelfand, Ph...

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One of the many ways the Human Longevity Laboratory at Feinberg is studying aging is through the lens of the retina. Manjot Gill, MD,

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Brian Garibaldi, MD, the founding director of Northwestern Medicine's new Center for Bedside Medicine, discusses the importance and future of bedside medicine.

A renowned pulmonologist and medical educator, Garibaldi addresses how modern technology can integrate with traditional clinical skills to improve diagnosis, deepen patient relationships and reduce physician burnout. He also explains how the new center aims to train the next...

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Sachin Patel, MD, PhD, is the chair and Lizzie Gilman Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg and diretor of the Stephen M. Stahl Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience. In this episode, he talks about the current mental health crisis in this country, his research and vision for the department.

Since this episode was originally released, 

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Viral pneumonia can cause severe lung damage and make recovery long and life-threatening for patients. Current treatments only provide support, not repair, but Northwestern Medicine scientist Benjamin Singer, MD Read more

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We're resharing an episode from October 2022. How are habits – both good and bad – formed in the brain, and what role do habits play in diseases of the brain? These are some of the questions 

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Uniting scientists and harnessing the power of the immune system to fight disease is at the heart of the Center for Human Immunobiology (CHI). Stephanie Eisenbarth, MD, PhD, leads the center, and she is also the chief of Allergy and Immunology

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An experimental drug called NU-9 was invented at Northwestern University by

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A Northwestern Medicine clinical trial led by Rod Passman, MD, could improve the way we care for millions of people with atrial fibrillation, but it is facing an unexpected challenge. There has been a pause in federal funding to Northwestern University that could  Read more

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Each year, more than 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack and many of those who survive are left with irreversible scarring and the slow progression towards heart failure. In this episode, Edward Thorp, PhD, Read more

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New evidence shows that a one-time intervention can lead to lasting improvement in the lives of young people struggling with mental health problems. In this episode, Jessica Schleider, PhD, associate professor of Medical Social Sciences, explains how she is using this approach to scale single-session interventions (SSIs) to reach more people in need of mental health services.

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In this episode, Minjee Kim, MD, shares results of recent studies she has conducted to better understand the role of inadequate sleep on long-term metabolic health in pregnant women and middle-aged adults. She also discusses a new AI-based intervention that could bring a better night of sleep to those who need it. 

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In this episode, Rodrigo Braga,

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What could be the world's smallest pacemaker was recently developed at Northwestern University and details of the device were published in the journal 

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A Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Medicine, used a new technique called spatial transcriptomics to examine the brain's response to Alzheimer's therapies, revealing new molecular targets that could enhance the effectiveness of current therapies and not just slow the disease, but potentially improve patient outcomes.

David Gate, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology an...

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A new $11.7 million award from the National Institute of Mental Health aims to help Northwestern Medicine investigators move the dial on the youth mental health crisis by targeting early warning signs of mental health risk in toddlers, rather than waiting until diagnosable and severe conditions are present later in childhood.

In this episode, Lauren Wakschlag, PhD, who is co-leading this grant, explains how the team will implement ...

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Women are living longer, healthier lives, but ovarian aging still impacts fertility and hormone production as it always has. In this episode,  Read more

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Scientists from Northwestern Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have

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With a new $20 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, Northwestern investigator, Linda T Read more

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Understanding the systemic drivers of health disparities within marginalized populations is complex. In this episode, Michelle Birkett, PhD, Read more

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