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"Cancer patients are at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19," said Nakhle Saba, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine at Tulane School of Medicine. "Data from the USA show that approximately 40% of COVID-19 patients with cancer required hospitalization, 20%...In the News Imported
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Tulane School of Medicine News
What we know about COVID-19 immunity - Sep 25, 2020
Are people likely to catch COVID-19 twice? How long can immunity last? Why do some survivors develop antibodies from SARS-CoV-2 while others seemingly don’t?
These are just some of the questions scientists are still working to answer almost seven months into the global COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Robert Garry, a virologist at Tulane School of Medicine, said antibodies should likely protect survivors for several months.
“Hopefully it will be longer...
New podcast focuses on COVID immunity - Sep 18, 2020
Be sure to subscribe to On Good Authority, a new Tulane podcast featuring cutting-edge insights from leading experts on global topics. The inaugural episode, “Is COVID-19 Immunity Possible?,” features two of Tulane’s most renowned researchers, virologist Robert F. Garry Jr., PhD, and immunologist James McLachlan, PhD, from the School of Medicine. They will discuss what has been learned about COVID-19 antibodies and why the innate immune system...
Clinical trial to test effectiveness of drug in treating cancer patients with severe COVID-19 - Sep 11, 2020
"Cancer patients are at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19," said Nakhle Saba, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine at Tulane School of Medicine. "Data from the USA show that approximately 40% of COVID-19 patients with cancer required hospitalization, 20% developed severe respiratory illness, and 12% died within 30 days."
Despite this fact, cancer patients are often excluded from participating in clinical...
Gift establishes Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Endowed Chair at Tulane School of Medicine - Sep 08, 2020
A graduate and longtime clinical professor at Tulane University School of Medicine and his wife will be honored with a new endowed chair bearing their names. The Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Endowed Chair at Tulane School of Medicine will be established through a gift from Elizabeth Dabezies Goodyear and Charles W. Goodyear. The Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Chair will be held by the chairperson of the Department of Ophthalmology and will provide...
Tulane researcher awarded $3 million to address aging and disease impacts on the brain - Sep 03, 2020
New research projects underway at Tulane University School of Medicine aim to understand why aging and conditions such as type 2 diabetes impact the brain, and how to slow that process. Dr. David Busija, Regents Professor and Chair of Pharmacology, has been awarded more than $3 million to lead the research team in these areas.
Adverse changes occur in the small blood vessels of the brain, which are referred to as microvessels, likely due to...
Dr. Jay Kolls Receives Awards for Proposals on Pulmonary Infection - Sep 01, 2020
Dr. Jay Kolls has recently received awards for two proposals targeting pulmonary infection.
Immunology of COVID-19
Using a mouse model of SARS-CoV2 infection we are assessing the role of gene modifiers CXCR6 as well as IL-21R signaling in the host immune response to SARS-CoV2. We are testing the efficacy of a mutant ACE2-IgG1 fusion protein has prophylaxis or therapy for COVID-19.
Immunotherapy against multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae...
AAMC recognizes Tulane medical student whose perseverance inspired a nation - Aug 28, 2020
The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) has awarded Tulane University medical student Russell Ledet, PhD, a Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship for his leadership in working to eliminate inequities in medical education and health care.
The $5,000 scholarships are awarded annually to five outstanding third-year medical students who are leaders in addressing the educational, societal and healthcare needs of racial and ethnic...
Tulane researchers awarded Fast Grant for second-generation COVID-19 vaccine - Aug 27, 2020
As pharmaceutical firms race to bring the first COVID-19 vaccines to market, scientists are already working on version 2.0. Two Tulane University researchers were awarded a $150,000 Fast Grant for a project to make next-generation COVID-19 vaccines more effective.
Microbiologist Lisa Morici, PhD, and immunologist James McLachlan, PhD, will test whether they can elicit a better immune response in tissues most vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection —...
Metabolic syndrome linked to worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients - Aug 25, 2020
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who had a combination of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes were over three times more likely to die from the disease, according to a new Tulane University study.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, is the first to look at the impact of metabolic syndrome on outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of at least three of five conditions — hypertension, high blood...
Tulane Center for Sport receives $5.5 million gift from Hertz Family Foundation - Aug 24, 2020
Sport, a common thread that can unite people from every culture across the globe, is an integral part of everyday life. The central mission for the Tulane Center for Sport is devoted to the study, research and support of all areas where sport engages society, not only as entertainment or competition on the field of play but in human health, complex legal issues, labor agreements, sports marketing and finance, media, data analytics, venue...
Gift creates learning center for first-year students at Tulane School of Medicine - Aug 18, 2020
A gift of $1 million has created the Leone Learning Center at Tulane University School of Medicine, which recently opened to educate the next generation of medical professionals. The center is named for Cheryl Levine Leone, MD, and her husband, Philip Leone, MD, who met when they were both students at Tulane.
“Cheryl and Philip Leone often tell of the profound impact a Tulane education had on their lives and careers. Now, their generosity is...
School of Medicine faculty, staff stayed on the job for COVID-19 crisis - Aug 17, 2020
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have been praised for treating an influx of sick patients and for keeping hospitals running as the crisis unfolded.
At Tulane School of Medicine, the majority of faculty members, staff, residents and researchers, as well as some medical students, never left campus. They kept working through the early days of the shutdown, following an evolving set of guidelines on safe practices to...
New medical students put their best faces forward - Aug 12, 2020
Orientation for medical students is typically a whirlwind of learning the new spaces and faces that will be an important part of their four-year journey to becoming physicians.
Yet, recognizing new faces can be a challenge when everyone is wearing a mask as part of COVID-19 safety measures. That’s why this year’s incoming class, the Class of 2024, will be sporting a new kind of identity badge in the halls of the medical school — large lanyards...
CDC awards grant to Tulane researchers studying COVID-19 - Aug 05, 2020
SARS-CoV-2 can affect people in a number of different ways, from an absence of symptoms to major complications, even death. The Centers for Disease Control recently awarded $700,000 to a Tulane University team of researchers who are studying how the virus works and where and when it is shed. What they find could help explain why COVID-19 is causing higher death rates among Black and Hispanic residents of New Orleans.
In Orleans Parish, more than...
Dr. Victor J. Thannickal named to lead Deming Department of Medicine - Jul 27, 2020
Victor J. Thannickal, MD, will be named The Harry B. Greenberg Chair in Tulane University School of Medicine’s John W. Deming Department of Medicine. He joins the university in January 2021.
Thannickal is a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB); the Ben Vaughan Branscomb Chair of Medicine in Respiratory Disease; director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care; and vice chair for...