Dr. Cynthia Leifer, assistant professor of immunology at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been selected to receive the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Veterinary Research Excellence. The award fosters innovative research by recognizing outstanding research and productivity from a faculty member early in his or her career. Nominees are selected for innovative research […]
Category: Immunology
An ancient union between cell and organelle has shown the first sign of fracture, challenging common conceptions of a primordial partnership all multicellular organisms rely on to live. Cornell researchers have recorded the first direct evidence of cells expelling intact mitochondria, the cellular machinery responsible for energy production. Malfunctioning mitochondria produce free-radicals that damage cells, […]
Horses will help unlock immunological mysteries of allergies and herpes For horses, Iceland is a safe haven from disease. Several pathogens never made it to the island, whose native horses evolved for almost 1,000 years in isolation. Without facing diseases common outside, such as equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and insect-induced allergies (called sweet itch or […]
November 29, 2011 By Carly Hodes One in five Americans suffers from autoimmune disease, in which the immune system goes off-track and attacks the body’s own cells. Cornell researchers have identified a signaling mechanism in immune-system cells that may contribute to this mistake, opening the door for possible new therapies for autoimmune diseases such as lupus […]
Sept. 19, 2011 By Carly Hodes Toxoplasma gondii parasites can invade your bloodstream, break into your brain and prompt behavioral changes from recklessness to neuroticism. These highly contagious protozoa infect more than half the world’s population, and most people’s immune systems never purge the intruders. Cornell researchers recently discovered how T. gondii evades our defenses by hacking immune cells, […]
Sept. 13, 2011 By Carly Hodes Herpesviruses are thrifty reproducers — they only send off their most infectious progeny to invade new cells. Two Cornell virologists recently have discovered how these viruses determine which progeny to release. The College of Veterinary Medicine researchers report in the Aug. 23 (108:34) issue I of the Proceedings of the […]
A paper on pregnancy immunology from the lab of Dr. Doug Antczak has been selected by the Faculty of 1000, placing his work in a library of the top two percent of published articles in biology and medicine. According to its website, the Faculty of 1000 (F1000) identifies and evaluates the most important articles in […]
Immune systems have their sinister side, especially when they have not learned how hard to fight. Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases inflict more than a million Americans with debilitating pain and digestive unrest because of uncontrolled immune responses in the gut. How this happens remained a mystery until immunologists at Cornell’s College of […]