(Press-News.org) September 12, 2023—(BRONX, NY)—The newly renamed Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) has been awarded comprehensive designation by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health, the ultimate standard achieved by only 55 other NCI cancer centers in the U.S. Through NCI’s peer-review process, MECCC was nationally recognized for its paradigm-shifting, practice-changing, policy-impacting cancer-focused science. As a result, MECCC was awarded a five-year, $20 million Cancer Center Support Grant to advance the translation of novel cancer research into new treatments, new screening and diagnostic tools, and equitable access to care throughout the Bronx, Westchester county, and the lower Hudson Valley.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized for the unique and special contributions of our cancer center in the NCI’s portfolio of comprehensive cancer centers,” said Edward Chu, M.D., M.M.S., director of MECCC, Carol and Roger Einiger Professor of Cancer Medicine and professor of oncology, medicine, and molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and vice-president of cancer medicine at Montefiore Medicine. “This NCI designation is a testament to the remarkable strength of our exceptional science integrated with extraordinary multidisciplinary patient care.”
“We are proud of the entire team at the cancer center,” said Philip O. Ozuah, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine the umbrella organization for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. “Our ongoing strategic investments and transformative institutional support ensures that Montefiore Einstein will continue to redefine medical excellence and be at the forefront of new discoveries and treatments that serve our patients with cancer and our community as a whole.”
A National Model for Addressing Health Equity
From genetic variants to systemic inequities and social determinants of health, MECCC investigators strive to uncover the drivers of cancer disparities and develop interventions that result in better outcomes.
“The progress made by the cancer center over the past several years has earned it comprehensive status,” said Henry Ciolino, Ph.D., director of the Office of Cancer Centers at the NCI. “And they did this serving one of the most diverse and medically challenged catchment areas of any NCI-designated cancer center.”
MECCC has built strong partnerships with community-based organizations throughout the Bronx, forging ties that bolster promotion of cancer screenings and other preventive measures specific to our borough’s needs and concerns. MECCC reviews and analyzes social determinants of health to enhance patient care and provide comprehensive support services, as well as inform health outcomes and health services research.
“We are a national model for community outreach, engagement, and cancer health equity,” said Dr. Chu. “As the diversity of our country’s population continues to grow, our understanding of cancer health disparities deepens and our principles of diversity, equity, and inclusivity are actively implemented. It is absolutely critical that we do everything within our power to ensure that all patients receive the highest quality care they need and deserve.”
MECCC is dedicated to educating and training the next generation of cancer investigators and physician-scientists through pathway programs that begin as early as high school. Initiatives such as BEYOND ALBERT, a summer afterschool program for Bronx high school students who learn in the labs of MECCC members and the Einstein Discover Research Program, an 18-month biomedical research training program for M.S. candidates at the City University of New York’s Lehman College, offer unique opportunities for individuals from historically underrepresented groups in medicine and science.
A History of Exceptional Science and Patient Care
MECCC is the fourth oldest NCI-designated cancer center, having been originally designated by the NCI in 1972. For over 50 years, MECCC has been at the forefront of innovative cancer treatments. It was among the first to integrate academic research and clinical care, leveraging Albert Einstein College of Medicine expertise in cancer science and therapeutics as well as Montefiore Health System’s experience in providing comprehensive, compassionate care for more than 200 types of cancer.
MECCC is home to five members of the National Academy of Sciences and conducts novel research in the areas of Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology, Cancer Therapeutics, and Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention and Control. More than 1,000 patients each year enroll in the cancer center’s 300 active clinical trials, many of which provide access to cutting-edge treatments unavailable elsewhere.
***
About Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center and a national leader in cancer research and care located in the racially and ethnically diverse borough of the Bronx, N.Y. MECCC combines the exceptional science of Albert Einstein College of Medicine with the multidisciplinary and team-based approach to cancer clinical care at Montefiore Health System. Founded in 1971 and an NCI-designated cancer center since 1972, MECCC is redefining excellence in cancer research, clinical care, education and training, and community outreach and engagement. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cancer for all, especially people from historically underrepresented groups.
END
Replacing 50% of meat and milk products with plant-based alternatives by 2050 can reduce agriculture and land use relatedgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 31% and halt the degradation of forest and natural land, according to new research.
According to the study just published in Nature Communications, additional climate and biodiversity benefits could accrue from reforesting land spared from livestock production when meat and milk products are substituted by plant-based alternatives, more than doubling the climate benefits and halving future declines of ecosystem integrity by 2050. The restored area could contribute ...
About The Study: In this study of prospectively collected data of 49,000 adults age 60 or older participating in the UK Biobank, more time spent in sedentary behaviors was significantly associated with higher incidence of all-cause dementia. Future research is needed to determine whether the association between sedentary behavior and risk of dementia is causal.
Authors: David A. Raichlen, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jama.2023.15231)
Editor’s ...
A major study published in JAMA led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet suggests that a possible cause of spontaneous brain haemorrhage could be transmitted via blood transfusion. At the same time, it is very unlikely that anyone should suffer a brain haemorrhage after receiving donated blood.
A common cause of spontaneous, recurring brain haemorrhages is the vascular disease cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), in which proteins accumulate along the tiny blood vessels of the brain. Several studies have shown that CAA can be transferred from one individual ...
About The Study: This meta-analysis including individual participant data from 34,000 older adults in 17 studies found that antihypertensive use was associated with decreased dementia risk compared with individuals with untreated hypertension through all ages in late life. Individuals with treated hypertension had no increased risk of dementia compared with healthy controls.
Authors: Matthew J. Lennon, M.D., of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33353)
Editor’s ...
·Stress heightens risk for many psychiatric disorders·Finding opens new avenue for drug development to treat psychiatric disorders
·Amygdala releases endogenous cannabinoid molecules under stress
·Finding opens new avenue for drug development to treat psychiatric disorders
CHICAGO --- When you are under stress, your brain may release its own cannabinoid molecules to calm you down, activating the same brain receptors as THC derived from cannabis plants.
But the brain activity patterns and neural circuits that are regulated by these brain-derived ...
Adults aged 60 and older who spend more time engaging in sedentary behaviors like sitting while watching TV or driving may be at increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study by USC and University of Arizona researchers.
Their study showed the risk of dementia significantly increases among adults who spend over 10 hours a day engaging in sedentary behaviors like sitting — a notable finding considering the average American is sedentary for about 9.5 hours each day.
The study, published on Tuesday, September 12 in ...
Replacing 50% of meat and milk products with plant-based alternatives by 2050 can reduce agriculture and land use related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 31% and halt the degradation of forest and natural land, according to new research.
According to the study just published in Nature Communications, additional climate and biodiversity benefits could accrue from reforesting land spared from livestock production when meat and milk products are substituted by plant-based alternatives, more than doubling the climate benefits and halving future declines of ...
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The risks of smoking during pregnancy for both maternal and fetal health are well documented, but only about half of pregnant people quit smoking on their own. To learn more about how e-cigarette or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) influences smoking cessation later in pregnancy, University at Buffalo researchers compared abstinence rates in the two groups. They found that those using e-cigarettes before pregnancy were more likely to abstain from smoking later in pregnancy.
Published in JAMA Network Open on Sept. 12, the research was conducted as an observational study of data gathered from 1,329 pregnant people through the U.S. ...
New research co-led by Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia shows that amplified global warming in the Canadian High Arctic drove a profound shift in the structure of a river network carved into a permafrost landscape in only 60 years. Documenting a powerful interplay among climate change, the freeze-thaw dynamics of polygonal ground and the delivery of surface water by floods as well as snow and ice melting, the team developed a new view of the physical controls governing the speed and pattern of river channel development in these fragile landscapes.
“One ...
Researchers led by Prof. LI Hanjie from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have unveiled the dynamics of human macrophage specification across 19 different tissues from early embryonic stages.
The study was published in Cell on Sept. 12.
Macrophages, i.e., pivotal immune cells, have long been enigmatic in terms of their diversity and roles during human development. Based on findings in rodents, the scientific community has gained some insights into the diversity, developmental origins, and tissue-specific formation of macrophage subtypes. However, it was not clear whether these findings are conserved in humans.
In this ...
