BREAKTHROUGHS AND PROFESSIONAL UPDATES FOR PHYSICIANS FROM NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE

Breakthroughs for Physicians provides timely updates on the clinical and scientific advances made by Northwestern Medicine physicians and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members. Anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in downtown Chicago, Northwestern Medicine is achieving breakthroughs through innovative research and leading-edge clinical trials while delivering world-class patient care.
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL RECOGNIZED ON NATIONAL HONOR ROLL FOR 12 STRAIGHT YEARS BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 2023 – 2024. Learn more about Northwestern Medicine.

uPDATES FROM nORTHWESTERN mEDICINE

In this video, Magdy P. Milad, MD, MS, chief of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, works with Howard B. Chrisman, MD, and Robert L. Vogelzang, MD, on a uterine fibroid embolization procedure, avoiding a hysterectomy. 
Featuring: Ankit Bharat, MD, MBB
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has launched the new Simpson Querrey Lung Institute for Translational Science (SQLIFTS), ushering in a new era of lung research, education, and patient care at Northwestern Medicine.
Ranked No. 7 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, 2022 – 2023, the Northwestern Medicine Gastroenterology and GI Surgery Program has a long tradition of excellence in clinical care and involvement in the development and education of physician leaders in the field. ​
Featuring: Urjeet Patel, MD
Dr. Patel discusses the latest advances in the treatment of HPV-related head and neck cancer, providing valuable insights for fellow physicians. He shares new treatment options, the importance of early detection and the role of HPV in the development of head and neck cancer.
Featuring: ​​Benjamin S. Bryner, MD
Benjamin S. Bryner, MD, cardiac surgeon and associate surgical director of Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Northwestern Medicine, takes us on a flight with the “Heart in a Box” technology. He discusses how TransMedics technology allows for more hearts to be donated and what this means for patients awaiting a heart transplant.
Featuring: Adam Sonabend, MD
A Northwestern Medicine study used a novel ultrasound device to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier to deliver chemotherapy to treat glioblastoma.
Featuring: Amy E. Krambeck, MD
Dr. Krambeck describes the case of a 73-year-old patient with a 250-gram prostate who presented with a years-long history of severe lower urinary tract symptoms that did not respond to medical treatment. The patient avoided any type of surgical intervention for his BPH because he was given misleading information that it would inhibit his ability to be treated for prostate cancer down the road.

Continuing medical education (CME)

Join leaders in urology, medical oncology, pathology and radiology for a monthly didactic lecture series on critical topics and advances in genitourinary oncology. Lectures will take place via Microsoft Teams on the first and third Thursday of the month at 5:30pm CT.
Through April 6, 2025
The Breakthroughs podcast is a series of in-depth conversations with Northwestern Medicine faculty about their leading-edge research. Each episode offers a first-person narrative of new discoveries and findings that may be unknown to the medical community. The podcast format assists in translating complicated medical research on an array of medical topics to a wide physician audience.
For a full list of CME opportunities, visit Continuing Medical Education at Feinberg School of Medicine. 

Clinical Trials

A Randomized Phase 2 Study of Erdafitinib Versus Investigator Choice of Intravesical Chemotherapy in Subjects Who Received Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and Recurred With High Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) and FGFR Mutations or Fusions

Principal Investigator: Joshua J. Meeks, MD, PhD

MISCEND

Principal Investigator: Charles J. Davidson, MD
​Sub-Investigator: S. Christopher Malaisrie, MD

Healthy Control Esophageal Registry and Biorepository

​Principal Investigator: Dustin A. Carlson, MD, MS
To view all clinical trials, visit Clinical Trials at Feinberg School of Medicine.