MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS AND NEWS UPDATES FOR PHYSICIANS FROM NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE

Breakthroughs for Physicians provides timely updates on the clinical breakthroughs 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 medical breakthroughs through innovative research and leading-edge clinical trials while delivering world-class patient care.

Continue reading to learn about news updates, the latest research, informative articles and other medical topics.

Making Medicine Better Happens Here

Our collaborative teams take on the toughest conditions across specialties. Making medicine better happens at Northwestern Medicine.

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NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL RECOGNIZED ON NATIONAL HONOR ROLL FOR 13 STRAIGHT YEARS BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 2024 – 2025. Learn more about Northwestern Medicine.

uPDATES FROM nORTHWESTERN mEDICINE

Featuring: ​​​Edward M. Schaeffer, MD, PhD
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​Northwestern Medicine is pleased to announce that Edward M. Schaeffer, MD, PhD, Harold Binstein Professor of Urology and chair of the Department of Urology, will take on additional responsibilities as chief clinical officer for Cancer at Northwestern Medicine.
Featuring: Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, Clyde W. Yancy, MD, Jane E. Wilcox, MD, and Anita W. Asgar, MD
Leaders at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute welcome Anita W. Asgar, MD, renowned cardiologist, as section chief of Interventional Cardiology and medical director for Structural and Interventional Cardiology at Northwestern Medicine.
Featuring: Christina E. Boots, MD, MSC
Christina E. Boots, MD, MSCI, associate professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Northwestern Medicine, discusses the impact of obesity on reproductive outcomes and the promising role of GLP-1 agonists in treating obesity and infertility.
Featuring: ​Ankit Bharat, MD, MBBS
To expand the donor pool for lung transplant recipients and give surgeons more time to remove diseased lungs during transplantation, organ procurement specialists with Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute are now routinely repairing damaged donor lungs using “lungs-in-a-box” technology and storing them for transplantation by putting “lungs in a fridge.”
Featuring: ​​Lynn M. Yee, MD, MPH, Kalvin C. Lung, MD, and Sunandana Chandra, MD, MS
When a patient developed a persistent cough during pregnancy, it led to the discovery of a large tumor in her chest. A team of specialists at Northwestern Medicine provided urgent care, performed an emergency C-section, and used innovative treatments to save the patient’s life and her baby's.
​Featuring: Aziz Aadam, MD, ​Daniel Borja-Cacho, MD, and Ahsun Riaz, MD
Aziz Aadam, MD, interventional endoscopist, Daniel Borja-Cacho, MD, transplantation surgeon, and Ahsun Riaz, MD, vascular and interventional radiologist, discuss a complex biliary case involving a patient with advanced stage cancer.
Featuring: Anish R. Kadakia, MD, FAAOS
Anish Kadakia, MD, of Northwestern Medicine Orthopaedics, performs a complex ankle replacement surgery on a patient with severe ankle arthritis and deformity due to chronic instability and ligament erosion.

Continuing medical education (CME)

The Northwestern Medicine Department of Urology is dedicated to supporting the ongoing professional development of physicians through continuous medical education, which is why we offer a comprehensive range of educational opportunities, including live events and on-demand videos and podcasts. ​
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 Study of Intravesical BCG in Combination With ALT-803 in Patients With Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

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.