School of Medicine scientists have described a way to convert human skin cells directly into a specific type of brain cell affected by Huntington’s disease, an ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder. Unlike other techniques that turn one cell type into another, this new process does not pass through a stem cell phase, avoiding the production of multiple cell types.

Andrew S. Yoo, PhD, a researcher at the School of Medicine, has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to independent researchers early in their careers.

In search of better cancer treatments, Xiaowei Wang, PhD, and his colleagues at the School of Medicine have designed synthetic molecules that combine the advantages of two experimental RNA therapies.

New research by scientists at the School of Medicine provides evidence to explain why some people are more prone to develop kidney stones than others. The discovery opens the door to finding effective drug treatments and a test that could assess a person’s risk of kidney stones.