Research publications
Emory researchers reprogram smooth muscle cells to promote vascular regeneration
Cell therapy has emerged as a promising way to create new blood vessels, but previous research had only been able to regrow micro-level vessels such as capillaries. Now, a research team led by the School of Medicine’s Young-sup Yoon recently found a way to reprogram human skin cells into smooth muscle cells in the walls of tiny blood vessels, a discovery that may lead to new therapies for treating ischemic cardiovascular disease, in which the heart is damaged by reductions in the normal amount of blood flow.
In their research, published in Circulation, Yoon, a professor of medicine, and colleagues grafted the reprogrammed smooth muscle cells into the hindlimbs of ischemic mice. These were incorporated into the vascular wall as special cells called pericytes and as additional vascular smooth muscle cells that line the walls of blood vessels and help regulate blood flow and maintain vessel structure. The new cells contributed to the growth of larger and more stable microvessels with improved blood flow through the tissues and enhanced tissue repair. In addition to its use in treating cardiovascular disease, the authors say their findings could also be useful in some kinds of regenerative medicine, including disease modeling, drug testing and tissue engineered blood vessels.
Citation: Jung et al (2025). Novel Directly Reprogrammed Smooth Muscle Cells Promote Vascular Regeneration as Microvascular Mural Cells.
Emory scientists discover new clue to brain cancer’s development
Emory scientists recently identified a new stage in the development of astrocytes, specialized brain cells that play a role in the development and progression of glioblastoma (GBM). Glioblastomas, the most aggressive form of brain cancer in adults, can transition from resembling one healthy type of brain cell to another, making them resistant to targeted therapies. Knowing where glioblastomas come from could help researchers develop anti-cancer therapies that limit their malevolent potential, says Steven Sloan, MD, PhD, associate professor at the School of Medicine and senior author of the paper, which was published in Nature Cell Biology.Sloan and his colleagues made their discovery by studying human brain organoids, brain-like structures derived from stem cells. Through a collaboration with Winship Cancer Institute neurosurgeons, the team compared organoid-derived astrocyte cells with glioblastoma cells collected directly from patient tumors.
In their research, the authors analyzed the gene activity patterns in cells from organoids that mimic the brain’s cortex for extended time periods as long as 550 days. Most investigators in the field rarely go past 90 days, Sloan says. This extended time frame allowed researchers to observe how a distinctive set of genes are turned on during an intermediate stage of astrocyte development, between dividing progenitor and differentiated cells. This intermediate stage may still have the potential to become more than one type of cell.
Citation: Nature Cell Biology (2025). Mapping the developmental trajectory of human astrocytes reveals divergence in glioblastoma.
Emory researchers combine multiple data sources to detect tissue structures in cancer
A team of Emory researchers has developed a new artificial intelligence-powered tool for analyzing tissue samples called MISO (Multi-modal Spatial Omics) that can surpass the abilities of expert human pathologists. MISO detects immune cells and subtle variations in tumor biopsies. It allows researchers to integrate several types of data, such as histology images and measurements of gene expression, and metabolic activity within cells.A paper describing MISO’s performance across multiple tissue types was published in Nature Methods. The tool results from a collaboration between Jian Hu, PhD, assistant professor of human genetics at Emory, and researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. "MISO enables researchers to integrate multi-modality molecular measurements with morphological imaging," Hu explains. "It can handle diverse multi-omics datasets of varying quality and uncover novel biological insights that cannot be revealed when analyzing each modality individually."
The paper includes an analysis of MISO’s segmentation of a colon cancer tissue sample, as well as MISO’s ability to detect tertiary lymphoid structures within bladder cancer biopsies. The presence of tertiary lymphoid structures within a tumor is linked with response to cancer immunotherapy. Beyond cancer pathology, the authors say MISO could be used to analyze and classify brain cells in a tissue sample.
Citation: Coleman et al. (2025). Resolving tissue complexity by multimodal spatial omics modeling with MISO.
New online journal launched at Emory for those who teach health professionals
Many faculty at academic medical centers are not trained to teach, while even fewer are familiar with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Intersections, a new online, open access, peer-reviewed journal for research on education of health professionals at Emory, seeks to address this gap. The founders, Kathryn Garber, associate professor of human genetics in the School of Medicine, Linda Lewin, professor of pediatrics and Michaela Jenkins, a graduate student in sociology, say their mission is “to support a diverse cadre of health science educators in refining their scholarship and writing skills and to provide a forum for showcasing their work. By doing so, we hope to build confidence among our authors and reviewers and envision that these successes will encourage them to subsequently submit manuscripts to national and international journals.”
Unlike most academic journals, Intersections aims to publish all submissions following a paired process of peer review and coaching. Initial submissions that are not ready for review are assigned a lead editor to mentor authors through an early revision process before moving through formal peer review. To date, the journal has published 20 articles in 18 months and gained views from more than 3,700 individuals in 10 countries.
Study links pupil changes to early signs of Alzheimer’s
Researchers at the Emory Goizueta Brain Health Institute have found a possible new way to detect early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease by studying how pupils naturally expand and shrink. Their research, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, suggests that pupil movements could help track activity in a key brain region called the locus coeruleus (LC), one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are excited about the findings of the study, which point to the potential development of novel biomarkers for detecting early changes in Alzheimer's Disease,” explains Deqiang Qiu, PhD, co-director of Biomarker Core for Imaging at Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. The Emory Healthy Brain Study included thirty-seven healthy younger and thirty-nine healthy older adults who underwent brain scans while their pupil size was measured. Researchers identified a network of brain regions connected to pupil activity, showing that this network weakens with age.
They also found that changes in this network were linked to memory, problem-solving skills, and spatial awareness. In addition, higher levels of a protein called tau — an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease — were closely connected to these pupil-related brain changes. The results suggest that studying pupil movements could provide a simple, non-invasive way to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s. While more research is needed, this approach may help doctors find and treat Alzheimer’s disease sooner, improving care for those at risk.
Citation: Sin et al. (2025). Plasma Biomarkers for Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and Implications for Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities: A Comprehensive Review. DOI: 10.3390/jcm14041070
More research news
Childhood trauma in black women increases incidence of cardiovascular disease, Emory study finds
The study found that women who experienced childhood trauma had a worse vascular function, a preclinical marker of heart disease, while men had none. In addition, the findings show women may be more vulnerable to a larger cumulative stress burden, eliciting varying physiological stress responses.
Emory researchers respond to community PFAS concerns in northwest Georgia
Responding to concerns of residents in the northwest Georgia communities of Rome and Calhoun, researchers from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health are analyzing blood samples from approximately 200 residents to determine their level of exposure to PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”
Digital heart health tool helps young women face hidden cardiac risks
Emory School of Medicine researcher Holly Gooding has developed a new online tool to help teenage girls and young women assess their heart health risks. Identifying these risks earlier and educating young patients can create a healthier lifestyle when it’s time for them to start a family.
Childhood brain cancer research breakthrough could transform treatment, international study finds
New research shows that a potential new targeted therapy for childhood brain cancer is effective in infiltrating and killing tumor cells in preclinical models tested in mice.
Having difficulty getting pregnant? Study shows air pollution may play a role
A study led by Emory University researchers found that exposure to organic compounds emitted from air pollution sources such as vehicle exhaust, industrial processes and wildfires consistently negatively impacts human embryo development.