ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

Harvard's Joel F. Habener wins 2024 Lasker-DeBakey Award for discovering GLP-1 hormone, key to diabetes drugs like Ozempic. Habener, Svetlana Mojsov, and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen's work led to treatments revolutionizing obesity and type 2 diabetes. GLP-1 receptor antagonists offer benefits beyond blood sugar control and weight loss, potentially treating heart disease, inflammatory disorders, addictions, and depression.

Breast tumors exploit sensory nerves via a contact-independent mechanism, using a molecule from blood vessels to attract nerves, which release substance P to boost cancer cell growth and spread. A drug, aprepitant, which blocks TACR1, shows promise in reducing tumor growth and metastasis in mouse models.

A study in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology explains why BET inhibitors, effective against other cancers, fail in treating estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Researchers found that BRD4, a BET protein, activates oncogenes through mechanisms independent of its bromodomain, rendering current inhibitors ineffective. The team aims to develop a more comprehensive inhibitor targeting BRD4's multiple pathways.

Jeff Weber, a renowned medical oncologist and immunotherapist, passed away at 72. Known for his impactful work in melanoma research, he was a pioneer in cancer immunology and a compassionate mentor. Weber's career spanned prestigious institutions, including NYU Langone and Moffitt Cancer Center, where he significantly advanced melanoma treatment and research.