Gladstone Institutes scientists Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, and Alex Marson, MD, PhD, have earned one of the highest honors in health and medicine with their election to the National Academy of Medicine.

Nikki Thiele, a staff scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received a 2026 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. The five-year National Institutes of Health grant supports innovative research with the potential for broad impact on biomedical and behavioral science. Thiele will develop innovative chelator designs to improve targeted radiopharmaceuticals.

A new MUSC study published in JAMA Pediatrics reveals a striking reversal in youth vaping trends: Girls are now vaping at higher rates than boys. Among teens ages 15 to 17, regular vaping among girls rose from 4.9% in 2021 to 7.8% in 2024, compared with 4.6% of boys. Although cigarette smoking among adolescents has fallen to historic lows, researchers warn that nicotine addiction remains a serious concern. “We have to sound the alarm bells for girls,” said Benjamin Toll, Ph.D., of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. “But we also need to make sure that we’re addressing the boys, too.” The findings highlight the need for targeted prevention and treatment efforts to address changing patterns of youth nicotine use.

Learn more about St. Jude president and CEO-elect Charles W.M. Roberts, MD, PhD, who is newly named to the National Academy of Medicine.     

In an international Phase 1 clinical trial, Kansai Medical University Hospital achieved the “Global First Patient First Dose” milestone by administering the first dose of DS1025, Daiichi Sankyo’s investigational, potential first-in-class CD25 directed antibody drug conjugate. DS1025 contains an immuno-oncology optimized cytotoxic payload to deplete immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in tumors. This First-in-Human trial will assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary antitumor activity in adults with advanced solid tumors.   

A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led research team has received an award of up to $52.1 million over four years from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, to better understand the rules that decide what shape a protein takes — and how those rules could support the identification of earlier diagnostics and therapeutic targets when proteins fold the wrong way. The team will start this work, which will be publicly shared through open-access resources, by studying Parkinson’s disease and Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer of bone and soft tissue in children and young adults.

A 71-year-old woman with a two-year history of a slowly deepening skin depression on her trunk was found to have atrophic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP)—a rare variant of skin cancer that mimics benign conditions such as scars or morphea. The case highlights the importance of biopsying firm, persistent atrophic lesions, as early diagnosis and complete surgical excision are key to preventing local recurrence.

Clinical trials play a vital role in progress against breast cancer. As part of the National Clinical Trials Network sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology works to advance cancer research and expand access to promising screening strategies and treatments. Through its clinical trials, the Alliance helps generate the evidence needed to improve care and bring better treatment options to patients. Today, the Alliance and Alliance Foundation Trials (AFT) have eight active trials open to people with breast cancer. Each represents another opportunity to advance research, improve care, and shape the future of breast cancer treatment.