Game Changing Discoveries

Emory is a renowned research institution home to groundbreaking scientific discoveries that have saved lives around the globe. A key tenet is translational research, bringing discovery from bench to bedside.

COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic research and clinical trials

Emory School of Medicine played a key role in COVID-19 vaccine research, running large-scale clinical trials for the Moderna and Janssen vaccines while also working to develop a homegrown vaccine candidate. Emory also helped lead the way on COVID-19 therapeutic research, enrolling more participants than any other site in a trial of remdesivir, which has been adopted as a standard of care, and discovering and launching molnupiravir.

Compensating for a faulty gene

An Emory-led team identified the gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability. A diagnostic test followed, along with identification of treatments being tested in clinical trials.

Removing roadblocks to the immune response in infectious disease and cancer

Emory School of Medicine scientists discovered the role of the PD-1 protein in inhibiting the immune response to chronic viral infections, which paved the way for a new class of cancer immunotherapy "checkpoint" drugs.

Interpreting heart images

The Emory Cardiac Toolbox is used worldwide in almost half of the more than 10 million tests performed each year to interpret images of the beating heart.

Completing the transplant miracle

Our transplant researchers led the development of a new class of immunosuppressive drugs with fewer side effects, and are working toward eliminating the need for such drugs altogether.

Keeping AIDS at bay

Emory School of Medicine scientists invented drugs that are part of cocktails taken by more than 90% of people in the U.S. being treated for HIV/AIDS, and thousands more around the world.

Targeting and tuning depression circuits

Physician/scientists at Emory are advancing use of deep-brain stimulation for treatment-resistance depression and are searching for imaging biomarkers to define patients most likely to benefit from the new treatment.

A new field of genetics

An Emory School of Medicine scientist helped identify the role of mitochondrial DNA in health and disease, using this knowledge to develop better diagnostics and therapies for mitochondrial dysfunction.

Angioplasty to restore blood flow

An Emory School of Medicine physician/scientist revolutionized the treatment of heart disease with his pioneering discovery of balloon angioplasty. Other Emory physicians helped develop drug-eluting stents and off-pump surgery.

A new target for Parkinson's treatment

Emory School of Medicine neurologists pioneered the technique of brain mapping to guide surgical inactivation of brain cells that misfire in movement disorders such as Parkinson's.

Vaccines for HIV

Emory School of Medicine scientists discovered leading preventive and therapeutic vaccine candidates against HIV, currently in clinical trials led by an Emory start-up company.

Microneedle patches to deliver flu vaccine

Emory and Georgia Tech researchers developed a self-administered adhesive patch with dissolving microneedles that can deliver flu vaccine effectively and efficiently and could significantly increase the number of people who get vaccinated.

New guidelines for stroke treatment

An Emory School of Medicine neurologist led a groundbreaking clinical trial that has dramatically altered stroke treatment worldwide by expanding the recommended window for clot removal, leading to significantly reduced disability for selected patients.