Year: 2023

Virginia Herrmann, MD, a distinguished breast cancer specialist and past co-director of the breast surgery program at the School of Medicine, died Oct. 16 at her home in St. Louis following a two-year battle with cancer. She was 73.

Biologist Himadri Pakrasi in Arts & Sciences, who studies how cyanobacteria contribute to the chemistry of life, will lead a $5 million effort to develop technology to convert atmospheric nitrogen into fertilizer. Yinjie Tang and Yixin Chen at the McKelvey School of Engineering are co-investigators on the project.

“Digital Learning and Teaching in Chemistry,” co-edited by Gabriela Mirowitz in Arts & Sciences, features WashU chemistry instructors and explores high-tech approaches to learning beyond the lab.

“Object Lessons,” the long-running series of pocket-sized books that explores the secret lives of ordinary things, is now based in the Program in Public Scholarship in Arts & Sciences.

From dressing bullet wounds to analyzing biosolids to developing LGBTQ outreach plans for the Alzheimer’s community, St. Louis Fellows made many contributions to regional nonprofits this summer. The Gephardt Institute celebrated their efforts Oct. 18.

A new study led by Gautam Dantas, at the School of Medicine, shows that the concerns of increasing antibiotic resistance have merit but that the long-term benefits may outweigh the short-term risks. The findings were published Oct. 19 in The Lancet Microbe.

Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, an associate professor and coordinator of the Sam Fox School’s Fashion Design program, will discuss the current state of sustainable fashion Oct. 27 as part of TEDx St. Louis Women: Two Steps Forward.

Rohit V. Pappu, an internationally renowned researcher in biomolecular condensates and intrinsically disordered proteins, was installed Oct. 9 as the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering.

Washington University has launched the AI for Health Institute to design data-driven tools to characterize complex diseases, support clinical decisions and drive precision health. The institute was introduced at the AI & Digital Health Summit, held Oct. 18-19 at the university. 

Shripad Bhagwat, a drug development expert with decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has been named the inaugural senior director of the university’s Needleman Program for Innovation and Commercialization.