#WashUtogether

Welcome to #WashUtogether, a home for stories, photographs and videos of our Washington University caring for one another and our communities. For though we are apart, our students, faculty, staff and alumni are forever #WashUtogether.

Washington University announces plans for fall semester

Since spring, Washington University in St. Louis has been planning for the upcoming fall semester to determine how to bring students, faculty and staff back to the Danforth Campus as safely as possible as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve in the St. Louis region, across the country and around the world. Today, the university announced its plans for the start of the next academic year, which begins in August and September.

COVID-19 in-home monitoring program launched

People with COVID-19 who are seen by Washington University physicians or BJC Medical Group providers, but not sick enough to be hospitalized, can be enrolled in an in-home health monitoring program.

With daily check-ins for each patient via smartphone app or phone call, the program helps medical professionals identify signs of worsening illness early so they can intervene and, ideally, keep patients out of the hospital.

Having a higher purpose promotes happiness, lowers stress, survey finds

Having a personal higher purpose promotes well-being, more happiness and even lower stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from a new survey by two Washington University in St. Louis researchers from Olin Business School.

COVID-19 vaccine trials to be conducted at Washington University, Saint Louis University

As U.S. scientists ramp up a national effort to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine candidates at clinical trial sites across the country, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development have been tapped to join the historic effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine that can prevent the illness.

Researchers at the two universities expect to enroll about 3,000 participants in several COVID-19 vaccine trials, with each school participating in different trials.

McDonnell Academy supports COVID-19-related global research

To help address the international social, economic and public health ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak, the McDonnell International Scholars Academy recently awarded $250,000 in seed grants to kick-start research projects led by Washington University faculty members and their international collaborators

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Local gym moves classes to West Campus garage

One of the cruel ironies of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the closure of gyms when we most need to relieve stress, stay fit and connect with others. And then there are literal costs for gym owners like Joe Goldberg, owner of TruFusion STL on the West Campus of Washington University in St. Louis. Facing financial devastation, Goldberg conceived a solution as bold as it was simple — move TruFusion’s classes from its studio to the university’s open-air garage. The university helped him execute the plan.

 

Study to examine social media’s effects on stress during COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of social media on anxiety and stress during the coronavirus pandemic is the focus of a new study led by mental health experts at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and computer scientists at Georgia Tech. The National Science Foundation is funding the pilot study.

Trevor Joy Sangrey and her son, Delaney

Burning Kumquat garden thrives while students away

When Washington University students weren’t able to return to campus in mid-March due to COVID-19, faculty fellows and their families living on the South 40 stepped in to tend to the large student-run garden outside the Alumni House.

Folding@home’s fight against COVID-19 enlists big tech, gamers, pro soccer

The crowdsourced supercomputing project Folding@home, based at the School of Medicine, shifted focus months ago to coronavirus research. Now, units at Washington University and elsewhere, individuals and companies have joined the effort.

In response to worsening conditions due to COVID-19, WashU’s China Alumni Network organized an appeal for much-needed medical supplies and funds to the Washington University Medical Campus. (Illustration by Monica Duwel)

The universal language of generosity

In early spring, WashU’s China Alumni Network organized an appeal in an effort to give back to their alma mater, raising funds to purchase PPE for theWashington University Medical Campus.

McKelvey Engineering alumni pitch in to COVID-19 effort

As the world adjusts to a new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals are using their skills and talents to help, from sewing masks to holding food drives to running errands for elderly neighbors. McKelvey School of Engineering alumni are doing their part as well, both as part of their work and on their own time.

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Alex Hu teaches a local student chemistry. Hu co-founded Learning Lodge wth Lily Xu.

Learning Lodge provides free virtual tutoring

The school year has ended, but Learning Lodge, an online tutoring service founded by Washington University in St. Louis students, continues to help local elementary and middle school students practice math, social studies, even the bassoon.

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Patients with COVID-19 donate specimens to advance research efforts

COVID sample collecting
Philip Mudd, MD, PhD, picks up research samples at the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

With financial support from The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), as well as input from the Community Advisory Board of Washington University’s Institute for Public Health and ICTS, the School of Medicine created a repository to store and manage specimens collected from adult and pediatric patients who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19.

Suppression of COVID-19 spread is possible, suggests new model

Suppression of the spread of COVID-19 is an attainable goal, and it can be done through strategies that ease social distancing guidelines, suggests a new model developed by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Brookings Institution.

Medical students assist health departments in tracking COVID-19

As the St. Louis region grapples with reopening businesses and lifting stay-at-home orders, more than 100 students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been volunteering to help local health departments perform case investigations and contact tracing, which are essential public health strategies to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Students, employees benefit from university’s crisis response fund

March, the university created the crisis response fund to help both students and employees get through the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. The university distributed support, made up of donations from alumni, employees, parents and other friends of the university, to students in two waves between mid-March and early May.

Across the two waves of funding, the university received applications from 1,058 students and funded 737 people, which is about 70% of applications.

Social Justice Resources: Advancing racial equity in the time of COVID-19

The staff, faculty and students at the Brown School have compiled a list of resources for people who are seeking ways to advance social justice and racial equity and protest police brutality while being mindful to protect public health.

University funds program that delivers food, services to nearby neighborhoods

As part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis, Washington University in St. Louis has partnered with Park Central Development and St. Louis Food Angels to deliver groceries to nearby families. But the program offers more than free fresh produce and staples such as milk, eggs and pasta — it connects residents to important resources at a time when many are suffering from social isolation and economic uncertainty.

EMBA helps firm pivot into massive supplier of PPE

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Novolex′ portfolio included a range of packing products and industrial goods—and almost no medical equipment. That changed in early March. In just weeks, the firm pivoted its manufacturing capacity to design and produce critically needed pieces of protection for under-resourced healthcare workers—and WashU Olin alumnus Phil Rozenski is one of the people at the center of that pivot.

COVID-19 study looks at genetics of healthy people who develop severe illness

The McDonnell Genome Institute is one of more than 30 genome sequencing hubs worldwide participating in a COVID-19 study to sequence the DNA of young, healthy adults and children who develop severe illness despite having no underlying medical problems. The researchers are looking for genetic defects that could put certain individuals at high risk of becoming severely ill from the novel coronavirus.

Institute helps local students in the era of COVID-19

From creating a new COVID-19 curriculum for middle school students to providing free STEM activities and supplies for families, the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University in St. Louis is working hard to guarantee children continue to learn during the COVID-19 crisis.

Washington U. researchers launch global trial to test chloroquine for front-line health care workers

Washington University researchers are leading a new trial testing the anti-malaria drug chloroquine on 30,000 front-line health care workers worldwide, to determine whether the drug can prevent COVID-19, or decrease its severity. Scientists across the globe have responded to the urgent call for a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19, and mobilized clinical trials to study drugs like chloroquine.

Students answer the call to design solutions for COVID-19

McKelvey School of Engineering students participated in a Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design competition where they were asked to find solutions for problems created by the novel coronavirus, including limiting the spread of the disease, informing the public or combating the shortages of supplies needed by front-line health care workers.

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How Washington University repatriated hundreds of students and faculty during COVID-19 onset

While Washington University was founded in St. Louis — and has made the city its home for 167 years — its faculty, students and staff routinely travel around the world to conduct research, study and strengthen relationships with partner institutions. When they’re on the road, the university stands at the ready to assist should difficulties arise. The COVID-19 pandemic was a difficulty of epic proportion, and it presented an enormous challenge

Students, faculty providing coronavirus-related outreach to Latino population

Austin Ibele, a first-year student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has launched  “STLJuntos,” which translates to “St. Louis Together.” The initiative has created and disseminated coronavirus information in Spanish via a hotline, pamphlets and social media content, including educational videos featuring the university’s Spanish-speaking faculty.

Amid crisis, Olin BSBA launches cross-university, pro bono consulting service for small businesses

One day, early in the coronavirus crisis, one of Camryn Okere’s favorite off-campus restaurants closed forever. And that’s when she realized she had to do something.

After Bobo Noodle House shuttered, and as other small businesses were suffering, the soon-to-graduate WashU BSBA student knew she could help. Two weeks later, she’d recruited WashU classmates and business students from a dozen other schools to join her. Rem and Company was born.

“Seeing a local business I love permanently close was heartbreaking,” Okere said. “When I see problems in my everyday life, my community and my environments, I am inspired to work to implement change.”

Washington University in St. Louis purchased and delivered 70 meals from barbecue restaurant Salt + Smoke for University City police officers and fire fighters on Friday, May 1. Since April, Washington University has purchased more than 3,000 meals from Delmar Loop restaurants. (Photo: Joe Angeles/Washington University)

Institute for School Partnership and The Little Bit Foundation to provide free STEM materials alongside drive-thru meals

The Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis wants to keep STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning going for the tens of thousands of homebound students in St. Louis City and St. Louis County by providing them with STEM classroom activities that they can do at home. The ISP has partnered with The Little Bit Foundation (TLBF) to develop and distribute STEM Challenges for students and families participating in  school-based drive-thru meal service programs. Since 2018, ISP and TLBF have collaborated to offer project-based STEM learning to the classroom through its mySci Do programming.

How St. Louisans have stepped up to help during the COVID-19 crisis

Jason Purnell of the Brown School and Dr. Jeffrey Henderson of the School of Medicine are among the St. Louisans highlighted by St. Louis Magazine.

https://twitter.com/WASHUSwim/status/1257090549154283520?s=20

Washington University members sew masks to help protect St. Louisans

Washington University faculty, staff and students are contributing to a project to create fabric masks for campus members and others in St. Louis to wear when they need to leave their homes during the pandemic.

On the front lines in fight against COVID-19

As a worldwide pandemic washes over the St. Louis region, the Washington University Medical Campus is eerily quiet.

But it’s another story in the COVID-19 wards of Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH), where Washington University physicians are fighting an exhausting battle against a new, baffling and sometimes lethal disease with the help of the hospital’s nurses, other medical professionals and support staff.

A spring like no other

From campus to community, thought leadership to research: How WashU has responded to the global pandemic.

With the CDC’s recent recommendation to wear cloth face coverings, many people are doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. Drs. Cheri LeBlanc and Steven Lawrence provide information about cloth and medical face shields, proper cleaning and other tips to help keep you safe when leaving the house

University offers housing for front-line health workers, first responders

It all started with a call from the head of BJC HealthCare to Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. Doctors and nurses needed somewhere to stay amid intense work caring for the sick. Could Washington University in St. Louis help meet the need?

The answer was a resounding yes. Then came the organizing and planning to make the process run smoothly. The university has shifted in a matter of weeks from housing and feeding students to housing and feeding doctors, nurses and other health-care providers.

WashU performers find solace and salience in song

Here, the cast and crew of “Twins: The Musical”; the singers of the Sensasians a cappella group; and the alumni members of Mosaic Whispers, the oldest all-gender a cappella group at Washington University in St. Louis, perform songs both beautiful and heartbreaking in the time of COVID-19. We dare you not to cry.

Maker Task Force works to protect front-line health-care workers

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, a diverse team of makers from across Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth and Medical campuses, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and BJC HealthCare have come together to protect front-line health-care workers and employees on the ground.

“With the surge of COVID-19 patients we’re expecting, we want to make sure doctors, nurses and other health-care providers do not run out of the PPE (personal protective equipment) and other supplies and equipment they need to do their jobs safely and take care of these patients well,” said Thomas M. Maddox, MD, professor of medicine and executive director of the BJC/WUSM Healthcare Innovation Lab.

The COVID-19 WashU/BJC Maker Task Force executive team consists of: Maddox; Ali Kosydor, the lab’s director of operations; Aaron Bobick, dean of the McKelvey School of Engineering; Eric Leuthardt, MD, professor of neurological surgery and inventor; and Philip Bayly, chair of mechanical engineering and materials science. Their varied expertise mirrors that of the larger task force that soon coalesced.

Thank you Maya Menon, graduating senior from the Olin Business School, for helping to design these #nephSTRONG t-shirts of two nestled kidneys, for the division′s 180 faculty, staff and trainees.

Institute for School Partnership provides tips for at-home science learning

Everyday mySci activities help parents build on their young child′s natural sense of curiosity, wonder and discovery, and introduce scientific concepts in a way that’s fun and easy.

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Connie from Grounds for Change sends greetings from the DUC.

Thank you to the Washington University in St. Louis students who donated $74,000 in meal points to Dining Services Food Security Fund. The funds are helping students in need and replenishing the Brown School’s food pantry. Stay in touch with the Dining Services crew on Facebook.

Federal funding for rapid COVID-19 test goes to McKelvey Engineering researchers

Engineers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have received federal funding for a rapid COVID-19 test using a newly developed technology.

Srikanth Singamaneni, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, and his team have developed a rapid, highly sensitive and accurate biosensor based on an ultrabright fluorescent nanoprobe, which has the potential to be broadly deployed.

Jason Purnell
Purnell

Purnell to lead St. Louis team responding to COVID-19

The Brown School’s Jason Purnell will lead a response team of over 40 St. Louis area nonprofits, social service agencies and governments to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The COVID-19 Regional Response team aims to help people navigate resources and get help with needs including employment, food, housing, child care and legal aid.

“Our region’s most vulnerable populations are historically underserved and this pandemic requires us to provide care and services in ways that no individual agency can accomplish on its own,” Purnell said. “An equitable response to this pandemic requires that we focus our attention on those at greatest risk of contracting this virus and those whose lives were lived in risk before this crisis.”

BJC Institute of Health building

Clinical trial launches to evaluate antimalarial drugs for COVID-19 treatment

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a clinical trial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The trial will investigate the effectiveness of different combinations of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin in treating ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

Facts not fear: St. Louis’ top coronavirus questions answered by Washington University experts

Five on Your Side took viewer questions straight to the Washington University Infectious Disease physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. They addressed some of the top local questions people have and also discussed how concerned St. Louisans should be. You can read their responses below. Watch more at KSDK.com.

Collage of images of WashU community members during COVID-19 outbreak Washington University comes together to support the St. Louis community

As Washington University in St. Louis researchers and physicians join the fight to halt COVID-19’s proliferation across the globe, our staff, students, doctors and alumni are working tirelessly to care for the St. Louis community we call home.
“From the physicians on the frontlines to the researchers tracking the virus to the faculty members who are helping businesses and nonprofits stay afloat, our community is showing up every day with compassion, commitment and ingenuity,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. “I am especially moved by the can-do spirit of our students who have launched organizations to tutor local students, deliver meals, provide child care and reach out to isolated seniors.”

University creates new fund to help students and employees through COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 has impacted countless people’s lives and livelihoods, resulting in financial hardships for many, including students and employees at Washington University in St. Louis.

In response, the university has created the WashU Crisis Response Fund to help.

Three students stand in front of Salvation Army van

Washington University students team up with Salvation Army to feed seniors

Washington University medical student Benjamin Katz  and his fellow WashU med students heard the Salvation Army’s cry for volunteers and immediately stepped in. The students have been on the front line with the non-profit delivering food to people like Anderson.

“I wanted to help out anyway I could and this as one of the really great ways I was able to help out the folks in the community,” Katz said. Read more at KSDK.com.

Varsity Tutors launches Virtual School Day

Varsity Tutors logoVarsity Tutors, founded by Washington University in St. Louis alum Chuck Cohn (BSBA ’08), has launched a new service called Virtual School Day, which offers more than 20 hours of live, online classes across a variety of core subjects for K-12 students. According to Varsity Tutors’ website, “Virtual School Day can supplement partial-day online learning provided by a school, or it can even serve as an all-day syllabus for the weeks that school is out.” Read more in Fuse.

Medical Campus students mobilize to help health-care workers, community

Scores of students on the Washington University Medical Campus have mobilized to support health-care workers and the St. Louis community in the fight against the global pandemic.

Among the projects the students have initiated or joined, they’ve reviewed and summarized emerging academic research on COVID-19 to save care providers valuable time; managed a coronavirus email “hotline”; provided child care for health-care workers; and soon will deliver meals to infected and at-risk community members. Other students have designed and manufactured more than 1,600 face shields for medical workers in need of personal protective equipment.

Positive psychology tips from Washington University in St. Louis’ happiness expert

“For those of you who are seniors, I know this is not what you wanted your final semester at WashU to look like. It’s not what I or any of your other professors want your experience to be, either.”

Video series ‘WashU Between the Lines’ launches in time of uncertainty

The plan was set. Washington University in St. Louis students Shelly Gupta and Rory Mather would launch their video campaign, “WashU Between the Lines,” after spring break. They hoped the series — deeply personal stories of uncertainty and hope, failure and resilience — would encourage students to know each other, as we say at Washington University, by name and by story. And not just the stories posted on Instagram or Facebook.

Then COVID-19 happened.

“We were faced with a choice — scrap the campaign or move ahead,” said Mather. “Ultimately, we decided that now, more than ever, students need to lean on one another. Yes, we are living through this terrible moment in history, but that doesn’t mean our own feelings and past experiences are now trivial.”

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WashU Response to COVID-19
Visit coronavirus.wustl.edu for the latest information about WashU updates and policies. See all stories related to COVID-19.

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