Antidepressant may prevent severe COVID-19

Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that the drug fluvoxamine has been shown, in a pair of studies conducted on two continents, to be an effective treatment for people sick with COVID-19.

Chandler to retire as head of human resources

Legail P. Chandler, the university’s vice chancellor for human resources, has announced plans to retire June 30, according to Shantay Bolton, executive vice chancellor for administration. Chandler has spent more than 43 years in human resources — most of it at the university and its Medical Campus.

Researchers of ancient DNA set guidelines for their work

Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences, participated in a global initiative that set best practices for ethically sampling human remains and carrying out scientific analysis.

University joins new action network

Washington University is part of the St. Louis Anchor Action Network, a newly formed coalition designed to reduce racial, economic and spatial inequities in the St. Louis region.

Synthetic biology yields easy-to-use underwater adhesives

The lab of Fuzhong Zhang at the McKelvey School of Engineering has used synthetic biology to bring together the best of spider silk and mussel foot protein in a biocompatible adhesive.

Notables

Washington University has received an award from Civic Nation’s “All In Campus Democracy Challenge,” recognizing its voter engagement efforts during the 2020 election.

Research Wire

Ramsey Hachem, the Tracey C. Marshall – Dr. Elbert P. Trulock Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, received a $2.2 million research grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Research Wire

Michael J. Krawczynski in Arts & Sciences received a three-year $178,445 grant from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative petrology and geochemistry research project.

Announcements

Infectious disease initiative launches

The Brown School, the Institute for Public Health’s Center for Dissemination and Implementation and the School of Medicine’s Infectious Disease Division have launched the Infectious Disease Dissemination and Implementation Science Initiative.