$9 million to fund study of ‘jumping genes’ in Alzheimer’s

A five-year $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund research led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine and at the University of Texas at San Antonio to answer how so-called transposable elements in DNA can influence Alzheimer’s disease.

COVID messaging: caring or condescending?

Research from the lab of Brian Carpenter, in Arts & Sciences, suggests older adults understood that sometimes unflattering COVID-19 messaging came from a place of caring and compassion.

Venus balloon prototype aces test flights

Paul Byrne, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, is a science collaborator for a prototype aerial robotic balloon, or aerobot, built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Near Space Corp.

Research Wire

Bruce Carlson, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, recently won a $980,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study neuronal plasticity and the evolvability of animal behavior.

Notables

Felicia Gomez, Jesus Jimenez and José Sáenz, all at Washington University School of Medicine, have been appointed to diversity, equity and inclusion leadership positions in the school’s Department of Medicine.

Research Wire

A $314,807 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will support Abhinav Jha’s interdisciplinary work looking at the ethics of artificial intelligence implementation in the medical sphere.

Announcements

Nominations sought for William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award

Nominations are now being sought for a new award that will fund community-based research promoting impact and deep engagement with St. Louis.

Obituary: Malik Williams, student in Arts & Sciences, 22

Malik Williams, an undergraduate student in Arts & Sciences, died Friday, Oct. 7, of a previously undiagnosed medical condition. Williams is remembered as a quiet, calming presence who loved good food, travel and nature.