The Record

Brain structure differences provide clues to substance use risks

WashU researchers found correlations between types of brain structure and people who try drugs before age 15. The research was published in JAMA Network Open.

NIH grant funds study of cerebral small vessel disease

Researchers at WashU Medicine have received $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a form of dementia caused by cerebral small vessel disease.

Berkland named inaugural Mark and Becky Ruhmann Levin Professor

Cory Berkland, a respected innovator and developer of immune system therapeutics, has been named the inaugural Mark and Becky Ruhmann Levin Professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering.

Nothin’ but pawpaws in the pawpaw patch

Pawpaws are the state fruit tree of Missouri. They tend to choke out woody bushes and flowering plants nearby, exerting haphazard pressure on would-be neighbors, according to research from biologists in Arts & Sciences.

Research Wire

Kory Lavine, MD, PhD, at WashU Medicine, has received a $600,000 grant from the Additional Ventures Foundation, which funds research into congenital heart disease.

Notables

Jessie Minton, vice chancellor for technology and chief information officer at WashU, received the 2024 St. Louis ORBIE Award from St. LouisCIO.

Notables

Abram Van Engen, in Arts & Sciences, won Christianity Today’s 2024 Best Book Award in Culture, Poetry and the Arts for “Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church.”

Announcements

Nominate students for Switzer award

The Women’s Society of Washington University seeks nominations for the Harriet K. Switzer Leadership Award. The nomination deadline is Feb. 14.