Author: Brittney Wheeler

Several distinguished speakers, faculty members and student leaders will take part in Commencement recognition ceremonies for Class of 2025 graduates and their families and guests May 9-12 at WashU.

An international clinical trial co-led by WashU Medicine found that the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab added to standard-of-care therapy improved survival for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer. Pembrolizumab helps the patient’s own immune cells attack and kill tumor cells.

Graduating senior Justin Xu, in Arts & Sciences, is clear about two things: his passion for community service and his pursuit of a medical career. If his leadership at WashU is any indication, he will achieve both goals and much more.

WashU Libraries awarded eight recipients, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff members, Newman Exploration Travel Fund Awards. The NEXT Award program is intended to support students, faculty and staff who wish to explore the world.

Elizabeth Pollina, an assistant professor of developmental biology at WashU Medicine, has received the 2025 MIND Prize from the Pershing Square Foundation.

A new study led by WashU Medicine researchers takes a deep dive into inherited genetic mutations. The findings have implications for determining an individual’s inherited cancer risk and informing potential new strategies for prevention, early detection and treatment.

WashU Medicine surgeons led a long-term study that showed patients who received a hip resurfacing procedure maintained a higher level of athletic activity years after their surgery than those who received a total hip replacement.

Researchers at WashU Medicine described, in mice, a brain pathway that connects the loss of motivation characteristic of advanced cancer to cancer-related inflammation and identified opportunities to block this pathway and restore motivation.

WashU Medicine’s Eric C. Leuthardt, MD, and Robi Mitra, PhD, have been named fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Megan Tierney Baldridge, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at WashU Medicine, received a $100,000 grant to explore the interactions between the viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages, and human intestinal epithelial cells.