Author: Elizabethe Holland Durando

To show their appreciation for exemplary service in medical education, School of Medicine students presented the school’s faculty and house staff with the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards for the 2014-15 academic year. The honors are initiated by students and implemented with support from the Office of Medical Student Education.

Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, the Bixby Professor of Surgery and head of the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

School of Medicine scientists have identified a master gene involved in orchestrating the regrowth of peripheral nerves — the nerves that extend from the spinal column to the hands and feet and have the ability to regenerate and help people regain some movement and sensation. Understanding how these nerves regenerate may aid efforts to regrow spinal cord neurons.

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, the Robert E. and Louise F. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Molecular Case Studies.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, will host the annual Dean’s Update for all School of Medicine employees Nov. 12 and 13.

Jonathan M. Green, MD, associate dean for human studies and executive chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Washington University, has been appointed to the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. He will serve a three-year term.

Andrew J. White, MD, director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named the James P. Keating, MD, Professor of Pediatrics. White also directs the pediatric residency program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

A pioneering surgical technique has restored some hand and arm movement to patients immobilized by spinal cord injuries in the neck, reports a new study at the School of Medicine. The researchers assessed outcomes of nerve-transfer surgery in nine quadriplegic patients. Each of the nine reported improved hand and arm function.

About 200 Washington University students in medicine, engineering and business recently gathered in the Cortex Innovation District for a networking event known as “Problem Day.” The event kicked off a seven-month effort for student entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions to clinical problems. 

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is adopting a new system to help maximize and streamline its clinical trials management and data collection. Elements of the new system will go live later this month, with the entire system expected to be online in January.