Author: Jim Dryden

Neuroscientists at the School of Medicine have received a five-year, $11.6 million grant to fund a Silvio O. Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders. Since 2001, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has funded a feasibility center at Washington University, but the new grant upgrades the center’s status, funding and number of research projects.

Alcohol and drug abuse remain the biggest problems among homeless individuals.The homeless population is changing. In the days of the Great Depression, many homeless people were victims of bad luck and a worse economy. But after studying St. Louis’ homeless population since the 1980’s, experts at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say the problem has become more complex in recent times.

AbumradNada A. Abumrad, Ph.D., has been named the first Dr. Robert C. Atkins Professor of Medicine and Obesity Research at the School of Medicine. The professorship has been made possible by a gift from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation.

Pain management researchers at the School of Medicine are recruiting people who have had shingles to test the effectiveness of an investigational drug designed to reduce the severe pain that can last for months or years after a bout with the disorder.

When she was a student in dental school at the University of Chile, M. Rosario Hernandez, D.D.S., didn’t expect that one day she’d be an expert on glaucoma and the optic nerve. She didn’t picture herself coming to St. Louis or even to the United States. She had just completed dental school when Chilean general […]

Joan Luby helps identify depression in children with “interview puppets.”Although all children are sad sometimes, preschoolers tend to be inherently joyful. But Joan Luby, director of the Early Emotional Development Program at the School of Medicine, has found that, like adults, very young children can experience depression. Her research team has developed a checklist to help clinicians identify young children at risk for developing the disease.

Washing hands can cut the risk of coming down with the flu.October saw long lines at flu vaccine locations as many people waited hours hoping for a shot. As health officials scramble to find doses of vaccine for those at high risk, a Washington University emergency medicine specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis says most of us may have to rely on hand washing and common sense if we want to stay healthy this winter.

Investigators at the School of Medicine are launching several projects aimed at preventing the global spread of HIV infection by reducing high-risk behaviors in vulnerable populations, including women and youth. These projects build upon work that has been ongoing since 1989.

When bright light shines in the eye, the pupil constricts. In dim light, it dilates. Now investigators at the School of Medicine have demonstrated in chickens that a protein called cryptochrome plays a key role in that reflex.

Surgeons cut and reposition hip bones to reduce pain.When an older person has a hip problem, surgeons often replace the damaged hip with an artificial one. But that’s not a good option for someone in their 20s or 30s, so orthopaedic surgeons at the School of Medicine are repairing damage to the hip to prevent arthritis without having to replace the hip joint.