Author: Ken Duenke

The great novelist, Nurrudin Farah, will be on the Washington University campus Feb. 13 and 14 to speak on “Political Islam and Clan in Present-day Somalia” for the Assembly Series, and to present a reading/discussion of his works for the Department of English in Arts & Sciences. Both events are free and open to the public.

GutmannGenetic fingerprints that reveal where a brain cell came from remain distinct even after the cell becomes a brain tumor, an international coalition of scientists will report in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research. The finding adds a new layer of complexity to the quest to understand the causes of childhood brain cancers, according to senior author David Gutmann.

PeipertJeffrey Peipert has been named the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine. The appointment was announced by Larry J. Shapiro, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. Peipert is the first person to hold the professorship, which was established in honor of Robert J. Terry, professor and head of the School of Medicine’s Department of Anatomy from 1900 to 1941.

Evan Kharasch has been named the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor of Anesthesiology at the School of Medicine. This is the second anesthesiology professorship established through gifts from the Sheldens. Russell Shelden is an anesthesiologist and graduate of the School of Medicine who earned his medical degree in 1949.

Bacterium that could be used in bioterrorism is significantly slowed when it can’t make use of a key protein, School of Medicine researchers found.

Michael Marrah and Bradley Castanho have been named assistant vice chancellors for research and co-directors of the Office of Technology Management (OTM) at Washington University. Together, they bring expertise in business, science and law to the OTM, which is charged with identifying University discoveries that have commercial potential and licensing them to private companies, where the technology can be developed for the benefit of the public.

Washington University in St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame member Vaughan “Bing” Devine died Saturday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was 90. A member of the Bears’ baseball and basketball teams, Devine graduated from Washington University in 1938 with a degree in liberal arts. He was part of the inaugural class in the WU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Scientists at the School of Medicine in St. Louis and the biotech firm Nimblegen Systems Inc. have successfully tested a technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk. Rather than focus on errors and alterations in DNA sequence, the new technique highlights variations in the number of copies of a particular gene.

Harvard physicist Lisa Randall explains how our visible world of four dimensions could be embedded in a higher-dimensional universe at the Assembly Series at 11 a.m. on Feb. 7 in Graham Chapel.

Washington University’s Sports Hall of Fame Class now boasts a 10th member in the Class of 2006—Director of Athletics, John Schael. Surrounded by many friends and family, including Schael’s wife, Linda, and daughter, Erin, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton made the surprise announcement near the end of the 12th Hall of Fame ceremony held on the Danforth Campus on Friday morning.