Author: Ken Duenke

Younan Xia, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, was installed as the inaugural James M. McKelvey Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science in a Sept. 2 ceremony in Whitaker Hall.

Washington University is in the spotlight for its pivotal role in the Genomics Education Partnership, a collaborative effort to provide research experience in genomics to undergraduate classrooms across the country.

The Board of Trustees named Stephen F. Brauer chair of the board, effective July 1, 2009, and elected six new trustees, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced at the board’s winter meeting Dec. 5.

Photo by Mary ButkusJames E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, visits with Juan Pablo Sandoval at a Dec. 6 reception in the Danforth University Center following the December Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremony in Graham Chapel.

A vaccine designed to prevent the recurrence of lung cancer is now being tested in centers around the world including the Siteman Cancer Center at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The vaccine stimulates the immune system to destroy cells that carry a tumor-specific antigen called MAGE-A3. This antigen is not present in normal tissue but is found in several cancer types, including 35 percent to 50 percent of cases of the most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer.

Illustration by Michaela HuntFor years, scientists have struggled to decipher the genetic instruction book that details where and when the 20,000 genes in a human cell will be turned on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell. Now, scientists at the School of Medicine report they have developed a model of gene expression in yeast that predicts with a high degree of accuracy whether a gene will be switched on or off.

The Danforth Foundation has granted the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at the School of Medicine a $10 million endowed gift for research into a range of conditions that cause injury and impairment to the brain and central nervous system. The funds will be used to support innovative and groundbreaking new ideas for research with clear potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other disorders.

Pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told for years they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen. But in two studies, School of Medicine researchers report that body shape isn’t the only marker of risk. Excess liver fat appears to be the key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Six new department and program heads have been named in Arts & Sciences this fall.

Trillions of microbes make their home in the gut, where they help to break down and extract energy and nutrients from the food we eat. Yet, scientists have understood little about how this distinctive mix of microbes varies from one individual to the next. Now, researchers at the School of Medicine have discovered that each individual carries a unique collection of bacteria, although the communities are more similar among family members.