Author: Ken Duenke

Ensuring that the elderly have access to transportation while preventing age-related driving impairments will be the focus of the eighth annual Friedman Conference on Aging, “Are We Licensed for Life? Transportation and Driving Issues in an Aging Society.”

A leading historian of religion was installed as the first Stella Koetter Darrow Professor in Catholic Studies in Arts & Sciences March 18 in Holmes Lounge. Daniel M. Bornstein, Ph.D., joined Washington University last fall with a joint appointment in religious studies and history, both in Arts & Sciences. He is a scholar whose broad […]

The women’s track team outlasted the University of Chicago to capture its eighth straight University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Championship April 20 in Chicago. The Bears finished the two-day meet with 259 points, while Chicago compiled 243.5 team points. The men’s team finished fourth out of seven teams at the meet. Junior Danielle Wadlington was […]

Photo by Kevin LowderAt the William Greenleaf Eliot Society banquet April 9, the former dean of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work received the society’s “Search” award. Shanti K. Khinduka, Ph.D., the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor, was presented with the society’s top honor by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.

Photo by Joe AngelesThe men’s basketball team celebrated its 2008 NCAA Division III title with a championship rally April 16. An estimated 900 fans packed the Field House to meet the players and coaches, hear speeches and see the unveiling of the championship banner.

Daniel M. Bornstein, Ph.D., a leading historian of religion, was installed as the first Stella Koetter Darrow Professor in Catholic Studies March 18 in Holmes Lounge.

The influence of genetics increases as young women transition from their first drink to alcohol dependence. A team of researchers at the School of Medicine found that although environment is most influential in determining when drinking begins, genes play a larger role in advancing to problem drinking and alcohol dependence.

About 40 percent of African-Americans have a genetic variant that can protect them after heart failure and prolong their lives, according to research conducted at the School of Medicine and collaborating institutions. The genetic variant has an effect that resembles that of beta blockers, drugs widely prescribed for heart failure. The new study offers a reason why beta blockers don’t appear to benefit some African-Americans.

The estimated 19 million Americans living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) face a high risk of death from cardiovascular disease, usually related to high levels of blood phosphate. Now researchers at the School of Medicine have demonstrated that high blood phosphate directly stimulates calcification of blood vessels and that phosphate-binding drugs can decrease vascular calcification.

The School of Medicine and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) have announced a research collaboration that aims to develop new and improved ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease. The major focus of the alliance will be biomarkers, characteristic changes in the brain and spinal fluid that physicians can use to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and track its response to treatment.