Author: Kelly Wiese Niemeyer

The Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine has named pediatricians Vikas Dharnidharka, MD, and Margaret Lozovatsky, MD, to the newly created roles of vice chair of clinical investigation and vice chair of clinical informatics.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have received a grant to study the role of brain inflammation in Parkinson’s disease. The project focuses on whether inflammation aids the spread of Parkinson’s damage throughout the brain.

The Office of Sustainability invites members of the university community to take part in the people’s ecochallenge Oct. 7-28. Join the WashU team and take individual actions in areas such as waste, energy, health and justice.

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded Oct. 5 to three scientists for groundbreaking research that led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. One of those scientists — virologist Charles M. Rice — conducted his seminal work while on the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine.

Julie K. Schwarz, MD, PhD, professor of radiation oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected vice president of the Radiation Research Society. She will go on to serve as president beginning in October 2022. 

School of Medicine researchers have received renewed National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. The center’s researchers study genetic and environmental factors that contribute to developmental disabilities.

The Washington University in St. Louis Office of Information Security has completed its annual update of information security policies. Also, the office will be holding events during October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month, to keep the community informed. 

Craig A. Buchman, MD, the Lindburg Professor and head of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the School of Medicine, has been elected president of the American Neurotology Society, an organization of specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the inner ear and skull base.

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor and vice chair for research affairs in the Department of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, has received the George W. Jacoby Award from the American Neurological Association for his discoveries on the role of the immune system in brain tumors.

Question: The university has made a number of changes in response to COVID-19 to keep faculty, staff and students safe this year. How many study cubbies have been installed on the Danforth Campus?