Author: Kelly Wiese Niemeyer

Andrew J. Bierhals, MD, associate professor of radiology, has been named vice chair for quality and safety for the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 

Question: The university’s independent student newspaper, Student Life, has been a part of campus for a long time. What year was this publication established?

A drug strategy aimed at revving up the immune system and boosting a type of immune cell known as natural killer cells appears, at least in mice, to effectively treat the skin condition eczema. A team led by the School of Medicine’s Brian S. Kim, MD, is behind the strategy.

Kathy Kniepmann, at the School of Medicine, is an inquisitive, compassionate faculty member who inspires prospective and current students in the Program in Occupational Therapy. She discusses her life, her career and her lifelong interest in learning.

During the spring semester, Washington University will host a series of events that are expected to draw a high volume of traffic to campus, particularly leading up to and during Thurtene Carnival and WashU Reunion Weekend, April 17-19.

The Washington University community is invited to nominate students for the James E. McLeod Honors and Awards Program. The nomination deadline is March 16. 

Mary Klingensmith, MD, the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a vice president of the American Board of Surgery.

Samantha A. Morris, assistant professor of developmental biology and of genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a Sloan Research Fellowship in Computational and Evolutionary Molecular Biology. Sloan Research Fellowships support promising early-career scientists.

Question: The nation will celebrate the birthday of George Washington, the university’s namesake, on Monday, Feb. 17. But after whom was the university originally named?

Miles W. Meyer, an adjunct instructor in University College at Washington University in St. Louis, died Feb. 7 in St. Louis. He was 69. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at Kutis Funeral Home in Affton and from 10 a.m. until the funeral service at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at St. Lucas United Church of Christ in Sunset Hills.