Author: Leslie Gibson McCarthy

The federal government is in the process of revising the regulations that govern most human subject research in the United States. In a “Policy Forum” piece in the Aug. 3 issue of Science, bioethics expert Rebecca Dresser, JD, the Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law and professor of ethics in medicine, weighs in with recommendations for changes in the oversight process.

This summer, Ronald Levin, JD, the William R. Orthwein Distinguished Professor of Law, testified before the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law regarding the “retrospective review” process for federal agency rules.

The Brown School’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program at Washington University in St. Louis was recently accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The accreditation provides national recognition of the quality of our program, says Edward F. Lawlor, PhD, dean of the Brown School and the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. “This unique program teaches students to address public health issues through the lens of many different disciplines.Accreditation will provide students and alumni expanded job opportunities, fellowships, and doctoral admissions.”

Exposure to stress can increase the risk for violent behaviors and depressive symptoms for African-American young adults. Different types of stress, particularly racial discrimination, can influence the level of this risk, finds a new study by Lorena Estrada-Martínez, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Former Bears basketball player Dylan Richter was selected by the Harlem Globetrotters in their sixth annual player draft, while senior Elizabeth Phillips was named 2012 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year Division III award winner for women’s track & field/cross country.

Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III, PhD, an internationally recognized scholar of human memory and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Describing Roediger as “one of the world’s best known and most respected researchers in cognitive psychology,” the APS presented him with its highest honor during the annual convention in Chicago May 24-27.

News reports indicate that Rep. Darrell Issa (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, dropped confidential information from a Justice Department wiretap application into the Congressional Record last week. “While the executive branch sometimes seeks civil or criminal penalties against those who reveal confidential information, it cannot seek such penalties against Issa because the speech or debate clause of the constitution protects members of Congress when they expose sensitive information in the Congressional Record,” says Kathleen Clark, JD, government ethics expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Because Wednesday, July 4, is a staff holiday, the summer edition of the Record email will not publish next week. The Record website, record.wustl.edu, will be updated regularly and the Record email will return Wednesday, July 11. The Record staff wishes everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!

Each spring, the dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences recognizes outstanding teaching assistants who have been nominated by a department or a program. This year, 18 graduate students received the 2011-12 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. A ceremony was held April 19 in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

Sports updates for the month of June include items on WUSTL’s finish in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings; all-America honors for a baseball player and a tennis player; and a pitch for the W Club.