Author: Talia Ogliore

Washington University is partnering with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in its efforts to stimulate cultural change and support inclusive excellence in science and technology fields and is hosting a day of activities May 3 on the Danforth Campus.

Four faculty members of Washington University in St. Louis were elected members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the academy announced April 19. They are Jean Allman, Scott J. Hultgren, Tristram R. Kidder and Lilianna Solnica-Krezel.

Fuzhong Zhang, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, developed a method to create synthetic spider silk at high yields while retaining strength and toughness using mussel foot proteins.

Richard W. (Dick) Coles, who served as the inaugural director of Tyson Research Center and also as an adjunct professor of biology for more than 25 years, died in December in Colorado. He was 83. A celebration of life for Coles is planned for 1 p.m. April 29 at Tyson Research Center in Eureka, Mo.

Abhinav Jha, an assistant professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine, and his collaborators developed and evaluated two methods to quantitatively determine the realism of synthetic, or computer-generated, medical images.

Quing Zhu, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Matthew Mutch, MD, at the School of Medicine, have been working together to develop a new imaging technology that can help doctors determine which colorectal cancer patients’ treatments have been successful, helping some to avoid surgery. Their efforts received a $1.75 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.

On the outskirts of Kibale National Park in Uganda, anthropologist Krista Milich supports a community-led effort to keep wild animals at a safe distance from neighboring properties.

Tansu Daylan, an assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, will develop curriculum for enhanced reproducibility and equity in exoplanet research.

Researchers from the laboratory of Amit Pathak at the McKelvey School of Engineering found that cancer cells can sense a layer of cells beneath the top collagen layer on which they normally travel, while normal cells cannot. Their new study was published in Cell Reports.

Faculty from Arts & Sciences, the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine received seed grants and other funding from the Taylor Geospatial Institute totaling more than $950,000. The grants are designed to encourage collaborative research and provide resources to advance geospatial science through innovative projects.