Author: Terri Nappier

Edward S. Holden’s 1883 expedition report to the National Academies was written with all due respect. However, a handwritten note, written in rhyme, from a crew member of the U.S.S. Hartford suggests the voyagers enjoyed lighter moments as well.

The justices of the nation’s highest court have a bird’s-eye view of the nation’s discord. But Lee Epstein trains her binoculars on them as they do their work.

Using modern, high-tech analysis tools, anthropologist Michael Frachetti is leading groundbreaking research on an ancient city high in the Uzbekistan mountains. The site may hold clues to how medieval civilizations changed when diverse communities integrated — and even suggest how we might consider our own current initiatives of global community-building.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, is expanding our understanding of human health into nonhuman realms, studying the bacteria that take up residence in the gut and help define who we become. Indeed, this research suggests you are what you — and your microbes — eat.

Jeff Gordon’s influence in the race to understand the human gut microbiome extends to the many students he has mentored at the Washington University School of Medicine. Here is a small sampling of his former students and postdocs, and where they are now.

At the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center, the university encourages healthy living through ­ state-of-the-art fitness and recreation facilities.

Alicia McDonnell, JD ’95, is a former prosecutor. Today, she encourages law students to pursue careers in public service.

Leading Together enhances excellence at Washington University.

Alumna Marissa Hockfield has recruited and interviewed talented students for 15 years.

The Washington University Alumni ­Association ­welcomed more than 1,000 alumni, parents, ­students and friends to Fall Festival on Oct. 29, 2016.