Campus & Community

Kurt T. Dirks, vice chancellor for international affairs and director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed director of the George and Carol Bauer Leadership Center and senior adviser to the chancellor for leadership, effective July 1.

Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and of molecular microbiology at the School of Medicine, has received the Early Career Award from the International Complement Society. The complement system is an important component of immunity.

Clay F. Semenkovich, MD, at the School of Medicine, received a four-year $1.53 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for vascular disease research.

The university’s Office of Government & Community Relations reports that Washington University directly contributed $2.9 billion to the St. Louis economy in the 2021 fiscal year, an increase of $200 million from 2019.

Undergraduate and graduate students who love collecting books can submit entries for this year’s Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition. The deadline is March 11, and winners can receive up to $1,000.

The Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies recently honored Brenda J. Grossman, MD, and Jeffrey P. Henderson, MD, noted researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, with a 2021 President’s Award for their work as part of the COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project Group.

About 50 high school students from across the St. Louis region gathered online Feb. 27 to test their knowledge of the brain and to learn about neuroscience research and careers at the St. Louis Area Brain Bee, an annual event hosted by Washington University. 

Sean Spinks, former director of academic success at Harris-Stowe State University, has been appointed director of the Danforth Scholars program at Washington University, according to Anna Gonzalez, vice chancellor for student affairs. Spinks, who began Feb. 1, is the program’s first full-time director.

Hongyu An, professor of radiology at the School of Medicine, is the new chief of the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Lab (BMRL) in the Division of Radiological Sciences. 

Quing Zhu, the Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has devoted her career to perfecting technologies that find — and treat — cancer.