Medicine & Health

A study led by WashU Medicine researchers shows that a family’s financial situation and the resources and opportunities in a child’s neighborhood had the strongest connection to brain development, accounting for 16% of the variability in measures of children’s brain function — far more than IQ, parenting style, health history or any other factor.

Ravi Vij, MD, a national leader in the research and treatment of blood cancers, has been installed as the inaugural Jeffrey S. and Prue H. Gershman Distinguished Professor in the John T. Milliken Department of Medicine at WashU Medicine.

Researchers at WashU Medicine have developed an experimental system that can read and interpret 3D images of the eye’s retina as well as other types of eye scans.

WashU Medicine pulmonologist Steven Brody and neurologists Jin-Moo Lee and Timothy Miller have been elected to the Association of American Physicians.

WashU Medicine researchers genetically modified hookworms to produce and deliver a therapeutic antibody inside a host, a proof-of-concept that could lead to long-lasting treatments for chronic disease or exposure to toxins in remote settings.

A study led by WashU Medicine researchers found that short or poor-quality sleep and night shift work are associated with a higher risk of osteoarthritis and hip and knee replacements. 

WashU was ranked ninth among U.S. universities in the inaugural Cure Innovation Index, an assessment of how effectively institutions translate research advances into market-ready innovations. The index cited WashU’s biomedical research capabilities and support for commercialization and innovation, among other strengths.

Janet S. Lee, MD, a physician-scientist in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care at WashU Medicine, is internationally recognized for groundbreaking research in acute lung injury.

WashU biomedical engineers in Ismael Seáñez’s lab are evaluating which strategies and treatments are the most effective for spinal cord injuries.

A tool developed by WashU Medicine researchers can accurately distinguish among several major neurodegenerative diseases — including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies — as well as detect when these conditions overlap, potentially improving early diagnosis, monitoring and treatment.