Medicine & Health

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis faculty members Randall J. Bateman, MD, Michael S. Diamond, MD and Scott Hultgren have been elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found a novel form of the Alzheimer’s protein tau in the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This form of tau — known as MTBR tau — indicates what stage of Alzheimer’s a person is in and tracks with tangles of tau protein in the brain.

By publishing their method in the journal Nature Protocols, chemists including Michael Gross, who has a joint appointment in Arts & Sciences and the School of Medicine, have opened doors for fellow scientists to better address research questions related to Alzheimer’s disease, the COVID-19 pandemic and more.

The School of Medicine’s eastern border will look strikingly different in 2023, when the 11-story neuroscience research building is complete. At this point, more than 106 drilled concrete piers have been poured, and the interior columns and floor in the basement’s western half are complete.

Meredith Jackrel, in Arts & Sciences, studies protein misfolding and how it leads to disease. She is collaborating with Jai Rudra at the McKelvey School of Engineering to develop amyloid-inspired vaccine technologies specifically tailored for seniors. The approach could be relevant to COVID-19 as the elderly are particularly susceptible to its severe complications.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, working in mice, have found that a molecule previously linked to diabetes, cancer and muscle atrophy also seems to be involved in the development of osteoarthritis. It may offer a useful treatment target.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a five-year $3.2 million grant to study the genetic basis of the musculoskeletal disorder scoliosis, and particularly how it affects African Americans and other underrepresented minorities.

Seven faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis are among 489 new fellows selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society.

Jeffrey Zacks’s latest research turns on its head some popular beliefs about memory, showing that a failed prediction isn’t simply a failure, but also a cue which can help people update their understanding — as long as they realize their prediction was wrong.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases are likely to increase to 20 million by the end of January, nearly doubling the current level of 11.4 million cases, predicts a Washington University in St. Louis COVID-19 forecasting model.