Medicine & Health

As dangerous bacteria grow more savvy at evading antibiotics, researchers are seeking new ways to counterattack. Rather than design new drugs from scratch, some scientists are searching for ways to block the microbes’ evasive maneuvers. If resistance can be shut down, current drugs should remain effective. That concept is demonstrated in a new study from the School of Medicine.

Nearly one-third of the 135 students graduating this month from the School of Medicine will receive more than one degree. Those 44 students also will have earned advanced degrees in fields such as public health, biology and business. The drive for dual degrees reflects burgeoning motivation among physicians-to-be, particularly those attending the nation’s top-tier medical schools.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have identified a marker of damage to cells in the eye that potentially could be used to monitor progression of glaucoma and the effectiveness of treatment.

Using new gene-editing technology, researchers at the School of Medicine have rewired mouse stem cells to fight inflammation caused by arthritis and other chronic conditions.

A team led by Washington University School of Medicine scientists has found a way to measure tau levels in the blood. Damaging tangles of the protein tau dot the brains of people with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

To help people with hearing loss navigate their daily lives, Nancy Tye-Murray and colleagues at the School of Medicine have developed software tools to improve speech recognition. She launched a startup to provide the software to patients and professionals.

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, an international leader in neurofibromatosis research, received a $3.5 million grant to study why people with a genetic mutation that causes the genetic disorder known as NF1 develop markedly different signs and symptoms.

Washington University health researcher Ross Brownson has received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a study examining poor implementation of cancer-control programs.

A $3.6 million grant will fund a collaboration between School of Medicine researchers and the maker of a neurosurgery navigational system. They will create a software program to build personalized 3-D maps of the location of brain function.

New research led by the School of Medicine shows that an influential 2003 study about the interaction of genes, environment and depression may have missed the mark.