Medicine & Health

​Using a new high-speed, high-resolution imaging method, Lihong Wang, PhD, and his team at Washington University in St. Louis were able to see blood flow, blood oxygenation, oxygen metabolism and other functions inside a living mouse brain at faster rates than ever before.​

Many kidney disorders are difficult to diagnose. To address this problem, scientists and clinicians have developed a diagnostic test that identifies genetic changes linked to inherited kidney disorders. This testing is now available nationwide through Genomic Pathology Services (GPS) at the School of Medicine.

Antibiotic resistance is poised to spread rapidly around the globe among bacteria frequently implicated in respiratory and urinary infections in hospital settings, according to new research at the School of Medicine.

​William Gillanders, MD, a physician-scientist and avid cyclist, keeps the wheels turning in the race against breast cancer. His career goal is to change treatment paradigms by making breast cancer vaccines a reality for those being treated for the disease.

A deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Now, new research in mice led by the School of Medicine’s Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi suggests vitamin D plays a major role in preventing the inflammation that leads to Type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Finding kidney cancer early has been among the disease’s greatest challenges. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive method to screen for kidney cancer that involves measuring the presence of proteins in the urine.

In cells lining the airway, high levels of certain proteins have long been linked with the overproduction of mucus characteristic of diseases like asthma and COPD. New research from the School of Medicine provides clues to potentially counteract inappropriate mucus production.

Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD, is a national leader in gerontology, widely known for her work on productive and civic engagement of older adults. She is also the Bettie Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy at the Brown School, faculty director of productive aging research at the  Center for Social Development and director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, part of the Institute for Public Health, all at Washington University in St. Louis.

James M. DuBois, DSc, PhD, has been named the Steven J. Bander Professor of Medical Ethics and Professionalism at the School of Medicine. In his research, DuBois develops measures to assess outcomes of training programs in ethics and professionalism in medicine and conducts social science studies of patient and research participant attitudes.

Scientists are eager to make use of stem cells’ extraordinary power to transform into nearly any kind of cell, but that ability also is cause for concern in cancer treatment. New research at the School of Medicine has revealed that these stem cells are present even in slow-growing, less aggressive tumors.