Medicine & Health

School of Medicine faculty, staff and students came together for three town hall meetings last week in response to the tragic events in Ferguson. Attendees talked about how to help Ferguson and how to improve diversity and inclusion at the university. Two more meetings will be held on the Medical Campus this week.

Washington University’s Global Health Center selected five ​WUSTL students for its inaugural summer research program, which paired students with faculty mentors to explore issues such as malnutrition, maternal health and access to health care. Pictured is program participant Laura Bliss, a second-year medical student.

The commute is about to get a little easier for employees and patients heading to Washington University Medical Center. After more than a year of construction activity, the improved Interstate 64/Highway 40 interchange at Tower Grove Avenue is scheduled to open the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 29.

This summer, 14 students — seven from the Master of Public Health program, five from the Master of Social Work program and two dual-degree students — joined Lora Iannotti, PhD, on a trip to Haiti. The goal: Give students firsthand experience in issues related to global health, including: health policy, epidemiology, biostatistics and program planning.

Washington University researchers have developed algorithms to identify weak spots in tendons, muscles and bones prone to tearing or breaking. The technology, which needs to be refined before it is used in patients, one day may help pinpoint minor strains and tiny injuries in the body’s tissues long before bigger problems occur.

In response to the tragic events in Ferguson, Washington University School of Medicine will host a series of town hall meetings for faculty, staff and students beginning Wednesday, Aug. 27. A key objective is to identify how members of the Medical Campus can be of help to Ferguson, its residents and the entire St. Louis region.

Brain networks break down in a similar fashion in rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease and much more common uninherited versions of the disorder, reveals a new study led by the School of Medicine’s Beau Ances, MD, PhD.

​Brian Nussenbaum, MD, the Christy J. and Richard S. Hawes III Professor of Otolaryngology, has been named director of the Division of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology in the Department of Otolaryngology at the School of Medicine.

First-year students at the School of Medicine recently participated in the traditional White Coat Ceremony — a rite of passage in which future doctors are welcomed to medical school and the medical profession. In addition to receiving their white coats, the 123 students recited an oath promising honesty and integrity.

Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, is the first recipient of the Presidents’ Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists.