Medicine & Health

A provocative study links prolonged episodes of sepsis — a life-threatening infection and leading cause of death in hospitals — to the reactivation of otherwise dormant viruses in the body. Pictured is the Epstein-Barr virus.

New research from School of Medicine scientists may help explain why millions of malnourished children suffer from stunted growth and fail to thrive after treatment with nutrient-rich therapeutic foods.

Gammon Earhart, PhD, professor of physical therapy, has been named director of the Program in Physical Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine, effective July 1. Also a professor of neurobiology and neurology, Earhart joined the faculty in 2004.

Studying mice, researchers have found a way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Blocking a path that delivers dietary fructose to the liver prevented mice from developing the condition, according to investigators at the School of Medicine.

Todd P. Margolis, MD, PhD, head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been named the new Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology. Margolis (right) is shown with Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

Marcus E. Raichle, MD, a Washington University professor internationally renowned for his contributions to advancing the frontiers of cognitive neuroscience, is one of three scientists awarded this year’s prestigious Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.

Mary Langston Parker, MD, a dedicated physician, researcher and director of student health services at Washington University, died Saturday, May 24, 2014, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Parker was an associate professor emeritus of preventive medicine and a mother of five.

A nationwide survey of heroin users indicates they are attracted to the drug not only for the “high” but because it is less expensive and easier to get than prescription painkillers. Shown is the study’s principal investigator, Theodore J. Cicero, PhD, of the School of Medicine.

A new theory about disorders that attack the brain and spinal column has received a significant boost from scientists at the School of Medicine. The theory links these conditions to corrupted proteins known as prions, which appear bright green in this image of brain cells from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease.

A project to provide low-cost eyeglasses for people in the developing world and one to develop a cell-death detector will share $25,000 to further develop their projects as winners of the 2014 Discovery Competition. Washington University in St. Louis’ School of Engineering & Applied Science created the competition in 2012.