Medicine & Health

Students from the School of Medicine and Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences recently shared their musical talents at the fall coffeehouse at the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center. Coffeehouses are hosted by the School of Medicine Arts Commission. Shown are Charise Garber (on piano) and her sister, Kristen Garber.

Human breast tumors transplanted into mice are excellent models of metastatic cancer and are providing insights into how to attack breast cancers that no longer respond to the drugs used to treat them, according to research led by Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

A team led by researchers at the School of Medicine has identified variations in a gene that double a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Pictured are Carlos Cruchaga, PhD (left), and Alison M. Goate, DPhil, who led the research effort.

Thalachallour Mohanakumar, PhD, the Jacqueline G. and William E. Maritz Professor of Surgery at the School of Medicine, has received the Paul I. Terasaki Clinical Science Award. He was given the award Nov. 20 at the 39th annual meeting of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics in Chicago.

​Ann Marie Dale, PhD, (right) of the School of Medicine has conducted studies to evaluate methods to reduce injuries construction workers suffer at work. She currently is studying whether participatory ergonomics can lessen such injuries. She is shown here with Lisa Jaegers (left), also of the School of Medicine, and Fritz Hoffmeister, safety director of C&R Mechanical Co., at the Shriners Hospitals for Children-St. Louis construction site.

The School of Medicine’s 10th Annual Art Show is accepting submissions from students, faculty and staff. The art show will be held in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center atrium from Jan. 21 through Feb. 21. 

The Friday, Dec. 6, meeting of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees focused on the challenges and opportunities for the School of Medicine, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The board also elected a new trustee, WUSTL alumnus Richard P. Mattione, PhD (pictured).

Greg Sibbel, a third-year graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, died Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, from Ewing’s sarcoma. He had turned 26 the day before.

The World Health Organization has released new guidelines for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition, based in large part on research at the School of Medicine. Shown is the school’s Mark Manary, MD, whose research helped spur the changes.

Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are chronic diseases that account for $1.1 billion in hospital charges, affecting many individuals and families. The need to better understand these issues is examined in the fifth and final policy brief from the groundbreaking study “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis.”