Medicine & Health

School of Medicine researchers have described another link in the chain of events that connects acute viral infections to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Their discovery points to a new therapeutic target for COPD, an extremely common disease of the lower airways. The image depicts airway epithelial cells from lung tissue of a COPD patient.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton welcomed more than 60 scholars from around the world — including Washington University in St. Louis and representatives from the McDonnell International Scholars Academy partner institutions — to Seoul, South Korea, in June for the Global Aging Initiative. The meeting, sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at WUSTL’s Institute for Public Health, was the first opportunity for scholars to connect and identify opportunities for collaboration on cross-national aging-related research.

Incoming medical students took part last week in the Washington University Medical Plunge, or WUMP, a weeklong crash course in public health, diversity and health-care disparities. Pictured are students Ally Schelble (left) and Harleen Grewal helping prepare teaching materials for the upcoming school year at Epworth Children & Family Services. WUMP introduces students to myriad opportunities to volunteer.

The Midwest Society for Developmental Biology will hold its 51st annual meeting Sept. 26-28 at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 

A shuttle service that provides rides home to School of Medicine students and employees has been expanded to include the Central West End.

Three highly regarded faculty members in the Department of Medicine  have been named Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professors in their respective fields. They are (from left) Daniel C. Brennan, MD, Chyi-Song Hsieh, MD, PhD, and Daniel S. Ory, MD.

The School of Medicine’s Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) will celebrate its 40th anniversary Wednesday, Aug. 21. The division also will honor 10 faculty members who have served on more than 100 DDBS PhD thesis committees.

The Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis is taking a leadership role in a new association that brings together schools and programs of public health. The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), launched Aug. 1, represents schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The organization is the successor to the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Tread the Med, the School of Medicine’s popular 100-day wellness program that encourages participants to walk 10,000 steps per day, is set to begin Thursday, Aug. 8, with a kickoff on the Medical Campus.

Frozen sperm taken by biopsy from testicles in men with no sperm in their semen is as effective as fresh sperm taken by biopsy in helping couples conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a School of Medicine study. Pictured is a section of human testicular tissue and sperm cells viewed through a microscope.