Medicine & Health

The obesity epidemic and how science may be able to impact it is the focus of the upcoming annual conference of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, deputy director of the Institute for Public Health and a disease prevention expert at Siteman Cancer Center, will deliver the keynote address.

Todd P. Margolis, MD, PhD, has been named head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the School of Medicine. The new appointment becomes effective Jan. 1.

Mitochondria are the power plants of cells, manufacturing fuel so a cell can perform its many tasks, and also are well known for their role in cell death. School of Medicine researchers and colleagues have shown that mitochondria also orchestrate events that determine a cell’s future, at least in the embryonic mouse heart. The study identifies new potential genetic culprits in the origins of some congenital heart defects. Shown is an image of a normal heart.

The National Cancer Institute has awarded two major grants totaling $26 million to leukemia researchers and physicians at the School of Medicine. The funding has the potential to lead to novel therapies for leukemia that improve survival and reduce treatment-related side effects. Pictured are cancer cells from a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

Project ARK and The SPOT have been tapped as a model and mentor to what is hoped will be a similar center in East St. Louis. The new clinic, funded through a federal grant, will emulate The SPOT, a School of Medicine program that celebrated its fifth anniversary in September. The SPOT addresses health risks facing youth ages 13-24 by providing health, social support and prevention services free of charge. Pictured are the center’s medical director, Katie Plax (left), and Kim Donica, the executive director.

The neglected tropical disease known as river blindness is caused by the parasitic worm O. volvulus, pictured, and is spread by the bites of black flies that breed in fast-flowing rivers. Washington University scientists have received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an improved diagnostic test for the disease, which is most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

Global Health Week featured a visit with the former president and health minister of Ecuador, an international fair, and education about outreach efforts of Global Health Scholars and others. Pictured is Alfredo Palacio, MD, Ecuador’s former president and health minister, while visiting with Washington University students.

A laboratory testing kit that estimates the risk of breast cancer returning after anti-hormone treatment has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The technology is a step toward personalized medicine and could help standardize breast cancer diagnosis around the world. Researchers at the School of Medicine led the test’s development.

Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1, seasonal flu vaccines will be available to School of Medicine employees and students. Vaccines also will be available to students and some employees on the Danforth Campus. New this year is that the vaccine is required for all students and employees who engage in patient care or work in buildings where patient care is provided or clinical research occurs. Shown is registered nurse Melanie Dill administering a flu shot.

A technology proposed by Lihong Wang, PhD, professor of engineering, may hold the key to detecting tumor cell circulation, potentially enabling earlier therapeutic interventions and curative surgical treatment and improving survival of patients with cancer.