Medicine & Health

The School of Medicine’s Susan E. Mackinnon, MD, has received the 2013 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons for her leadership in the innovative use of nerve-transfer procedures in the treatment of patients with devastating peripheral nerve injuries. Pictured is Mackinnon after receiving the award from A. Brent Eastman, MD, ACS president.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have measured a significant and potentially pivotal difference between the brains of patients with an inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease and healthy family members who do not carry the mutation. Randall Bateman, MD, is the study’s senior author.

Melissa Hopkins has been named assistant vice chancellor and assistant dean of facilities operations at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The appointment is effective Aug. 19.

L. Michael Brunt, MD, professor of surgery in minimally invasive surgery at the School of Medicine, received a 2013 Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award at the annual meeting of the Association for Surgical Education, held April 25-27 in Orlando, Fla.

When children fall and try to catch themselves with an outstretched hand, they can suffer “buckle fractures,” forearm injuries traditionally treated with casts. But new research shows that removable splints are cpreferred by patients and parents, building on earlier findings that such splints are just as effective as casts. Shown are study co-authors Kristine G. Williams, MD, holding a splint, and Janet D. Luhmann, MD.

The City of Clayton and the Clayton Fire Department awarded Life Saver Awards to Nikoleta Kolovos, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Robert Barrack, MD, (shown) the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.

Two events focused on disparities in health care will be held on the Washington University Medical Campus — a symposium June 15 and a fast-paced “Ignite” event July 11.

Cancer cells’ appetite for sugar may have serious consequences for immune cell function. Scientists have shown that in low-sugar environments immune T cells start using energy-making structures known as mitochondria (highlighted in this image in yellow and orange). This switch can prevent T cells from making an inflammatory compound important for fighting cancers and some infections.

Timothy J. Wolf, OTD, an assistant professor in the Program in Occupational Therapy and in neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

In an effort to learn why some viruses such as influenza, Ebola and West Nile are so lethal, a team of U.S. researchers plans an $18.3 million comprehensive effort to model how humans respond to these viral pathogens. Participants include Washington University’s Michael Diamond, a West Nile expert.