Medicine & Health

The widespread flu reports are a harsh reminder of the importance of influenza vaccines. This is particularly true for healthcare workers, says Elizabeth Sepper, JD, health law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “One-third of healthcare providers fail to protect themselves, their patients, and the public from influenza.” Sepper says that it is time for a national flu vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.

A road- and bridge-construction project that will impact Washington University, and particularly the medical center, is scheduled to begin in the next few days. The project is expected to completed by summer 2014.

Melanomas that develop in the eye often are fatal. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have identified a mutated gene in melanoma tumors of the eye that appears to predict a good outcome.

Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, is the new Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The second faculty member to hold the Cibis chair, Apte focuses his research on inflammation and aberrant blood vessel growth that together wreak havoc in eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, has been honored with awards from the National Academy of Sciences and the Association of American Medical Colleges for his pioneering research to define the human gut microbiome.

The Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine began seeing patients Jan. 7 at Siteman’s newest outpatient location,in south St. Louis County.

The third round of Tread the Med, a walking program and competition  open to School of Medicine employees, is under way. Among those participating is medical assistant Deloris Brown, who credits the program with improving her health and helping her lose about 70 pounds. Registration for the program will remain open until Feb. 15.

Matthew J. Silva, PhD, has been named the Julia and Walter R. Peterson Orthopaedic Research Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Corporations’ religious freedom claims against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate miss a “basic fact of health economics: health insurance, like wages, is compensation that belongs to the employee,” says Elizabeth Sepper, JD, health law expert and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Sepper’s scholarship explores the interaction of morality, professional ethics, and law in medicine.

Lynn A. Cornelius, chief of the Division of Dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine, has been named the Winfred A. and Emma R. Showman Professor in Dermatology. Cornelius specializes in the treatment and research of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.