Medicine & Health

What happens on the day before a colonoscopy may be just as important as the colon-screening test itself. Gastroenterologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that when patients don’t adequately prep for the test by cleansing their colons, doctors often can’t see potentially dangerous pre-cancerous lesions.

Balancing research, patient care, administration and mentoring could be overwhelming to some, but Leonard Bacharier, MD, says it’s all about remembering one’s priorities. The WUSTL alumnus is now one of the leading pediatric asthma and allergy specialists nationwide, helping kids feel and breathe better.

Susan E. Mackinnon is one of three U.S. physicians to be honored with a Clinical Excellence Award by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which publishes “America’s Top Doctors” and other guides to choosing physicians. She received the award March 26 in New York.

The Washington University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is hosting young women from St. Louis-area high schools to encourage them to pursue careers in orthopaedic surgery and engineering. The program, called the Perry Initiative, aims to get young women interested in those technical fields where women currently comprise only 7 percent of the professional workforce.

David Levine, a fourth-year medical student, and his wife, Eli, learn that Levine matched in internal medicine at New York University at Match Day March 16. This year, 121 students matched to internships or residencies nationwide and in Canada. 

William Julius Wilson, the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University, will present this year’s Chancellor’s Fellows Lecture, “Race and Affirmative Opportunity in the Barack Obama Era” at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 27, in Graham Chapel for the Assembly Series. His talk is free and open to the public.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received nearly $4.2 million from the Alzheimer’s Association to accelerate the launch of the first clinical trials to prevent Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms become apparent. John C. Morris, MD, the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Professor of Neurology, heads the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network at the School of Medicine.

Patients and staff in several Barnes-Jewish Hospital resident clinics began moving into the 12-story Center for Outpatient Health at the corner of Forest Park and Euclid avenues March 12. Many of the clinics will be relocated by the end of March, with all moves complete by the end of spring.

Fourth-year students at Washington University School of Medicine, including Kevin Choong and Julietta Chang, learned March 16 where they will continue their medical training. This year, 121 students matched to internships or residencies nationwide and in Canada.

A new drug makes chemotherapy more effective in treating acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells, according to John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, and his colleagues at Washington University. Instead of attacking these cells directly, the drug helps drive them out of the bone marrow and into the bloodstream, where they are more vulnerable to chemotherapy.