Medicine & Health

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched its new Center for the Study of Itch, believed to be the world’s first multidisciplinary program designed solely to understand and treat itch. It was established to bring scientists and clinicians together to study the mechanisms that transmit the perception of itch and to translate those findings into better treatments for chronic sufferers. 

Innovative new studies at the School of Medicine will evaluate novel strategies for reducing infections in health-care settings. The research, led by Victoria Fraser, MD, is funded by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a new master of science degree in biostatistics. Tailored to students with undergraduate degrees or higher in mathematics, statistics, biomedical engineering or other quantitative sciences, it is the university’s first program dedicated to training in biostatistics.

Simeon Schlaggar, son of Bradley Schlaggar, MD, PhD, examines a brain at NeuroDay at the Saint Louis Science Center. The event was jointly sponsored by Washington University and the Saint Louis Science Center and was staffed in part by Washington University graduate students.

Helen Piwnica-Worms, PhD, the Gerty T. Cori Professor, has been named head of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), believed to be caused by misdirected immune cells that enter the brain and damage myelin, an insulating material on the branches of neurons that conduct nerve impulses.

Eleven Washington University research teams are preparing to ask and answer critical questions about pediatric health problems with help from $3.8 million in new grants from the Children’s Discovery Institute.

A new study by Esteban Varela, MD, shows that adjustable gastric banding, a type of weight loss surgery that reduces the size of the stomach, is safe in people who are mildly obese.

Marcus E. Raichle, MD, professor of radiology, of neurobiology and of neurology in the School of Medicine, received a MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease Feb. 24 in New York. Raichle has been producing brain imaging research contributing to the way Alzheimer’s is now diagnosed and treated for nearly 40 years.

Raphael Kopan, PhD, professor of developmental biology in the School of Medicine, is addicted to discovery. Growing up on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, he discovered snakes, butterflies and bits of ancient pottery. Today, his discoveries continue in his lab, working to understand how cells communicate.