Medicine & Health

Washington University’s American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant program is accepting applications through Oct. 22.

Some of the School of Medicine’s most accomplished female faculty and a nationally known women’s cancer crusader will speak at the 4th annual Spotlight on Women in Science and Medicine (SWIMS) symposium Sept. 22.

Surgeons and rehabilitation specialists concentrate on the anatomical and mechanical aspects, but Linda Sandell, PhD, looks at the biology behind arthritis, broken bones and cartilage tears.The Mildred B. Simon Professor and director of research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery says there are a number of opportunities to apply biology to orthopaedic problems.  

Two scientists at Washington University in St. Louis are able to image subcutaneous melanoma tumors with startling clarity. Their imaging technique relies on sound rather than light because sound is less strongly scattered by tissues. In addition, the tumors are preloaded with a nanoparticle contrast agent that latches onto proteins that stud the surface of the cancerous cells.

Adults diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after age 50 are more likely to achieve remission from their symptoms than patients diagnosed at younger ages, even when those patients receive similar treatments, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study is the first to look at patients whose colitis was treated with modern medications. Nearly 1 million U.S. adults have ulcerative colitis. 

Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, the Adolphus Busch Professor and head of the Department of Medicine, has been named dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Chicago.

Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital plan to build a new Siteman Cancer Center in south St. Louis County, serving the Interstate 55 corridor and southern Illinois.

Missouri is getting national attention with the Aug. 3 Proposition C referendum on  federal health care reform. But Timothy D. McBride, PhD, associate dean for public health at the Brown School, says no matter the outcome, the vote will have little impact on the new health care law.

The protein SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research suggests that SIRT1 may be involved with the life span-increasing effect of low-calorie diets, they report.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to significantly reduce atherosclerosis in mice that does not involve lowering cholesterol levels or eliminating other obesity-related problems. Atherosclerosis is the process through which fatty substances, such as cholesterol and cellular waste products accumulate in the lining of arteries. The research team inhibited atherosclerosis in the mice by interfering with production of a substance called fatty acid synthase, an enzyme that converts dietary sugars into fatty acids in the liver.