Medicine & Health

Decoding the DNA of a woman who died of acute myeloid leukemia has led Washington University researchers to a gene that they found to be commonly altered in many patients who died quickly of the disease.

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Gates Foundation.

Actress Marlo Thomas talks with Richard Wilson, PhD, director of The Genome Center, Oct. 28 in The Genome Center at the School of Medicine. The Genome Center is partnering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis on the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project.

Washington University School of Medicine has partnered with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital to open the first bariatric surgery program in the area for obese adolescents. The rate of obesity among teens has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Today, 18 percent are obese, which increases their risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and dying young.

A piece of medical and computer history is at the center of a new exhibit at the Bernard Becker Medical Library at Washington University School of Medicine. The Laboratory INstrument Computer (LINC), regarded as one of the first personal computers, will be on display at the Medical School until August then move to the Danforth Campus.

The commission is accepting submissions of art for the exhibit at the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center security desk. All students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the school are invited to participate.

Will Ross, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for diversity, gets congratulations for receiving the Humanism in Medicine nomination from (from left) Elaine Khoong, Ryan Anderson and David Levine at the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards Oct. 28 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Ross was named the School of Medicine’s nominee for the national Humanism in Medicine award presented annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Adam Kibel has been named the Holekamp Family Chair in Urology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. The endowed chair was established by Bill and Kerry Holekamp and the Holekamp Family Foundation through the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a gene linked to the spread of melanoma of the eye. Although more research is needed, the researchers say the discovery is an important step in understanding why some tumors spread and others don’t, and they believe the findings could lead to more effective future treatments. 

A fatal genetic disorder that frequently takes years to diagnose may soon be detectable with a simple blood test, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health report this week in Science Translational Medicine.