Medicine & Health

For years, electronic surveillance has been used to track and capture a host of evil suspects — terrorists, mobsters and spies among them. Keith Woeltje, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, relies on electronic surveillance, too. He is a modern-day microbe hunter, tracking bugs that are invisible to the naked eye but capable of causing mayhem in hospitals.

The School of Medicine hosted a sustainability leadership forum March 9 for corporate and regional facilities managers to share how the medical school is approaching sustainability. The forum, titled “Sustaining Sustainability,” was attended by about 75 area leaders.

The School of Medicine has received a $14.3 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand its high-powered data center for genomics. The facility’s sophisticated computer networks store massive amounts of genomic data used to identify the genetic origins of cancer and other diseases.

The Longer Life Foundation has awarded grants to six research projects on issues related to aging at Washington University School of Medicine. Over the last 10 years, the foundation has awarded more than $2 million to the university to fund independent research into improving methods for predicting long-term mortality.

Most people at risk for developing glaucoma due to high eye pressure do not need treatment, according to a large, multi-center study.

The National Cancer Institute has awarded Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine a prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant in endometrial cancer. 

The Sixth Annual Postdoc Scientific Symposium Feb. 25 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center featured Gene Robinson, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois as keynote speaker; five postdoctoral researchers presenting research and more than 50 posters at a poster session.

Students in the School of Medicine’s Program in Physical Therapy and Program in Occupational Therapy are recruited by health-care institutions nationwide.

Children with asthma who continue to have symptoms while using low-dose inhaled corticosteroids could benefit from increasing the dosage or adding one of two asthma drugs, according to a new study at the School of Medicine and other institutions. The research is published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A genome-wide study into the genetic roots of alcoholism has identified several areas of DNA that appear to contribute to the disease. But researchers say those genes make relatively modest contributions to overall risk of alcoholism.