Medicine & Health

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have discovered a biomarker for a rare, deadly brain disease known as corticobasal degeneration (CBD). The biomarker could accelerate efforts to develop treatments for CBD.

A drug compound attacks hard-to-treat prostate cancer on several fronts, according to a School of Medicine study in mice and human cells. It triggers immune cells to attack, helps the immune cells penetrate the tumor and cuts off the tumor’s ability to burn testosterone as fuel.

Nancy Morrow-Howell, the Betty Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy at the Brown School and director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging in the Institute for Public Health, is the recipient of the 2022 Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Contributions to Health Aging from the Gerontological Society of America.

Washington University medical experts share how students, faculty and staff can stay healthy this holiday season. They note that masks not only slow the spread of COVID-19, but also can stop dangerous viruses such as the flu and RSV, which are currently raging throughout the St. Louis region. 

School of Medicine physician-scientists have received an NIH grant to establish a Pediatric Center of Excellence in Nephrology. The researchers aim to create high-definition molecular reference maps showing genetic details of normal and diseased kidneys during various stages of childhood growth and development.

Todd Braver, a professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, received a $442,135 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study aging effects on the neural coding of proactive and reactive cognitive control.

School of Medicine researchers discovered that the three main kinds of soil fungi that cause lung infections have all expanded their ranges in recent decades. Reliance on outdated maps could be causing delayed or missed diagnoses.

A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine yields clues to why certain parts of the brain are particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s damage. It comes down to the gene APOE, the greatest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

Seniors Sam Norwitz and Ephraim Oyetunji, both majoring in neuroscience in Arts & Sciences, were finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the world’s most prestigious academic honors.

QPR training, a nationally recognized suicide prevention program, is now available to all students, faculty and staff at Washington University. Kirk Dougher, associate vice chancellor for student support and wellness, likens QPR to CPR — an emergency response that saves lives.