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A chief aim of “For the Sake of All” was always to describe disparities in health as more than just a matter of health care. In the hundreds of presentations I have given on our report since its release, I emphasize that health is about much more than doctors’ offices, hospitals, health insurance, and prescription drugs. Those resources are vital to treating illness, but health is also strongly determined by the quality of education, the availability of affordable housing, and the possibility of making a living wage.

Yesterday, it was announced that Allergan had transferred the ownership of the patents on its billion-dollar drug Restasis, used for the treatment of chronic dry eye, to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. The Tribe then exclusively licensed the drug back to Allergan, in exchange for tens of millions of dollars in both licensing and royalty fees. Although it may not sound like it, this transfer is potentially huge news in the drug pricing world. It is also extremely complex, and its full implications have yet to be determined.

Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the national advisory committee of Forward Promise, a national grant-making program that supports the health of boys and young men of color.

The next universitywide blood drive will be held Tuesday, Sept. 12, at seven locations throughout the campuses. All faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate.

In commemoration of the 16th anniversary of 9/11,  Washington University in St. Louis will lower the American flag and ring the bells of Graham Chapel 16 times at 9:28 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11, marking the moment the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

Members of the Washington University in St. Louis College Republicans will plant 2,998 flags — one for each victim of the 9/11 attacks — on Mudd Field at 8:15 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10. This is the fourth year the group has commemorated 9/11 and the first time the students have planted flags to honor first responders and others who have since died of cancer due to exposure to toxic materials at the site. 

The TL1 Translational Sciences Postdoctoral Program is recruiting postdoctoral researchers to fill training grant slots under the Clinical Translational Science Awards. Funding is available to trainees.

The Office of Sustainability is starting a bike commuter buddy system. The program aims to support and encourage more of the university community to commute by bike by connecting experienced with less experienced riders who live in the same area.  

Matthew A. Ciorba, MD, of the Division of Gastroenterology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named chief of the division’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program.

Students and faculty from Team WashU will preview CRETE House, a sustainable, solar-powered concrete home designed and built as part of the 2017 Solar Decathlon competition. at 10am Thursday, Sept. 7.