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In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers (SBSSW) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work will host “Financial Freedom Seminar: Achieving Economic Independence Through Education,” Jan. 20 from 8:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. in Brown Hall. This free event is designed for members of the St. Louis community interested in building wealth, maintaining good credit, purchasing a home or starting a business. The deadline to register for this event is Jan. 15. “SBSSW’s goal is to present the King Holiday, not as a tradition or a history lesson, but as a call to action- to fight for economic and social justice,” says Charletra Hurt, SBSSW co-chair and first-year student at the School of Social Work.

Several events will be held on campus to mark the University’s 20th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

David Murray demonstrates defibrillation techniques to a group of students in the Clinical Simulation Center.The Institute of Medicine estimates that medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, and poor communication can be a major source of those errors. Now the Clinical Simulation Center at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital hopes to improve patient safety by using clinical simulators to find the source of miscommunications during medical treatments.

The surge of baby boomers now entering their 60s means more drivers on the road who may be impaired by dementia or other cognitive impairments linked to aging. Researchers at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at the School of Medicine and elsewhere have developed a three-hour workshop that trains health care providers to identify potentially unsafe drivers with dementia and to encourage appropriate retirement from driving.

The schematic in the center shows how a drug molecule (in the circle) prevents UTIs by stopping pili formation.A different approach to treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) could defeat the bacteria that cause the infections without directly killing them, a strategy that could help slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections. Instead of trying to wipe out bacteria, researchers at the School of Medicine have been working to create pharmaceuticals that essentially “defang” the bacteria by preventing them from assembling pili, microscopic hairs that enable the bacteria to invade host cells and defend themselves against the host’s immune system.

Right now there’s no rapid way to diagnose sepsis, a fast-moving blood infection that is a leading cause of death in hospital intensive care units. Doctors who suspect sepsis typically rush to prescribe powerful antibiotics, but this can lead to the inappropriate treatment of patients with uncontrollable inflammation without an underlying infection. New research at the School of Medicine suggests that doctors one day could quickly distinguish sepsis from widespread non-infectious inflammation based on genetic profiles of patients’ blood.

As part of Washington University’s celebration of the Danforth Campus dedication, and to underscore the important role of higher education in society, a lecture series will debut on October 3 with succeeding events on October 16 and November 13 – all being held in Graham Chapel at 4 p.m. Titled “A Higher Sense of Purpose,” its speakers will cover some of the more cogent topics being discussed today, with the goal of generating new ideas and creating a dialogue to move the conversations forward. All three programs are free and open to the public.

This is the final issue of the Record this calendar year. The Record will resume publication Jan. 18, 2007. We wish everyone happy holidays!

This is the last official Record Monday of the calendar year. We will resume regular publication on Jan. 22, 2007. In the event of urgent announcements or breaking news, the electronic Record may be e-mailed periodically during the break. The Record staff wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Dennis Barbour, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has received a two-year, $236,000 grant from the Coulter Foundation for research titled “Improvement of Noisy Signal Representation in Auditory Prostheses via Biologically Inspired Spectral Contrast Shaping.” … Christopher R. Carpenter, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine, received the Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars award from the American Geriatrics Society. The award, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, provides two-year grants of $200,000 to help young faculty initiate and sustain a career in research and education in the geriatrics aspect of his or her discipline. … Raj Jain, Ph.D., professor of computer science and engineering, is co-author of a paper that has received the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) Test of Time Award. The award recognizes a paper published 10 to 12 years ago in Computer Communications Review or any SIGCOMM-sponsored or co-sponsored conference, the contents of which are still deemed to be a vibrant and useful contribution today. The paper, “A Binary Feedback Scheme for Congestion Avoidance in Computer Networks with Connectionless Network Layer,” appeared in ACM Transactions on Computer Systems in May 1990 and was reprinted in the 25th Anniversary Special Issue of Computer Communication Review in January 1995. … Adam S. Kibel, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Urologic Surgery, received the Young Investigator Award from the Society of Urologic Oncology. The award is given to the physician/scientist who has made the most outstanding contributions to the field of urologic oncology within 10 years of completing urology residency. … James E. Koch, affiliate faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering and past director of the Master of Construction Management Program, has been named Hill International’s 2005 Project Manager of the Year. The award recognizes his leadership of Hill’s team in Iraq, which is supporting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to manage the $12 billion Iraq Reconstruction Program. … Robert Pless, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for research titled “Passive Vision—What Can Be Learned by a Stationary Observer.” The five-year award totals $500,000. … Kenneth F. Wong, Ph.D., senior research associate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has received the 2006 Big Fish Award from the Association of Graduate Engineering Students. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and mentoring.