Newsroom Stories

“Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan need to be top foreign policy priorities for President Barack Obama,” says Thomas Schweich, former ambassador for counternarcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan and visiting professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Schweich, the Special Representative for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is available to discuss foreign policy issues facing the next president.

The Danforth Foundation has granted the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at the School of Medicine a $10 million endowed gift for research into a range of conditions that cause injury and impairment to the brain and central nervous system. The funds will be used to support innovative and groundbreaking new ideas for research with clear potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other disorders.

Pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told for years they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen. But in two studies, School of Medicine researchers report that body shape isn’t the only marker of risk. Excess liver fat appears to be the key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Barack Obama will need to act swiftly in his first 100 days as president to resolve the domestic crises facing the nation, but concerns about the economy mean that health care reform will not be the highest priority during that time, says leading public health experts at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Debra Haire-Joshu, Ph.D., professor of social work and medicine at WUSTL, and Timothy McBride, Ph.D., associate dean for public health at WUSTL’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, are available to discuss health care legislation under Obama. Haire-Joshu served in Obama’s congressional office and McBride is part of the nationally representative Rural Policy Research Institute’s Health Panel.

The number of teams competing for the Olin Cup was whittled down to five finalists Nov. 19 in the “elevator pitch” stage of the race for $70,000 in seed money to start a new company. Three of the finalist teams are student-supported and in the running for an additional $5,000 prize given to the best […]

The Alpha Omicron Pi (AOPi) Fraternity will be the seventh National Panhellenic Conference organization for women to join the Greek community at Washington University, announced Ryan Jasen Henne, director of Greek Life. Colonization is slated for spring 2009. “The Greek Life Office and the existing Greek community is excited and optimistic that this organization will […]

Medical students and their professors discuss the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards after the Nov. 18 ceremony at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. The awards are presented annually to faculty and house staff in appreciation of exemplary service in medical student education.

The following incidents were reported to University Police Nov. 18-Dec. 2. Readers with information that could assist in investigating these incidents are urged to call 935-5555. This information is provided as a public service to promote safety awareness and is available on the University Police Web site at police.wustl.edu. Nov. 18 1:58 p.m. — A […]

Photo by Mary ButkusMembers of The McDreamies, a band made up of students in the School of Medicine, perform during the graduate school “Battle of the Bands” Nov. 20 at The Gramophone in St. Louis.

Photo by Robert BostonJames T. Stueber, director of facilities engineering, could be called the helmsman of the School of Medicine. On a campus of 5 million square feet, he makes sure that employees and patients have heating, cooling, lights and other necessities.