Newsroom Stories

From classic comedy to cutting-edge drama to original works by students and faculty artists, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences’ 2007-08 season has something for everyone.

David MarchantWashington University Dance TheatreFrom classic comedy to cutting-edge drama to original works by students and faculty artists, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences’ 2007-08 season has something for everyone. “This year’s season presents a series of voyages to different times and different places,” says Robert Henke, Ph.D., chair and associate professor in the PAD. “We will travel to places as diverse as rural Kentucky, Nigeria, the world of radio during wartime America, the Renaissance city, 18th-century England and the different places of the imagination where dance takes us. Through theater and dance, we are able to see the world and ourselves in different ways.”

Project ARK, the St. Louis area’s only organization that coordinates medical care, social support and prevention services for children, youth, young adults, women and families living with or at risk for HIV infection, has received a $6.7 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mattel and Ford are just the latest in a long line of companies to enact a product recall. Whether it’s lead paint or tainted dog food, every manufacturer faces the potential that its product needs to be taken off the shelf. How a firm handles its logistics and marketing after and before a recall can make or break a company’s success in the long run.

*The Great General Mighty Wing*Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in Japanese manga, or comic books, in the United States, yet Korean comics remain relatively unknown. This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present Korean Comics: A Society through Small Frames, a rare U.S. exhibition of work from both North and South Korea. Organized and curated by The Korea Society, the exhibition provides a decade-by-decade glimpse of the evolving social realities in contemporary Korea, as depicted in comics ranging from popular children’s entertainment to aggressive forms of political commentary.

A $5.7 million grant will establish a new center for kidney disease research at the School of Medicine. Directed by Marc R. Hammerman, the Chromalloy Professor of Renal Diseases in Medicine, the center will investigate the underlying causes of kidney disease to speed the development of new treatments. The center’s funding comes from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of this palm’s domestication and dispersal around the world. Now, Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is embarking on the task of understanding the plant’s history by exploring the genetics of the coconut.

Promotions were recently announced for two key members of Medical Alumni and Development Programs. Patricia Gregory has been named assistant vice chancellor and executive director of medical corporate and foundation relations, and David Shearrer has been named executive director of development for clinical programs.

Asthma is the No. 1 cause of hospitalizations among children, but with proper management, children can have full participation in school and sporting events. Experts estimate nearly 20 million Americans have asthma, ranging from 7 percent to 12 percent of children. Among African-Americans the rate of asthma is even higher.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Rotator cuff repair (week of Aug. 1) • Better treatment for itching (week of Aug. 8) • New risk factor for diabetes (week of Aug. 15) • Filtering out side effects (week of Aug. 22) • Treating post-partum depression (week of Aug. 29)