Newsroom Stories

A simple personality test could help doctors more quickly detect dementia with Lewy bodies, a form of dementia often confused with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by researchers at the School of Medicine. Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia. It shares many characteristics with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Krikor Dikranian, Jay Piccirillo and David Windus recently received the Samuel R. Goldstein Leadership Awards in Medical Student Education for 2006. The awards honor outstanding educators at the School of Medicine and were established in 2000 in memory of Goldstein, a longtime friend of the medical school.

Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recognized the achievements of five alumni and a special friend at 4 p.m. May 18 in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Science Building. Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, presented Distinguished Alumni Awards to Mel F. Brown, J.D., (A.B. ’57, J.D. ’61); Alvin Rabushka, Ph.D., (A.B. ’62, M.A. ’66, Ph.D. ’68); Ronald M. Rettner (A.B. ’72); Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., (A.B. ’67, M.A. ’69); and William Jay Smith (A.B. ’39, M.A. ’41). Macias also presented the Dean’s Medal to Harriet K. Switzer, Ph.D., secretary to WUSTL’s board of trustees, for her support and dedication to Arts & Sciences.

WarnerBrad W. Warner, M.D., has been named pediatric surgeon-in-chief at the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. His appointment was announced jointly by Timothy Eberlein, M.D., Bixby Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery, and Lee Fetter, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, will be among the speakers at a June 8 conference on Medicaid financing.Rising healthcare costs and diminishing health insurance coverage will be among critical issues debated by leading medical policy experts as Washington University hosts a daylong public forum on Medicaid financing June 8 in the School of Medicine’s Eric P. Newman Education Center. Participants include top administrators from a half dozen major research hospitals and a range of academic, government and think-tank policy experts, including Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Discovery of alterations in a gene called FGFR2 could accelerate the development of new treatments for endometrial cancer, a type of uterine cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen); the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which is part of Cambridge University; and New York University School of Medicine reported the findings in the May 21, 2007, online version of the journal Oncogene.

Tim Russert, managing editor and moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” and political analyst for “NBC Nightly News” and the “Today” show, delivered Washington University’s 2007 Commencement address May 18 in Brookings Quadrangle. More than 14,000 people, including some 2,600 graduates, were on hand to hear Russert’s speech, titled “A View From Washington.”

The children are our future, said Tim Russert to the Class of 2007 during the 146th Commencement ceremony at Washington University in St. Louis. The host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” clarified, telling the audience of more than 14,000 that while this year’s some 2,600 graduates have done well and have the world at their feet, one of their real responsibilities is to take care of the world’s children and give them every opportunity to succeed. “If we are serious about remaining the world’s premier economic, military and moral force in the world, we have no choice. We need all of our children contributing, and prospering and competing,” Russert told the assembled crowd in Brookings Quadrangle during the May 18 ceremony.

Washington University’s 146th Commencement will be held at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 18. The university will bestow degrees on more than 2,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on six individuals, including Tim Russert. Russert, managing editor and moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” and political analyst for “NBC Nightly News” and the “Today” show, will deliver the 2007 Commencement address. His talk is titled “A View From Washington.”

The School of Medicine is launching a new effort to study infectious diseases that preferentially affect women. The center for Women’s Infectious Disease Research (cWIDR) will focus on issues such as microorganisms that cause urinary tract infections, infections that lead to premature delivery and microorganisms that may contribute to life-threatening conditions such as cancer and heart disease.