Newsroom Stories

More than 80,000 people in the U.S. are on waiting lists for organ transplants. Some will have to wait for the death of a matching donor, but more and more people are receiving organs from living donors. In an effort to close the gap between organ supply and demand, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons are studying ways to reimburse living donors for some of their out-of-pocket expenses when they choose to donate an organ.

The Genome Sequencing Center has been awarded a $156 million, four-year grant to use the powerful tools of DNA sequencing to unlock the secrets of cancer and other human diseases. The grant is among the largest awarded to Washington University and one of only three given by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to U.S. sequencing centers.

A current student and a recent alumnus from Washington University in St. Louis have been named Rhodes Scholars. They are Aaron F. Mertz, 22, and Leana S. Wen, 23. The two were among 32 U.S. students chosen for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. Winners of the highly acclaimed award were selected based on high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor.

WenLeana S. Wen, 23, a current student at Washington University School of Medicine, and Aaron F. Mertz, 22, a recent alumnus from Washington University, have been named Rhodes Scholars, according to an announcement Nov. 18 by The Rhodes Trust. They are among 32 U.S. students chosen from 896 nominees for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*Bit.Fall* by Julius PoppChristiane Paul, adjunct curator of new media arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art, will speak on Grid vs. Network: Aesthetics of New Media Spaces at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. The talk is sponsored by the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in conjunction with the exhibition [Grid Matrix], on view through Dec. 31.

The Record Monday and Record Thursday will not be published next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Look for the next Record Thursday print and e-mail editions Nov. 30 and the next Record Monday e-mail Dec. 4.

Claudia BurrisThe Siteman Cancer Center unveiled its new mobile mammography van at a ceremony Oct. 24 at the Center for Advanced Medicine. Members of “Menopause the Musical,” a traveling stage show celebrating women undergoing the midlife change, performed at the event. The new van, one of just 10 in the country with digital mammography equipment, offers convenient screening in community-based settings.

The fall Universal Transit Pass, allowing WUSTL community members to use Metro, the region’s public transportation system, for no charge, will expire Dec. 31. Benefits-eligible employees may request a spring 2007 U-Pass beginning Nov. 27. Students may request a pass beginning Dec. 1.

The Department of English in Arts & Sciences has received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support Big Read programs next semester. Modeled on successful “city reads” programs, the Big Read is a new national program designed to encourage literary reading by helping communities come together to read and discuss a single book.

– see latest updates