Newsroom Stories

Employees enrolled in the optional term life insurance plan will receive a special bonus — a will-preparation service at no additional cost.

Fatty acids play important roles in health and disease. Scientists used to think cells just kind of passively absorbed those fatty acids, but in the early 1990s, Nada A. Abumrad, Ph.D., helped change all that. She proposed that cells must use receptor proteins to import fatty acids. At the time, it was a very controversial […]

The awards recognize those who have demonstrated creativity, innovation, leadership and vision to the practice of architecture & the school.

WHAT: International Business Outlook Conference An annual conference organized by Washington University Olin School of Business MBA students. Event includes breakout sessions and keynote speakers from experts in doing business globally. WHEN: Friday, April 7, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: The Charles F. Knight Center, Washington University Hilltop Campus WHO: Keynote speakers include David N. Farr, Chairman, CEO & President of Emerson, Sir Tom McKillop, Former CEO of AstraZeneca and current Chairman (Designate) of The Royal Bank of Scotland, Jai Nagarkatti, President & CEO of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. For a rundown fo the day’s events go to: http://www.olin.wustl.edu/IBOC/events.cfm

Kelle H. Moley, M.D., an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, has been named vice chair for basic science research and director of the Division of Basic Science Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Erin McGlothlin, 2006 faculty fellow and assistant professor of Germanic languages & literatures, will speak on “Narrative Transgression in Contemporary German-Jewish Holocaust Literature” April 17. The talk will investigate ways in which contemporary German-Jewish writing on the Holocaust overtly attempts to puncture the sacred taboo on Holocaust representation by deploying satire, irony, farce, the grotesque, the burlesque and the pornographic.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch.

Illustration of a lung volume reduction surgeryIn many cases of advanced emphysema, reducing the size of the lungs surgically has been shown to improve both survival and quality of life. But some emphysema patients can’t tolerate this bilateral operation. Now a study conducted by researchers at the School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System has shown that unilateral, or one-sided, lung volume reduction surgery has significant benefits, offering help to those who are not candidates for the bilateral surgery.

The straightforward solution for many people living in poverty is building savings. For the 9 million disabled Americans living in poverty, the answer isn’t as simple. “The poverty rate among Americans with disabilities is nearly double that of persons without disabilities, and while there is a complex web of federal and state-based programs offering financial assistance to eligible persons with disabilities, policy rules often preclude the accumulation of assets, which are often key for exiting poverty,” says Michelle Putnam, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work at Washington University. “”New research and public policies have the potential to help people with disabilities to have greater economic resources and become more integrated into their communities.” More …

The television show “The Office”  portrays more truth than fiction. But the consequences of bad management can be more serious than the awkward moments portrayed on the program. Employees get cynical when they endure multiple changes in company strategy and when they are overworked, according to experts at Washington University’s Olin School of Business. As a result, people produce work, but they don’t care how they produce it. The drive to get things done in today’s business environment is so strong that workers start thinking only of short-term gains and ignoring long-term consequences. More…