Newsroom Stories

File Photo – David KilperAt the University’s 144th Commencement, more than 2,500 students will be recognized for their scholastic achievements.Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will confer degrees during the ceremony, which will start at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle; Richard Gephardt will give the address.

Helen Pfeifer plans to pursue a doctorate in intellectual history at either Columbia University or at the University of California, Berkeley.

In addition to her unique double major, she won a volleyball national championship in her junior year and captained the team her senior season.

Richard A. Gephardt, who served as both majority and minority leader for Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver Washington University’s 144th Commencement address. The university will bestow degrees on some 2,500 undergraduate, graduate and professional students during the ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 20, in Brookings Quadrangle.

“He often takes the unpopular view and stance, but he never backs down,” friend and classmate Whitney McGuire says.

Obese elderly people can improve physical function and lessen frailty by losing weight and exercising, according to a pilot study by researchers at the School of Medicine.

“This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity,” says WUSTL’s Himadri B. Pakrasi, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and leader the project.

GephardtRichard A. Gephardt, former U.S. House minority leader, will give the 2005 Commencement address to some 2,500 graduating students at Washington University in St. Louis. The university’s 144th Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m. May 20 in Brookings Quadrangle. During the ceremony, Gephardt will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Scientists have uncovered a new method the immune system uses to label foreign invaders as targets to be attacked. Researchers showed that the immune system can brand foreign proteins by chemically modifying their structure, and that these modifications increased the chances that cells known as lymphocytes would recognize the trespassers and attack them.

Adolescence can be a trying time for the whole family.Adolescence is characterized by dramatic physical changes as young people grow from childhood to physical maturity. During adolescence, we gain 50 percent of our adult weight and 20 percent of adult height while going through puberty and developing the ability to reproduce. With so many physical and emotional changes occurring at the same time, Washington University adolescent medicine researchers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital say it’s important for parents to be prepared for change. They also must be ready to listen to their children at any time, day or night, and do as much as possible to stay involved in their lives.