Newsroom Stories

AbumradNada A. Abumrad, Ph.D., has been named the first Dr. Robert C. Atkins Professor of Medicine and Obesity Research at the School of Medicine. The professorship has been made possible by a gift from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation.

James J. Beirne has joined the Olin School of Business as the associate dean and director of the Weston Career Resources Center effective Nov. 29.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have become the first to successfully grow a norovirus in the lab. In humans, noroviruses are a highly contagious source of diarrhea, vomiting and other stomach upset that made headlines two years ago after a series of repeated outbreaks on cruise ships. These viruses are a major cause of human disease worldwide.

When and where a bacterium uses its DNA can be as important as what’s in the DNA, according to WUSM researchers. Scientists found significant differences in two bacterial organisms’ use of a gene linked to antibiotic resistance. The distinction alters the bacteria’s “lifestyles,” or their ability to survive in different environments.

Kevin Louis Sobol, a senior in the Olin School of Business, died Saturday, Nov. 27 in a one-car accident in St. Charles County. He was 22. A St. Louis area native, Sobol was a 2001 graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory High School and lived in University City.

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is a common way to detect prostate cancer in its earliest stages. The exact number of a dangerously high PSA count is constantly under debate and varies among men in different age groups. Despite its imperfections, WUSM urologic surgeon Arnold Bullock still recommends the test be taken annually by men over 50.

The winners of the 2004 Olin Cup Entrepreneur Competition will be announced Dec. 2 from a pool of five finalists chosen Oct. 29. The finalists are competing in a yearlong competition for $70,000 in investment capital provided by Washington University’s Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Gene D. Thin Elk, one of the nation’s leading authorities on treatment for alcoholism, will present a lecture on the “Red Road Approach to Wellness and Healing” 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in Brown Lounge. The Red Road approach, created by Thin Elk, uses Native American traditions and values as part of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the American Indian Student Association.

Tom Eschen and Doug Twells, both members of the Alumni and Development Programs staff, have been promoted to assistant vice chancellor roles, according to David T. Blasingame, executive vice chancellor for the department. “Both Tom and Doug are effective fund-raisers and excellent administrators. Both have been exceptional ambassadors for Washington University and we look forward to their continuing leadership in the office of alumni and development programs in the years ahead,” Blasingame said. Eschen has been promoted to assistant vice chancellor for development and Twells has been named assistant vice chancellor of medical alumni and development programs.

Literary historian Harold Love, the visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in Washington University’s Department of English in Arts & Sciences for Fall 2004, will speak on Reading Restoration Lampoons at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9.