Newsroom Stories

Thomas Brounk, director of mental health services at Habif Health & Wellness Center, received the Gloria W. White Distinguished Service Award at the annual Washington University in St. Louis Staff Day celebration May 20 in the Field House. Brounk was praised as a tireless advocacy on behalf of students and responsiveness, flexibility and guidance during a crisis.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis will now be able to more rapidly study cilia and their dysfunctions thanks to an “acoustic trap” that holds cilia in place without damaging them.

A new study by Olin Business School’s Anne Marie Knott, steeped in research and development, finds that large companies constitute 87% of the R&D engine right now, concluding that previous researchers just haven’t had the right tools to measure the productivity of investments in this area.

A study from researchers at the School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System has linked long-term use of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to fatal cases of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and upper gastrointestinal cancer. The researchers found that such risks increase with the duration of PPI use, even when taken at low doses.

Undergraduate students interested in learning more about thermal management research will have the opportunity to participate in a new summer research program at the McKelvey School of Engineering beginning in the summer of 2019.

Researchers at the School of Medicine studying brain tumors in mice discovered that tumors grow most rapidly if they can enlist the aid of immune cells. The findings suggest that therapies targeting immune cells could potentially treat some kinds of brain tumors.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are leading a multicenter team conducting research to evaluate whether brain imaging might help reveal risk for autism spectrum disorder in early infancy. Previous research suggests such imaging in high-risk children can predict problems in kids as young as 6 months old.

After 24-plus years of serving the university in Public Affairs and the chancellor’s office as associate vice chancellor and chief of staff to Mark Wrighton, Steve Givens is retiring. Here’s a look back, and a look forward to his next stage of life.

Nebraska’s legislature, assisted by research and guidance from Washington University in St. Louis, on May 24 unanimously  approved a universal Child Development Account (CDA) policy that will cover every resident born in the state on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Margaret Clancy, policy director for the Center for Social Development at the Brown School, advised lawmakers on the policy.

The Academy of Science-St. Louis recently honored Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton for his leadership in science and three researchers at the School of Medicine — Susan K. Dutcher, Anne M. Fagan and Samantha A. Morris — for their work as outstanding scientists.