Newsroom Stories

As the more than 3,100 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree candidates at Washington University in St. Louis are ready to begin a new chapter in their lives, the university will recognize their achievements during its 157th Commencement this morning in Brookings Quadrangle.

A new study from the School of Medicine shows that a kind of E. coli most associated with “travelers’ diarrhea” and children in underdeveloped areas of the world causes more severe disease in people with blood type A. The findings could lead to a vaccine that could potentially protect people with type A blood against the deadliest effects.

Washington University’s 157th Commencement is 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 18, in Brookings Quadrangle. The university will award 3,319 degrees to 3,150 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on five individuals, including former St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Beyond Housing’s Chris Krehmeyer.

William Feng, senior class president and a degree candidate from Olin Business School, could not have anticipated the changes this nation, city and campus would undergo in the past four years. But he’s glad he was here to see it. Feng will address thousands of classmates, faculty and family members Friday, May 18, at Washington University in St. Louis’ 157th Commencement.

Graduate student speaker Donald Gerke’s Commencement speech will focus on the importance of perseverance, finding strength to continue working in challenging times, and the importance of continuing to push for social justice throughout students’ lives.

School of Medicine researchers have identified the molecular handle that the chikungunya virus grabs to get inside cells. The findings could lead to ways to prevent or treat disease caused by chikungunya and related viruses.

In an effort to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, Washington University in St. Louis will replace the Forest Park Parkway bridge with a new bridge that is wider, safer and easier to access. Demolition work on the current bridge will begin Monday, May 21. The new bridge is set to open in October.

President Donald Trump, in a long-awaited speech May 11, took aim at reducing drug prices in America. But there was little in the speech or the administration’s plan that takes direct aim at industry, says an expert on drug policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

The seemingly unrelated conditions of hypertension, epilepsy and overactive bladder may be linked by electrical activity in a protein long studied by a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis. After new technology recently revealed the structure of the protein, his lab will collaborate with two others to take an unprecedented look into its molecular mechanisms, potentially leading to the development of new drugs for these and other conditions.

For its 2018-19 Great Artist Series, Washington University in St. Louis will present four affordably priced concerts by some of today’s finest performers.