Newsroom Stories

Sophia Hayes, PhD, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won the American Chemical Society St. Louis Section’s 2015 Saint Louis Award.

It’s a response made all too often by politicians in the wake of a mass shooting or violent act of terrorism: Keeping all in “thoughts and prayers.” This week, in the wake of the Dec. 2 shooting incident in San Bernardino, Calif., that sentiment seemed to reached a breaking point and shed light on the wide political and rhetorical chasm dividing the country, said John Inazu, JD, an expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.

Shashikant Kulkarni, PhD, an associate professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine, has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Cancer Genetics.​​​​

The Friday, Dec. 4, meeting of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees focused on graduate and professional education, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The board also elected a new trustee. Distinguished alumnus F. Gilbert Bickel III (BSBA ’66), a senior vice president with Wells Fargo Advisors, was elected as a new Ethan A.H. Shepley Trustee.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have been awarded $13.7 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to create new therapies for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the immune system.​ Led by Samuel Achilefu, PhD, (pictured) and Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD, at the newly created Center for Multiple Myeloma Nanotherapy, scientists will work to develop nanomaterials and drugs to treat the disease.

Emil R. Unanue, MD, an internationally renowned immunologist at the School of Medicine, has received a Sanofi-Institut Pasteur Award for his invaluable contributions to the field of immunology. The annual awards honor scientists who have made outstanding contributions to biomedical research in fields that profoundly affect global health.

More than 275 Washington University in St. Louis degree candidates — the largest group to date — are expected to attend the December Recognition Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, in Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus.

John Fortner, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the 2015 Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Emerging Investigator Award.​

Henric Krawczynski, PhD, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won a $1.3 million NASA grant to develop semiconductor detectors and their readout electrons for the next generation of  X-ray telescopes.

In a case study titled “It’s a Trap: Emperor Palpatine’s Poison Pill​,” Zachary Feinstein, assistant professor of electrical and systems engineering, assesses the condition of the Galactic economy following the Empire’s collapse, and applies economic modeling and systemic risk analysis to the Star Wars economy.