Newsroom Stories

The way our brains are wired may reveal a lot about us, according to new research co-authored by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis. For example, people with “positive” behavioral traits, such as sharp memories, many years of education and robust physical endurance, have stronger neural connections between certain brain regions than people with “negative” traits, such as smoking, aggressive behavior and a family history of alcohol abuse.

​As part of Washington University’s ongoing efforts to understand the public health implications of gun violence, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips visited the university to meet with students, faculty, administrators and community leaders. The Phillipses shared the personal tragedy of losing their daughter, Jessica, in the 2012 mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.​​

Following patients from childhood into young adulthood, a study led by Robert Strunk, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows the progression toward worse lung function in those who become obese as they grow into young adulthood.

In this Q&A, program founders Rebecca Messbarger and Corinna Treitel discuss the new minor in medical humanities, the development of the field and the relationship between the arts and sciences.

This past summer, a group of students from Washington University in St. Louis traveled to Guatemala to repair medical equipment at the nation’s largest public hospital. The trip was part of the Washington University Guatemala Initiative, supported by the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.

Using advanced brain imaging, researchers have matched certain behavioral symptoms of schizophrenia to features of the brain’s anatomy. The findings, from a research team led by the School of Medicine’s C. Robert Cloninger, MD, PhD, (shown) and Igor Zwir, PhD, could be a step toward improving diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia.

​​Three scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Siteman Cancer Center each will receive $900,000 in funding – $2.7 million total – over two years for their innovative approaches to fighting leukemia and other types of cancer.

The Experimental Psychology Division (Division 3) of the American Psychological Association (APA) has awarded its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award to Larry L. Jacoby, PhD, an internationally recognized scholar of human memory and a professor of psychology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Images captured in and around the Washington University campuses. For captions, click on the “i” in the upper left corner.

Andrew J. White, MD, director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named the James P. Keating, MD, Professor of Pediatrics. White also directs the pediatric residency program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.