Understanding how connections rewire after spinal cord injury

​Restoring function after spinal cord injury, which damages the connections that carry messages from the brain to the body and back, depends on forming new connections between the surviving nerve cells. With a five-year, nearly $1.7-million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, is using novel methods to study how these nerve cells grow and make new connections to reroute signals that could restore function and movement in people with these debilitating injuries.

The King’s Singers Feb. 21

Since 1968, the United States has been represented by 28 secretaries of state. But only 25 vocalists have had the chops to call themselves King’s Singers. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, the celebrated British ensemble will bring its peerless polyphony to Washington University in St. Louis’s 560 Music Center.

Class Acts: Schmidt brings ‘listening ear’ as Black Anthology playwright

​Class Acts takes a look at John Schmidt, a senior in Arts & Sciences and the white playwright behind this weekend’s Black Anthology. Schmidt also is an editor for Student Life, writer and director for Lunar New Year, a residential advisor and opera singer. Schmidt says his “listening ear” helps him in his various roles. Black Anthology takes place at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 and 7.
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