Newsroom Stories

At its spring meeting May 2, the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St. Louis elected two new members as well as the 2014-15 officers, among other actions, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The two new board members elected for four-year terms are Todd M. Bluedorn, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Lennox International Inc., and Michael F. Powell, PhD, general partner of Sofinnova Ventures.

At about 4 p.m. today, Washington University in St. Louis learned from the St. Louis County Department of Health that county, State of Missouri, and federal agency officials have determined the bear cub that had been present on campus does not pose a rabies threat. They also have advised that our students are not at any risk of exposure to rabies and, therefore, will not have to receive treatment. The bear cub does not have to go through any additional testing and will be spared. We are very pleased that this unfortunate situation has come to the best possible conclusion for everyone involved — our students, our community, and the bear cub.

Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, is one of three recipients of the 2014 Pfizer Ophthalmics Carl Camras Translational Research Award.

Young adults with autistic tendencies don’t often engage in social or binge drinking, but if they drink, they are slightly more likely than their peers to develop alcohol problems, according to new research from Duneesha De Alwis (right) and Arpana Agrawal at the School of Medicine.

More than 170 Washington University in St. Louis undergraduates showcased their research projects through poster, visual and oral presentations during the 2014 Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, held April 28 in Bauer and Knight halls.

Former School of Engineering & Applied Science Dean James McKelvey received the Search Award for outstanding citizen of Washington University at the annual Eliot Society dinner held this year on April 23 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. In addition to the award presentation, Eliot Society members were treated to a talk by author James Bradley.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, has won the 2014 Passano Foundation Award for his pioneering studies showing how the trillions of microbes that live in the gut influence human health.

On Sunday, May 4, dozens of models will take the stage wearing scores of outfits by 26 aspiring designer from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Here are some highlights from the senior class.

Many privacy discussions follow a similar pattern, and involve the same kinds of arguments. It’s commonplace to hear that privacy is dead, people — especially kids — don’t care about privacy, people with nothing to hide have nothing to fear, and privacy is bad for business. “These claims are common, but they’re myths,” says Neil M. Richards, JD, privacy law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD, an internationally known cardiac surgeon, has been named chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine.