Newsroom Stories

Getting Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health insurance legislation, in 2010, was challenging — but not nearly as challenging as implementing it. With the deadline for first-time enrollment looming March 31, research from Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, and the Brown School’s Health Communications Research Laboratory is helping. 

Washington University Medical Center is sharing a first look at its future landscape with renderings of the new Barnes-Jewish Hospital north campus tower and St. Louis Children’s Hospital expansion. The first phase of the Campus Renewal Project includes an expansion of Siteman Cancer Center, surgical programs, diagnostics and services for women and infants.

Acclaimed violinist Cecilia Belcher and pianist Patti Wolf will launch KWUR Week 2014 with a free performance of works by Mozart, Fauré and Ravel March 18. The four-concert series, which continues through March 23, will range from rock and funk to classical percussion.

From a product’s ease of use to its number of overall features, consumers often make tradeoffs in choosing a product. Although consumers tend to prefer higher functionality in the long-term, they often prefer no-hassle convenience in the short-term. A new study out of Olin Business School finds that highlighting price helps consumers stick to their long-term preferences by nudging them to think about value.

Growing up in rural Alaska, Chukwuma is caught between American friends and traditional Nigerian parents. So begins “Alaskaland,” one of eight films to be screened March 28-30 as part of Washington University’s annual African Film Festival. Other highlights will include “Tey,” an impressionistic celebration of life and death, and “Aya of Yop City,” adapted from the graphic novels of Marguerite Abouet.

​Apryle M. Cotton has been named the new assistant vice chancellor for human resources at Washington University in St. Louis, announced Lorraine A. Goffe-Rush, vice chancellor for human resources.Cotton, whose appointment took effect March 3, succeeds Goffe-Rush, who was promoted Dec. 31 to vice chancellor.​

Named for WUSTL founder William Greenleaf Eliot, the Eliot Trio consists of three prominent St. Louis musicians: pianist Seth Carlin, violinist David Halen and cellist Bjorn Ranheim. On March 26, the group will perform piano trios by Bohuslav Martinů, Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonín Dvořák in Holmes Lounge.

Asymmetric hearing is a difference between the two ears’ ability to detect and process sound. New studies indicate that people with asymmetric hearing experience greater communication difficulties than previously assumed. Researchers led by Jill B. Firszt, PhD, have received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of asymmetric hearing loss in adults and children.

At the far edge of the solar system lies the Oort Cloud, a vast collection of icy comets representing the furthest reaches of the sun’s gravitational influence. On Sunday, March 23, seven members of the St. Louis Symphony will perform “Oort Cloud,” an original composition by principal timpanist Shannon Wood, in WUSTL’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.

With a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Washington University orthopedic researchers and engineers are working to enhance rotator cuff repair surgery.