Newsroom Stories

At a ceremony held at Washington University on May 28, Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, an internationally renowned researcher in obesity and diabetes prevention, received the dual honor of being installed as the first Joyce Wood Professor, which also happens to be the university’s first endowed professorship in public health.

New research at the School of Medicine shows that chronic itching, which can occur in many medical conditions, is different from the urge to scratch a mosquito bite. Chronic itching appears to incorporate more than just the nerve cells that normally transmit itch signals. In the image shown, researchers identified elevated signaling (in red) in nerve cells involved in both itch and in pain.

Valerie S. Ratts, MD, has been named the new associate dean for admissions at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, effective Jan. 1.

Sixty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court — in a unanimous decision — ruled that housing covenants restricting home ownership based on race violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The case was Shelley v. Kraemer. Leading the charge in that historic 1948 case was Margaret Bush Wilson, an African-American lawyer and civil rights activist. Margaret Bush Wilson’s legacy will be explored in a 1.0 credit CLE event, “Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Shelley v. Kraemer and the Legacy of Margaret Bush Wilson: Where Are We Now?”, at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22,  in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Washington University School of Law. The celebration will feature Theodore M. Shaw, JD, professor of professional practice at Columbia University School of Law. The event is free and open to students, faculty, staff, and the community.

Leaders from two of the world’s top research universities and several major international corporations will gather in St. Louis Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-20, for the Washington University in St. Louis-Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Corporate Conclave, aimed at strengthening the U.S.-India connection around innovation and education, particularly in addressing pressing global issues.

WUSTL students kicked off Car-Free Month Oct. 4 with a bike-in movie at Forest Park. Today is the last day to sign up for the Car-Free Challenge. Other events this month include free bike tune-ups, bike rides and the MetroLink Prom. 

Twin brothers Obi and Malachi Griffith and their colleagues at The Genome Institute have created a massive online database that matches thousands of genes linked to cancer and other diseases with drugs that target those genes.

Afghan-American journalist and Opium Nation author Fariba Nawa will participate in two Washington University in St. Louis programs exploring the current and future state of Afghanistan: She will give an Assembly Series talk, “Afghanistan, Heroin and Women,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in Umrath Lounge; and she will lead a panel discussion, “Aftershocks of the Afghanistan War: What’s Next for Those Who Left and for Those Left Behind,” at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Mallinckrodt Center’s Multipurpose Room. Both are free and open to the public. Nawa was born in Afghanistan but later moved to California. She returned after the U.S.-led fight began against the Taliban and al-Qaida in that country, and in 2011 wrote a book about the addictions, violence and other tragedies borne of Afghanistan’s opiate industry.

The city of Providence, R.I., is taking the fight against Big Tobacco to a new level with innovative tobacco control policies in the retail environment. A new study, led in part by Washington University in St. Louis’ Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS) at the Brown School, details Providence’s efforts and provides a road map for other municipalities to follow.

Although an irregular heartbeat is a common malady in the United States, affecting an estimated 5 million people, the treatments for it are limited in scope and effectiveness. Now, Igor Efimov, PhD, at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying a new potential treatment that may be much more effective and less painful for patients.