Newsroom Stories

In an effort to increase father participation in parenting programs, as well as improve father-child interactions, Patricia L. Kohl, PhD, associate professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has collaborated with the Father’s Support Center of St. Louis to develop Engaging Fathers in Positive Parenting, a program funded by the CDC designed to be used in conjunction with the evidence-based parenting intervention, Triple P, Positive Parenting Program.

Every Tuesday afternoon, an undergraduate from WUSTL’s  School of Engineering & Applied Science heads back to middle school. Nick Okafor leads the after-school Young Engineers Club at Brittany Woods Middle School in University City. N’Desha Scott, a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, started the club last fall as a way to reach out to middle school students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Cancer drugs should kill tumors, not encourage their spread. But new evidence suggests that an otherwise promising class of drugs may actually increase the risk of tumors spreading to bone, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Lawyers recently have gained attention by seeking restitution from individuals convicted of viewing or downloading exploitative photos of children. “This ‘pay-per-view’ system further commodifies victims,” says Cortney Lollar, JD, clinical faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. She says that two key changes are in order: move from the current restitution system to the creation of a child pornography crime victims’ compensation fund, and devote more resources to preventing child sexual abuse.

A special supplemental issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine titled, “Research Collaboration with 2-1-1 to Eliminate Health Disparities” was recently published, marking the first time a journal has focused entirely on scientific research conducted within 2-1-1 systems. And Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, director of the Health Communication Research Laboratory, played a key role in the publication.

Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and its signature science education program, MySci, take a major step forward Monday, Feb. 18, when they open the MySci Resource Center at 6601 Vernon Ave. Refurbished with the help of a $2.2 million grant from the Monsanto Fund, the MySci Resource Center becomes the nerve center of the ISP, WUSTL’s signature effort to strategically improve teaching and learning within the K-12 education community in the St. Louis region. ​

Cindy Brantmeier, PhD, associate professor of Spanish and applied linguistics in Arts & Sciences, was recently honored as Washington University’s recipient of the 2012 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award. The annual award from Emerson recognizes top educators from the St. Louis region for their passion for teaching, their impact on student learning and their knowledge and creativity.

Four researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are being honored as outstanding scientists by the Academy of Science of St. Louis.

A Washington University retina specialist is one of 10 U.S. scientists selected by the National Eye Institute for an innovative project to improve or restore vision. The winning proposal from vitreoretinal surgery fellow Rajesh C. Rao, MD, was chosen from nearly 500 entries. Rao was the youngest winner in the national competition.

The new Stamps Leadership Scholarship will award the full cost of undergraduate attendance to an average of five incoming freshmen each year. This unique program also includes an enrichment fund of $10,000 per student to be used over four years to pay for outside-the-classroom educational experiences such as study abroad, research or unpaid internships.