Newsroom Stories

Dorothy Edwards, PhD, executive director of Green Dot, etc., a center dedicated to effective intervention and prevention of power-based personal violence, will be at Washington University in St. Louis at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in Lab Sciences Room 300, on the Danforth Campus to give the Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman/Helen Manley Memorial Lecture for the Assembly Series.

Working in mice, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have devised a treatment that prevents the optic nerve injury that occurs in glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease that is a leading cause of blindness. Researchers increased the resistance of optic nerve cells to damage by repeatedly exposing the mice to low levels of oxygen similar to those found at high altitudes.

Arts & Sciences recognized the achievements of six alumni during the 15th Annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, held March 22 at the Crowne Plaza Clayton. Five alumni received the Distinguished Alumni Award and Robert L. Virgil, (MBA ’60, DBA ’67, honorary doctor of laws ’09), dean emeritus of Olin Business School and a WUSTL emeritus trustee, received the Dean’s Medal.

Students perform the traditional Bolivian dance Caporales during “Carnaval,” a yearly cultural show organized by the Association of Latin American Students. More than 130 students participated in skits, dances and musical acts to highlight the beauty, creativity and richness of Latin American culture. 

Clifford Will, PhD, the James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences, will deliver the McDonnell Distinguished Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Room 100, Whitaker Hall, at Washington University in St. Louis. Will plans to discuss “Black Holes, Waves of Gravity and Other Warped Ideas of Dr. Einstein.”

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure, promoted with tenure or granted tenure effective July 1, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

The Academy of Science of St. Louis will honor 10 faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis for their contributions and leadership in science and medicine. The Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Awards will be presented Thursday, April 19, at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. The awards are designed to focus attention on St. Louis individuals and institutions known around the world for scientific contributions to research, industry and quality of life.

The baseball team recorded 24 hits, including 10 for extra bases, as the Bears earned their 20th win of the season — and 8th in a row — with a 25-13 victory over St. Norbert College April 1 at Kelly Field. Updates also included on softball, men’s tennis, track & field and women’s golf.

Tej Azad, a junior in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was among 162 students from across the country named a Newman Civic Fellow for 2012 by Campus Compact. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country and the world.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using powerful DNA sequencing technology not only to identify mutations at the root of a patient’s tumor – considered key to personalizing cancer treatment – but to map the genetic evolution of disease and monitor response to treatment.