Newsroom Stories

Former Korean ambassador to the United States Han Sung-Joo, PhD, will be speaking on campus Friday, Feb. 17. His lecture, “North Korea After Kim Jong II,” is set for 4:30 p.m. in May Auditorium, Simon Hall. A reception will follow. The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is hosting the talk, as part of the S.T. Lee lecture series.

A three-day international conference is devoted to the lifework and 18-year papacy of “The Enlightenment Pope.” Pope Benedict XIV believed in the alliance between faith and the “new science,” even urging church parishioners to donate bodies of the deceased for medical dissection. The April 30-May 2 conference is sponsored by Washington University, Saint Louis University and the Missouri History Museum.

Washington University in St. Louis has joined a national experiment to develop a new generation of college science and engineering faculty, one equipped to excel in the classroom as well as the lab. Founded in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), the mission of the CIRTL network of 25 research universities  is to prepare science graduate students to be as bold and creative in the classroom as they are in their programs of research.

Snoring is common in children, but in some cases it can be a symptom of a serious health concern called pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA occurs in one out of five children who snore and can begin at any age, according to Allison Ogden, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology.

Some of WUSTL students’ most common questions regarding the business dinner will be answered during the Etiquette Dinner Program Tuesday, Feb. 21. Held each semester, the program offers students a three-course meal and an opportunity to receive professional advice about dining and business protocol. RSVPs are being accepted now.

It’s no secret that battlefield trauma can leave veterans with deep emotional scars that impact their ability to function in civilian life. But new research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that military service, even without combat, has a subtle lingering effect on a man’s personality, making it potentially more difficult for veterans to get along with friends, family and co-workers.

School of Medicine employees were focused on health Feb. 3 with the Health Happening health and wellness fair at the Eric P. Newman Education Center, where more than 40 vendors provided health information and free health screenings. In addition, employees who participated in the  Tread the Med “Be a Walk Star” 100-day walking campaign were honored at a reception in the McDonnell Pediatrics Building Atrium.

WUSTL anthropologist Peter Benson’s new book, Tobacco Capitalism, examines the impact of the transformation of the U.S. tobacco industry on farmers, workers and the American public. The book reveals public health threats, the impact of off-shoring, and the immigration issues related to tobacco production, specifically in the rural, traditional tobacco-growing areas of North Carolina. “There are whole groups of people — farmers and farm workers — in our society who dedicate themselves to growing a crop that is vilified,” Benson says.

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to Robert Schreiber, PhD, the Alumni Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research, in mice, appears online Feb. 8 in Nature.

City Faces, an after-school art and tutoring program, is a stabilizing force for children living in St. Louis’ Clinton-Peabody public housing projects, an area riddled with drug and gang activity. On Monday, Feb. 13, faculty and staff will have a unique opportunity to view and support artwork created by children in the City Faces program. The art will be showcased during a 5:30 p.m. silent auction and gallery event in the Danforth University Center.