Newsroom Stories

Hundreds of employees were recognized for their years of service to the School of Medicine June 9, 2011.

Robert S. Brookings played a pivotal role in the development of what is now WUSTL’s Danforth Campus. He also founded the Brookings Institution, which now enjoys an academic partnership with WUSTL. He will be honored June 22 and 23 with a lecture and a star on St. Louis’ Walk of Fame.

Nature NewsTime up for relativity table-top test?6/9/2011Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have clashed with a team lead by Luc Blanchet, a theorist at the Astrophysical Institute of Paris, over whether the time-warping ways of Einstein’s theory of general relativity be measured by the quantum ‘ticking’ of an atom? Clifford Will, who studies general relativity […]

Lifestyles and emotions play important roles in many medical illnesses, and when scientists study potential treatments to help people stop smoking, get more exercise, overcome depression or improve their diet, they often compare patients who get a certain treatment to others who don’t. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, led by Ken Freedland, MD, say to accurately measure a new therapy’s the effectiveness, it is critical to carefully define comparison — or control — groups in those studies.  

Kevin Moeller, PhD, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is working to find ways to use clean energy in clean chemistry. “We can make the oxidation reactions used in the synthesis of organic molecules cleaner by hitching photovoltaics to electrochemistry,” Moeller says. It’s not a new idea, but one Moeller and his colleagues hope catches on.

Luis Zayas’ commitment to U.S. Latinas and their struggle with suicide started in the 1970s when he encountered the pain and suffering that the teenage girls and their parents were experiencing during his work in emergency rooms and mental health-care clinics. “Latinas have the highest rate of suicide attempt among teens in comparison to white girls or African-American girls,” says Zayas, PhD, the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Zayas brings compelling personal stories and nearly 40 years of research to his new book, Latinas Attempting Suicide: When Cultures, Families and Daughters Collide, published by Oxford University Press.

The body’s ability to perform simple tasks like flex muscles or feel heat, cold and pain depends, in large part, on myelin, an insulating layer of fats and proteins that speeds the propagation of nerve cell signals. Now, scientists have identified a gene in mice that controls whether certain cells in the peripheral nervous system can make myelin. Called Gpr126, the gene encodes a cellular receptor that could play a role in diseases affecting peripheral nerves.

In her 32 years at the School of Law, Beverly M. Owens has supported the education and research endeavors of thousands of law faculty members and students. In recognition of her hard work and dedication, Owens, assistant director for faculty support in the law school, was recognized with the Gloria W. White Distinguished Service Award in a May 23 ceremony in Edison Theatre.

WUSTL finished third in the 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Division III standings. The third-place finish is the second-highest in school history and the Bears’ ninth-straight top 10 appearance. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 18 sports — nine women’s and nine men’s. Other updates include honors for the women’s track team members Liz Phillips and Taryn Surtees; and the announcement of the freshman football class of 2015.

Ozioma (localhealthdata.org) is a new online tool from the Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL) at Washington University in St. Louis designed to increase the amount of locally relevant health information in communities through media. Ozioma, which launches June 8, allows users to search for health data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (for example, National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and more than 60 other reliable sources — all in one place.