Record

The Danforth Staff Council at WashU has added 10 new members and elected its executive officers for the academic year.

WashU Medicine faculty members received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, a two-year mentored research experience.

The Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees has elected a new trustee to a four-year term. In addition, a new vice chair and four undergraduate and graduate student representatives were elected for the 2025–26 academic year.

The Washington University Police Department will conduct its biannual active shooter training exercise July 9 on the South 40 area of the Danforth Campus.

James Friend, of the University of California, San Diego, has been named chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science in the McKelvey School of Engineering. His appointment will begin in 2026.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded David M. Ornitz, MD, PhD, of WashU Medicine, $740,000 annually for four years to support research aimed at understanding respiratory complications associated with premature birth.

Rebecca Brown, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and university governance at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential Business Women” class of 2025.

Frank A. Podosek, a professor emeritus of earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died June 8 in Florida. He was 83 years old.

Occupational therapy faculty member Kelly Harris, at WashU Medicine, will receive a $425,000 award to develop and test a technology-enabled care coordination service model to support Black youth with asthma.

New leadership programs are now available for WashU staff.