Barbara A. Schaal, PhD, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of eight distinguished scientists named to the newly formed Scientific Advisory Committee for the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation.
School of Medicine scientists have identified a master gene involved in orchestrating the regrowth of peripheral nerves — the nerves that extend from the spinal column to the hands and feet and have the ability to regenerate and help people regain some movement and sensation. Understanding how these nerves regenerate may aid efforts to regrow spinal cord neurons.
The School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis is hosting this year’s National Board of Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions, one of the premier law school trial competitions nationwide. The competition runs Oct. 28 through Oct. 31 at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse in St. Louis and at the School of Law.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, alumni and friends of Washington University in St. Louis will join the campus community for Founders Day, the annual commemoration of the university’s 1853 founding. Highlighting this year’s celebration at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel is noted writer and biographer Walter Isaacson. The event also will honor the recipients of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Awards and Distinguished Faculty Awards. In addition, three individuals will receive the Robert S. Brookings Award.
University College in Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis are partnering with LaunchCode to offer a free 16-week basic coding class, called CS50x St. Louis, beginning Jan. 19, 2016.
FoodShare is a new app that allows users to donate a meal for every meal purchased at a participating restaurant. Developed by Washington University junior Andrew Glantz, the app is a finalist for the Mobileys, a nationwide competition that honors entrepreneurs who make a difference through mobile innovation.
Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, the Robert E. and Louise F. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Molecular Case Studies.
A School of Medicine study may aid efforts to tailor smoking-cessation treatments to individual cigarette smokers. Researchers are recruiting 720 smokers whose DNA samples, from saliva, will be analyzed to identify genetic variations that influence smoking behavior, lung cancer risk and the effectiveness of smoking-cessation treatments.
A book by Lerone Martin, PhD, assistant professor of religion and politics in the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, has won a Certificate of Merit in the 2015 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research in Blues, Gospel or R&B.
Drug abusers are not completely abandoning prescription opioids for heroin, according to School of Medicine researchers. Instead, many use the two concurrently based on their availability. The researchers’ findings also reveal regional variations in the use of heroin and prescription painkillers.
