Methadone’s side effects, efficacy may be linked to genetic makeup​

Methadone — long used to treat pain and addiction — can be lethal if it lingers too long in the body. New research led by the School of Medicine’s Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD, has identified genetic subtypes in people that govern methadone clearance, findings that could help prevent some of the 5,000 methadone-related deaths that occur each year in the United States.

Art, guns and rebooting the conversation

In this video, curator Jonathan Ferrara and Sam Fox School dean Carmon Colangelo discuss “Guns in the Hands of Artists.” The exhibition seeks to build a new framework for examining the role of guns in American culture.

​Providing every student a ‘true Washington University experience’​

​A new report from a universitywide socioeconomic advisory group provides Washington University in St. Louis a roadmap to better serve its growing number of low-income and first-generation students. Recommendations include helping students better transition to college life, providing the resources students need to engage  in academic and campus life and creating a university culture that welcomes and values every student.

Buchman named new head of otolaryngology​

Craig A. Buchman, MD, a nationally recognized leader in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, has been named head of the Department of Otolaryngology at the School of Medicine. He replaces Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD, who, after leading the department for 17 years, is stepping down to focus on research and patient care.

Nobel laureate Moerner to give 2015 Weissman Lecture

super fluor bone cell
Nobel laureate and Washington University in St. Louis alumnus William E. Moerner, PhD, will present the Weissman Lecture “Fun with Light and Single Molecules Opens Up an Amazing New View Inside Cells” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in Louderman Hall on the Danforth Campus. The lecture describes the surprising techniques he and other chemists developed for imaging individual molecules, techniques that won him the 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry. 

WashU Expert: Brace yourself, it’s fall-back time again

Falling back is easier on us than springing forward, says Erik Herzog, a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis who has devoted his career to studying body clocks and circadian rhythms. But it is never a good idea to force our body clocks to follow abrupt changes in mechanical clocks. We should get rid of daylight savings time, Herzog says.

Richard Wahl elected to National Academy of Medicine​

Richard L. Wahl, MD, the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor and head of radiology at the School of Medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine. Election to this academy is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine in the United States.

​Moving​, even to more affluent areas, puts kids at greater risk for not graduating high school​​​

​​Want to make sure your child graduates from high school? Don’t move.A new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that students experiencing at least one move over a twelve month period have a roughly 50 percent decreased likelihood of obtaining a high school diploma by age 25. These associations are identified regardless of whether students move to a poorer or more affluent area.​ ​