WUSTL hires Walby as head volleyball coach

Washington University in St. Louis has named Vanessa Walby as its new volleyball coach, Athletics Director John Schael announced. Walby comes to WUSTL after a six-year stint as the volleyball coach at the University of Chicago.

Class of 2018 selection is underway

Washington University expects to have more than 29,000 applications for the class that will enter in August and admitted more than 630 students in the early decision round (a little more than 35 percent of the expected freshman class). While the total number of applications received is down slightly this year, the Admissions Office reports another strong and talented group of applicants.

Nominate someone you admire for service award

The Community Service Office wants to know who you think exemplifies a character of service and contribution. The Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award recognizes a few members of the WUSTL community every year. The deadline is Feb. 7.

$4.9 million grant to fund AIDS research

The AIDS Clinical Trials Site at the School of Medicine has been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant that supports testing of treatments for HIV, AIDS and the many complications they cause. Pictured is the principal investigator, David Clifford, MD.

Immune cells may heal an injured heart

Researchers at the School of Medicine have shown that two major pools of immune cells are at work in the heart. Both belong to a class of cells known as macrophages. One appears to promote healing, while the other likely drives inflammation, which is detrimental to long-term heart function.

Medical Center and CORTEX traffic updates, webcam offered online

Washington University Medical Center and the CORTEX district just east of the Medical Campus are evolving daily. A webpage has been created to keep visitors, employees and residents informed about street-improvement projects and traffic flow in the area.Views from a live webcam showing the progress also are available via this link.

Virginia Terpening, rediscovered

Virginia Terpening was an accomplished painter and an important regional artist. Yet by the time of her death, in 2007, Terpening’s work had been largely forgotten; hundreds of paintings languished in a rusty trailer in northeastern Missouri. Yet now a reappraisal is underway, thanks in large part to The Hinge, a nonprofit gallery cofounded by Eileen G’Sell, lecturer in The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences.