A new study shows the same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. The finding suggests it may one day be possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from drug treatments for nicotine addiction.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital–Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has announced the largest release to date of comprehensive human cancer genome data for free access by the global scientific community.
Senior Erica Jackey led five individual All-Americans
for the track & field teams at the NCAA Division III Men’s and
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 24-26 in Claremont,
Calif. Updates also included on men’s and women’s tennis, women’s crew and the Director’s Cup standings.
Ralph G. Dacey Jr., MD, the Henry G. and Edith R.
Schwartz Professor and head of the Department of Neurosurgery at
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, became president
of the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) May 22, 2012.
Gloria Steinem — a pioneering feminist, award-winning journalist and best-selling author — talks with students of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program in Arts & Sciences May 17. Steinem, who was at WUSTL to receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at Commencement, took questions from students, offered advice and discussed her own life experiences.
Pediatric ophthalmologist R. Lawrence Tychsen, MD, has been named the John F. Hardesty, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
A study by Brooke Winner, MD (pictured), and Jeff Peipert, MD, to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.
Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for
medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, congratulates
Kristen E. Ziara Harring, as he hands her her Doctor of Medicine degree
at the School of Medicine Commencement Recognition Ceremony May 18 at
the America’s Center. At the ceremony, 127 students received degrees.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop a triple threat in the fight against cancer: a single virus equipped to find, image and kill cancer cells, all at once.
Though some people have luck with online job boards and
company websites, it’s best to use a nontraditional approach in employment
searches, says Mark W. Smith, JD, director of the Career Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Networking is the way most people learn about
opportunities and it often gives them an upper hand.
