Innovative imaging center awarded $7.1 million

Cell death
The Molecular Imaging Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a five-year, $7.1 million grant to develop innovative ways to study cancer and other disorders by monitoring the activity of cells and proteins inside the body.

Goldstein Leadership Award nominees due by Oct. 1

Nominations are now open for the 2012 Samuel R. Goldstein Leadership Awards in Medical Student Education. A $5,000 prize will be awarded to up to three WUSM faculty members who demonstrate leadership in medical student education.

Kyle Erdos-Knapp presents Liederabend Sept. 16

Tenor Kyle Erdos-Knapp, whose recent performance as Tobias in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ production of Sweeney Todd “nearly stole the evening” (KMOX), will return to St. Louis to present Franz Schubert’s beloved song cycle Die schöne Müllerin. The performance, which begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, is the annual Liederabend sponsored by WUSTL’s departments of Music and Germanic Languages and Literatures, both in Arts & Sciences.

Large lung cancer study shows potential for more targeted therapies

A nationwide consortium of scientists has reported the first comprehensive genetic analysis of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, a common type of lung cancer responsible for about 400,000 deaths each year. According to Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, about 75 percent of the tumors studied have mutations that can be targeted with existing drugs.

Q&A: Leslie Markle

Public art is a tricky beast. Sometimes you get the Gateway Arch or Citygarden or Laumeier Sculpture Park. Sometimes you don’t. The key is integration, says Leslie Markle, who recently joined the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum as its inaugural curator for public art.

Vincent Varvel and Stella Markou launch DUC Chamber Music Series

Guitarist Vincent Varvel and soprano Stella Markou will launch the fall Danforth University Center Chamber Music Series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. The performance will feature songs spanning four centuries, including works by Henry Purcell, George F. Handel, Enrique Granados, Heitor Villa-Lobos and George Gershwin. In addition, the program will highlight My Beloved Is Mine, a 2007 composition by WUSTL’s own Martin Kennedy, assistant professor of music.