Page 1587 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Welders may be at increased risk for brain damage

Workers exposed to welding fumes may be at increased risk of damage to the same brain area harmed by Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study by Brad Racette, MD, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Science & Technology

Stalker Award goes to Chung

Yan Yi “Anny” Chung is the winner of the 2011 Stalker Award. The award is given to the graduating senior in biology whose undergraduate career was marked by outstanding scientific scholarship as well as contributions to the university in areas of artistic expression and/or community service.

Medicine & Health

Technique for letting brain talk to computers now tunes in speech

Patients with a temporary surgical implant have used regions of the brain that control speech to “talk” to a computer for the first time, manipulating a cursor on a computer screen simply by saying or thinking of a particular sound.

Medicine & Health

New division aims to improve public health

A new Division of Public Health Sciences has been established at the School of Medicine to translate research discoveries into guidelines and policies that keep people healthier through prevention.

Trustees grant faculty promotions, tenure

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure: David T. Curiel; Mary C. Dinauer; David C. Queller; Joan E. Strassmann; Patrick Lawrence Burke; Feng Chen; Gammon M. Earhart; Justin Fay; Michael D. Frachetti; Denise P. Head; Joseph M. Jez; Jennifer M. Kapczynski; Nan Lin; Tabea A. Linhard; Francis N. Lovett; Liang Ma; Igor Marjanovic; Robi D. Mitra; David E. Reichert; Guillermo Rosas; Gillian Kay Russell; Lori Watt; and Jie Zheng.

Humanities & Society

Campus Y lights 100 candles

The Campus YMCA, the largest student-volunteer organization at Washington University in St. Louis, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Since its incepiton, Campus Y was one of the few places where male and female students could collaborate on community-wide projects, such as 1938’s International Bazaar that evolved from an exhibition to sales of global handicrafts. Events kick off at 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, in Holmes Lounge with a dinner and anniversary celebration.

Holocaust survivor, human rights activist Wiesel to deliver Commencement address

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and human rights activist, has been selected to give the 2011 Commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The university’s 150th Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m. May 20 in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. Wiesel will address approximately 2,800 members of the Class of 2011 and their friends and family members.

Medicine & Health

Caution for estrogen therapy after hysterectomy

In an editorial in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, co-author Graham Colditz, MD, PhD, cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy in women who have had a hysterectomy because of longstanding evidence that it raises the risk of breast cancer.

Business & Entrepreneurship

Former Obama adviser Romer to keynote discussion on unemployment and underemployment April 12

Christina D. Romer, PhD, former chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, will deliver a keynote address to open a panel discussion on “The Continuing Unemployment Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Questions for Further Study” at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall.

Arts & Culture

Universes at Edison April 15 and 16

Remember Hurricane Katrina? In the five years since the storm struck — overwhelming levees, killing hundreds and putting 80 percent of New Orleans under water — the terrible images have receded from headlines and popular memory. Yet lives remain broken in the hurricane’s wake.This month, cutting-edge poetry collective Universes will return to the Edison Ovations Series with Ameriville Unplugged, their furious homage to “The Queen of the South.”