Page 17 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Heart disease hits poor harder as wealth gap expands

The top 20% of high-income, college-educated Americans have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than the rest of the population, WashU public health researchers find.

Campus & Facilities

Emergency communication test March 11

WashU plans to test its emergency communication system at 8:55 a.m. Tuesday, March 11. (An alternative date is set for March 14 if needed.) The test ensures WashU can effectively communicate with the community in an emergency.

Awards & Notables

Two WashU Medicine projects compete in STAT Madness

Online voting is open for the top biomedical innovation or discovery of 2024. The first round ends early Monday, March 10.

Engineering

AI tool helps make trustworthy, explainable scheduling decisions

a photo of a scheduling calendar and laptop

Researchers at Washington University developed TRACE-cs, a hybrid system that combines symbolic reasoning with large language models to solve students’ course scheduling problems.

Law

There is no such thing as ‘illegal protest’

President Donald Trump has made headlines recently for threatening to stop federal funding of “any college, school or university that allows illegal protests.” However, there is no such thing as an “illegal” protest, said an expert on constitutional law in the School of Law. The First Amendment explicitly protects the right of peaceable assembly.

St. Louis Region

Thomas receives lifetime achievement award

As co-chair of Make Way: Our Student Initiative, Larry Thomas is focused on helping students build relationships and networks. (Photo: Michael Thomas)

Lawrence E. Thomas, a member of the WashU Board of Trustees and an alumnus, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the St. Louis American Foundation.

Medicine

Compound harnesses cannabis’s pain-relieving properties without side effects

Researchers at WashU Medicine developed a compound, derived from cannabis, that relieves pain in mice but doesn’t affect the brain, thereby avoiding mind-altering side effects and abuse potential.

Obituaries

Carl W. Conrad, classics scholar, 90

Carl W. Conrad, an associate professor emeritus of classics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Feb. 20. He was 90.

History & Education

Nichols Lodato to serve on national psychology committee

Adolescent and young adult development expert Bronwyn Nichols Lodato, in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will serve as a member of the U.S. National Committee for Psychological Science.

Medicine

Foundation AI model predicts postoperative risks from clinical notes

An AI for Health Institute team unveils a versatile large language model that enables early and accurate prediction of postoperative complications to help improve patient safety and outcomes.