Brookings and WUSTL announce Academic Venture Fund grant recipients

The Brookings Institution and Washington University in St. Louis announce the first recipients of grants from the Academic Venture Fund, the purpose of which is  to support collaboration between the two institutions, particularly long-term projects that impact research, education and policy. Grants are available in amounts from $20,000 to $50,000. Interested fellows, faculty, staff, centers, institutes and programs can submit proposals by June 1 for review in July 2010. 

New subtype of breast cancer responds to targeted drug

A newly identified cancer biomarker could define a new subtype of breast cancer as well as offer a potential way to treat it, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The biomarker is found frequently in breast cancers that have poorer outcomes and can be inhibited by a protein discovered in the same laboratory, which could become an effective drug against the breast cancer type.

Men’s, women’s basketball teams head to NCAA tournament

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed to the NCAA Division III tournament, which begins this weekend for both squads. The men begin at home as hosts of the first two rounds, while the women travel to Crestview Hills, Ky., to begin their postseason play.

Koster, research assistant professor, 45

Joseph C. “Bo” Koster, Ph.D., research assistant professor of cell biology and physiology, died Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, of an apparent heart attack at his home in the Central West End. He was 45.

Sports update March 1

Softball opens season with sweep in Memphis The No. 7 softball team opened the season with a pair of victories Feb. 27 at the Rhodes College Chick-Fil-A Classic in Memphis, Tenn. The Bears defeated Hendrix College, 7-4, in the first game, and host Rhodes College, 12-9, in eight innings in the nightcap. Junior Claire Voris […]

Notables

Of note Philip Cryer, M.D., the Irene E. and Michael M. Karl Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism in Medicine, will receive the American Diabetes Association’s Albert Renold Award at the association’s 70th Scientific Sessions June 25-29, 2010, in Orlando, Fla. … William Michael Dunne Jr., Ph.D., professor of pathology and immunology, of medicine and of […]

Confidence is key to gauging impressions we make

The gift of “seeing ourselves as others see us” comes in handy when judging how we’ve made a first impression. Yet many come away with little or no clue about how that first impression was perceived. A new study suggests confidence is a key indicator of how well we’ve assessed impressions left behind.

Figenshau named Taylor and Clayman chair

R. Sherburne Figenshau, M.D., has been named the Taylor Family and Ralph V. Clayman, M.D., Minimally Invasive Urology Chair at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.