BJC Institute of Health to open in December
Courtesy PhotoThe $235 million BJC Institute of Health at Washington University, the hub for WUSTL’s BioMed 21 initiative, will open in December after two years of construction.
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Vitamin D’s role to prevent asthma studied in pregnant women
Some pregnant women who have asthma will get extra vitamin D in a study to determine if the vitamin can prevent their children from developing asthma.
Career development applications due Oct. 19
Applications for the K12 Clinical Hematology Research Career Development Program scholars are being accepted through Oct. 19.
Technique helps patients with Barrett’s esophagus
A procedure that uses heat generated by radio waves to treat Barrett’s esophagus can eliminate signs of the potentially cancer-causing disorder.
Milbrandt to head genetics department
Jeffrey D. Milbrandt, M.D., Ph.D., has been named head of the Department of Genetics and the James S. McDonnell Professor.
Black Rep, PAD join forces for musical ‘Ragtime’
The Black Rep and the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences together present the Tony Award-winning musical “Ragtime” as the fall Mainstage production beginning Oct. 16.
Three named to new faculty fellows position in provost’s office
Three faculty have been named to the newly created position of faculty fellows in the Office of the Provost, announced Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Marion G. Crain, J.D., the Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law; Mark Rollins, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy in Arts & Sciences; and Elzbieta Sklodowska, Ph.D., the Randolph Family Professor in Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, took on the additional responsibilities, effective July 1.
The global demographic shift is a significant opportunity as long as it is in tandem with a policy and cultural shift, say productive aging experts
China’s population of adults over 65 tops 100 million. This number is steadily growing, putting China at the forefront of a global demographic shift that includes the United States and other developed nations. “While a common tendency is to focus on the burdens an aging population will place on a country’s economic and social welfare, an aging society represents an opportunity, not just a crisis,” says Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., productive aging expert and professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. “Expanding opportunities for productive engagement, including paid employment, formal volunteering, and mutual aid, may reduce social costs by reducing health care expenses and need for post-retirement income supports. (Video available)
Skills tests like ‘connect the dots’ may be early Alzheimer’s indicator
A study of mental decline in the years prior to diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease suggests that changing the focus of testing may help physicians detect signs of the disease much earlier. School of Medicine researchers have found that visuospatial skills, evaluated with tasks such as connecting the dots or using a guide to build a structure with blocks, begin to deteriorate up to three years prior to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
Academic integrity is focus of international conference, Oct. 16-18
Washington University will host The Center for Academic Integrity’s 18th Annual International Conference Oct. 16-18, 2009. Several hundred students, faculty and staff from around the world will discuss the practice and philosophy of academic integrity, focusing on issues germane to both college and high school education. The conference theme is “Creating a Culture of Integrity: Research and Best Practices.”