Acute itching in eczema patients linked to environmental allergens

New School of Medicine research indicates that allergens in the environment often are to blame for episodes of acute itch in eczema patients. Researchers found the itch signals are being carried to the brain along a previously unrecognized pathway that current drugs don’t target.

Center for the Humanities faculty fellows named

humanities faculty fellows
The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recently announced its 2021-22 cohort of faculty fellows. Faculty fellows spend a semester in residence at the center, giving them space and time to make great progress on their research and book projects.

Put a flake on it: A new way to add electrical charge

graphene
Gaining control of the flow of electrical current through atomically thin materials is important to potential future applications in photovoltaics or computing. Physicists in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered one way to locally add electrical charge to a graphene device.

Infectious diseases organization honors five faculty

Infectious Diseases Society of America
Five faculty members at the School of Medicine have been elected fellows of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). They are Ernie-Paul Barrette, MD, Jeffrey Henderson, MD, PhD, David Hunstad, MD, Stephen Liang, MD, and Hilary Reno, MD, PhD. 

King commemoration to feature university’s Martin, author Joseph

For this year’s virtual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration, Lerone Martin, associate professor of religion and politics, will interview Peniel E. Joseph, of the University of Texas at Austin and author of “The Sword and the Shield.” The book challenges persistent misconceptions about King and Malcolm X’s relationship and quests for justice. 

Call for honorary degree nominations

All members of the Washington University in St. Louis community are invited to nominate honorary degree candidates for the May 2022 Commencement. The Honorary Degree Task Force of the Board of Trustees is accepting nominations until Feb. 1.

Trump self-pardon might open him to prosecution

As Donald Trump prepares to leave the presidency Jan. 20 in the wake of being accused of fomenting the riot at the U.S. Capitol, he is reportedly considering an unprecedented move: the self-pardon. While no president has ever pardoned himself, the act might be more trouble than its worth for Trump, notes Dan Epps, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.