Page 469 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Holtzman, Karch honored for research into neurodegenerative diseases

Alzheimer’s researchers David M. Holtzman, MD, and Celeste Karch, PhD, at the School of Medicine, have been recognized by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation for scientific achievements that could lead to new, effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases associated with the accumulation of tau protein in the brain. Alzheimer’s is the best known such disease.

Anthropology & Archaeology

Under climate stress, human innovation set stage for population surge

Anthropologist T.R. Kidder in Arts & Sciences published new research that shows that aridification in the central plains of China during the early Bronze Age did not cause population collapse. The results highlight the importance of social resilience to climate change.

St. Louis Region

Search begins for dean to lead reimagined University College

Washington University in St. Louis has launched a national search for a new dean to lead professional and continuing education at the university. Currently operating as University College, the school is being reimagined as a community-focused hub for adult learners in the St. Louis region, providing new programs for career advancement and enrichment.

Campus & Community

Public Safety Committee concludes work, releases report

A newly released report provides insight into public safety at Washington University in St. Louis, with a focus on exploring how the university can best support safety on and near the Danforth Campus to meet the needs of its diverse community.

Campus & Community

Join the Green Cup competition in March

The Green Cup is an annual competition to reduce energy use, and typically is focused on Washington University’s residential colleges. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition is virtual and is open to faculty, staff and students. It will run March 1-31.

Supply Chain Management

Journal names Kouvelis editor-in-chief

Panos Kouvelis, director of The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation and the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed editor-in-chief of Foundations and Trends in Technology, Information and Operations Management.

Engineering

Bai receives NSF CAREER Award

Illustration of two battery schematics, one showing local current densities, the other, a mathematical idealized homogenous one.

Peng Bai, assistant professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has received a $503,025 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation.

Awards & Notables

Olynyk named inaugural Medicine & Media Arts Initiative fellow

Patricia Olynyk, the Florence and Frank Bush Professor of Art in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has been named inaugural fellow in The Medicine & Media Arts Initiative.

Performing Arts

New ‘Musical Lunch Box’ event Feb. 26

Six students from the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will perform works by Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt at noon Friday, Feb. 26, as part of the department’s new “Musical Lunch Box” series. Intended to simulate the live concert experience, the performance will be filmed in a single take from the 560 Music Center’s E. Desmond Lee stage.

Medicine & Health

New strategy blocks chronic lung disease in mice

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has uncovered a previously unknown role for exosomes in inflammatory respiratory diseases. The study has implications for finding new therapies.