Page 646 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

WashU Expert: The eternal sunshine of perennial ‘wintertime’

The movement to abolish clock-time changes each spring and fall is growing — and so is the scientific evidence. Experts say perennial standard time, or “wintertime,” is the best and safest option for public health.

Department in Arts & Sciences renamed

A department in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has been renamed. It is now known as the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies. The previous name was the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Chemistry

Engineering proteins to help counter devastating diseases

Meredith Jackrel, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, recently received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and another from the Longer Life Foundation to study protein disaggregases — evolved protein forms that mitigate protein misfolding — as a strategy to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS.

Feldman receives NIH grant to study urinary tract infections by bacteria

Mario Feldman, associate professor of molecular microbiology at the School of Medicine, received a five-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study urinary tract infections caused by the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii.

Campus & Community

Washington University statement on proposed Missouri legislation on Title IX

Washington University strongly opposes legislation that is pending before the Missouri legislature that would effectively gut the university’s process for handling sexual assault and misconduct on our campuses.

Medicine

Potential new therapy for Crohn’s, colitis identified

Researchers at the School of Medicine have found a compound that may treat inflammatory bowel disease without directly targeting inflammation. The compound tamps down the activity of a gene linked to blood clotting.

Nowak receives awards to study astrophysics

Michael Nowak, research professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, received $25,500 to collaborate with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on a project titled “Investigating new integral sources with Chandra.” Nowak also received $10,000 to work with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology on a project titled “Using NuSTAR to assess the mass, spin, distance, and FeLine of 4U […]

Blodgett awarded CAREER grant to study biosynthetic silence

Joshua Blodgett, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, received a five-year $900,500 grant to support his research related to actinomycete bacteria. This type of bacteria produces a majority of current antibiotics and may harbor other useful small molecules that could be revealed by activating silent genes.

Campus & Facilities

Renovations planned for Mallinckrodt Center

A renovation project will begin this May in the Mallinckrodt Center. A number of academic and student support services will relocate to the center by the end of December.

Campus & Community

A new model for career planning

A growing number of first-year students are seeking career advice and resources early in their college careers. In response, the Career Center has launched a number of new career-readiness program specifically for first-year students. The center also collaborated with Arts & Sciences on a pilot program that combines career planning and academic advising.