McKelvey School of Engineering

Photo by Robert BostonMichael R. Brent, Ph.D., and Tamara L. Doering, M.D., Ph.D., examine data from the *C. neoformans* gene expression microarray.A team of collaborators, including two WUSTL researchers, has sequenced the genomes of two strains of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Dean Christopher I. Byrnes will also present the Young Alumni Award and the Dean’s Award at an April 6 dinner event.

Bayly has taught at WUSTL since 1993 and holds appointments in the mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering departments.

Michael R. Brent and Tamara L. Doering examine data from the *C. neoformans* microarray.A team of collaborators, including two researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, has sequenced the genomes of two strains of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans), one which is virulent, the other harmless. This work provides researchers with clues on how the fungus does its dirty work and a host of genes to study for a better understanding of fungal pathogens in general. Estimates are that about 15 percent of people with HIV will suffer at least one life-threatening infection of C. neoformans. In Africa, that could be as much as 40 percent of HIV sufferers.

*Arabidopsis thaliana*A team headed by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., Washington University professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has discovered a fourth kind of RNA polymerase found only in plants and speculated to have been a plant feature for more than 200 million years.

The published work was done by postdoctoral researcher Thomas J. Hund and Yoram Rudy, the Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering.

He is “a pre-eminent scholar and has produced seminal research that has made great leaps in his field of research,” Dean Christopher Byrnes says.

Photo by Joe AngelesResearch opportunities for undergrads like David Corley (left) will be facilitated by the University’s new Office of Undergraduate Research.Under Director Henry Biggs, it will help place students in research positions, promote their findings and award scholarships.

JostR. Gilbert Jost, M.D., the Elizabeth Mallinckrodt Professor and head of Radiology at the School of Medicine, has been named chairman of the board of directors of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The society is an organization of more than 37,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists and related scientists.

He and his research team are developing an information-theoretic foundation for the design and analysis of imaging systems.