School of Medicine

Samantha A. Morris, assistant professor of developmental biology and of genetics at Washington University School of Medicine, has received the New York Stem Cell Foundation’s Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Award. The award recognizes outstanding early-career scientists and provides each $1.5 million over five years to support their research.

Gideon Erkenswick, a postdoctoral researcher, and Jennifer Philips, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine — both at the School of Medicine — are taking part in a two-year project to establish a global model for wildlife population surveillance and pathogen screening.

At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 2, several faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure or granted tenure, with most taking effect that day.

Collins E. Lewis, MD, associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, has received the 2020 National Citizen Scientist Cornerstone Award from the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation. He was honored in recognition of his extraordinary efforts to support Alzheimer’s research by participating in and promoting diversity in clinical trials.

Washington University School of Medicine is one of four institutions to receive a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study how to improve emergency care for adults with dementia. For the project, experts in emergency medicine, geriatrics and dementia will identify and address gaps in emergency care.

Although viruses such as herpes simplex can infect the eye’s cornea and Zika virus has been found in corneal tissue and tears, new School of Medicine research suggests the cornea can resist infection from the novel coronavirus.

By studying animals choosing between drink options, School of Medicine researchers have found that the activity of certain neurons in the brain leads directly to the choice of one option over another. The findings could lead to better understanding of how decision-making goes wrong in conditions such as addiction and depression.

The School of Medicine is a testing site for a phase 3 clinical research study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate from the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies. The school will enroll up to 500 adults ages 18 and older in the St. Louis region.

Simona Sarafinovska, a Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program student, has been named the inaugural recipient of The brAvery Foundation Award. The foundation, dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide, created the award to recognize an exceptional medical student or resident who has demonstrated a commitment to a career in child and adolescent psychiatry. 

People with Down syndrome nearly always develop signs of Alzheimer’s as they age. School of Medicine researchers are taking part in a multisite study to understand how Alzheimer’s develops in this population, with a long-term goal of finding ways to prevent or treat the disease.