School of Medicine

Samantha A. Morris, assistant professor of developmental biology and of genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a Sloan Research Fellowship in Computational and Evolutionary Molecular Biology. Sloan Research Fellowships support promising early-career scientists.

A new study offers a road map to understanding the molecular underpinnings of endometrial cancer, which could lead to new therapies. The national research team was co-led by investigators at the School of Medicine.

The School of Medicine led an international trial evaluating whether investigational drugs could slow memory loss and cognitive decline in a rare, inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease. The trial was conducted at 24 sites in Australia, Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have discovered that the genetic variant APOE4 – long linked to dementia – spurs the spread of harmful clumps of Parkinson’s proteins through the brain. The findings suggest that therapies that target APOE might reduce the risk of dementia for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Studying mice, researchers at the School of Medicine and their colleagues have shown that a drug compound can block damage caused by too much glutamate signaling, raising the possibility of medication that prevents noise-induced hearing loss.

James Fitzpatrick, professor of neuroscience and of cell biology and physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected biological sciences director of the Microscopy Society of America. He will serve a three-year term on the society’s governing council beginning in 2020.

A new study led by the School of Medicine lays out a genetic road map of immune responses to tuberculosis (TB) infection across three species.

New research led by the School of Medicine indicates that 1 in 4 of the children given antibiotics in U.S. children’s hospitals are prescribed the drugs inappropriately. The overuse of antibiotics poses an increasing threat to children who develop — or already have — drug-resistant infections.

Timothy Miller, MD, PhD, the David Clayson Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and a group of his colleagues have received the inaugural Healey Center International Prize for innovation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research from the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital.

High-protein diets may help people lose weight and build muscle, but a School of Medicine study in mice suggests they also lead to more plaque in the arteries. The findings also show that high-protein diets spur unstable plaque, the kind most prone to rupturing and causing blocked arteries.