School of Medicine

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.

New School of Medicine research indicates that “jumping genes” play a surprising role in stabilizing the 3D folding patterns of the DNA molecule inside a cell’s nucleus.

At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 6, several faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure, with most becoming effective Jan. 1.

School of Medicine researchers have received $29 million from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health to continue a long-running, international Alzheimer’s study aimed at understanding how the disease develops and progresses.

A new study from the School of Medicine suggests that bone marrow — or blood stem cells — from healthy donors can harbor extremely rare mutations that can cause health problems for the cancer patients who receive them. Such stem cell transplants are important for treating blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia.

Tammy Matuska, a clinical nurse coordinator in the Division of Hematology & Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a 2019 MPN Hero by CURE magazine, a national publication for cancer patients and their caregivers.

Exposure to chemotherapy and radiation during cancer treatment leads to bone loss and increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. A new School of Medicine study identifies the trigger for this bone loss and suggests ways to prevent it.

Washington University’s Jerome Cox and Jack H. Ladenson join a small but distinguished group of fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.