School of Medicine

William G. Powderly, MD, the Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, has been named director of the university’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences. The institute is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Bacteria in the bloodstream can trigger an overwhelming immune response that causes sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found genes that help protect the body’s cells from dying during sepsis, which could lead to new treatments.

A new program funded through the Cancer Moonshot Initiative has doubled the number of patients at Siteman Cancer Center assessed for smoking — and increased by fivefold the percentage of cancer patients who smoke now taking medication to help them quit. The results have been published in the journal Translational Behavioral Medicine.

Researchers at the School of Medicine and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, are developing a new approach to address childhood malnutrition. They are designing therapeutic foods aimed at repairing the gut microbiomes of malnourished children.

James R. Duncan, MD, PhD, professor of radiology, has been named chief of interventional radiology for Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the School of Medicine.

Kristina Sauerwein, a senior medical sciences writer in Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a silver Robert G. Fenley Writing Award for general staff writing from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Researchers at the School of Medicine in St. Louis and Rush University in Chicago have found a compound that promotes a vigorous immune assault on pancreatic cancer. The findings, in mice, suggest a way to improve immunotherapy for the deadly disease in patients.

Two nationally renowned neurosurgeons at the School of Medicine will present BrainWorks, a live theatrical performance that explores the wonders of the human brain by dramatizing real-life neurological cases. The performance, comprised of four one-act plays, will debut July 19-21.

The Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has named Melvin Blanchard, MD, to the newly created position of vice chair for education.

A team involving a doctor and five undergraduate students – three from the McKelvey School of Engineering – recently took first place in the 2019 Discovery Competition.