School of Medicine

The School of Medicine has received a $15 million gift from Paula and Rodger Riney aimed at accelerating research and developing new treatments for two major neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Probiotics – living bacteria taken to promote digestive health – evolve once inside the body and have the potential to become less effective and sometimes even harmful, according to a new study from the School of Medicine. The findings suggest that developers of probiotic-based therapeutics must consider how the probiotics might change after administration.

Jason Yi, assistant professor of neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a prestigious 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship, which supports promising early-career scientists.

Weight gain during pregnancy and postpartum are important causes of long-term weight gain and the development of obesity-related diseases among women. A new study from Washington University in St. Louis finds providing a home-based lifestyle intervention effectively minimizes excess maternal weight gain during pregnancy and through 12-months postpartum in underserved African American women with obesity.

Mitochondria manufacture energy in every cell of the body, including heart muscle cells. A new study from the School of Medicine shows that cardiac mitochondria are abnormal in the offspring of mouse mothers that become obese due to a high-fat, high sugar diet. Those offspring then pass on the mitochondrial defects at least two more generations.

Adult depression has long been associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory and response to stress. Now, new research from Washington University in St. Louis has linked participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children and less depression in boys ages 9 to 11.

A combination of two topical creams lowers the risk that patients will develop squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, according to new research at the School of Medicine. The combination already has been shown to clear precancerous skin lesions from sun-damaged skin.

Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, and Gerald L. Andriole, MD, surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine, have been elected to the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Launched in 2017, the academy recognizes surgeon educators poised to advance the science and practice of surgical education and training.

The School of Medicine’s innovative program to introduce lay people to the world of medicine gets underway late this month. Mini-Medical School II runs March 28 through May 9 and includes lectures, labs and more.

With a growing demand for mental health services at colleges, a research team led by the School of Medicine has received a $3.8 million grant to test a mental health phone app to treat depression, anxiety and eating disorders in a study involving some 8,000 students at 20 colleges, universities and community colleges.