School of Medicine

A new study in mice from the School of Medicine shows that viruses that target the nervous system can kill neurons in the gut that coordinate the process of moving waste along. Such viruses may be involved in causing people’s digestive woes.

Analyzing data from more than 400,000 people, researchers at the School of Medicine have found that consuming one to two drinks four or more times per week — an amount deemed healthy by current guidelines — increases the risk of premature death by 20 percent.

Mark C. Udey, MD, PhD, has been named co-director of the Oliver Langenberg Physician Scientist Training Program in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The program supports research-oriented careers in academic medicine for MD/PhDs.

Christina Gurnett, MD, PhD, professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at the School of Medicine and neurologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Jaquelyn Fleckenstein, MD, professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, has been honored by Legal Services of Eastern Missouri for her community service. Fleckenstein was honored for her contribution as a medical expert in a legal action to secure Medicaid coverage for life-saving hepatitis C medications.

James C. Warren, MD, professor emeritus and former head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine, died in July at his home in Mobile, Ala. He was 88. Warren was a renowned researcher, clinician and teacher.

Michael Kinch’s new book, “Between Hope and Fear: A History of Vaccines and Human Immunity,” tells the story of the people behind vaccines and how the human body fights infection.

Barry Siegel, MD, professor of radiology and of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the university’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR), has been named a fellow of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

An MRI scan often generates an ocean of data, most of which is never used. When overlooked data is analyzed using a new technique developed at the School of Medicine, they surprisingly reveal how many and which brain cells are present – and show where cells have been lost through injury or disease. The findings could lead to new treatments for a variety of brain diseases.

Jonathan Miner, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, of molecular microbiology, and of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a 2018 Ann Palmenberg Junior Investigator Award from the American Society for Virology. The award recognizes early-career virologists who display exceptional promise.