School of Medicine

A small clinical trial led by Richard S. Hotchkiss, MD, at the School of Medicine, shows that a drug that revs up the immune system holds promise in treating sepsis. The approach goes against the grain of earlier strategies that have relied on antibiotics and inflammatory medications to tamp down the immune system.

Jack H. Ladenson, the Oree M. Carroll and Lillian B. Ladenson Professor of Clinical Chemistry in Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2017 Distinguished Award for Contributions to Cardiovascular Diagnostics from the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry.

School of Medicine researchers report they found a way to treat urinary tract infections without using antibiotics, at least in mice. The scientists are working on an alternative that would prevent bacteria from causing disease.

With the creation and launch this summer of the St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (STL-HVIP), a citywide network of hospital-based intervention and ongoing support, the St. Louis medical community is taking a significant step to help patients heal from acts of violence.

Three researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Raj Jain, David Kirk and Stuart Kornfeld, are being honored for outstanding contributions to science by the Academy of Science-St. Louis.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have used the gene-editing technology CRISPR to engineer human T cells that can attack human T cell cancers without succumbing to friendly fire. The study evaluating the approach in mice appears online in the journal Leukemia.

Ari Nachum Berlin, MD, a pediatric intern at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and a 2017 graduate of the School of Medicine, died Feb. 23 in St. Louis after a 2 ½-year battle with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. He was 27. A memorial service is planned Tuesday, March 6, on the Medical Campus.

Colin Nichols, the Carl F. Cori Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, has received a grant to study how the genetic mutations underlying Cantu syndrome are linked to cardiovascular disease.

Using nanotechnology, a team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has eliminated the need for refrigeration for biomarkers used in medical diagnostic testing. The researchers recently gave their new tech a real-world test by sending it through the mail.

Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, the Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected to the Association of American Physicians in recognition of his work advancing biomedical science, medicine or health through innovative research.