School of Medicine

Researchers at the School of Medicine have developed an online “knowledgebase” intended for the gathering and organization of the vast body of knowledge known as cancer genomics.

Matthew R. Barton, MD, a physician-scientist in his seventh and final year of residency in otolaryngology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, died unexpectedly Jan. 23, 2017, at his home of an undiagnosed medical condition. He was 35. Visitation will be Friday evening, and a funeral will be held Saturday, Jan. 28.

Stephen Beverley, the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor and head of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Washington University and its partner universities in Greater China came together in Shanghai on Jan. 21 for a major conference, the “Forum for Greater China: An Aging Population.” The goal of the conference was to stimulate collaborative research and conversation that will advance solutions to the challenges posed by China’s aging population.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have shown that levels of tau protein can be reduced – and some of the neurological damage caused by tau even reversed ­– by a synthetic molecule that targets genetic instructions. The findings are important for Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

School of Medicine scientists have exploited a common weak point in cancer cell metabolism, forcing tumor cells to reveal the backup fuel supply routes they rely on when this weak point is compromised. Mapping these secondary routes, the researchers also identified drugs that block them.

The directorship of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis has been named in honor of Larry J. Shapiro, MD, former executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. William G. Powderly, MD, the current director of the institute, will serve as the inaugural Larry J. Shapiro Director.

Brian T. Collins, MD, an associate professor of pathology and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Dec. 23, 2016, in his sleep at his home in Creve Coeur, Mo. He was 52.

The Siteman Investment Program funds internal cancer-related research projects biannually. The aim is to help investigators produce preliminary data to pursue nationally competitive funding. The 2017 Cycle 1 is open, and researchers should express interest by March 1.

New research at the School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center have found that damage to acid-secreting cells alone doesn’t jump-start the transformation of healthy cells into precancerous cells — at least in a mouse model.