School of Medicine

Early predictors of anxiety and depression may be evident in the brain even at birth, suggests a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Using immature stem cells to create a miniature model of the gut in the laboratory, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pittsburgh have determined how infection-causing enteroviruses enter the intestine.

Erin Linnenbringer, an instructor in surgery for the Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been appointed to a five-year term on the Jane Engelberg Memorial Fellowship Advisory Group for the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

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.