School of Medicine

In real estate, location is key. It now seems the same concept holds true when it comes to stopping pain. New research co-led by the School of Medicine indicates the location of receptors that transmit pain signals is important in how big or small a pain signal will be and how effectively drugs can block those signals.

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis use nanoparticle technology, applied to a drug found in most people’s medicine cabinets, to chemically alter a cancer tumor and stop its growth.

They look like futuristic eyewear. But the goggles developed by Samuel Achilefu, PhD, and his team at the School of Medicine have a much greater purpose: They help surgeons see and remove cancer. Achilefu discusses his journey from childhood to the development of the goggles, to what he hopes is yet to come.

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has benefited millions of women by reducing out-of-pocket spending on contraception, many still continue to have to pay for all or some of their contraceptives.

For years, faculty in the Department of Genetics have been scattered in six different locations on the Washington University School of Medicine campus. But with the move to the 4515 McKinley Research Building, most of its faculty members finally share the same address. The new building provides a setting that sows the seeds of collaboration and the generation of new ideas.

Most cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) are preventable with a vaccine. Yet the infection is responsible for 27,000 cancer diagnoses each year in the U.S. Siteman Cancer Center and the School of Medicine is joining with the 68 other National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers to promote HPV vaccination and reduce that number.

A team of neurosurgeons from the School of Medicine and engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed wireless brain sensors that monitor intracranial pressure and temperature and then are absorbed by the body, negating the need for surgery to remove the devices.

Many negative consequences are linked to growing up poor, and researchers at Washington University St. Louis have identified one more: altered brain connectivity.

The McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will receive $60 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the genetics of common diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, autism and epilepsy.

The 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration at Washington University in St. Louis will recognize members of the St. Louis and university community who continue to advance King’s message through service and leadership. Jason Purnell, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, will deliver the keynote address at the event that begins at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in Graham Chapel.