School of Medicine

Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, the Bixby Professor of Surgery and head of the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor and director of the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center, recently was appointed to the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

School of Medicine scientists have identified a master gene involved in orchestrating the regrowth of peripheral nerves — the nerves that extend from the spinal column to the hands and feet and have the ability to regenerate and help people regain some movement and sensation. Understanding how these nerves regenerate may aid efforts to regrow spinal cord neurons.

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, the Robert E. and Louise F. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Molecular Case Studies.

Drug abusers are not completely abandoning prescription opioids for heroin, according to School of Medicine researchers. Instead, many use the two concurrently based on their availability. The researchers’ findings also reveal regional variations in the use of heroin and prescription painkillers.

Timothy Lohman, PhD, the Brennecke Professor of Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, was named a 2015 Biophysical Society Fellow.

A School of Medicine study may aid efforts to tailor smoking-cessation treatments to individual cigarette smokers. Researchers are recruiting 720 smokers whose DNA samples, from saliva, will be analyzed to identify genetic variations that influence smoking behavior, lung cancer risk and the effectiveness of smoking-cessation treatments.

Matthew A. Powell, MD, a noted gynecologic oncologist and researcher, has been named director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine.

The retina’s rods and cones allow us to see. But although scientists have an idea of what makes rods perform and flourish, they’ve been somewhat in the dark regarding what keeps cones working and thriving. Now, School of Medicine researchers led by Thomas A. Ferguson, PhD, believe they’re closer to the answer and that their findings may one day help preserve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration and other retinal diseases.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, will host the annual Dean’s Update for all School of Medicine employees Nov. 12 and 13.