School of Medicine

Scientists are eager to make use of stem cells’ extraordinary power to transform into nearly any kind of cell, but that ability also is cause for concern in cancer treatment. New research at the School of Medicine has revealed that these stem cells are present even in slow-growing, less aggressive tumors.

Stuart C. Sweet, MD, PhD, an international leader in pediatric lung transplantation, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

The School of Medicine’s KL2 Career Development Awards Program has selected its newest scholars. The training program promotes the career development of future clinical investigators.

Carl Frieden, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a five-year, $1.56 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research titled “Alzheimer’s Disease: Defining the apoE-amyloid-beta interaction.”

A reformulation of OxyContin (left) that makes it less likely to be abused than the older formulation (right) has curtailed the drug’s illicit use. But researchers at the School of Medicine have found that a significant percentage still abuse the drug despite package labeling that emphasizes its abuse-deterrent properties. 

Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare are planning to build a 12-to-14-story office building on the site of the Storz Building on the Medical Campus.

Researchers led by Samuel Achilefu, PhD, at the School of Medicine have devised a way to apply light-based therapy to deep tissues never before accessible. Instead of shining an outside light, they delivered light directly to tumor cells, along with a photosensitive source of free radicals that can be activated by the light to destroy cancer.

Tracy Spitznagle, associate professor of physical therapy and of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named to the board of directors of the Worldwide Fistula Fund.

Stroke can lead to a wide range of problems such as depression and difficulty moving, speaking and paying attention. A new study led by Maurizio Corbetta, MD, at the School of Medicine has found evidence that stroke damage to “cables” buried inside the brain plays an important role in these impairments.

M. Farooq Rai, PhD, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery and an investigator in the laboratory of Linda Sandell, PhD, the Mildred B. Simon Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a five-year, $924,201 Pathway to Independence grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research titled “Genetic and Molecular Insights Into Cartilage Regeneration, Primary and Post-traumatic Osteoarthritis.”