School of Medicine

School of Medicine faculty members were honored with Distinguished Faculty Awards on Wednesday, Feb. 18, for their dedication, talent and wide-ranging achievements. Shown is D. Katherine Grange, MD, who was given a Distinguished Clinician Award, and Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the medical school.

A new study at the School of Medicine is focused on understanding how the pathways identified by the Human Connectome Project differ in people with psychiatric illnesses. Principal investigator Daniel Mamah, MD, said the group’s goal is to look at diagnosing psychiatric illness in a different way.

Ching-Cheng (Stanley) Huang, PhD, a postdoctoral research scholar in the laboratory of Edward J. Pearce, PhD, professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a two-year, $98,476 grant from the American Heart Association for research titled “Role of Lipid Droplet Lipolysis in Alternative Macrophage Activation.”

Using antibodies from camels and alpacas, scientists led by David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to deliver anticancer viruses directly to tumor cells, leaving other types of cells uninfected. The discovery may solve a longstanding problem in the field of gene therapy.

The genome is the instruction book for life. But reading that instruction book and carrying out its directives are controlled by the epigenome, which attaches chemical markers to DNA to activate or silence genes. For the first time, researchers at the School of Medicine and elsewhere have assembled a comprehensive map of the human epigenome. 

Honored for their contributions to Washington University School of Medicine, the recipients of the 2014 2nd Century Awards were F. Sessions Cole, MD, Scott J. Hultgren, PhD, and Carol B. Loeb. The 2nd Century Awards recognize those whose long-term commitment and participation have helped the school enter its second century with strength and confidence.

David B. Gray, PhD, died Feb. 12 of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Gray became motivated to change what it means to be disabled after he was paralyzed in an accident in 1976. He joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1995 to conduct research and teach courses on social issues and disability.

The DNA of bacteria that live in the body can pass a trait to offspring in a way similar to the parents’ own DNA, a new mouse study suggests. According to the authors, the discovery means scientists need to consider a significant new factor – microbial DNA– in their efforts to understand how genes influence illness and health.

Matthew Gubin, PhD, postdoctoral research scholar in the laboratory of Robert Schreiber, PhD, Alumni Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a three-year, $164,500 grant from the Cancer Research Institute for research titled “Using Genomics to Identify Targets of Checkpoint Blockade Cancer Treatment and Identify Optimal Target Antigens for Vaccination.”

Bernd Zinselmeyer, PhD, research instructor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a one-year, $40,400 grant from the School of Medicine, via a Digestive Disease Research Core Center grant, for research titled “Intravital Imaging of Peritoneal Macrophages Contribution to Intestinal Health.”