School of Medicine

James P. Keating, a meticulous physician who helped mold hundreds of medical residents, organized the first pediatric intensive care unit west of the Mississippi and was sought for his ability to solve mystery illnesses, died Dec. 25, 2014, in Cary, North Carolina.

Gaya Amarasinghe, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and immunology and of biochemisry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received three grants from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Thaddeus Stappenbeck, PhD, MD, and Matthew Ciorba, MD, assistant professor of medicine, both of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have received a one-year, $152,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Oregon Health & Science University for research titled “Influence of Gene-environment Interactions on Innate Immune Function.”

New research demonstrates that obesity does not always go hand in hand with metabolic changes in the body that can lead to diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Washington University School of Medicine researchers found that a subset of obese people do not have common metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, and they don’t develop them when they gain more weight.​

In 2014, Washington University continued to play a major role in the St. Louis community while students and alumni made their mark on campus. Among the stories were the debut of the $80 million Lofts of Washington University, a continued investment in Cortex, the innovation district, and two unforgettable alumni.

​Washington University researchers worked in the local community and across the globe in 2014 to better understand our bodies, our minds and our cultures.

The School of Medicine’s 11th Annual Art Show is accepting submissions from students, faculty and staff. The art show will be held in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center atrium, 520 S. Euclid Ave., from Jan. 13 through Feb. 11.

This year, Washington University researchers advanced our understanding of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, and developed devices to help surgeons see cancer cell and scientists to capture new vistas through the world’s fastest 2-D camera.

Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with a 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to steroid injections that caused 64 deaths across the United States. The arrests, which resulted in two people being charged with 25 acts of second-degree murder, remind us that drug manufacturers must be responsible for their actions, says a noted medical ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Herbert Rosenbaum, professor emeritus of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Dec. 10, 2014. He was 89.