School of Medicine

Joni Westerhouse, a longtime veteran in public affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named associate vice chancellor and associate dean for Medical Public Affairs.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, has won the 2014 Dickson Prize in Medicine for his pioneering studies demonstrating how the tens of trillions of microbes that live in the gut influence human health.

Ross C. Brownson, PhD, professor at the Brown School and at the School of Medicine, has been awarded a $365,600 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute for his project “A Cross-country Comparison of Evidence-based Prevention of Cancer.”

The most common type of hospital-associated infection may be preventable with a vaccine, new research in mice suggests. The experimental vaccine, created by School of Medicine researchers, prevented urinary tract infections associated with catheters, the tubes that hospitals and other care facilities insert to drain urine from the bladder.

Kelli VanDussen, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the (Thaddeus) Stappenbeck Lab, has received a three-year, $174,750 grant from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America for research titled “Defining The Basis of Epithelial Defects in Crohn’s Disease Patients.”

The same viruses that make us sick can take up residence in and on the human body without provoking a sneeze, cough or other troublesome symptom, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

New research suggests that schizophrenia isn’t a single disease but a group of eight genetically distinct disorders, each with its own set of symptoms. The finding, in a study led by researchers at the School of Medicine, could be a first step toward improved diagnosis and treatment for the debilitating psychiatric illness.

School of Medicine employees ignored the unexpected chill in the air Friday, Sept. 12, and came out in droves for the annual employee appreciation picnic on the Medical Campus. The picnic was sponsored by the dean’s office and the Medical School Management Council.

Ellen Binder, MD, and Krikor Dikranian, MD, PhD, have been named the 2014-2016 Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellows at the School of Medicine. The two-year fellowships support awardees as they implement innovative ideas that enhance the education of medical students and residents.

Keke Fairfax, PhD, research instructor in pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine, has received a four-year, $308,000 grant from the American Heart Association for research titled “Understanding the Development of the Liver B Cell Compartment During Schistosomiasis: Development of a Novel Vaccine.”