School of Medicine

Samuel Achilefu, PhD, of the School of Medicine has won the St. Louis Award for 2014 for his work in creating cancer-visualizing glasses, which were used in surgeries for first time last year. He is the 87th person honored with the annual award since it was established in 1931.

Scientists, led in part by Washington University’s Vitaly Klyachko, PhD, have gained new insight into fragile X syndrome — the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability — by studying the case of a person without the disorder, but with two of its classic symptoms.

Weikai Li, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a two-year, $143,000 grant from the American Heart Association for research titled “Mechanism of VKOR Function and Warfarin Inhibition.”

It’s normal for a young child to have tantrums and be otherwise disruptive, but researchers have found that if such behavior is prolonged or especially intense, the child may have conduct disorder, a childhood psychiatric problem that could be a harbinger of antisocial behavior. The research was led by Joan L. Luby, MD (shown).

Depression and behavioral changes may occur before memory declines in people who will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research at the School of Medicine led by senior author Catherine M. Roe, PhD.

More than 100 cancer patients have received an innovative form of radiation therapy at the S. Lee Kling Center for Proton Therapy in the center’s first year of operation. The treatments are provided at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, has announced he will step down as executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of Washington University School of Medicine. He will continue at the helm until a national search is conducted and his replacement found.

Antibiotics aren’t supposed to be effective against viruses, but new evidence in mice suggests they may help fight norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes severe gastrointestinal illness, scientists at the School of Medicine report.

David M. Ornitz, PhD, MD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the March of Dimes Foundation for research titled “Mechanisms of FGF Signaling in Cochlear Development.”

Washington University Medical Center faculty, staff and students will perform their annual winter concert at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in the lobby of the Center for Advanced Medicine, 4921 Parkview Place. The event is free and open to the public.