School of Medicine

Neighborhood features such as bike facilities and low crime rates are associated with increased leisure and workplace-related physical activity, according to a new study from the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

A protein that stimulates the brain to awaken from sleep may be a target for preventing Alzheimer’s disease, a study by School of Medicine researchers suggests. David M. Holtzman, MD, head of the Department of Neurology, is the study’s senior author.

Three faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. They are Mary C. Dinauer, MD, PhD, David M. Holtzman, MD, and Robert G. Kranz, PhD.

A research team led by Washington University endocrinologist Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD, (right) and first author Simin Lu, PhD student, (left) has discovered that a commonly prescribed muscle relaxant may be an effective treatment for Wolfram syndrome, a rare but devastating form of diabetes.

William Hawkins, MD, a noted pancreatic cancer surgeon, has been named chief of the Section of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Surgery, and the Neidorff Family and Robert C. Packman Professor at the School of Medicine.

Initial results of an innovative study may significantly change how some patients are evaluated after a stroke, according to School of Medicine researchers. Shown is the study’s senior author, Maurizio Corbetta, MD.

At the Oct. 3 Board of Trustees meeting, several Washington University faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure. Read more for details. 

New research by Ting Wang, PhD, (left) and graduate student Vasavi Sundaram has uncovered some striking differences in the genomes of humans and mice that can help scientists determine when a mouse may be a good stand-in to study human biology and disease.

After fleeing his war-torn homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Justin Serugo was relocated to St. Louis, where he eventually landed a job at the School of Medicine. He now works on a childhood malnutrition project.

L. Lewis Wall, MD, DPhil (right), has received a gold medal for his “meritorius contributions” to medical education at Mekelle University College of Medical and Health Sciences in Mekelle, Ethiopia. He is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Washington University School of Medicine and of anthropology in Arts & Sciences.