School of Medicine

Andrew J. White, MD, the Philip R. Dodge, MD, Scholar in Pediatrics, took an unorthodox, even explosive, route to medicine. As director of the Pediatric Residency Program, his breadth of knowledge, exuberance and quick wit help him recruit, train and inspire future pediatricians.

George A. Macones, MD, the Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Professor and head of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Jeffrey F. Peipert, MD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, have been named deputy editors of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In recognition of National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, a youth leadership program of Project ARK and The SPOT will host an open-mic event to encourage young people to talk about HIV/AIDS and sexual health. The Youth Advocacy Committee will host the event from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis.

School of Medicine researchers have received an $8 million grant to investigate the genetic and environmental roots of cardiovascular disease risk factors. The four-year grant will support the first large-scale, multiethnic statistical analysis of risk factors for cardiovascular disease that looks at lifestyle interactions with genes. Shown are principal investigators D.C. Rao, PhD, and Ingrid Borecki, PhD.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will close the ramp from westbound Interstate 64/Highway 40 to Boyle Avenue in St. Louis at 9 a.m. Monday, April 7. The ramp is expected to reopen by mid-May. 

Mario Castro, MD, has been named the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the School of Medicine. He is a noted authority on asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, and Richard K. Wilson, PhD, both renowned for discoveries in the field of genomics, have been named to endowed professorships. They were installed by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton (far left), and Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine (far right).

Severely restricting dietary phosphate early in the course of chronic kidney disease can prevent related heart and vascular problems, a new study in rats indicates. Phosphate, an essential mineral, is found in colas, milk, cheese and other dairy products, beans and high-protein foods, and often is added as a preservative in processed foods.

People who smoke also tend to eat more high-fat foods. So do obese people. Now, a team of researchers, including M. Yanina Pepino, PhD, at the School of Medicine, has found that obese women who also smoke have a difficult time perceiving fat and sweetness in their food. And that could lead them to eat even more fatty foods.

New research at the School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has implicated a poorly understood protein called PLAC8 in the spread of colon cancer.