School of Medicine

Washington University in St Louis chemist Timothy Wencewicz says we’ll stay ahead of antibiotic resistance only if we find drugs with new scaffolds, or core chemical structures. One promising candidate, an antibiotic made by a bacterium than infects plants, caught his attention because it contains an “enchanted ring,” the beta-lactam ring that is found in penicillin. In this drug candidate, however, it acts against a different target than the penicillins.

Three promising biomarkers being studied to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages appear to undergo a surprising shift as patients develop symptoms of dementia, researchers led by Anne Fagan, PhD, at the School of Medicine report.

Last fall, researchers in St. Louis released five policy briefs in a groundbreaking study on the health and well-being of African Americans in the region. Now it’s time for the community to weigh in on “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis.” A Community Feedback Forum will take place from 2-5 p.m. Monday, March 3, in the Learning Lab at the Forest Park Visitor Center, 5595 Grand Drive on the north side of Forest Park near the Missouri History Museum.

​John DiPersio, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Robert Schreiber, PhD, director of the school’s Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, will be honored in April by the American Association for Cancer Research.

Today, two-thirds of those ever reaching the age of 65 are on the planet. Further, university researchers may have the keys to help people live even longer, healthier and more productive lives — but is society ready?

Our goal is to strengthen the university’s leadership ­today to benefit St. Louis, America and the world tomorrow.

Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago, addresses the panel at the Policy Forum program “First, Do No Harm: Genetic Privacy in the Age of Genome Sequencing” in Brown Hall Feb. 25. Among other topics, panel participants addressed the ethical implications of genetic privacy and incidental findings that may occur because of genome testing. 

The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is today among the most recognized cancer programs in the U.S. The longstanding support of Alvin Siteman (left) and his wife, Ruth, whose $35 million gift named the center in 1999, has been critical. Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of the Siteman Cancer Center, is on the right.

During winter break, 19 students and two alumnae from the Program in Physical Therapy at the School of Medicine​ traveled throughout Guatemala to help patients who otherwise might not receive physical therapy and other health care. Shown is student Leslie Wallace receiving a kiss from a grateful Guatemalan woman.

St. Louis County families soon will have improved, convenient access to top-notch health-care services for their children with a St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University Physicians medical office building in west St. Louis County.