School of Medicine

Friends and family of Bernard Becker, MD, will gather for a memorial Friday, Nov. 22. Becker, professor emeritus of ophthalmology and visual sciences, died at his home Aug. 28, 2013, at the age of 93.

Washington University has received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to foster student diversity in its PhD training program in the biomedical sciences. Pictured are inaugural scholars from the program.

Washington University’s Bear Cub Fund supports innovative translational research to help investigators demonstrate the commercial potential of their technologies. Grant applications are due Nov. 30.

The School of Medicine and its Department of Pediatrics have established funding for three pediatric scholars named in honor of a trio of highly regarded former pediatricians at the university. The new Scholars in Pediatrics are Paul Hruz, MD, PhD, Shalini Shenoy, MD, and Andrew White, MD.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are studying the quality, effectiveness and safety of generic drugs used to treat depression. The research, supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is the only study of its kind in the nation. Pictured is the study’s principal investigator, Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD.

A town hall meeting Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the School of Medicine will address employment needs of the autism community.

On the occasion of the City of Clayton’s centennial year, Washington University’s Assembly Series will present a panel discussion exploring the region’s future prospects and opportunities for growth featuring leading international authorities from our institution: William Powderly, Peter Raven and Holden Thorp. The “Innovation and Infinite Possibilities in the 21st Century” program will begin at 7 p.m Wednesday, November 6 in Simon Hall May Auditorium on the Danforth Campus.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Washington University’s “family” will come from near and far to gather in St. Louis and celebrate its founding in 1853. The annual Founders Day dinner and ceremony, sponsored by the WUSTL Alumni Association, will feature an address by Jon Huntsman Jr., former U.S. ambassador to China. Other highlights include the presentation of Distinguished Faculty and Alumni awards and the Robert S. Brookings Awards.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have identified changes in the brains of children growing up in poverty. Those changes can lead to lifelong problems like depression, learning difficulties and limitations in the ability to cope with stress. But the study showed that the extent of those changes was influenced strongly by whether parents were attentive and nurturing. Pictured is principal investigator Joan L. Luby, MD.

School of Medicine faculty recently presented about 20 ideas to Washington University students during IDEA Labs’ inaugural ‘Problem Day’ in hopes that they might be able to devise solutions. IDEA Labs — which stands for Innovation, Design & Engineering in Action — is a bioengineering design incubator founded last year as a joint venture of the schools of Medicine and Engineering & Applied Science and the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences.