School of Medicine

Seven WUSTL faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society.

Gastric bypass surgery has been thought to offer advantages, independent of weight loss, for improving insulin sensitivity and blood glucose levels in obese patients. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that those improvements are related to weight loss alone and not to the surgical procedure itself.

Actor Patrick Dempsey plays Dr. Derek Shepherd, a surgeon on the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. Washington University surgeon Susan E. Mackinnon advised the show on scenarios involving a hand injury suffered by the character.

Edward Geltman, MD, professor of medicine, has been named the first recipient of the Philip A. Ludbrook Award. The award will be given annually to a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for outstanding service and dedication to the protection of human subjects involved in research.

A study is the first to identify a single gene that is associated with a significant number of cases of respiratory distress syndrome in babies born at or near full term.​ WUSTL pediatrician Jennifer A. Wambach is the study’s lead author. Findings will be published in the December issue of Pediatrics.

Respiratory conditions that restrict breathing such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common killers worldwide. But no effective treatments exist to address the major cause of death in these conditions — excess mucus production. Now, Washington University researchers have described the molecular pathway responsible for excess mucus in airway cells and have used that information to design a series of new drugs that inhibit that pathway.

To encourage entrepreneurship, the university’s Bear Cub Fund program is now providing mentors and other hands-on guidance. Initial, one-page applications are due Dec. 10.

Every year, Siteman Cancer Center hosts a gathering for former bone marrow transplant patients, their families and the staff who helped care for them. It’s a celebration of survival. And every year, John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Oncology, looks out over the audience and marvels. From the lab to the clinic, DiPersio’s work is guided by his commitment to his patients. ​​

Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

Washington University in St. Louis has taken a leadership role in helping to shape the future of online education by being a catalyst to bring together a consortium of the nation’s leading colleges and universities that plans to launch Semester Online. This program is a transformative new model for online education, offering undergraduate students the opportunity to take rigorous, online courses for credit from consortium schools.