School of Medicine

Ralph G. Dacey Jr., MD, the Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor and head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, became president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) May 22, 2012.

Pediatric ophthalmologist R. Lawrence Tychsen, MD, has been named the John F. Hardesty, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

A study by Brooke Winner, MD (pictured), and Jeff Peipert, MD, to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, congratulates Kristen E. Ziara Harring, as he hands her her Doctor of Medicine degree at the School of Medicine Commencement Recognition Ceremony May 18 at the America’s Center. At the ceremony, 127 students received degrees.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop a triple threat in the fight against cancer: a single virus equipped to find, image and kill cancer cells, all at once.

A new recommendation issued today by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force against routine PSA testing for healthy men age 50 and older goes too far, says a prostate cancer expert at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

A less invasive screening test for colorectal cancer reduces deaths from the disease but is probably not as effective as colonoscopy, the gold standard.

A memorial service in honor of Michael J. Welch, PhD, who was a faculty member for more than four decades at Washington University in St. Louis, will be held at 3 p.m. June 4 in Graham Chapel.

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. First author Kaharu Sumino, MD, and her colleagues say babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life.

School of Medicine researchers have found evidence that early drug and alcohol use is associated with lower levels of educational achievement. They found that people who began drinking or using drugs as young teens or who became substance dependent were less likely to finish college.