School of Medicine

Azad Bonni, MD, PhD, currently professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, will be the next head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a genetic test that can accurately predict whether the most common form of eye cancer will spread to other parts of the body, particularly the liver. The test successfully classified tumors more than 97 percent of the time.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will lead an international team of scientists to find new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent a critical global health problem: malnutrition in infants and children. The work is funded by an $8.3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Maranda Witherspoon has agreed to co-lead a group of community members and public health experts who are working to improve cancer prevention and care in medically underserved populations.

David Levine is a former high school teacher who saw a need to serve people with limited access to health care. The Record’s Outstanding Graduate from the School of Medicine, he will graduate May 18 with a medical degree and is headed to New York University in July to begin a residency in internal medicine-primary care.

The Graduate Student Senate of Arts & Sciences honored seven faculty members with Outstanding Faculty Mentor Awards during its 13th annual awards ceremony and reception April 11 in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge. The awards recognize faculty members whose dedication to mentoring PhD students and commitment to excellence in graduate training have made a significant contribution to the quality of life and professional development of students in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Special recognition for excellence in mentoring went to nine other faculty members at the ceremony.

Led by Jasvindar Singh, MD, doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are seeking volunteers for a clinical trial testing an investigational device in patients with severe high blood pressure that can’t be controlled with aggressive medical treatments.

Michael J. Welch, PhD, a pioneering radiochemist who was the author of more than 550 papers on the use of radioactive drugs in diagnosis and treatment of disease, died Sunday, May 6, 2012. He was 72.

William A. Peck, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Health Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, will be the keynote speaker at Washington University School of Medicine’s 2012 Commencement at 3 p.m. May 18 in the Ferrara Theater at the America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, Mo.

Brain networks may avoid traffic jams at their busiest intersections by communicating on different frequencies, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, including Maurizio Corbetta, MD, and at other institutions have learned. Examining the temporal structure of brain activity from this perspective may help in understanding depression and schizophrenia.