School of Medicine

Research by asthma specialists nationwide, including Leonard B. Bacharier, MD, and Mario Castro, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, find that adding prescription acid controllers to standard inhaled steroid treatment does not improve asthma symptoms or control of the condition in children. The results are considered to be the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the effectiveness of prescription acid controllers to improve asthma symptoms and control among children.

Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital have broken ground on the new Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center in south St. Louis County. Located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Interstate 55 and Butler Hill Road, the new facility will provide comprehensive outpatient cancer care that is more convenient for patients living in south St. Louis County and the surrounding area.

Faculty may now apply for the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellows program at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Application materials are due by Feb. 27.

If Debbie Monolo, assistant dean for academic affairs and registrar at the School of Medicine, stands in Forest Park, she can almost see both of her worlds. To the east lies the School of Medicine, where she has worked for 38 years. And if she looks south, she can see “The Hill,” where she co-owns a boutique and plays an integral role in the vibrant local Italian community.

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis welcomed 12 new talented graduate and professional students for the 2011-12 academic year. The new scholars are graduates of one of 27 premier universities from around the world partnered with WUSTL in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

After defeating an infection, the immune system creates a memory of the attacker to make it easier to eliminate in the future. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered an important component of the immune system’s strategy for preserving such immunological memories.

Thomas W. Ferkol Jr., MD, has been named the first Alexis Hartmann, MD, Professor in Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. In the first study to identify a human receptor that can taste fat, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that our tongues recognize and have an affinity for fat and that variations in a gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat in foods.

New findings from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project have helped identify the mechanism that makes the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma so aggressive.

Matthew MacEwan, an MD-PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis, recently started his own nanotechnology company, NanoMed LLC, aimed at revolutionizing the surgical mesh widely used in operating rooms worldwide.