School of Medicine

William A. Peck, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine, director of the Center for Health Policy and former dean of the School of Medicine, will present “Health Care in America: Transforming the Citadel,” for the Weidenbaum Center Forum at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in Whitaker Hall, Room 100.

Workers exposed to welding fumes may be at increased risk of damage to the same brain area harmed by Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study by Brad Racette, MD, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Patients with a temporary surgical implant have used regions of the brain that control speech to “talk” to a computer for the first time, manipulating a cursor on a computer screen simply by saying or thinking of a particular sound.

A new Division of Public Health Sciences has been established at the School of Medicine to translate research discoveries into guidelines and policies that keep people healthier through prevention.

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure: David T. Curiel; Mary C. Dinauer; David C. Queller; Joan E. Strassmann; Patrick Lawrence Burke; Feng Chen; Gammon M. Earhart; Justin Fay; Michael D. Frachetti; Denise P. Head; Joseph M. Jez; Jennifer M. Kapczynski; Nan Lin; Tabea A. Linhard; Francis N. Lovett; Liang Ma; Igor Marjanovic; Robi D. Mitra; David E. Reichert; Guillermo Rosas; Gillian Kay Russell; Lori Watt; and Jie Zheng.

In an editorial in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, co-author Graham Colditz, MD, PhD, cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy in women who have had a hysterectomy because of longstanding evidence that it raises the risk of breast cancer.

In the single largest cancer genomics investigation reported to date, scientists have sequenced the whole genomes of tumors from 50 breast cancer patients and compared them to the matched DNA of the same patients’ healthy cells. They uncovered incredible complexity in the cancer genomes, but also got a glimpse of new routes toward personalized medicine.

School of Medicine students rehearse for the School of Medicine spring musical, “Curtains,” to be held at 7:30 p.m. April 14-16 at the Whelpley Auditorium on the St. Louis College of Pharmacy campus. Tickets may be purchased beginning Monday, April 4, in Room 100 of the McDonnell Medical Sciences Building or in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center lobby from noon-1 p.m. daily.

Steve Sobo, director of design and construction, at the School of Medicine, oversees construction of new buildings and remodeling of existing facilities. His relaxed, direct communication style helps his projects go smoothly. “There’s a frank friendliness about Steve,” says Jim Walsh, a principal at Cannon Design. “He has an ability to bring together individuals to get a job done, and he also charts a clear, concise path.”

Three Washington University in St. Louis faculty members are being honored this month by the Academy of Science of St. Louis: Marcus E. Raichle, MD; Timothy Eberlein, MD; and Linda S. Cottler, PhD. The mission of the academy is to “foster the advancement of science and encouragement of public interest in and understanding of the sciences.” The awards will be given Wednesday, April 13, at a dinner at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.