School of Medicine

For someone who grew up on the East Coast and spent much of his career on the West Coast, George Van Hare, MD, certainly seems at home in the Midwest.

Peter M.J. Burgers, PhD, has been named the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Biological Chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“The Past is Alive … The Work is Not Yet Done” is the theme of Washington University in St. Louis’ 24th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, in Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus. Events will aslo take place at the School of Medicine, the Brown School and the School of Law.

Three Washington University faculty — two from the School of Medicine and one from Arts & Sciences — have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society.

Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are in the top 5 percent nationally in the speed in which they treat heart attacks, says Douglas Char, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine. 

Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD, has received the E.B. Wilson Medal, the highest scientific honor awarded by the American Society for Cell Biology. He was presented the medal at the society’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.  

Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are studying children who may be at risk for Tourette Syndrome due to the onset of motor and/or vocal tics. Many kids develop tics that later disappear, but the researchers want to learn why for some, those tics represent the beginnings of Tourette Syndrome.

Consistent exercise is associated with a lower risk of dying from colon cancer, according to a new study led by Siteman Cancer Center researchers. The study is among the first to show that physical activity can make the disease less deadly. 

Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity, and the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years.  

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned why changes in a single gene, ROP18, contribute substantially to dangerous forms of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The answer has likely moved science a step closer to new ways to beat Toxoplasma and many other parasites.