School of Medicine

More than 25 awards honoring scholarship, service and other achievements were given to School of Medicine students at an Oct. 29 luncheon, including the first Nathan Edward Hellman, MD, PhD, Memorial Award given to Ian C. Glenn (second from right).

High levels of manganese and copper pollution in urban areas are linked to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a large-scale analysis of urban pollution and Parkinson’s incidence in the United States. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that people living in areas with higher levels of manganese pollution had a 78 percent greater risk of Parkinson’s disease than those living in areas free of such pollution.

More than 100 junior faculty, fellows, residents and training program students presented results of summer research programs at a symposium and poster session Oct. 27 at the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center.

On the surface, family planning and tennis have little in common. But if results are what matter, Jeffrey Peipert, MD, PhD, is a winner.

The School of Medicine is kicking off its annual Adopt-A-Family program for families in need who live in the Forest Park Southeast and Botanical Heights neighborhoods.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected chair of the board of directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers.

Kenneth M. Ludmerer, MD, has been named the Mabel Dorn Reeder Distinguished Professor in the History of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Alan C. Braverman, a Washington University cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, has been named Alumni Endowed Professor in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Richard Heinzl, M.D., founder of Doctors without Borders, Canada, will present a talk, “Lessons from Abroad: The Opportunities of a Borderless World” at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8 at Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus.The event is co-sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy, the Gephardt Institute for Public Service and the School of Medicine

Your DNA influences how much you smoke and whether you will develop lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, is the first large-scale effort to match genetics with smoking, lung cancer and COPD combined. The investigators studied 38,000 smokers and found that two groups of gene variants on chromosome 15 influence the risk for all three problems.