School of Medicine

A new study shows that the environment interacts with DNA in ways that are difficult to predict, even in simple organisms like single-celled yeast, which complicates the prospects for personalized medicine. 

Washington University School of Medicine has opened a clinic for patients with treatment-resistant depression that targets those who haven’t responded to standard therapies. When at least two therapies have been tried, and a patient still hasn’t responded, that patient is said to have treatment-resistant depression, according to clinic director Charles R. Conway, MD.  

Should weather conditions create potentially hazardous travel conditions, Washington University will evaluate the situation and take into consideration the safety of the faculty, staff and students as well as the services that must be provided despite the inclement weather.

Neuroscientists using a new brain imaging technique could see an investigational drug for Parkinson’s disease get into a patient’s brain and affect blood flow in several key structures, an indicator the drug may be effective. In the future, similar brain scans could speed the development of new drugs and help clinicians learn whether established drugs are working.  

The School of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Clinic will offer extended hours for free, confidential testing in recognition of World AIDS Day, which is observed annually on Dec. 1. Testing will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 – 9. No appointment is necessary.

The Associated General Contractors of St. Louis honored 13 area contractors with awards for area construction projects. The BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine and the South 40 Redevelopment Phase I on the Danforth Campus were among projects honored this year.

In a study of heavy smokers, fewer screened with low-dose CT scans died, compared with similar smokers screened with standard chest X-rays. The National Cancer Institute ran the 33-center National Lung Screening Trial to learn whether more sensitive screening could have an impact on lung-cancer deaths, and Washington University researchers involved in the study say it did.

The same powerful drugs that have extended the lives of countless people with HIV come with a price — insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Now, Paul Hruz, MD, PhD, and his team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined why that happens.

Koong-Nah Chung, PhD, has been named associate dean and director of the Office of Medical Student Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Scientists battling Leishmania, a parasite second only to malaria in the number of deaths it causes, have identified an important vulnerability in the genetic code of one major parasite strain.