School of Medicine

Dolphins, whales and porpoises have extraordinarily small balance organs, and scientists have long wondered why. In a head to head comparison of two dolphins and a rodeo bull, Washington University School of Medicine researchers have contradicted the leading explanation for these undersized organs and left the door open for new theories.

One-hundred and fourteen School of Medicine students learned March 18 where they will be doing their residencies. Thirty will be training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine, and four will be training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Ming You, MD, PhD, director of the Chemoprevention Program at the Siteman Cancer Center and professor of surgery, has been named the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor in Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Stroke experts at Washington University in St. Louis, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis are forming a collaborative group to ensure that clinicians share data to improve patient care and advance the development of new treatments.

Stroke is commonly thought of as a concern only for older adults, but pediatric strokes annually affect 13 of every 100,000 U.S. children. In the St. Louis area, many of these patients are seen by Washington University specialists at the Pediatric Stroke Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Nanocages that efficiently convert light to heat are the basis for a targeted form of phototherapy that would destroy tumors without making cancer patients sick.

For years, electronic surveillance has been used to track and capture a host of evil suspects — terrorists, mobsters and spies among them. Keith Woeltje, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, relies on electronic surveillance, too. He is a modern-day microbe hunter, tracking bugs that are invisible to the naked eye but capable of causing mayhem in hospitals.

The School of Medicine has received a $14.3 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand its high-powered data center for genomics. The facility’s sophisticated computer networks store massive amounts of genomic data used to identify the genetic origins of cancer and other diseases.

The Longer Life Foundation has awarded grants to six research projects on issues related to aging at Washington University School of Medicine. Over the last 10 years, the foundation has awarded more than $2 million to the university to fund independent research into improving methods for predicting long-term mortality.

Most people at risk for developing glaucoma due to high eye pressure do not need treatment, according to a large, multi-center study.