School of Medicine

RiewThe National Football League has announced a new spine treatment program for retired players, and orthopedics specialists at the School of Medicine have been chosen to participate. K. Daniel Riew, the Mildred B. Simon Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and chief of the cervical spine service for Washington University Orthopedics, is one of five U.S. spine specialists selected to participate in the new NFL program.

Pig heart valves used to replace defective aortic valves in human patients failed much earlier and more often than expected, says a report from cardiac surgeons at the School of Medicine. This is the first report to demonstrate this potential problem, the researchers say.

Alzheimer’s disease researchers at the School of Medicine have won renewal of a grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study the differences between people who remain mentally spry in the golden years of life and those who develop dementia.

ZhangYi Zhang has been named assistant dean for clinical trials at the School of Medicine effective July 1. As assistant dean for clinical trials, Zhang will plan, direct and oversee clinical trials activities at the School of Medicine.

WarnerBrad W. Warner, a pediatric surgeon whose research and surgical career have focused on improving the lives of children with congenital bowel problems, has been named the Jessie L. Ternberg, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in Pediatric Surgery at the School of Medicine.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has extended funding for the Midwest Regional Center for Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (MRCE), anchored at the School of Medicine. The center received a five-year, $37 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to continue to support basic and translational research in biodefense and emerging infectious diseases throughout the Midwest.

Kelle H. Moley, a world-renowned reproductive biologist, has been named the first James P. Crane Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine. Moley, vice chair for basic science research and director of the Division of Basic Science Research in obstetrics and gynecology, was installed in the new professorship at a ceremony June 10.

Image courtesy of United States Department of AgricultureHuman gut bacterium *Enterococcus faecalis*The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis four grants totaling $19 million to explore the trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body and determine how they contribute to good health and disease. The grants are part of the Human Microbiome Project, an ongoing, ambitious effort to catalog the bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that naturally coexist in or on the body.

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found substantial reductions in binge drinking since the national drinking age was set at 21 two decades ago, with one exception: college students. The rates of binge drinking in male collegians remain unchanged, but the rates in female collegians have increased dramatically.

C. Michael Crowder has been named the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor in Anesthesiology at the School of Medicine. The new appointment was announced by Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and by Larry J. Shapiro executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.