School of Medicine

Although bumper pads are theoretically designed to prevent injury to a baby while in the crib or bassinet, the risk of accidental death or injury to an infant from using them outweighs their possible benefits, according to a new study by pediatric researchers at the School of Medicine. In the study, which appears in the September 2007 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, the researchers reviewed three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission databases for deaths related to crib bumpers and crib-related injuries from 1985-2005.

PolonskyAs part of a national effort to translate basic science discoveries into treatments and cures for patients more quickly, the School of Medicine will lead a regional group of institutions under a new $50 million, five-year grant program that will greatly enhance clinical and translational research. The grant creates a comprehensive approach to ultimately improving patient care, says program principal investigator Kenneth S. Polonsky.

Photo by Robert BostonHeidi Prather, D.O., specializes in treating women with musculoskeletal problems and injured performing artists, primarily dancers.

It doesn’t matter how small or large it is, if a cervical tumor glows brightly in a PET scan, it’s apt to be more dangerous than dimmer tumors. That’s the conclusion of a new study of cervical cancer patients at the School of Medicine. Lead author Elizabeth Kidd her colleagues, including researchers with the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, report their findings in an upcoming issue of the journal Cancer.

Photo by Robert BostonHeidi Prather, D.O., specializes in treating women with musculoskeletal problems and injured performing artists, primarily dancers.

Mary Jane Spiegel, a lab assistant at the School of Medicine from 1957-1986, died Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. She was 87.

Photo by Tim ParkerFirst-year medical students learn to work together at the annual Diversity Retreat, sponsored by Student Support Services and the Office of Diversity Programs.

Richard J. Smith, Ph.D., the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences, will become dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences July 1, 2008, when Robert E. Thach, Ph.D., dean since 1993, steps down, announced Edward S. Macias, Ph.D.

School of Medicine researchers will head a national study of addiction, looking both at genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the problem.

Local researchers have developed an improved dosing formula for the widely prescribed anticoagulant warfarin (Coumadin) that considers variations in two key genes.