School of Medicine

Photo by Robert BostonMarc J. Bernstein, M.D. (left), instructor in clinical medicine, receives the Stanley Lang Lecturer of the Year award from Wale Adeniran, president of the School of Medicine Class of 2009.

A great deal of research connects nutrition with cancer risk. Overweight people are at higher risk of developing post-menopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer and a certain type of esophageal cancer. Now preliminary findings from researchers at the School of Medicine suggest that eating less protein may help protect against certain cancers that are not directly associated with obesity.

The Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center will fund research focused on how the immune system contributes to asthma.

Patricia Flynn in the Department of Psychiatry has been named Nurse of the Year by the Missouri Nurses Association’s Third District

New School of Medicine research shows that physicians can’t assume that women with rare, benign breast conditions are cancer-free.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Can less protein ward off cancer? (week of Dec. 6) • Clinical Simulation Center (week of Dec. 13) • Malaria drug for metabolic syndrome (week of Dec. 20) • Cutting calories and bone density (week of Dec. 27)

Photo by Susan SternerFinding comfort while grieving.The parties, family gatherings, gift exchanges and other activities of the holiday season can provide a much-needed distraction from the events of the world. But for those who have lost a loved one, the holidays are often less a distraction and more a reminder of loss. A psychologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis says for those who are grieving, a “normal” holiday season may not be possible, but there are strategies that can be used to help things go more smoothly.

The Genome Sequencing Center has been awarded a $156 million, four-year grant to use DNA sequencing to unlock the secrets of human diseases. The grant is among the largest awarded to the University and one of only three given by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to U.S. sequencing centers.

By counting how many of seven easy-to-obtain health factors an elderly heart-failure patient has, physicians can estimate the patient’s risk of dying.

Steven N. Blair, an expert in the associations between lifestyle and health, is foundation’s first visiting scholar.