School of Medicine

Researchers discovered activity in a part of the brain called the extrastriate body both when subjects viewed body parts and when they pointed to an object.Although we don’t often think about it, the brain is a very complicated place. Even the simple act of pointing at an object requires an intricate network of brain activity. Scientists traditionally thought this network included a one-way “information highway” between the brain’s visual system and its motor and sensory systems, but research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now challenges that long-held theory. The study demonstrates that the brain’s visual system is responsible not only for seeing and perceiving objects outside the body, but also is involved when individuals sense and manipulate their own bodies.

PowellSimon Powell, M.B. B.S., Ph.D., a cancer physician-scientist from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, has been appointed head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

For decades, bicycles have been a recreational mainstay for youngsters, especialy during the summer months. Bikes can, however, become extremely dangerous and even deadly to the children who ride them. Robert Bo Kennedy, M.D., a WUSTL pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, outlines some dangers of bicycling and steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.

Removal of an immune system signaling protein prevents the development of a lupus-like condition in mice, researchers at the School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have found.

“Building the Road to Independence: A Novel Approach to Help Kids With Cerebral Palsy” is a seminar designed to provide information about education, physical fitness, mobility, technology and independence to parents and caregivers of children with cerebral palsy.

GordonJeffrey I. Gordon, M.D., the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor, has been appointed director of the new Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. The center is strategically located adjacent to the Genome Sequencing Center, which played a major role in the success of the Human Genome Project.

The May Department Stores Foundation and Edward Jones each have pledged $1 million toward the Emerson-Busch challenge grant. The challenge grant, a $10-million gift from Emerson’s Charitable Trust and the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, will help ensure that people in the St. Louis area have access to the most advanced cancer treatments.

DaceyRalph G. Dacey Jr., M.D., the Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor and Chairman of Neurological Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and neurosurgeon-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, has been named chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

Washington University, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Barnes-Jewish Hospital have teamed with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to host the first live Virtual Patient Education Day for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The live Web cast, CF Nutrition: News You Can Use, outlines the importance of strong nutrition for people with CF.

Growing new organs to take the place of damaged or diseased ones is moving from science fiction to reality, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Scientists have previously shown that embryonic tissue transplants can be used to grow new kidneys inside rats. In their latest study, though, they put the new kidneys to an unprecedented and critical test, removing the rat’s original kidneys and placing the new kidneys in position to take over for them. The new kidneys were able to successfully sustain the rats for a short time.