WUSTL receives $1 million grant from Amgen Foundation for undergraduate research

By Beth Miller

Washington University in St. Louis has received a four-year, $1 million grant from the Amgen Foundation to provide hands-on biomedical laboratory experience to undergraduates through the Amgen Scholars Program.

The 10-week, intensive undergraduate summer research program, which will begin in May 2011, will allow U.S. citizens or permanent residents to participate in activities designed to build confidence and maturity as a scientist. Scholars will conduct independent research with Washington University scientists; participate in workshops, team-oriented activities and weekly research lectures; mentor a high school student interested in science; and receive career and academic advice. They will also write a paper and present a scientific poster at the end of the summer.

“Research is at the heart of Washington University’s academic mission,” said Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “We are grateful to the Amgen Foundation for their generous support of the Amgen Scholars Program – a program that will encourage talented undergraduates to improve their skills in the area of scientific inquiry and research. This is a very forward-thinking gift that will serve to increase the pool of future scientists.”

The program is similar to a summer research program already in place at the School of Medicine called the BioMedical Research Apprenticeship Program (BioMedRAP). That program is specifically for undergraduate students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical sciences.

Kathryn G. Miller, PhD, professor of biology and chair of the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences, and John Russell, PhD, professor of developmental biology and associate dean for graduate education, are co-program directors.

“We are very excited to have been selected to partner with other outstanding institutions in the Amgen Scholars Program,” Russell says. “The Amgen Foundation has been visionary in establishing the Scholars Program to encourage outstanding American students to pursue careers in biomedical research. The program will allow us to build on an existing, nationally recognized summer program infrastructure to recruit outstanding students both from within Washington University as well as the Midwest and nationally to obtain a world-class research experience.”

"We have a big focus on undergraduate research at this university," Miller says, "and that's largely as a result of programs that we've had for a number of years in the biomedical sciences that are now blossoming into campus-wide opportunities to engage in scholarship in every discipline. Amgen scholars might work with people studying the cell's cytoskeleton, doing computational biology, or using chemical methods to understand problems in neurobiology. We have the faculty interested in having undergraduates in the lab that I think can make this program a terrific success."

"Even if students in the program decide not become bench scientists, they'll gain an understanding of science through this program and what it means to have data that does or does not support a conclusion, and that too is important," she says.

Washington University’s program will be administered through the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), a university-wide consortium that provides scholars with a choice of 450 potential faculty mentors. Rochelle Smith, manager of Diversity Affairs, Summer Programs and Community Outreach for DBBS, is program manager.

The Amgen Scholars Program was launched by the Amgen Foundation in 2006 with 10 partner universities in the United States to provide undergraduates the opportunity for laboratory research experiences under the guidance of leading scientists in academia. In 2008, the program expanded to include three European universities. Washington University joins the program this year and is the only university in the Midwest to participate.

In the past four years, nearly 1,200 Amgen Scholars — representing 327 different colleges and universities across the United States and Europe — have explored areas of research beyond what they may be able to do as part of their regular undergraduate education. Today, more than 70 percent of program alumni who have graduated from college are now pursuing an advanced degree or a career in science or engineering, with many in scientific doctoral programs at top universities worldwide.

“The success of the Amgen Scholars program is due in large share to our university partners,” said Jean J. Lim, president, Amgen Foundation. “These leading universities provide undergraduates from around the country with an inspiring, hands-on research experience that often leads them to pursue advanced degrees and a career in the sciences.”

The U.S. and European programs will each continue to host a summer symposium allowing students to share their summer research projects, learn about biotechnology, and hear firsthand from leading industry and academic scientists. In addition, travel awards will help support Amgen Scholar alumni currently enrolled in masters, PhD, and MD-PhD programs in scientific fields to share their research at scientific conferences.

In its first year, the Amgen Scholars program received about 2,200 applications. By 2010, that number increased to more than 5,200 applications, with only 315 openings available across the U.S. and Europe.


The 10 U.S. program partners are:

• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

• Columbia University/Barnard College

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• Stanford University

• University of California, Berkeley

• University of California, Los Angeles

• University of California, San Diego

• University of California, San Francisco

• University of Washington

• Washington University in St. Louis



The three European program partners are:

• Cambridge University, UK

• Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm, Sweden

• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munich, Germany

Financial support for students is a critical component of the program, which seeks to ensure that eligible students, regardless of their financial status, are able to participate.

Washington University will support about 25 students in the program each summer. About one-third will be Washington University undergraduates, while the rest will be from other colleges and universities, Russell says.

"We get a lot of requests from students outside the university looking for summer research opportunities, so it's really good, both for the students and for us, that the program is open to students from other schools," Miller says.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Amgen Scholars program. For more information about Amgen Scholars or an application, please visit http://www.amgenscholars.com./

‘That Girl’ visits Genome Center

Photo by Robert Boston

Actress Marlo Thomas (left) talks with Richard Wilson, PhD, director of The Genome Center, Oct. 28 in The Genome Center at the School of Medicine. The Genome Center is partnering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis on the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, the largest research project to date aimed at understanding the genetic origins of pediatric cancers. Genome Center scientists and St. Jude investigators are sequencing the genomes of both normal and tumor cells from 600 young cancer patients, comparing differences in the DNA to identify genetic mistakes that lead to cancer. The project is estimated to cost $65 million over three years, with the bulk of the funding provided by St. Jude. Thomas, the daughter of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, is national outreach director for the hospital.



WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY RECEIVES $1 MILLION GRANT FROM AMGEN FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Eight-Year, $34 Million Program, in Partnership with 13 Top Universities, Will Reach Nearly 2,500 Undergraduates

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. Nov. 10, 2010/PRNewswire/ — Today, Amgen Scholars, the signature initiative of the Amgen Foundation, moves into its second phase of what has become a $34 million program to advance science learning and inspire the next generation of scientists.

“There continues to be a shortage of qualified scientists and engineers entering the workforce each year,” said Jean Lim, president, Amgen Foundation. “The Amgen Scholars Program encourages students to pursue a scientific career by providing critical hands-on experiences in laboratories of top scientific research universities across the U.S. and Europe. By 2014, a significant portion of the nearly 2,500 undergraduates who are Amgen Scholars will use their experiences to pursue PhDs and careers in a scientific field.”

For the second phase of the program, which extends through 2014, each of the 13 partner universities participating in the program will receive approximately $1 million over the next four years to support undergraduate students across the United States (U.S.) or Europe. The U.S. and European programs will each continue to host a summer symposium allowing students to share their summer research projects, learn about biotechnology, and hear firsthand from leading industry and academic scientists. In addition, new to Phase 2, travel awards will help support Amgen Scholar alumni currently enrolled in masters, PhD, and MD-PhD programs in scientific fields to share their research at scientific conferences.

Amgen Scholars launched in 2006 with 10 partner universities in the U.S. to provide undergraduates the opportunity for laboratory research experiences under the guidance of leading scientists in academia. In 2008, the program expanded to include three European universities. As a result, in the past four years, nearly 1,200 Amgen Scholars — representing 327 different colleges and universities across the U.S. and Europe — have explored areas of research beyond what they may have been able to do as part of their regular undergraduate education. Today, over 70 percent of participants who have graduated from college are now pursuing an advanced degree or a career in science or engineering, with many in scientific PhD programs at top universities across the world.

In its first year, the Amgen Scholars Program received approximately 2,200 applications. By 2010, that number increased to more than 5,200 applications, with only 315 openings in the U.S. and Europe.

MIT serves as the U.S. Program Office for the Amgen Scholars Program. “Research is at the heart of education at MIT,” said MIT President Susan Hockfield. “The Amgen Scholars Program is built on an assumption we share: that one critical way to inspire students is to get them actively involved in exciting laboratory work. The nation and the world need more scientists, and this young program is an answer to that call.”

University of Cambridge serves as the European Coordinating Centre. “Many countries in Europe have limited science research opportunities for undergraduates. Our partnership with the Amgen Foundation enables us to offer the brightest minds a unique summer research program, and to inspire them about career opportunities at the cutting edge of scientific research,” said Professor John Rallison, pro-vice-chancellor for Education at the University of Cambridge.

The 10 U.S. program partners are:

•California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

•Columbia University/Barnard College

•Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

•Stanford University

•University of California, Berkeley

•University of California, Los Angeles

•University of California, San Diego

•University of California, San Francisco

•University of Washington

•Washington University in St. Louis


The three European program partners are:

•Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

•Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munich, Germany

•University of Cambridge, UK

Financial support for students is a critical component of the program, which seeks to ensure that eligible students, regardless of their financial status, are able to participate. Financial support details vary by host university.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Amgen Scholars Program. For more information about Amgen Scholars or an application, please visit http://www.amgenscholars.com./

About the Amgen Foundation

The Amgen Foundation (www.amgen.com/citizenship/overview.html) seeks to advance science education; improve patient access to quality care; and strengthen the communities where Amgen staff members live and work. Since 1991, the Foundation has made $140 million in grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Europe that impact society in inspiring and innovative ways, and those that provide disaster relief efforts both domestically and internationally.

Washington University receives $23 million grant, renewal of comprehensive status for Siteman Cancer Center

The Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine has received renewal of its designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).


The designation recognizes Siteman’s clinical research, basic science, community outreach and education activities. The renewal includes $23 million in research funding for the next five years.

“NCI designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center confers the highest recognition of our exceptional cancer-focused scientists, clinicians and staff throughout Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital,” says Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of the Siteman Cancer Center. “Most importantly, we are translating our cutting-edge science into better treatments for the more than 40,000 cancer patients we see each year.”

To achieve comprehensive status, a cancer center must succeed in a rigorous, multi-stage review process, which included a 1,700-page grant proposal followed by a site visit by a panel of national experts in January.

NCI is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health.

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Genes influence how much people smoke and who gets lung cancer

Jerry Stitzel, University of Colorado, Boulder

The CHRNA gene is active in brain areas linked to addiction. In this image from a mouse brain, the bright white areas are the brain regions in which the gene is highly active.

Your DNA influences how much you smoke and whether you will develop lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to an international team of researchers led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.


The study is the first large-scale effort to match genetics with smoking, lung cancer and COPD combined. The investigators studied 38,000 smokers and found that two groups of gene variants on chromosome 15 influence risk for all three problems. Their findings appear in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Genetics.

“We put together a consortium from around the world and analyzed DNA variants that we know cause biological changes in smokers,” says the study’s senior investigator Laura Jean Bierut, MD. “We were able to demonstrate that both of the variants affect the amount a person smokes. Then we showed that the same pattern of variants contributes to lung cancer and COPD.”

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At the heart of prevention

Photo by Bob Boston

Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH (left), goes over epidemiological research with Victoria Anwuri, project manager of the Siteman Cancer Center. “Graham Colditz is an exceptional leader,” says Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “He has a clear vision for what it takes to build a world-class program and the keen ability to bring out the strengths in those he works with to accomplish that vision.”


By Caroline Arbanas
 
Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, always knew he wanted to be a primary-care physician — just like his father.


But when he got to medical school, Colditz was struck by the kinds of patients he saw in the hospital. Too many were suffering from heart attacks or lung cancer — conditions linked to smoking. “It made me wonder: Couldn’t we do a better job at prevention?” he says.

That line of questioning changed the trajectory of Colditz’s career. Today, he is an internationally known leader in cancer prevention. Rather than treating patients after they get sick, his life’s work focuses on understanding the preventable causes of chronic disease, particularly among women, and translating that research into guidelines and policies aimed at promoting healthier lives through prevention.

After 23 years at Harvard University, Colditz joined the School of Medicine faculty in 2006 as the Niess-Gain Professor and associate director of Prevention and Control at the Siteman Cancer Center. His longtime associate at Harvard, Carol Leighton, joined Colditz, bringing her knowledge of research structures and implementation planning. Since his arrival, he has broadened the scope of prevention research, education and community outreach and markedly raised the profile of the university’s public health initiatives.

“Graham Colditz is an exceptional leader,” says Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “He has a clear vision for what it takes to build a world-class program and the keen ability to bring out the strengths in those he works with to accomplish that vision.”

Colditz has recruited more than a dozen new faculty members whose research focuses on cancer’s link to physical activity, obesity and other lifestyle factors, and on public health strategies to help eliminate cancer disparities. He also has brought in more than $30 million in federal funding to expand the breadth and depth of cancer prevention research and programs.

Working with Edward F. Lawlor, PhD, dean of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Colditz was instrumental in establishing the university’s Institute for Public Health. The institute has expanded its interdisciplinary research and education programs to improve public health throughout the city, region and world.

Ahead of his time

After finishing medical school and an internal medicine residency at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Colditz headed to Harvard University’s School of Public Health. He came with a dual interest in epidemiology and health policy.

As it turns out, Colditz was way ahead of his time. From the outset, Harvard epidemiologists advised him to steer clear of health policy.

“Clearly, their thinking was that epidemiology generates the truth and that policymakers could debate the research, but epidemiologists shouldn’t be involved in those discussions,” he says.

Colditz, however, wanted to bridge the divide. He wanted to apply the data, not just generate it. Colditz took courses in health economics and decision analysis and joined forces with health-care economists building a model that estimated the costs to society of smoking. Early in his career, he also was at the forefront of efforts to develop cancer prevention programs on the local, state and national levels, working with the city of Boston, the state of Massachusetts and the American Cancer Society.

Colditz earned a master’s degree in public health in 1982 and a doctorate in public health in 1986, also from Harvard.

For his dissertation, he worked on the landmark Nurses’ Health Study. This long-term study, initiated in 1976, has tracked the health of more than 238,000 nurses and is one of the largest investigations into the risk factors for chronic illnesses in women.

After finishing his doctorate, Colditz ran the day-to-day operations of the Nurses’ Health Study and, in 1996, became its principal investigator.

Through his efforts, the study was expanded to include data on fractures, diabetes, quality of life after breast cancer, tissue samples from premalignant and malignant lesions, and other health measures. Hundreds of studies since have been published based on data from the study. Among its major findings:

Smoking increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in women.

Hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of breast cancer.

Even modest weight gain in adulthood increases a woman’s risk of diabetes.

Weight loss after menopause reduces risk for breast cancer.

“The Nurses’ Health Study is a massive undertaking,” Colditz says, “but it really gave us a incredible opportunity to look at how diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors influence a woman’s risk of disease.”

New opportunity

Colditz’s son, Andrew Butler, PhD, began doctoral studies in psychology at Washington University in 2003, so Colditz knew of the school’s reputation and its academic rigor. Several years later, when former Harvard colleague Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of the Siteman Cancer Center, was looking to recruit someone to lead the Cancer Prevention and Control program, Colditz was intrigued.

Colditz was well aware of health disparities in the region. Missouri and Illinois both have cancer death rates higher than the national average; the problem is particularly worrisome in urban and rural areas with high poverty, where rates of smoking and obesity also are high. Some might look at those statistics as hopeless, but Colditz saw them as an opportunity and a challenge.

“We’ve got a phenomenal opportunity here to bring people together to change some of these disparities,” Colditz says.

Colditz and Aimee James, PhD, assistant professor of surgery, and other colleagues recently received additional National Institutes of Health funding for a major project to increase colorectal cancer screening among underserved and underinsured people in St. Louis and in Illinois.

Colditz also has spearheaded the development of the new master of population health sciences program for physicians and clinical trainees. He directs the one-year program, which launched this fall and is designed to give clinicians the research skills to evaluate the effectiveness of medications or clinical procedures in large populations.

“Graham has accomplished so much in such a short time,” Eberlein says. “Graham has a real gift for creating an environment where people want to work together. He’s a fantastic mentor, and everyone wants to work with him.”

In recent years, Colditz’s own research has focused on how diet and lifestyle during adolescence can influence cancer risk in later years. He has shown that regular exercise in girls as young as 12 can reduce their risk of breast cancer. In another study, he found that girls and young women who drink alcohol increase their risk of benign breast disease, which in itself raises their risk of breast cancer.

He also has initiated an effort to collect blood samples and health histories of the 25,000 women who get mammograms at the Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Siteman. The information will be used as part of clinical studies to determine why certain women get breast cancer and why they respond differently to treatment.

“Washington University has enormous strength in basic science research and in understanding how disease develops,” Colditz says. “The challenge is to add ways to identify disease risk — both for individuals and within whole communities — and to change behavior to lower risk and improve people’s lives.”

Fast facts about Graham Colditz

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

Family: Wife, Pat Cox; son, Andrew Butler, PhD, 30, postdoctoral research associate at Duke University; daughter, Louisa Butler, 26, studying communication planning and information design at Carnegie Mellon University; daughter-in-law Anne Butler, 29, second-year epidemiology doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Honors and awards: Member, Institute of Medicine; fellow, Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine; Royal Australasian College of Physicians; Distinguished Alumni Award, Harvard School of Public Health

Valuable tool: Colditz and colleagues developed Your Disease Risk, an online tool to assess a person’s risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and osteoporosis.

Tradition of excellence

Kerry Kornfeld, MD, PhD (right), professor of developmental biology, and lab manager Luke Schneider observe C. elegans nematodes, the model organism Kornfeld uses to study cell pattern formation during development and aging. “(Kerry) is an outstanding developmental biologist and geneticist, a superb thinker and a wonderfully thoughtful person who was able to quickly forge connections between faculty and students in several departments, including molecular biology and pharmacology and genetics,” says Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and professor of medicine, of pathology and immunology and of developmental biology.

When Kerry Kornfeld, MD, PhD, says his life began at the School of Medicine, he means that literally.
 
“I was born at Barnes Hospital,” says Kornfeld, whose research laboratory is located a stone’s throw from the place of his birth.

As the youngest branch on a family tree with deep roots at the School of Medicine, Kornfeld, professor of developmental biology, is carrying on the family’s tradition of excellence in both research and service.

The first of Washington University’s elite cadre of faculty members known as “Dr. Kornfeld” was Kerry Kornfeld’s grandfather Max Kornfeld, the youngest member of the Washington University School of Dentistry’s Class of 1924. Max Kornfeld began teaching metallurgy and comparative dental anatomy at his alma mater in 1925.

The next Dr. Kornfeld at WUSTL was Max’s son Stuart, who completed a medical degree at the School of Medicine in 1962 and joined the faculty in 1966. Today, Stuart Kornfeld, MD, is the David C. and Betty Farrell Distinguished Professor of Medicine, co-director of the Physician Scientist Training Program at the School of Medicine and a world-renowned physician-scientist.

It was Stuart Kornfeld’s marriage to graduate student Rosalind Hauk during his medical training that led to Kerry Kornfeld’s aforementioned birth at Barnes Hospital.

“My mom (the late Rosalind Kornfeld, PhD) had my older sister and me while she was working on a doctorate in biochemistry,” says Kornfeld of his mother, who completed the doctorate in 1961 when Kerry still was an infant.

In 1966, Stuart and Rosalind Kornfeld joined the medical school faculty and began a professional collaboration that would lead to significant scientific discoveries.

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Secondhand smoke: Ventilation systems are not the answer, says new study

Some of the effects of secondhand smoke on the cardiovascular system in nonsmokers are comparable to the effects of active smoking and occur within a half hour of exposure, says Joaquin Barnoya, MD, a research assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine.

In a scientific study of secondhand smoke exposure in St. Louis bars and restaurants, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that ventilation systems and “voluntary” smoke-free policies do not protect employees and customers from exposure to nicotine in the air.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is an established cause of cancer, heart disease and serious lung ailments, according to the U.S. surgeon general.

Researchers from the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work and at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine analyzed nicotine levels in randomly selected bars and restaurants in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, and in hair samples from employees of the monitored venues.

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A sword, a hat and three unforgettable days in Helsinki

Alan L. Schwartz, PhD, MD (left), receives the sword of truth as part of an honorary doctorate ceremony at the University of Helsinki.

Honorary degrees are a time-honored tradition among universities to recognize achievements of the best and brightest in a field. While they are all a great honor, the University of Helsinki is unique among institutions in how it bestows this honor, and a Washington University School of Medicine faculty member was the fortunate recipient.


Alan L. Schwartz, PhD, MD, recently received an honorary doctorate of medicine and surgery from the University of Helsinki that came steeped in nearly 400 years of tradition and ceremony and included some unique, symbolic gifts.

Schwartz, the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and head of the Department of Pediatrics, was one of 15 physician-scientists from around the globe to receive one of the honorary doctorates, which the university’s medical faculty awards only once a decade. The University of Helsinki is one of the world’s leading research-intensive universities.

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Brain network links cognition, motivation

Simply flashing a dollar-sign cue sparked immediate activation in a brain region that coordinates the interaction of cognitive control and motivational functions, effectively putting these areas on alert that there was money to be won in the challenge ahead, the study suggests.

Whether it’s sports, poker or the high-stakes world of business, there are those who always find a way to win when there’s money on the table.

Now, for the first time, psychology researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are unraveling the workings of a novel brain network that may explain how these “money players” manage to keep their heads in the game.

Findings suggest that a specific brain area helps people use the prospect of success to better prepare their thoughts and actions, thus increasing odds that a reward will be won.

The study, published Aug. 4 in the Journal of Neuroscience, identified a brain region about two inches above the left eyebrow that sprang into action whenever study participants were shown a dollar sign, a predetermined cue that a correct answer on the task at hand would result in a financial reward.

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Two WUSTL graduate students traveled to Lake Constance in Germany this summer to meet with Nobel laureates.

Lindau Harbor, photographed by Chris Evans, a previous student attendee of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.

As scientific conferences go, the Lindau Meeting isn’t bad. The participants travel to Germany’s Lindau Island in Lake Constance at the foot of the Alps, where Nobel laureates have convened to inspire and enlighten them.



This summer, two Washington University students, Claire Cobley and Eric Feczko, were among the 75 American students selected by nationwide competition to attend the laureate’s gathering.


Cobley, a graduate student in the lab of Younan Xia, PhD, the James M. McKelvey Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, is working on the development of nanoscale materials with medical applications.


Feczko, a graduate student in the neurosciences program, works with John Pruett, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine, on autism and face recognition.


The Lindau meeting dates from 1951, when two physicians convinced Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg to support a meeting of Nobel laureates in the field of medicine.


This year, the 60th Lindau meeting, held June 27-July 2, was opened in the Inselhalle on Lindau Island by Countess Bettina Bernadotte, the count’s daughter. Fifty-nine Nobel laureates and 650 young scientists were in attendance.


During the meeting, the laureates lecture on topics of their choice in the mornings and participate in small-group discussions with the students in the afternoon. The evenings are devoted to dining and music.


Cobley says laureate Oliver Smithies, DPhilco-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, made a particular impression on her.


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Immune system overreaction may enable recurrent urinary tract infections

In mice, an immune system overreaction to a urinary tract infection can leave the lining of the bladder pocked with clumps of inflammatory immune cells (in this image, the dark clump on the upper left). Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that this can shift the balance in the bladder from a protective immune response that helps prevent infection to a damaging immune response that makes mice more vulnerable to recurrent infections.

The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

Researchers showed in mice that severe inflammatory responses to an initial UTI cause bladder damage and allow infection to persist longer. After one to two weeks of infection, the bladder wall undergoes additional changes that leave mice more vulnerable to later infection. Suppressing the immune system during initial infection decreases these vulnerabilities, they reported Aug. 12 in PLoS Pathogens.


“We found markers in the mice that may one day help us identify patients vulnerable to recurrent infection and refine our treatment strategies,” says lead author Thomas J. Hannan, DVM, PhD. “There were infection-fighting elements in the immune responses of some mice that we may, for example, one day be able to trigger with vaccines for vulnerable patients.”

The research was conducted at the Center for Women's Infectious Disease Research at the School of Medicine.

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Summer Undergraduate Research at DBBS

Aging and longevity tied to specific brain region in mice

A green stain lights up a protein tied to aging and shows that it is abundant in the hypothalamus region of mice brains.

Researchers watched two groups of mice, both nearing the end of a two-day fast. One group was quietly huddled together, but the other group was active and alert. The difference? The second set of mice had been engineered so their brains produced more SIRT1, a protein known to play a role in aging and longevity.


“This result surprised us,” says the study’s senior author Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, an expert in aging research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “It demonstrates that SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce. And this might be involved with the lifespan-increasing effect of low-calorie diets.”

Imai explains that the mice with increased brain SIRT1 have internal mechanisms that make them use energy more efficiently, which helps them move around in search of food even after a long fast. This increased energy-efficiency could help delay aging and extend lifespan.

The research findings are published in the July 28 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Baby brain growth mirrors changes from apes to humans

Areas of expansion in the human cortex during infancy and childhood, top, closely match areas of change in the human brain when compared with the brains of apes and monkeys. Yellow areas expanded the most, followed by orange, red, blue and light blue areas.

A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution’s imprint on the human brain.


Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that the human brain regions that grow the most during infancy and childhood are nearly identical to the brain regions with the most changes when human brains are compared with those of apes and monkeys.

Researchers report the finding in a detailed comparison of the brains of normal-term infants and healthy young adults published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists conducted the study to help assess the long-term effects of premature birth on brain development. These can include increased risks of learning disabilities, attention deficits, behavioral problems and cognitive impairments.

"Pre-term births have been rising in recent years, and now 12 percent of all babies in the United States are born prematurely," says Terrie Inder, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics. "Until now, though, we were very limited in our ability to study how premature birth affects brain development because we had so little data on what normal brain development looks like."


Among the questions Inder and her colleagues hope to answer is the extent to which the brain can adapt to developmental limitations or setbacks imposed by early birth. They also are helping to develop clinical strategies to promote such adaptations and normalize development.


The study used a technique for comparative brain anatomy called surface reconstruction pioneered by senior author David Van Essen, PhD, Edison Professor and head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Surface reconstruction helps scientists more closely align comparable regions and structures in many different brains and has been used to create online atlases of brain structure.


First author Jason Hill, an MD/PhD student, analyzed the brain scans of 12 full-term infants and compared these with scans from 12 healthy young adults. Data from the two groups were combined into a single atlas to help scientists quantify the differences between the infant and young-adult brains.





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Friendly viruses in the intestine are unique – even among identical twins

Many people associate viruses with disease. But a largely unexplored world of viruses make their home in the lower intestine, and new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that each of us harbors a unique collection of these “friendly” viruses.
In a study of healthy identical twins – all females – and their mothers, the researchers found that even identical twins carry distinctive collections of viruses deep in their intestines. The research is published July 15 in the journal Nature.
Unlike viruses that make us sick, these viruses are not predators. Indeed, most of them are novel and live a cozy existence inside bacteria that naturally reside in the gut. Here, the viruses are thought to influence the activities of gut microbes, which among their other benefits allow us to digest certain components of our diets, such as plant-based carbohydrates, that we can’t on our own. Further, the viruses may act as a barometer to gauge the overall health of the gut microbial community as it responds to challenges or recovers after an illness or therapeutic intervention.

“Viruses are the major predators on planet Earth,” says senior author Jeffrey Gordon, MD, director of Washington University’s Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, whose pioneering research has provided an understanding of the nature of the microbes that live in our intestines: how they are acquired and how they benefit us, including their influence on nutrition.

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Washington University campuses are tobacco-free beginning July 1

All Washington University campuses are tobacco-free beginning Thursday, July 1.

Under the new university policy, smoking and tobacco use is prohibited on all university-owned and -managed properties. The School of Medicine has prohibited tobacco use on school property since 2007.

“This is an important milestone for the Washington University campus community,” says Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. "The tobacco-free initiative helps the university provide a healthy, comfortable and productive environment for students, faculty and staff."

"Tobacco use — including smoking and breathing secondhand smoke — constitute a significant health hazard," says Alan I. Glass, MD, assistant vice chancellor and director of the Habif Health and Wellness Center. "The tobacco-free policy is an important campus health initiative, and the university is offering support to those affected in hopes of making the transition as easy as possible for our campus community."

The university will continue to work with community members to support tobacco-cessation efforts.

For faculty and staff, the “Preparing to Quit” and “Freedom from Smoking” programs are available.

During the “Preparing to Quit” program, which is 40 minutes, experts will discuss the benefits of tobacco-cessation and what it takes to be successful in quitting. The “Preparing to Quit” class schedule will be posted wellnessconnection.wustl.edu. Check the website periodically for more information.
In the seven-week “Freedom From Smoking” program, participants can receive support and learn skills to permanently quit tobacco use. This program is free to benefits-eligible faculty and staff and is available to other members of the WUSTL community for $50. For more information, call 935-5990 or e-mail wellnessconnection@wustl.edu.
Faculty and staff members enrolled in the “Freedom From Smoking” program will be able to purchase a six-week supply of smoking-cessation medication for $15 via a payroll deduction after the completion of the program's third and seventh classes.

Students have access to tobacco-cessation services through their student health plan. Students can access the “Aetna Quit & Fit Tobacco Cessation” program by visiting quitandfit.com/aetna or aetnastudenthealth.com/wustl or calling “Quit & Fit” at 877-330-2746. Smoking-cessation medications will be made available at no cost for students covered by the Washington University student health insurance.
Betsy Foy, EdD, assistant director of Student Health Services, is available during the summer and throughout the school year to work with students who would like an individualized quitting plan, continued support in quitting, or nicotine-replacement medication.
Several organizations offer free online smoking-cessation programs for all, including the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking program at LungUSA.org; the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation's EX Plan at BecomeAnEX.org; and QuitNet at QuitNet.com.
Students and employees also can call 1-800-QUITNOW or visit smokefree.gov for counseling and other information about quitting tobacco use.

Visit wustl.edu/tobaccofree for more information about tobacco-cessation options and the tobacco-free policy. Frequently asked questions and ready-to-download promotional materials also are available on the website.

Celebrating collaboration

picture by Robert Boston

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke in the Ellen S. Clark Hope Plaza June 16 prior to the dedication of the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine. The keynote speaker at the event was Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health. Maya Lin, the artist who designed the plaza’s water feature, also attended the event.

BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine to be dedicated June 16

The BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will be formally dedicated at a Collaboration Celebration on June 16.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will make remarks prior to the dinner, and Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institute of Health will be the featured speaker at the dinner.

In addition, Maya Lin, designer of the Ellen S. Clark Hope Plaza surrounding the building, will attend.

The 680,000 square-foot BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine, located at Euclid Avenue and Children's Place, is an 11-story research building housing laboratories and support facilities for BioMed21, Washington University's research initiative to rapidly translate basic research findings into advances in medical treatment. The $235 million building, supported by a $30 million naming gift from BJC Healthcare, opened in December 2009. It is Washington University's largest building.

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Protein lets brain repair damage from multiple sclerosis, other disorders

A protein that helps build the brain in infants and children may aid efforts to restore damage from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

In a mouse model of MS, researchers found that the protein, CXCR4, is essential for repairing myelin, a protective sheath that covers nerve cell branches. MS and other disorders damage myelin, and this damage is linked to loss of the branches inside the myelin.

"In MS patients, myelin repair occurs inconsistently for reasons that aren't clear," says senior author Robyn Klein, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and of neurobiology. "Understanding the nature of that problem is a priority because when myelin isn't repaired, the chances that an MS flare-up will inflict lasting harm seem to increase."

The findings appear online in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Platypus hunter studies the bizarre mammal's venom

Camilla Whittington and a live platypus being held by its tail.

When she was a child "in the land Down Under," Camilla Whittington’s dad decided it would be fun for them to go look for platypuses. These animals, found only in Australia, are technically mammals, yet they are like no other mammals around – sure, like all mammals, they produce milk for their babies, but they also lay eggs and have a bill like birds do, and, most oddly, the males shoot venom from spurs in their hind legs that causes pain even the strongest painkillers can’t alleviate.

A vet by training, Whittington’s father helped inspire his daughter’s love of science from a young age.

“Both my parents encouraged my siblings and me to take an interest in the natural world." Whittington says. "I really like the way science explains logically why things are the way they are."

This passion led her to become a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at The University of Sydney. Last year, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and she chose to use it to come to The Genome Center at Washington University to study the genetics of platypus venom.

There are very few mammals that produce venom. Even in platypuses, only the males make venom, which they use to defend their territories and protect themselves against predators. It’s also very hard to collect platypus venom since it’s mainly produced during the animal’s breeding season, and they don’t breed easily in captivity. Besides that, as Whittington knows from her childhood trips in Australia, it’s quite difficult to catch a wild platypus

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The Great Pond Experiment

A seven-year experiment shows that pond communities bear a lasting imprint of random events in their past.

Photo by Jon Chase
Students sample the more than 100 species of plants and animals that made a home in the ponds set in a field at Washington University's Tyson Research Center.

In graduate school, Jon Chase worked in a lab that set up small pond ecosystems in order to run experiments on species interactions and food webs. “And because this was an experimental science, we tried to replicate each pond system,” Chase says.
“We would try really, really hard to duplicate pond communities with a given experimental treatment,” he says, “putting 10 of this species in each pond, and five of these species, and eight of the other species, and 15 milliliters of this nutrient and 5 grams of that and SPROING, every replicate would do its own thing and nothing would be like anything else. “
“That made me curious. What if, instead of trying to eliminate the messiness, I tried to figure out where it was coming from.”
On May 27, the results of his investigation were published on the Science Express web site. The seven-year experiment isolated one reason experimental ponds go wild.
History.
If the ponds have enough nutrients, the pond community that emerges depends on the order in which species were introduced into the pond, says Chase, PhD., professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University and director of the university’s Tyson Research Center.
The discovery has broad implications for highly productive ecosystems such as tropical rainforests and coral reefs and for attempts to restore these ecosystems. Restoration can fail if the original ecosystem bears the imprint or memory of its past in ways that were not understood.

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Doctors diagnose rare lung worm infection

Michael Lane (left) and Gary Weil have diagnosed a rare parasitic infection in people who had eaten raw crayfish from rivers and streams in Missouri.

Physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have diagnosed a rare parasitic infection in six people who had consumed raw crayfish from streams and rivers in Missouri. Paragonimiasis causes fever, cough, chest pains, shortness of breath and extreme fatigue. The infection is generally not fatal, and is easily treated if properly diagnosed. But the illness is so unusual that most doctors are not aware of it.

Video News - Washington University in St. Louis

Read the full article here

DBBS Alum Focus

Recipe for a company
Post-Disptch article highlighting local start up company run by a DBBS alum, Jarrett Glasscock

When a group of Washington University scientists decided to start a gene sequencing company, conventional wisdom said they should go after big money.

They headed for California and talked with several venture capital funds. Those investors didn't exactly say no, but the founders of Cofactor Genomics got a financial education in a hurry.

"We realized how much control we would be giving up, and it was an eye-opener," recalls Jarret Glasscock, Cofactor's chief technology officer. "It really wouldn't have been our company anymore."

After their West Coast tour, the group scaled back their business plan and decided to start with one-tenth the money they originally had envisioned. They launched Cofactor in November 2008 with their own money, an equity investment by one out-of-town angel investor and vendor financing from the maker of their half-million-dollar sequencing machine.

Read the David Nicklaus Article here

Easily blocked signaling protein may help scientists stop parasites

DBBS student Sebastian Lourido first author on Nature paper:

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a parasite protein that has all the makings of a microbial glass jaw: It's essential, it's vulnerable and humans have nothing like it, meaning scientists can take pharmacological swings at it with minimal fear of collateral damage.

The protein, calcium dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), is made by Toxoplasma gondii, the toxoplasmosis parasite; cryptosporidium, which causes diarrhea; plasmodium, which causes malaria; and other similar parasites known as apicomplexans.

In the May 20 issue of Nature, researchers report that genetically suppressing CDPK1 blocks the signals that toxoplasma parasites use to control their movement, preventing them from moving in and out of host cells...

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DBBS student Haoyi Wang named 2010 GSAS Outstanding Graduate

Haoyi Wang: 2010 Outstanding Graduate in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

2010 I-CARES Research Awards Announced: Three DBBS Faculty Among Awardees

The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) was founded in 2007 at Washington University in St. Louis to foster research on energy, environment and sustainability that cannot be done by single investigators alone.

I-CARES nurtures collaboration within WUSTL and with regional and international partners in order to speed progress in addressing the great challenges facing our world.

As part of its mission, I-CARES awards seed funding to university faculty undertaking innovative and collaborative research in the broad areas of bioenergy and sustainability through an annual call for proposals.

The 2010 I-CARES research grants in the amount of nearly $300,000 have been awarded to 11 faculty from four schools: Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and the School of Medicine.

The recipients and their research projects are:.....

2010 I-CARES research awards announced | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

3 DBBS Faculty among those awarded Bear Cub Grants

Drs. Dennis Hallahan, Evan Kharasch & Linda Sandell receive support for innovative research:

Washington University has awarded five Bear Cub Fund grants totaling $165,000 to support innovative research that has shown commercial potential.

The funding will help scientists further develop their technology and take it to the proof-of-principal stage.

The grants were awarded to:

• Patrick Crowley, PhD, associate professor of computer science and engineering;
• Dennis Hallahan, MD, the Elizabeth H. and James S. McDonnell III Distinguished Professor in Medicine and head of the Department of Radiation Oncology;
• Eric Leuthardt, MD, assistant professor of neurological surgery and of neurobiology;
• John Morrisey, PhD, research professor of anesthesiology, and Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD, vice chancellor for research and the Russell and Mary Shelden Professor of Anesthesiology; and
• Linda Sandell, PhD, the Mildred B. Simon Research Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Zhepeng Wang, PhD, a scientist in her lab.

Bear Cub grants awarded to WUSTL scientists | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Three WUSTL biologists earn national honors

DBBS Faculty Members Tuan-hua David Ho & Ralph Quatrano, along with DBBS graduate student Ashley Galant recognized by American Society of Plant Biologists

Three Washington University in St. Louis scientists were honored this year by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), two for sustained achievement in their careers, and the third for a promising beginning.

Tuan-hua David Ho, PhD, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, was elected president of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) for 2009-10. The ASPB, with 5,000 members, is one of the largest and most influential plant biology societies in the world.

Founded in 1924, its mission is to encourage and publish research in plant biology and to promote the interests of plant scientists. The ASPB publishes the highly cited and respected journals Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell.

Ralph S. Quatrano, PhD, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences and dean designate of the School of Engineering & Applied Science, won the Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award, given every third year for outstanding service to the science of plant biology.

Ashley Galant, a graduate student in the lab of Joseph M. Jez, PhD, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, was awarded the Pioneer Hi-Bred graduate student fellowship. The fellowship recognizes innovative graduate research in areas of plant biology that relate to important commodity crops.....

Three WUSTL biologists earn national honors | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Stuart Kornfeld receives prestigious Kober Medal

Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD, the David C. and Betty Farrell Professor of Medicine, has received one of the highest awards in academic medicine, the 2010 George M. Kober Medal, from the Association of American Physicians.

Kornfeld was presented the award on April 23 during the association's annual meeting in Chicago.

"The Kober Medal has always had a special meaning to me because of the extraordinary achievements of its previous recipients," Kornfeld says. "I am deeply honored to have been selected."...

Kornfeld receives prestigious Kober Medal | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Alzheimer’s-like changes affect brains of elderly long before symptoms appear

Older adults with evidence of amyloid in the brain but no clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease have structures in the brain that don’t communicate readily with each other, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The findings, published in Biological Psychiatry, may be yet another indicator that Alzheimer’s damage to the brain begins to occur long before there are clinical symptoms of the disease.

Using brain-mapping techniques, first author Yvette I. Sheline, MD, and colleagues found that key brain structures don’t connect as efficiently in brains where positron emission tomography (PET) scans revealed the abnormal presence of the amyloid protein...

Alzheimer’s-like changes affect brains of elderly long before symptoms appear | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Alison Goate appointed Director of Hope Center for Neurological Disorders

Goate appointed director of Hope Center for Neurological Disorders | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Drs. Alan Schwartz and Randall Bateman, members of DBBS, to be honored by Academy of Science of St. Louis

Three medical school faculty to be honored by Academy of Science of St. Louis | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Daniel Link, DBBS faculty member recognized as Outstanding Mentor

Outstanding mentoring recognized Newsroom Washington University in St. Louis

Following his instincts: Sleckman's intuition pays off in teaching, research

Barry Sleckman, MD, PhD, was a busy young entrepreneur and disaffected commuter college student when his life began taking a sudden series of unexpected turns in the late 1970s. One weekend, a close friend seeking a job with the state police urged Sleckman, now the Conan Professor and director of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, to come to the civil service exam with him to boost his morale and ease his worries. Sleckman agreed to do it, but when they arrived at the exam, Sleckman found out the only way he could go in was if he took the exam, too.

"I passed the test, the medical and physical fitness exams, the psychiatric and background checks, and, three months later, they called me back and said, ‘Congratulations, you're a member of the 95th New Jersey State Police Academy,’" he says.

Sleckman took a look at the golf-club repair business he founded at age 12 and ran from his parents' basement (with three employees) and at the busy work in college that kept cluttering up his schedule and decided that perhaps destiny was calling.

He knew he was mistaken before a year had passed. But his eight-month stint in the state police left him fascinated by the medical work he'd seen paramedics perform and wondering if he could become a doctor....

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Checking Cancer: Longmore pursues winning goals, on and of the ice

He's Canadian, he plays hockey and he has had a brush with Olympic glory. That's Gregory D. Longmore, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology.

No, he didn't play on an Olympic hockey team. Longmore's ice time is more recreational than professional, but he once conducted scientific research that cast new light on the athletic prowess of an Olympic gold medalist.

In the early 1990s as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Longmore found a genetic mutation in a red blood cell hormone receptor that caused mice to produce extra red blood cells. Then, while in Finland to give a scientific presentation, he met a clinician who happened to be studying an extended family with many members having high red blood cell counts.

One of them was Eero Mäntyranta, a famous Finnish athlete who won a dozen or so Olympic and world championship medals in cross-country skiing in the 1960s. Longmore's genetic discovery intrigued the clinician and a geneticist at the University of Helsinki, Finland, who decided they should look at the same gene in the skier and his kin...

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Kharasch named vice chancellor for research

Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD, the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor of Anesthesiology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, has been appointed vice chancellor for research at Washington University in St. Louis, effective April 5. He had served as interim vice chancellor since July 2009.

Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton made the announcement.

“I want to thank Ed Macias and the search committee, chaired by Professor Deanna Barch, for their efforts," Wrighton says. “After several months of outstanding work in an interim role, we are pleased that Evan Kharasch has accepted this position permanently and know that he will serve and lead with distinction.”

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Retired NFL players being treated by WUSTL neurologists

Washington University neurologists at Barnes-Jewish Hospital will be part of a new neurological care program for retired professional football players, the National Football League and NFL Alumni Association announced March 24.
The program, one of a series of NFL initiatives addressing the quality of life of retired players, makes available neurological specialists at five leading medical centers nationwide, including Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, to evaluate and treat possible neurological conditions. Each center will make available to retired NFL players a team of specialists, led by a neurologist who will serve as a program director.

David Brody, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, will direct the St. Louis branch.
"We're honored that the NFL selected us to participate and hope it will be an opportunity for us to contribute to a greater understanding of the aftereffects of repetitive concussive brain injuries and how best to treat them," Brody says. "We also hope that this initiative will raise public awareness of traumatic brain injury and the need for treatment and rehabilitation."

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Siteman Cancer Center receives SPORE grant to study endometrial cancer

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded the Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis a prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant in endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer, which forms in the tissue lining the uterus, is the most common gynecologic cancer. Last year, about 42,000 women were diagnosed with the disease and almost 8,000 women with endometrial cancer died.

The majority of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer are 45 years or older.

The prognosis of surviving endometrial cancer is good when the disease is detected and treated early. However, if the cancer has spread from the uterus, the chances to treat it successfully are small.

The goal of SPORE grants is to implement a strong collaboration between basic scientists and clinicians. The three-year, $1.7 million SPORE grant in endometrial cancer brings together School of Medicine experts in genomics, diagnostics and developmental therapeutics to tackle research projects that can be translated quickly into improved detection and treatment of this type of cancer. This research involves both cancer patients and populations at risk for cancer.

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YSP Neuro Team on the Road

YSP Neuro Team volunteers recently visited Cholla High School in Tucson, AZ. The team brought their creative, interactive teaching techniques developed throughout many years of visiting St. Louis high schools to this Tucson classroom in partnership with grad students from the University of Arizona. These DBBS students were in the southwest attending the spring brain conference.

Please visit the link below to see the story and video clip done in Tucson, AZ about the YSP Neuro team http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12160306

Genomic data center receives $14 million stimulus grant to expand

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a $14.3 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 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 project is expected to create more than 350 jobs, including 200 in local construction, and accelerate the pace of genomics-based discoveries, for which Washington University is widely known.
The university’s scientists have pioneered the sequencing of cancer patients’ genomes and are engaged in ambitious research to decode the genomes of hundreds of microbes that inhabit the body.
“These projects are helping scientists worldwide understand the genetic basis of cancer and the contributions of microbes to human health and disease,” says Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We could not continue this vital research without expanding the data center, which houses the computer infrastructure that allows our scientists to analyze unprecedented volumes of data.”
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New subtype of breast cancer responds to targeted drug

A newly identified cancer biomarker could define a new subtype of breast cancer as well as offer a potential way to treat it, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Their findings will be published in the March 1 online early edition issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research could further refine what recent breast cancer research has concluded: that breast cancer is not one disease, but many. So far, research has firmly established that at least five subtypes of breast cancer exist, each having distinct biological features, clinical outcomes and responses to traditional therapies.

The biomarker identified by the Washington University researchers is found frequently in breast cancers and especially in those that have poorer outcomes. It stems from overactivation of a gene called LRP6 (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6), which stimulates an important cell-growth signaling pathway. LRP6 can be inhibited by a protein discovered in the same laboratory, which could become an effective drug against the breast cancer type, the researchers say.

"We found increased expression of the LRP6 gene in about a quarter of breast cancer specimens we examined, and we think LRP6 overexpression could be a marker for a new class of breast cancer," says Guojun Bu, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and of cell biology and physiology. "In addition, we found that this biomarker is often associated with breast cancers that are either harder to treat or more likely to recur. We already have an agent that seems to be effective against LRP6-overexpressing tumors, which could someday become a therapy for tumors that right now have few treatment options."

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Hands-on science and medicine lessons for high schoolers

Ray Marklin
(From left) Gregory Bryant, a first-year medical student, works with Khoa Nguyen, Idara Umana, Dorie Umana and Iqra Said, all students at Soldan High School, Feb. 19 as part of the Health Professionals Recruitment and Enrichment Program offered by the School of Medicine’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA). The SNMA is an independent, student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. School of Medicine members of SNMA have made six educational outreach trips to area schools so far in 2010, and six more are planned. The goals are to expose underserved students to medicine and science, to connect students to summer opportunities where they can further explore science, and to provide role models in science to at-risk youth. The medical students teach a heart lesson and a lung lesson. Each lesson consists of five rotation stations where students get to touch and feel real human organs as well as listen to their heart sounds, take blood pressures and experience what it feels like for someone to breathe with asthma or emphysema.