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

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

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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DB Student Haluk Lacin's Research Featured on Development Cover!

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Brain's organization switches as children become adults

Any child confronting an outraged parent demanding to know "What were you thinking?" now has a new response: "Scientists have discovered that my brain is organized differently than yours."
But all is not well for errant kids. The same new study also provides parents with a rejoinder: While the overarching organization scheme differs, one of the most important core principals of adult brain organization is present in the brains of children as young as 7.

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DBBS Student Research Video