In the weeks before the St. Louis region saw its first patients with COVID-19, physician-scientists at Washington University School of Medicine began planning and preparing how best to collect blood and other biological samples from such patients so specimens could be quickly disseminated to researchers seeking strategies to treat, prevent and contain the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Poddar completed medical school at V.S.S Medical College in India. He pursued a career in Internal Medicine at his medical school and went on to earn his MD in 2003. He then moved to the United States and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in 2009. He was […]
Dr. Casey Katerndahl joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Oncology as an Instructor in June, 2020. The long-term goal of Dr. Katerndahl’s research is to better define the molecular mechanisms that control the aberrant self-renewal and transformation of myeloid progenitor cells, and to use this information to improve therapy for acute myeloid […]
As the St. Louis region grapples with reopening businesses and lifting stay-at-home orders, more than 100 students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been volunteering to help local health departments perform case investigations and contact tracing, which are essential public health strategies to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Kaori Sakurai joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Sciences as an Assistant Professor in May, 2020. Dr. Sakurai began her pursuit of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their focus on problem-based learning in small group settings was an innovative concept at the time and […]
Dr. David Alvarado joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Instructor in May, 2020. Dr. Alvarado earned his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Cellular and Molecular Medicine Graduate Training Program. Upon matriculation in 2014, he joined Dr. Matthew A. Ciorba’s lab in […]
People with COVID-19 who are seen by Washington University physicians or BJC Medical Group providers, but not sick enough to be hospitalized, can be enrolled in an in-home health monitoring program. With daily check-ins for each patient via smartphone app or phone call, the program helps medical professionals identify signs of worsening illness early so […]
Emergency medicine physician Komo Gursahani, MD, suits up in gloves, disposable gown, N95 mask and face shield before she sees patients, many of whom arrive in the emergency room seriously ill with COVID-19. Gursahani is one of many Washington University physicians on the front lines of the battle against the novel coronavirus. (Photo: Erin Jones/Barnes-Jewish […]
Juan Calix, MD, PhD, joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases as an Instructor in April, 2020. Dr. Calix was born in New Orleans, LA but lived much of his youth in his family’s native El Salvador. He moved back to the United States to obtain his bachelor’s degree in biological […]
Dr. Nicole Ducharme joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology as an Instructor in November, 2019. Dr. Ducharme was born in Warwick, Rhode Island to a close-knit Portuguese/Italian family. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother who had emigrated from the Azores and did not speak English. With the help […]
Dr. Nichole Zehnder joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Associate Professor in April, 2020. Dr. Zehnder is Associate Dean for Educational Strategy and Associate Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Zehnder has extensive experience in curriculum development, admissions, student affairs, and faculty development. Dr. […]
Using induced pluripotent stem cells produced from the skin of a patient with a rare, genetic form of insulin-dependent diabetes called Wolfram syndrome, researchers transformed the human stem cells into insulin-producing cells and used the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to correct a genetic defect that had caused the syndrome. They then implanted the cells into lab mice […]
When Washington University Vice Chancellor for Research Jennifer K. Lodge first sounded the alarm about the disruptive impact COVID-19 likely would have on labs across the university, the research community heeded her warning, taking steps to shut down lab work and move as much as possible online. Those in position to do so began pivoting their research […]
Infectious diseases physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an expanded access program to give blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to critically ill patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Led by principal investigator Rachel Presti, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, a team of researchers began enrolling potential donors […]
Dr. Antonietta Franco joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pharmacogenomics as an Instructor in July, 2019. Dr. Franco started her scientific carrier in Naples, (Italy). During her PhD training, her studies focused on G-Protein-Coupled receptor (GRK2) and its role in cardiovascular disease under supervision of Professor Guido Iaccarino and Bruno Trimarco. She […]
Dr. Sytse Piersma joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology as an Instructor in September, 2019. Dr. Piersma’s research focuses on understanding Natural Killer cell activation, in particular in response to virus infection and cancer. Dr. Piersma completed his PhD under supervision of Prof. Dr. Sjoerd van der Burg and Dr. Cornelis […]
Dr. Edward Sheen joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Assistant Professor in January, 2020. Dr. Sheen’s experience has bridged the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors and includes work with Stanford University, the White House, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, California State Assembly, […]
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a clinical trial in patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 but who are not sick enough to be hospitalized. The trial is investigating whether the antidepressant medication fluvoxamine, which is currently used to treat patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), can be repurposed […]
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a clinical trial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The trial will investigate the effectiveness of different combinations of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin in treating ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus. Express Scripts, a Cigna company, […]
As the novel coronavirus has accelerated its spread throughout the Midwest and across the U.S., scores of students on the Washington University Medical Campus have mobilized to support health-care workers and the St. Louis community in the fight against the global pandemic. Among the projects the students have initiated or joined, they’ve reviewed and summarized […]
Just six weeks into her job as medical director of the Washington University Complete Care Clinic, Jennifer Schmidt, MD, had to completely redesign how the clinic operates to account for COVID-19. The viral infection had been in the news before she started her job Feb. 1, but like most Americans, Schmidt hadn’t felt the need to change […]
Dr. Michael A Paley joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology as an Instructor in July, 2019. Dr. Paley is a rheumatologist with a passion for inflammatory diseases that involve the eye. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Yale University as well as an MD and PhD in Immunology from University of […]
Dr. Mateusz Opychal, MD, PHD is an Associate Professor of Medicine on the Clinician Track in the Division of Oncology in the Department of Medicine. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. He joined the Department in September, 2019. Dr. Opyrchal is an experienced breast cancer oncologist who is focused on breast […]
A new podcast about work involving the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 launches today. We highlight some of the heroic efforts in research and patient care underway on the Washington University Medical Campus. Shortly after a novel coronavirus first appeared in China in late 2019, researchers, doctors and staff at the School of Medicine began preparing for […]
Reluctantly, faculty and students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis added social distancing to this year’s Match Day, the celebrated annual milestone when U.S. medical students learn where they will train as residents after graduation. For the medical school’s 2020 class of 118 physicians-to-be, as well as for hundreds of medical […]
With no drugs or vaccines yet approved for COVID-19 and the number of U.S. cases increasing by the thousands every day, doctors are looking to revive a century-old therapy for infectious diseases: transfusing antibodies from the blood of recovered patients into people who are seriously ill. During the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, doctors were […]
Immunotherapy that involves treating cancer with the body’s own immune cells, or those of a matched donor, shows promise in clinical trials for some patients, but not all. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the age of certain immune cells used in such therapy plays a role […]
Dr. Rim Hasan joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research as an Instructor on September 1, 2019. From 2004 to 2011, she attended Medical School at Damascus University in Syria. She then joined the Knowledge Synthesis Program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, first as a research trainee […]
Dr. Muegge was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Princeton University. Dr. Muegge received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine in 2013, where he studied the role of diet in shaping the structure and function of the mammalian gut microbiome in the […]
Dr. Julia López joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases in February, 2020. Dr. López is a public health researcher who uses her clinical practice skills to further advance the field of sexual health using public health and social work theories and frameworks. To date, she has worked to integrate her […]
A component of breast milk may help protect premature babies from developing sepsis, a fast-moving, life-threatening condition triggered by infection. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have found — in newborn mice — that a molecule called epidermal growth factor in breast milk activates receptors […]
Soon after a novel coronavirus first appeared in China in late 2019, researchers, doctors and staff at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis began preparing for the possibility of an outbreak. Infectious disease physicians started planning how to respond if a person with suspected exposure to the virus arrived on campus, and researchers […]
New research in mice suggests that certain immune cells may help guide fetal development of the heart and play a role in how the adult heart beats, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, published in the journal JCI Insight, may help lay a foundation for immunotherapies […]
Dr. Rajaa Almourani joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology in August, 2019. Dr. Almourani’s journey with medicine started at the University of Damascus School of Medicine in 2001. Following her completion as a medical student in 2007, Dr. Almourani continued her medical education as a resident in the Damascus University Hospital […]
Dr. Amber Afzal joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology as an Instructor in July, 2019. Dr. Afzal graduated from medical school (Army Medical College in Pakistan) in 2010 as the class valedictorian. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio in 2016. She graduated from her Hematology and Oncology […]
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis appear to have discovered a way to make radiation therapy for colorectal cancer more effective by inhibiting a protein found in cancer cells in the gut. The approach also helps protect healthy tissue from the negative effects of radiation. Studying cells, mice and tumor samples […]
The aggravating skin condition eczema is most commonly treated by suppressing the immune system, but not all patients get relief. Now, a drug strategy aimed at revving up the immune system and boosting a type of immune cell known as natural killer cells appears, at least in mice, to effectively treat eczema. The innovative approach, […]
Researchers have converted human stem cells into insulin-producing cells and demonstrated in mice infused with such cells that blood sugar levels can be controlled and diabetes functionally cured for nine months. The findings, from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are published online Feb. 24 in the journal Nature Biotechnology. “These […]
Dr. Patricia Prusaczyk joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medical Sciences in August, 2019. Dr. Prusaczyk is trained in medical informatics and in dissemination and implementation research. She has joined the Institute for Informatics and the Division of GMS as a junior faculty member working with Randi Foraker. Dr. Prusaczyk will […]
Dr. Monique Bruinsma joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine as an Instructor on November 1, 2019. Dr. Bruinsma earned her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. While in medical school, she also earned a Master of Science in Immunology with research focus on the inflammatory response […]
Dr. Jennifer Schmidt joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Assistant Professor in February, 2020. Dr. Jennifer Schmidt is a general internist and a medical educator with expertise in quality improvement, patient safety, clinical operations and patient access. She received her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Marquette University […]
Dr. Erin Bakanas joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine as a Professor on August 1, 2019. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT and graduated from The University of Connecticut School of Medicine in 1987. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at The […]
Dr. Patrick Lyons joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine as an Instructor in January, 2020. Dr. Lyons is an intensivist and physician-scientist with research interests in clinical research informatics, biostatistics, healthcare delivery, and learning health systems. His current research involves (1) creation, evaluation, and implementation of risk […]
Dr. Daniel Paget joined the Department of Medicine as an Instructor in Medicine for the Division of Palliative Medicine in September 2019. He was born and raised in New York, NY. Dr. Paget did his undergraduate education at Oberlin College/Conservatory where he received dual degrees in Opera and Biochemistry. While he had a great love […]
Dr. Maureen Lyons joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Assistant Professor in January, 2020. Dr. Lyons is a general internist and a medical educator with expertise in curriculum development, leadership training, and ambulatory medical education topics. She earned her M.D. from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of […]
In less than a year, the School of Medicine will debut a new curriculum — known as the Gateway Curriculum — focused on emerging technologies, integrated community outreach programs, student health and wellness, and educational instruction that incorporates research-based best practices. The latter poses a particular challenge in revising the curriculum, said Eva Aagaard, MD, the […]
A new study that reveals the dozens of molecular changes that bring about endometrial cancer offers insight into how physicians might be able to better identify which patients will need aggressive treatment and why a common treatment is not effective for some patients. The study appears Feb. 13 in the journal Cell. Funded by the […]
Dr. Jonathan Sheehan joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases as Associate Professor in August, 2019. Dr. Sheehan earned his Ph. D. degree in Biochemistry with Walter Chazin at Vanderbilt University, studying calcium-binding proteins using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and protein design. He completed post-doctoral training in computational structural biology with […]