Nussbaum family fuels pancreatic cancer research (Links to an external site)

WashU Medicine’s Kian-Huat Lim, MD, PhD, second from left, welcomed members of the Nussbaum family to his research lab. (Courtesy photo)

When Sam Nussbaum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in his 70s, it was no surprise to his family that he chose WashU Medicine for his care. After all, Nussbaum had spent a significant portion of his distinguished career as a physician-scientist and health-care executive at the medical school and BJC HealthCare. And during that time, […]

Couple make $6.5 million gift to WashU Medicine (Links to an external site)

Kyung Ja Shin Lee, MD, PhD, left, and Won Ro Lee, MD, right, paid their first visit to St. Louis in July to witness the installation of their daughter, Janet Lee, MD, as WashU Medicine’s Selma and Herman Seldin Distinguished Professor in Medicine. (Photo: Dan Donovan/WashU Medicine)

Won Ro Lee, MD, PhD, and Kyung Ja Shin Lee, MD, consider themselves fortunate people, despite having grown up in challenging circumstances. Kyung Ja escaped North Korea as a young child; both she and Won Ro grew up in poverty and lived through the Korean War. Their futures could have been significantly different had they […]

$3.2 million grant funds research on computational AI in fistulizing Crohn’s disease (Links to an external site)

Parakkal Deepak, MBBS, MS, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, and David H. Ballard, MD, an assistant professor of radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

Parakkal Deepak, MBBS, MS, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, and David H. Ballard, MD, an assistant professor of radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, both of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Satish Viswanath, PhD, an associate professor in pediatrics and in biomedical engineering at Emory […]

Celebrating Millman and Lee: Bold Thinkers Driving Medical Progress

Jeffrey R. Millman, MD and Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD

Falk Catalyst Awards support pioneering stem-cell discovery and neuromodulation approaches to improve patient lives. WashU Medicine is proud to celebrate two distinguished faculty members — Jeffrey R. Millman, PhD, and Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD — as recipients of the Dr. Ralph & Marian Falk Medical Research Trust Catalyst Award. This competitive award supports bold, early-stage […]

WashU researchers honored with NIH Director’s Awards (Links to an external site)

Andrew L. Young, MD, PhD

Three researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have received prestigious and highly competitive awards through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. The awards support unconventional approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.

WashU PCCM Researchers Awarded Rosenau Family Research Foundation Grant for Cystic Fibrosis Project (Links to an external site)

Tom Brett, PhD, and Jennifer Alexander-Brett, MD, PhD

St. Louis, MO – Congratulations to Tom Brett, PhD, and Jennifer Alexander-Brett, MD, PhD, in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, on receiving a three-year grant from the Rosenau Family Research Foundation. Their project, “Investigating the role of a novel TMEM16A isoform in cystic fibrosis,” will explore new mechanisms of CF lung […]

Anuja Java Receives Inaugural Foundation for Women’s Health Grant to Study Preeclampsia and Complement Pathways (Links to an external site)

Anuja Java, MD

Anuja Java, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and transplant nephrologist at WashU Nephrology, has been awarded a prestigious research grant from the Foundation for Women’s Health.  Her project, one of the foundation’s inaugural $1 million awards, investigates the role of complement system dysregulation in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia.

Transformative $15 million gift bolsters WashU Medicine’s physician-scientist training program (Links to an external site)

WashU Medicine secured $683 million in research funding from the NIH in 2024, a record high for the school and an affirmation of its leadership in shaping the future of medicine.

Internationally renowned physician-scientist and pharmaceutical executive, P. Roy Vagelos, MD, and his wife, Diana, have pledged $15 million to bolster the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis — a pioneering program founded by Roy Vagelos more than 50 years ago to train future generations of physician-scientists.

Singh Receives Grant from Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

Nathan Singh, MD, MS

Singh Lab continues to focus on enhancing the function of immune cell therapies Nathan Singh, MD, MS, Associate Professor, WashU Medicine Division of Oncology, has received a continuation grant from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The Foundation’s Continuation Grant program supports Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators who are approaching the end of their original awards […]

Cao Receives 2025 ACG Clinical Research Award

Siyan "Stewart" Cao, MD, PhD

Siyan “Stewart” Cao, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, WashU Medicine Division of Gastroenterology, recently was awarded the 2025 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2025 Clinical Research Award. Four Clinical Research Awards have been awarded to outstanding clinical research in gastroenterology by the American College of Gastroenterology for 2025. The 2025 Clinical Research award supports a new […]

Hematology-Oncology Fellow Podany Published in JAMA Network Open

Emily Podany, MD

Black patients with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) have higher mortality rates than White patients despite advances in treatment Emily Podany, MD, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program, Fellow Wellness Leader, WashU Division of Oncology, along with senior author Andrew Davis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, WashU Division of Oncology, recent multi-institution cohort study was published in JAMA Network […]

ICTS Announces 2025-2026 CTRFP Awardees (Links to an external site)

Monika Bambouskova, PhD; Marlene Cano, MD, PhD; Siyan Cao, MD, PhD; Jeffrey Henderson, MD, PhD; Joshua Mitchell, MD, MSCI; Michael Paley, MD, PhD; Ignacio Portales Castillo, MD and Joel Schilling, MD, PhD

Congratulations to Monika Bambouskova, PhD; Marlene Cano, MD, PhD; Siyan Cao, MD, PhD; Jeffrey Henderson, MD, PhD; Joshua Mitchell, MD, MSCI; Michael Paley, MD, PhD; Ignacio Portales Castillo, MD and Joel Schilling, MD, PhD for being among the 2025-2026 CTRFP awardees. WashU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital […]

Dr. Megan Baldridge receives Global Grant for Gut Health Award (Links to an external site)

Megan Tierney Baldridge, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases Division

Megan Tierney Baldridge, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases Division, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, received a project grant to explore the interactions between bacteriophages (phages) and human intestinal epithelial cells, aiming to uncover how phages, which infect bacteria, also influence human cells.

Siteman Investment Program Awards $1.89 Million in Cancer Research Grants (Links to an external site)

Nine projects led by Washington University researcher Matthew Walter, MD, and others will benefit from the new funding.

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is pleased to announce funding for nine new projects. These include research focused on: Improving CAR T-cell therapy for lymphomaIdentifying new treatment targets for leukemiaBetter understanding how myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) developIdentifying a treatment for a broad range of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) independent of […]

R56 NIH Grant Awarded to Physician-Scientist Ying Maggie Chen (Links to an external site)

Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD

Congratulations to Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, WashU Nephrology, on receiving an R56 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to study impaired autophagy underlying the disease pathogenesis of autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD).

Henderson receives a Hypothesis Fund award for Bacterial Infection Research

Jeffrey R. Henderson, MD, PhD

Jeffrey P. Henderson, MD, PhD, FIDSA, Professor of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, WashU Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, recently received an award from the Hypothesis Fund. In order to understand the interplay between bacteria and the immune system, Henderson uses an interdisciplinary approach. His project may revolutionize our understanding of how bacteria evade host defenses. Henderson adds, […]

Three faculty members awarded $3 million NIMH grant for HIV prevention in Africa (Links to an external site)

A Ugandan member of the ICHAD team (right) discusses the Suubi4Stronger Families study with a mother in the Masaka district of Uganda. (Photo: Thomas Malkowicz/WashU)

Fred Ssewamala, PhD, William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at the Brown School and director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD); Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School and co-director of ICHAD; and Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, professor of medicine and associate director for global health and dissemination at WashU Medicine, have […]

WashU research funding exceeds $1 billion for first time (Links to an external site)

David DeNardo Lab

For the first time, annual research funding to Washington University in St. Louis has surpassed $1 billion. External funding supports WashU investigators tackling big challenges from Alzheimer’s disease to air pollution to childhood depression. Research funding also ripples across the economy, sparking job growth, new construction and local spending, said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

$2.75 million to support research of diabetes (Links to an external site)

Millman Lab member, Nathanial Hogrebe, PhD performing diabetes research.

The Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research in the Department of Medicine has received a $2.75 million gift through the Anita Palmer Corbin Trust to establish the Anita Palmer Corbin Diabetes Research Endowed Fund. The fund augments a spendable fund to support diabetes research in the division that was previously created by Corbin, who died in […]

Hematology-Oncology Fellow Podany Receives Conquer Cancer Merit Award

Emily Podany, MD

For research on early stage Breast Cancer Emily Podany, MD, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program, Fellow Wellness Leader, WashU Division of Oncology, received a 2024 Conquer Cancer Merit Award for the ASCO Quality Care Symposium for her abstract (poster presentation) “Improving the OncotypeDX ordering process in patients with ER+ HER2- early-stage breast cancer: A longitudinal QI project.”  […]

American Cancer Society and Yosemite Award $1.65 Million to WashU Medicine Researchers at Siteman (Links to an external site)

George Souroullas, PhD

Five Washington University investigators at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, have received $1.65 million total for research aimed at advancing the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and Yosemite, a San Francisco-based oncology-focused venture capital firm, awarded the five scientists $330,000 each.

$12 million grant aimed at probing how vaccines induce lasting immunity (Links to an external site)

Researchers at WashU Medicine have received a $12 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to identify the factors that are responsible for long-lasting immunity against disease.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $12 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how vaccines trigger long-lasting immune responses. The work may inform the design of new, more protective vaccines for respiratory viruses, […]

Physician-Scientist Ying Maggie Chen Receives VA Merit Award (Links to an external site)

Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Medicine, Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, WashU Nephrology, who received a four-year, $1.15M VA Merit Award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  The funding will support her research on therapeutic targeting of mitochondria in uromodulin-associated chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

WashU Researchers to Study Effectiveness of Flu Vaccines in Preventing Household Transmission

Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI

Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI, Associate Professor of Medicine, Section Director, Healthcare Epidemiology & Antimicrobial Stewardship, WashU Division of Infectious Diseases, has received a new contract from the CDC to investigate how influenza (flu) spreads within households and whether vaccines reduce transmission of flu. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the […]

WashU Medicine leads two major pandemic preparedness research projects (Links to an external site)

WashU Medicine scientists lead two large, multicenter programs to develop vaccines and antibody-based therapies for understudied viruses with pandemic potential, including the three shown above: (left to right) chikungunya, dengue and parainfluenza viruses. The programs are supported by two grants from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) totaling more than $30 million a year for three years.

Two grants totaling $30 million a year for 3 years support efforts to design vaccines, drugs for understudied virus families Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are laying the groundwork to rapidly respond to potential future pandemics caused by viruses from five understudied families. The effort, the aim of which is […]

Spencer and Hanson Receive Grant to Enhance Health Equity Training

Abby L.. Spencer, MD and Janice Hanson, PhD

Abby L. Spencer, MD, MS, FACP, Professor and Vice Chair for Education, Academy of Educators Director, GME Program Director Boot Camp Director at WashU Department of Medicine – Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, and co-investigator, Janice L. Hanson, PhD, EdS, MH, recently received a grant under the Building Trust Through Diversity, Health Care Equity, […]

Jimenez Receives Harold Amos Faculty Development Award (Links to an external site)

Jesus Jimenez, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine Jesus Jimenez, MD, PhD has been announced as a recipient of the 2024 Harold Amos Faculty Development Award. Dr. Jimenez also recently received K08 funding for his project “CD40 Immunotherapy Effect on the Cardiac Immune Landscape and Response to Myocardial Disease”.

Silva-Fisher awarded ASH Bridge Grant

Jessica SiIva-Fisher, PhD

Jessica Silva-Fisher, PhD, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of DEI Division of Oncology, Director Mentorship to Enhance Diversity in Academia (MEDA), recently was awarded an ASH Bridge Grant. American Society of Hematology – ASH Bridge Grant Program has been one of the Society’s most important programs since 2013 and has demonstrated the Society’s commitment to […]

Batista receives DOD and Siteman Cancer Center awards

Luis FZ Batista, PhD

Luis F.Z. Batista, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Developmental Biology, WashU Division of Hematology, Member – Center for Genome Integrity, received grants from the Department of Defense as well as Siteman Cancer Center for his work to uncover novel mechanisms related to telomerase dysfunction in bone marrow failure and pre-malignant patients. Dr. Batista’s research […]

Noonan Receives ASN KidneyCure Fellowship

Megan Noonan, PhD

The role of alternative splicing factor Srsf7 in diabetic kidney disease progression Megan Noonan, PhD, WashU Division of Nephrology, received the American Society of Nephrology, ASN, KidneyCure Ben J. Lipps Fellowship. Dr. Noonan’s research aims to uncover novel mechanisms of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progression via dysregulated alternative splicing. She will be investigating the role […]

Hammond Awarded Harold Amos Faculty Development Award (Links to an external site)

Gmerice Hammond, MD MPH

Gmerice Hammond, MD MPH, Instructor in Medicine, received a Harold Amos Faculty Development Award for her project entitled “The Impact of the ACO REACH Program on Racial Inequities in Heart Failure.” The study examines whether a new Medicare payment program helps reduce gaps in care and outcomes for Black patients with heart failure.