Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are investigating whether a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat rare diseases of an overactive immune system could help critically ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The drug blocks a specific protein of the immune system that doctors suspect contributes to […]
An experimental vaccine is effective at preventing pneumonia in mice infected with the COVID-19 virus, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The vaccine, which is made from a mild virus genetically modified to carry a key gene from the COVID-19 virus, is described in the journal Cell Host […]
Washington University in St. Louis, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and other collaborators are conducting a survey of St. Louis County residents and offering COVID-19 testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness. Working with the county, Washington University’s Institute for Public Health is teaming up with other local public health and […]
Dr. Maanasi Samant joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care as an Assistant Professor in July 2020. Dr. Samant is a clinician-educator with interests in pulmonary hypertension, specifically in the treatment of diseases that are sequelae of pulmonary embolism (PE), such as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. She is a […]
Dr. Brian Laidlaw joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Allergy and Immunology in July, 2020. Dr. Laidlaw’s research interests lie in investigating memory B cell (MBC) development and function in settings of disease. MBCs are critical for the development of protective immunity following infection or immunization. Repeated pathogen encounters can give rise […]
Dozens of faculty, students and staff at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have committed countless hours over the past three years to planning a new curriculum that will launch in September with the arrival of incoming medical students. Although faculty, students and staff didn’t know it, they also were preparing for the […]
In this Issue: Letter from the Chair, Spotlight, COVID Update, Wellness Resources, EPIC Update, Research News, Clinical News, Education News, Upcoming Events, Across the Department of Medicine, New Faculty Leadership, Awards/Grants/Honors, Welcome to New Fellows, and Welcome to Twitter
Mary Clare McGregor, MD joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in July 2020. Dr. McGregor is originally from Minnesota, and attended the University of Notre Dame for undergraduate with a major in pre-professional studies and […]
Dr. Andrew P. Michelson, joined the Department of Medicine in the division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine as an Assistant Professor in July 2020. He is a physician-scientist with research interests in critical care outcomes, clinical informatics, and healthcare technology. His current research interests include: (1) the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to […]
Philip R.O. Payne, PhD, director of the Institute for Informatics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named associate dean for health information and data science, and chief data scientist for the School of Medicine.
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably originated in wild bats that live in caves around Wuhan, China, and may have been passed to a second animal species before infecting people, according to the World Health Organization. Many of the most devastating epidemics of recent decades – including Ebola, avian influenza and HIV/AIDS – were triggered […]
Many children treated for childhood malnutrition in developing countries never fully recover. They suffer from stunted growth, immune system dysfunction and poor cognitive development that typically cause long-term health issues into adulthood.
Some of the most promising advances in cancer treatment have centered on immunotherapies that rev up a patient’s immune system to attack cancer. But immunotherapies don’t work in all patients, and researchers have been searching for ways to increase their effectiveness.
Chikungunya virus, once confined to the Eastern Hemisphere, has infected millions of people in the Americas since 2013, when mosquitoes carrying the virus were discovered in the Caribbean. About half of all people infected with chikungunya virus never show symptoms, while some develop fever and joint pain that lasts about a week, and 10% to […]
As U.S. scientists ramp up a national effort to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine candidates at clinical trial sites across the country, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development have been tapped to join the historic effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine that can prevent […]
Dr. Jonathan Moreno joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology as an Instructor in July, 2020. Dr. Moreno is from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, and completed his undergraduate training at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he received dual BS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Following graduation,he attended […]
Dr. Ben Rogers joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Instructor in July, 2020. Dr. Rogers completed his undergraduate studies at Western Kentucky University majoring in biology. After that, he spent one year teaching English language classes in Spain, subsequently continuing his education at the University of Louisville in Kentucky […]
Dr. Jose Alvarez-Cardona joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Alvarez-Cardona was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Virginia in 2007 and completed medical school at the […]
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety precautions slow down efforts […]
Embedded within the Internal Medicine Residency Program are a variety of educational pathways where residents can specialize their skills. For residents who wish to explore teaching as a possible career path, the Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway (WUTPP) provides opportunities for growth and development as a clinician-educator. One component of the WUTTP program involves pairing […]
Dr. Anas Gremida joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Gremida trained and obtained his medical degree from Zawia University School of Medicine in Zawia, Libya where he graduated with the distinction of Summa Cum Laude. Upon completion of medical school, he then moved […]
Dr. Amanda Verma joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Verma is a heart failure and cardiac transplant cardiologist specializing in the management of advanced stage heart failure and patients being considered for and who have undergone cardiac transplantation. She sees patients in the […]
Dr. Robert Same joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Same received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2010 with degrees in Chemistry and Physiology/Neurobiology and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his […]
Dr. Mustafa Husaini joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Husaini received his Medical Degree from Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine in 2014. Dr. Husaini has learned from world-renowned experts in sports cardiology in order to create and lead The Center for […]
Dr. Motaz Ashkar joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. Ashkar trained and obtained his medical degree from King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia, one of the country’s premier medical schools. He then moved to the US and undertook his internal medicine training at […]
Dr. Scott McHenry joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology as an Assistant Professor in July, 2020. Dr. McHenry obtained his medical doctorate from the University of Toledo with full tuition support provided by the Presidential Scholarship Award. He was recruited to Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine for his medical internship, […]
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably originated in wild bats that live in caves around Wuhan, China, and may have been passed to a second animal species before infecting people, according to the World Health Organization.
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been recognized once again as a top U.S. cancer institution, based on a review of its research programs.
Six months into the pandemic, people diagnosed with mild cases of COVID-19 still are told to isolate themselves and wait out the infection at home. Doctors monitor such patients so they can intervene if their condition deteriorates, but no antiviral drugs have been shown to hasten recovery or forestall severe illness in people who are […]
Dr. Alyssa Self joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine in June, 2020. Dr. Self was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She completed her undergraduate education at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and graduated with honors. After college she returned […]
Dr. Amaad Rana joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Instructor in June, 2020. Dr. Rana was born in Augusta, Georgia, and raised in Hoover, Alabama, where he lived until he completed high school. He moved far from home to attend Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for college, where […]
Dr. Aava Khatiwada joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Instructor in June, 2020. Dr. Khatiwada was born in Downers Grove, IL and grew up in Munster, IN with her two sisters. She went to Indiana University Bloomington where she ultimately decided to pursue a BS in Biology. Her […]
Dr. Taylor Geisman joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Instructor in June, 2020. Taylor Geisman was born in St. Louis, MO. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biology with Honors with Distinction at the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH. She subsequently received her Doctor […]
Dr. Stephen Fuest is joining the Division of General Medicine in June 2020 as a Chief Resident and Instructor in Medicine after completing his internal medicine residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He is passionate about general internal medicine and loves the wide variety seen in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. He plans to pursue academic […]
Dr. Himachandana Atluri joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Instructor in June, 2020. Dr. Atluri was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and has a younger brother. She completed her high school education at Visitation Academy in St. Louis. She moved across the state after high school […]
Noémi and Michael Neidorff have committed $5 million to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to honor highly regarded physicians Robert C. Packman, MD, and John S. Daniels, MD, with the establishment of two new endowed professorships in their names. The Neidorff family has long been impressed with the quality of care delivered by […]
In St. Louis, as in much of the United States, African Americans are more likely to test positive for COVID-19. They’re also more likely to be hospitalized, to end up in intensive care and to die of the infection. Further, protests that have erupted against police violence point to another stressor shouldered primarily by African […]
Medical critical care director Patrick Aguilar, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, talks about planning for the COVID-19 pandemic.
We remember those who have died and those who continue to suffer because of racism. This song was written in a different time in our history and the messages and sentiments contained in it remains relevant today in the US and throughout the world. We aspire to live up to the meaning and instructions contained in […]
The Department of Medicine is very happy to welcome our new Associate Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine, Dr. Lisa Zickuhr. She will be assisting the current clerkship director Dr. Gerome Escota in providing professional, administrative, and educational leadership for third and fourth year students rotating in Medicine. Dr. Zickuhr is an Assistant Professor of Medicine […]
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been recognized once again as a top U.S. cancer institution, based on a review of its research programs. This evaluation resulted in a nearly perfect score, earning Siteman the highest possible rating — exceptional — by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the […]
A major U.S. study reveals large gaps between urban and rural patients in quality of care received after a stroke and rates of survival. In more rural areas, the ability of hospitals to deliver advanced stroke care is lower and mortality rates substantially higher, the research shows.
With Brazil leading the world in newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, Latin America has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, outbreaks continue to escalate in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Public health authorities worldwide desperately need to expand testing so they can track the spread of the infection, but molecular diagnostic […]
People who inject illicit drugs can develop potentially deadly infections of the heart, blood, joints and soft tissues. Typically, such infections require weeks of hospitalization to treat effectively. But a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that drug users who, while in the hospital, started IV antibiotics […]
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 […]
The global effort to quickly develop drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 has been hampered by limited numbers of laboratory mice that are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have developed a mouse model of COVID-19 that replicates the […]
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 […]