December 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Residents of the Month Dr. Alex Taylor: “During her time she consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, clinical excellence, and unwavering ownership of […]

Cao Awarded 2026 Young Physician-Scientist Award

Siyan "Stewart" Cao, MD, PhD

Siyan “Stewart” Cao, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, WashU Medicine Division of Gastroenterology, recently was awarded the The American Society of Clinical Investigation 2026 Young Physician-Scientist Award. The American Society for Clinical Investigation seeks to support the scientific efforts, educational needs, and clinical aspirations of physician-scientists to improve the health of all people. The ASCI Council Young […]

Kirmani Receives Lifetime Achievement Award (Links to an external site)

Nigar Kirmani, MD Professor of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases

On November 14, 2025, Nigar Kirmani, MD, professor of medicine, was honored at the Semi-Annual General Staff Meeting and presented with the BJH Medical Staff Association Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital with over 25 years of distinguished service, honoring their exceptional contributions, leadership, teaching, and patient care.

A tribute to Stuart A. Kornfeld (1936–2025) (Links to an external site)

David C. and Betty Farrell Professor of Medicine, Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD, assistant professor Wang-Sik Lee, PhD, and associate professor Balraj Doray, PhD, look over test results in the Clinical Sciences Research Building on April 10, 2019. MATT MILLER/WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Half-century of research illuminates how cells work in health, disease - Kornfeld reflects on knowledge gained from longest running NCI grant - Stuart Kornfeld, MD, has led the field of glycobiology — the study of sugars bound to proteins — for decades, fueled by the same grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that first supported his lab more than 50 years ago. He reflects on his career and the advances made possible by the NCI's longest running research grant.

A giant in the field of biomedical research, Stuart Arthur Kornfeld, MD (Figure 1), passed away in St. Louis on Sunday, August 17, 2025, following complications from Parkinson’s disease. Stuart was the David C. and Betty Farrell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). His leadership roles at WUSM, where […]

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 […]

2025 Winston Fellows (Links to an external site)

Lila Dabill and David Turicek

The David and Deborah Winston Fellows in Diabetes Research was established in 2012 through a generous gift from David and Deborah Winston. Awarded annually by the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, it supports graduate students engaged in diabetes and diabetes-related research who reside within laboratories of Diabetes Research Center members. 

$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 […]

November 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Residents of the Month Dr. Nick Griffith: “I am a nurse coordinator who works with him in the Resident Clinic. I am nominating […]

October 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Residents of the Month Dr. Jessica Liebiech: “She is an intern is currently performing at the level of a 3rd year […]

Inaugural Jack Sarver Prize honors groundbreaking research by WashU Medicine scientist (Links to an external site)

Zainab Mahmoud, MD

 Zainab Mahmoud, M.D., M.Sc., an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Zhao Zhang, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, will receive the inaugural Jack Sarver Prize in Clinical Science and Jack Sarver Prize in Basic Science, respectively, at […]

CDL Echo Capacity and Workflow Optimization project wins 2025 QUEST award (Links to an external site)

Barnes Jewish Hospital

The team in the Cardiac Diagnostic Lab at Barnes-Jewish Hospital have won a 2025 QUEST (Quality, Excellence and Safety Team) award. This BJH award recognizes contributions made to improve organization performance and quality of care through the use of process and outcome measures. The CDL submission, CDL Echo Capacity and Workflow Optimization, also reflected goals of the […]

“Friend of Rehab” Award Presented to Robert Young, MD, MS (Links to an external site)

Robert Young, MD, MS

National Rehabilitation Awareness Week is celebrated every year on the third week of September. In 2025, the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Rehabilitation Department celebrated National Rehabilitation Awareness Week from September 15-21, culminating in an awards luncheon recognizing those who made a difference in rehab. The “Friends of Rehab” award is given to a colleague outside of the […]

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 […]

September 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Residents of the Month Dr. Megan Price: “She had an extremely challenging clinic patient with multiple very severe medical co-morbidities in […]

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.

August 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Interns of the Month Dr. Ghandi Hassan: “He greatly impressed clinic support staff at the PCMC. He had a visit with […]

Joynt Maddox in new roles at AHA (Links to an external site)

Karen E. Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the WashU Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH has accepted two new roles with the American Heart Association as of July 1st. 

July 2025 Kudos and Awards

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Thank you, residents and interns, for all you do for one another and for your patients. Though often under-appreciated, your work does not go unnoticed. ​​​​​​​Help us highlight the kindness, clinical skills, and work ethic: submit here. Intern of the MonthDr. Niyaza Mammootty “She is an outstanding intern who exceeded every expectation. Performing at a very high level in […]

Riek receives Endocrinology Teacher of the Year Award  (Links to an external site)

Amy Riek, MD

Amy Riek, MD, was honored by WashU Medicine’s Internal Medicine Residency Program as the 2025 Endocrinology Teacher of the Year. The award was presented during the program’s annual conference luncheon, held on May 15 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Each year, the Internal Medicine Residency class selects outstanding faculty, fellows, and residents who have made […]

2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctors®

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The Department of Medicine is proud to announce that 168 of our faculty have been selected for the 2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctors® list. The Top Doctors® selection process is entirely merit-based. Doctors cannot pay to be listed. These doctors are best-in-class healthcare providers, embodying excellence in clinical care as well as interpersonal skills. More […]

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.

Sena Kim, PhD, Receives St. Baldrick’s Foundation Scholar Grant

Sena Kim, MD

Sena Kim, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, WashU Medicine Division of Oncology, is a recipient of a St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants, recently announced the newest round of research grants totaling $10 million. The new grants demonstrate St. Baldrick’s ongoing commitment to funding the most […]

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 […]

4 physician-scientists named Dean’s Scholars (Links to an external site)

Roheena Z. Panni, Quazim A. Alayo, Ignacio A. Portales-Castillo and Whitney S. Brandt

Physicians who divide their time between patients’ bedsides and the laboratory bench play a pivotal role in developing innovative new approaches to diagnosing and treating diseases. The Dean’s Scholars initiative at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis was formed in 2020 to support early-career doctors who also conduct biomedical research by providing them with up […]

Department of Veterans Affairs Challenge Coin Presented to Bernal-Mizrachi

Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD, Chief of Medicine/ ACOS Medical Service at St. Louis VA Medical System, Philip E. and Carolyn E. Cryer Professor in Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, was recently presented a VA Challenge Coin by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs at the VA health system. A challenge coin is a small, […]

Hematology-Oncology Fellow Podany Receives 2025 Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award

Emily Podany, MD

Research grants and awards from Conquer Cancer accelerate the progress of oncology professionals Emily Podany, MD, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program, Fellow Wellness Leader, WashU Medicine Division of Oncology, received the 2025 Conquer Cancer – Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Endowed Young Investigator Award in Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity. The Young Investigator Award (YIA) provides research […]

Five Department of Medicine Faculty Graduate inaugural cohort of WashU Medicine Pivotal Leaders Program

The inaugural cohort at WashU Medicine – Department of Medicine has completed the Pivotal Leaders Program for Division Chiefs and Section Heads, which concluded on May 8, 2025.  This nine-month program supports division chiefs and section heads in strengthening the medical school’s culture, advancing faculty success, enhancing learner experience, and improving departmental operational effectiveness. “I […]