With GLP-1 weight-loss drugs becoming more common, doctors are working to better understand how they affect the body—and what patients can expect beyond weight loss. Dr. Samuel Klein with WashU Medicine is leading a clinical trial exploring those effects, from changes in metabolism and health markers to what happens as people lose significant weight. First […]
A new multinational study finds that individuals with poor mental health consistently report lower-quality healthcare experiences across diverse health systems. Published May 5 in PLOS Medicine, the study was led by Margaret E. Kruk, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, in collaboration with an international team of researchers.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have released new guidance on cholesterol management, as heart disease remains the leading cause of death nationwide.
Cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from WashU Medicine’s cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery divisions used the ShortCut device to successfully treat a high-risk patient with a failing heart valve.
A cell-based immunotherapy designed to treat rare and aggressive types of blood cancer has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Developed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, this innovative CAR-T cell therapy is licensed to Wugen, a WashU Medicine startup biotechnology company based […]
The WashU Medicine Amyloid Center of Excellence has been selected as one of just 10 centers nationwide to participate in the American Heart Association’s ATTR-CM Discovery Initiative, a three-year program aimed at transforming care for patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
When well-known St. Louis radio broadcaster John Carney, 61, experienced a sudden, life-threatening aortic dissection, WashU Medicine experts at Barnes-Jewish Hospital identified the hidden genetic condition behind it—and set out to save his life.
On behalf of INTERLINK COE Networks & Programs, a message of congratulations is extended to the Liver and Lung programs for qualifying for ELITE status within the credentialed Programs of Excellence transplant network. INTERLINK ranks transplant programs against their national peers, and only a select few achieve this distinction. ELITE status represents superior performance across […]
In the United States and around the world, public health is under enormous strain. Entire divisions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been dismantled; the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been shuttered; science funding through the National Institutes of Health has been slashed and thousands of public health jobs cut.
The Department of Medicine is proud to announce that 170 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 […]
Since it was first detected in the U.S. in 2014, H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has jumped from wild birds to farm animals and then to people, causing more than 70 human cases in the U.S. since 2022, including two fatalities. The virus continues to circulate among animals, giving it the opportunity […]
When Marcy Lagarde, 42, of Raymore, Missouri, felt sudden excruciating pain in her left arm and had trouble lying down she knew something wasn’t right. Marcy has Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue.
At 82 years old, Lois Miles was one of the first patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to receive a transcatheter tricuspid valve implant, a groundbreaking procedure performed in 2024. It’s one more way the hospital and its academic physician partner, WashU Medicine, are helping patients with valve disease.
An in-home mammalian meat reintroduction protocol was feasible and safe among patients with alpha-gal syndrome who had declining alpha-gal IgE titers and avoided red meat, according to study results.
When Ashley Brooks, RN, BSN, was born, the first hint her parents received that something was out of the ordinary was that nurses didn’t bring their infant daughter from the nursery to their room when it was time to eat. She had been taken to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
Makenna Dixon remembers all the appointments during her childhood. Her mother suffered from autoimmune diseases that required countless trips to physical therapy. As her health conditions worsened, Dixon’s mom could no longer work a full-time job, and the lack of insurance through an employer made therapy one financial challenge among many.
The number of Hepatitis C infections in pregnancy increased tenfold from 2000 to 2019. Legislative solutions helped paved the way for a new ‘meds to beds’ program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that’s bringing better access to a cure
The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital is pleased to announce it has raised $2 million to establish PREVENT, a multidisciplinary program at WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital focused on prevention and early detection of stomach and pancreatic cancers.
Radha Devi, MD, Timothy Evans, MD, and Rob Young, MD, have been spearheading the ADEPT (Achieving Diagnostic Excellence Through Prevention and Teamwork) initiative at WashU in collaboration with Colorado’s Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Efficiency (IHQSE). Along with 14 other academic medical institutions across the United States, the WashU ADEPT team is leading the […]
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. These conditions, which include atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, cause one in three deaths globally and one in five in the United States. Beyond that stark reality, those living with the conditions may contend with disability, psychological distress, financial burden, and […]
Complicated Urinary Tract Infections (cUTI): Clinical Guidelines for Treatment and Management IDSA has released the first IDSA guidelines on management and treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs). These guidelines provide practical advice for clinicians who manage patients with cUTIs in inpatient and outpatient settings. Barbara Trautner, MD, PhD, Co-Chief, WashU Medicine Division of Infectious […]
A groundbreaking clinical trial utilizing technology developed previously by Jeffrey R. Millman, PhD has reported promising new findings in the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The study, conducted by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, evaluated a stem cell-derived islet (SC-islet) replacement therapy known as Zimislecel. In this Phase 1/2 trial, researchers implanted SC-islets into patients with T1D to replace the […]
As the opioid epidemic has worsened in the United States, prevalence of hepatitis C has also increased. Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that damages the liver. It is mainly spread through sharing needles or other injection equipment and can also be passed from a mother to baby during pregnancy or childbirth. It can be […]
Early this year, not long after President Donald Trump took office, his administration started terminating grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), disrupting studies and unmooring biomedical and public health research communities.
The first sickle cell disease patient in the St. Louis region has been successfully treated by WashU Medicine physicians at St. Louis Children’s Hospital with a gene therapy newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The effects of a prospective sink environmental hygiene intervention on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia burden in hospital sinks Jennie Kwon, DO, MSCI, Associate Professor of Medicine at WashU Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases, co-published research in eBioMedicine about the burden of hygiene in hospital sinks. Co-principal investigators are; Gautam Dantas, PhD, Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, and […]
A new type of immunotherapy that targets aggressive blood cancers shows promising results alongside manageable side effects, according to the results of an international phase 1/2 clinical trial led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) and transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) procedures for tricuspid regurgitation treatment, heart specialists at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center in St. Louis, Mo., are pioneering advances that enhance the quality of life for patients who have historically suffered debilitating […]
When it comes to questions about fungal infections, Andrej Spec, MD, has become the go-to expert for doctors around the world. Each week, he takes 10 to 15 calls from physicians struggling with complex fungal diagnosis or treatment questions. He has fielded queries from all across the U.S. and as far away as China, Thailand, Japan, […]
In a clinical trial, researchers find moxidectin, a new medicine for river blindness, also works for lymphatic filariasis
An international phase 3 clinical trial led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center shows that patients with certain locally advanced head and neck cancers benefited from the addition of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) to standard-of-care therapy.
A dedicated group of hospitalists are advancing diagnostic excellence under the leadership of Radha Devi, MD, and Timothy Evans, MD, through our Division’s Center for Diagnostic Excellence (DexEx).
Research developed through the collaborative efforts of WashU Medicine, the University of Abuja, Northwestern University, and The George Institute for Global Health have supported the launch of Nigeria’s Sodium Reduction Guidelines. William Bowen Endowed Professor of Medicine and Global Health Center Co-Director Mark Huffman, MD, MPH headed the WashU team for this NIH-funded project.
Nathan and Lynda Olsen loved to explore the southwestern Missouri countryside near their home in Carthage, so when they discovered a cozy coffeeshop situated on a picturesque bluff, they pulled in to savor the view and the java. But their relaxing afternoon quickly came to a jolting halt.
Dr. Jessica Williams, Assistant Professor of Medicine, WashU Medicine Division of Rheumatology, is a dedicated rheumatologist and clinical researcher with a deep commitment to advancing our understanding of lupus, an autoimmune disease of unknown cause that disproportionately affects women, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Her work aims to uncover the […]
From detection to treatment, mapping a new future for breast cancer. WashU Medicine physicians at Siteman Cancer Center are recognized nationally for their expertise in leading-edge breast cancer therapies. Nearly 50 specialists in surgery, breast reconstruction, medical oncology and radiation oncology, radiology and pathology are part of the Breast Cancer Program at Siteman, providing personalized treatment plans […]
Trial will assess safety, efficacy of next-generation vaccine given via nasal spray, inhalation A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 – based on technology developed at Washington University in St. Louis – is poised to enter a phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S. after an investigational new drug application from Ocugen, Inc. was approved by the […]
At WashU’s Global Health Center in the Institute for Public Health, teams of cardiologists, implementation scientists, and other experts are spearheading efforts to address one of the world’s most common and treatable risk factors for cardiovascular disease: hypertension. These efforts span multiple NIH/NHLBI-funded studies underway in Peru, Nigeria, India, and the United States.
In 2023, several like-minded hospitalists noticed a gap in patient care, provider knowledge, and research within the division and hospital regarding the treatment of patients with addiction. These physicians—Benjamin Hoemann, MD; Thomas Hoyt, MD; Alex Lane, MD; Randy Laine, MD; Alyssa Moller, MD; and Corey Shy, MD—decided to come together to discuss these issues and […]
The DOLF Project PI, Dr. Peter Fischer, and associate director Laura Peer traveled to Liberia in October for a mid-trial visit the site of DOLF’s clinical trial of treatment for the neglected tropical disease (NTD) onchocerciasis (also known as “river blindness”). The clinical trial is located at Bong Mines Hospital about 70 miles from the […]
Pregnant women with kidney problems face high risks for complications affecting both themselves and their unborn child. In 2022, Kelli King-Morris, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, founded the Maternal Fetal Medicine Nephrology Clinic at WashU Nephrology to optimize the care of these patients.
Joint center harnesses AI technologies to make health care more personalized, effective, efficient
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – A new form of cancer treatment for melanoma patients has been approved by the FDA, after a clinical trial in St. Louis showed promising results.
The Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program at the Siteman Cancer Center, located at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, has reached a significant clinical achievement, completing its 10,000th transplant on September 4.
Former NHL player Kelly Chase is known as one of the toughest guys to wear a St. Louis Blues jersey, racking up more than 2,000 penalty minutes in his career. But when his Washington University medical oncologist Ramzi Abboud, MD, diagnosed him with acute myeloid leukemia in 2023, Chase learned he was facing an opponent […]
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new genomic-based approach that could aid global efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic roundworm infection spread by mosquitoes.
In September of 1992, at the age of 11, Jessi Nenkie got a double lung transplant at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
The Hepatitis C ElimiNATION Awareness Tour, sponsored by ABBVIE, brings Hepatitis C testing to underserved communities. The WashU Infectious Diseases Division’s Bridge to Health Program partnered with other state and community organizations including Street Med STL, the Missouri Department of Social Services, the Missouri Department of health and Senior Services, and Vivent Health to provide HIV […]
These days, it’s tempting to compare COVID-19 with the common cold or flu. It can similarly leave you with a nasty cough, fever, sore throat—the full works of respiratory symptoms. And it’s also become a part of the societal fabric, perhaps something you’ve resigned yourself to catching at least a few times in your life (even if […]
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became immediately clear to the worldwide scientific and research communities that a dire need was evolving to discover effective treatments for a rapidly increasing number of infected patients.