Multiple Hospitalists Contribute to Insightful Article about Substance Use Disorder (Links to an external site)

Dennis Chang, MD, Anthony Dao, MD, Carol Faulk, MD, and Kieran Patel, MD

The Society of Hospital Medicine has a monthly publication entitled, ‘The Hospitalist’ in which they share helpful information about a variety of topics that are relevant to hospital medicine. The October 2024 issue featured an article about substance use disorder in physicians written by Dennis Chang, MD, Tony Dao, MD, Carol Faulk, MD, and Kieran […]

Innovation by collaboration (Links to an external site)

Milan G. Chheda, MD, and colleagues at the Siteman Brain Tumor Center use their unique clinical expertise to target radiation therapy for glioblastoma. Siteman is the only cancer center offering this high level of treatment in the region.

The brightest minds solving brain cancer’s toughest challenges. Brain tumors are among the most challenging cancers to effectively treat. Depending on the tumor’s location, surgery can interfere with cognitive function, movement or language, and surgery often is not the solution because the tumor cells are invasive and intertwined with normal brain cells. Additionally, the brain’s […]

New drug tested to reduce side effect of ‘half-matched’ stem cell transplants (Links to an external site)

Stem cell transplantation, using devices like the one shown here, is used to treat several types of blood cancers, but carries the risk of a life-threatening side effect called graft-versus-host disease. Results from a clinical trial conducted by researchers at WashU Medicine showed adding the investigational drug itacitinib to standard care for "half-matched" stem cell transplantation may reduce rates of the disease, in which the donor’s stem cells attack the patient’s healthy tissues.

Clinical trial indicates safety, fewer cases of life-threatening graft-versus-host disease than expected Adding a new drug to standard care for stem cell transplant recipients may reduce a life-threatening side effect, according to an early-stage clinical trial conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The trial showed that patients being treated for various […]

Vaccine Shows Promise Against Aggressive Breast Cancer (Links to an external site)

A small clinical trial conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows promising results for patients.

A small clinical trial shows promising results for patients with triple-negative breast cancer who received an investigational vaccine designed to prevent recurrence of tumors. Conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a therapy designed by Washington University researchers, the trial is the first to report results for this type of vaccine — known […]

Polypill proposed to change the heart failure treatment paradigm

image of pills

A polypill is suggested containing all 4 classes of guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure Justin Chen, MD, First Year Cardiology Fellow, First Author along with Anubha Agarwal, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Program in Global Cardiovascular Health, WashU Medicine Cardiovascular Division, Senior Author, have published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The […]

Complexity of tumors revealed in 3D (Links to an external site)

3d breast tumor image

A new analysis led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed detailed 3D maps of the internal structures of multiple tumor types. These cancer atlases reveal how different tumor cells — and the cells of a tumor’s surrounding environment — are organized, in 3D, and how that organization changes […]

New Midwest Developmental Center for AIDS Research launches with focus on Implementation Science (Links to an external site)

launch of the Midwest D-CFAR

The Center for Dissemination and Implementation announces the launch of a new Midwest Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR) in Missouri, which brings together researchers from across the translational spectrum to address the HIV epidemic. This D-CFAR is part of a national network of 20 NIH-funded centers, and it is the first of its kind […]

NCI director delivers Korsmeyer lecture (Links to an external site)

W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, director of the National Cancer Institute, delivers the 19th annual Stanley J. Korsmeyer Memorial Lectureship Oct. 17 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus.

W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), delivered the 19th annual Stanley J. Korsmeyer Memorial Lectureship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis on Thursday, Oct. 17. Korsmeyer was a former WashU Medicine medical oncologist and researcher whose groundbreaking discoveries opened up […]

Nephrology Researcher Expands Kidney Disease Study Through Collaborative Work at WashU

Gewin’s team aims to find ways to promote kidney repair and prevent the progression of fibrosis. Dr. Leslie Gewin, a nephrologist and researcher, has been steadily expanding her research into kidney disease since moving from Vanderbilt to WashU Medicine three years ago. Leveraging the university’s extensive resources and collaborative environment, Gewin’s work focuses on the […]

Infectious Diseases Division Co-Director and Pallavi Chandra, PhD, published in Autophagy

Jennifer A. Philips, MD

Host De-ubiquitinase USP8 promotes Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection Pallavi Chandra, PhD, an Instructor of Medicine in the Philips laboratory at WashU Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, along with Jennifer A. Philips, MD, PhD, Theodore and Bertha Bryan Professor, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology; Co-director, Infectious Diseases Division, recently co-authored a Autophagy publication, on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and USP8. […]

Are patients with Alport Syndrome at Increased Risk of Aortic Aneurysms?  ASF Funds Dr. Carmen Halabi and Jeffrey Miner to Find Out (Links to an external site)

Congratulations to Carmen Halabi, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Nephrology, and collaborator Jeffrey Miner, PhD, FASN, Eduardo and Judith Slatopolsky Professor of Medicine in Nephrology, who were awarded an Alport Syndrome Foundation (ASF) grant to fund research into the presence of aortic aneurysms in Alport mice.

Infectious Diseases Division Co-Director Philips Published in Nature Microbiology

Jennifer A. Philips, MD

Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence lipid PDIM inhibits autophagy in mice Jennifer A. Philips, MD, PhD, Theodore and Bertha Bryan Professor, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology; Co-director, Infectious Diseases Division, recently co-authored a Nature Microbiology publication, with Ekansh Mittal, PhD, Instructor of Medicine, WashU Division of Infectious Diseases, on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Dr. Philips is the principal investigator […]

Podany Metastatic Breast Cancer work spotlighted in JNCCN360

Emily Podany, MD

Genomic Alterations and Targeted Treatment by Race in Metastatic Breast Cancer Emily Podany, MD, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program, Fellow Wellness Leader, WashU Division of Oncology, was recently spotlighted in JNCCN360 for her work on Genomic Alterations and Targeted Treatment by Race in Metastatic Breast Cancer. The study used a multi-institution consortium database that includes both clinical […]

Second Annual Washington University Glomerular Disease Symposium: An Update on Disease Mechanisms and Management a Success (Links to an external site)

Tingting Li, MD, MSCI,

Kudos to everyone who helped make the 2nd Annual Glomerular Disease Symposium: An Update on Disease Mechanisms and Management, held September 6 – 7, 2024, a success.  The event was organized and chaired by WashU Nephrology’s Tingting Li, MD, MSCI, with the support of the planning committee members Michelle Bloom, BSN, RN, Reena Gurung, MD, Nidia Messias, MD, and Morgan Schoer, MD, and Continuing Medical […]

Odeny publication in Science Direct offers new cancer insights

Crucial intersection of oncology and HIV research, with insights for clinical practice Thomas A. Odeny, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at WashU Division of Medical Oncology, leads the Global Oncology Initiative. He recently was published in Science Direct with new insights into HIV and cancer research. Dr. Odeny’s research focuses on applying implementation […]

WashU Fellow Published in Annual Reviews

Giulia Petrone, MD

Giulia Petrone, MD, WashU Hematology/Oncology Fellow, study, “Clinical and Therapeutic Implications of Clonal Hematopoisis” was recently published in Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, Volume 25, 2024. Clonal Hematopoiesis (CH) is a condition in which hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells acquire the same somatic mutations, leading to the expansion of these mutated cells. The […]

Study shows novel low-dose 3-in-1 blood pressure pill outperforms standard care

Mark Huffman, MD

Over 80% of patients achieved control within a month, sustained at six months A new study, that Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, William Bowen Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Global Health Center, WashU Cardiovascular Division, who is a co-author, shows that a treatment plan containing low doses of three antihypertensive drugs in a single pill – known […]

Ferraro lab publishes Acute Myeloid Leukemiain Research in AACR

Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD

The Ferraro Lab led by Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, WashU Division of Oncology has recently made significant contribution in understanding the role of MYC mutations in the development of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Dr. Ferraro’s lab publication, titled “Missense Mutations in Myc Box I Influence Nucleocytoplasmic Transport to Promote Leukemogenesis,” is […]

Study reveals how brain cancer evolves in response to treatment  (Links to an external site)

cancer cell graphic

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown how brain tumors evolve in response to therapy, helping describe how such cancers develop treatment resistance that leads to the high mortality rate characteristic of this cancer. Only 5% of patients survive five years after diagnosis with the most aggressive brain cancers.  

DNA fragments help detect kidney organ rejection  (Links to an external site)

Tarek Alhamad, MD, MS

Raja Dandamudi, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics, Vikas Dharnidharka, MD, a professor of pediatrics, and Tarek Alhamad, MD, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, contributed to a large study that identified a novel way of detecting signs of organ rejection. The international team found that DNA shed from dying […]

Meet the Researcher: Marlie Maestas  (Links to an external site)

Marlie Maestas

Marlie Maestas, a fifth-year graduate student in the Millman Lab, recently published her first first-authorship in Nature Communications. The study, titled Identification of unique cell type responses in pancreatic islets to stress, detailed the responses of different pancreatic islet cell types to endoplasmic reticulum and inflammatory stress.

Anuja Java Published in Science Direct

Anuja Java, MD

Anuja Java, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Kidney Transplant John Cochran VA Medical Center, Division of Nephrology, Washington University School of Medicine recently had two articles published in Science Direct. Thrombotic Microangiopathies and the Kidney Both articles delve into defining current understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying Thrombotic Microangiopathies (TMAs). TMA is a multisystem […]

Heme-Onc Fellow Cochran published in Leukemia & Lymphoma

Hunter Cassidy Cochran, MD

Pretransplant desensitization of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies with plasmapheresis and immunoglobulin produces equivalent outcomes to patients with no donor specific antibodies in haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant Hunter Cassidy Cochran, MD, Hematology-Oncology Fellow, was recently published in Leukemia & Lymphoma. In many hematologic malignancies, hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is the only curative option. The likelihood of finding […]

DOLF Initiating a Follow Up Study on Moxidectin plus Albendazole (MoxA) Combination Treatment for Lymphatic Filariasis and Onchocerciasis in Cote d’Ivoire (Links to an external site)

Members of the DOLF team looking for microfilariae in samples

DOLF investigators are beginning a follow-up study on the efficacy of a new combination treatment for lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis in the Akoupé district of Côte d’Ivoire. This study began July 4th and builds upon a large-scale community survey sponsored by Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH).

DOM researchers publish in Science Immunology

Researchers in the Department of Medicine reveal new ways that human natural killer (NK) cells are rewired by signals through cytokine receptors to generate a memory-like program.  In a report published in Science Immunology, co-first authors Jennifer Foltz, PhD, and Jennifer Tran build on prior work from senior author Todd Fehniger, MD, PhD, WashU Division […]

Kulkarni Editorial Published in Journal of Clinical Investigation

Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, MD

“Hexamerization: explaining the original sin of IgG-mediated complement activation in acute lung injury” Hrishikesh S Kulkarni, MD, MSCI, Associate Professor of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology; Associate Program Director for Research, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, recently was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). The editorial in the Journal of Clinical Investigation […]

Hughes Lab publication highlighted in Science Snapshot

Researchers used scanning electron microscopy to image the cytoskeletal components of the human pancreatic primary cilia.

Three dimensional images of human pancreatic islet cells provide an unprecedented view of the enigmatic primary cilia Jing Hughes, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research recent paper, “Scanning electron microscopy of human islet cilia” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and follow-up article, “Immuno-scanning […]