An update from the Office of the Vice Chair of Education

Abby Spencer

The start of a new year always ushers in a sense of excitement and renewal in the world of medical education. Though our academic ‘new year’ may still be months away, planning and preparation for our incoming class of learners is underway and at everyone’s height of mind. Our fellowships capped off a busy recruitment […]

Anthony Dao, MD, Wins Drum Major Award (Links to an external site)

The Drum Major Awards were created to recognize individuals at WashU School of Medicine who embody what it means to be an upstander. In a 1968 sermon in Atlanta entitled “The Drum Major Instinct”, Dr. King stated “Yes, if you want to say I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major […]

An update from the Vice Chair for Career Advancement

The new year brings continued enthusiasm! I’m excited to share updates on the work we’ve been doing. The Executive Committee, which has faculty representatives from almost every division and all ranks & tracts, has been hard at work strategizing for the upcoming year. The Programming Subcommittee, led by Dr. Leslie Gewin, has put together a […]

Educational Curriculum Developed for Advanced Practice Clinicians in the Division (Links to an external site)

Crystal Atwood, MD, Ankita Kapoor, MD, and Brenna Zack, NP, have come together to create an extensive educational curriculum for APCs in the DHM. These sessions will be a series of didactics given by physicians once a month, focusing on different subjects each month. The first lecture took place on Tuesday, January 25th, and was […]

Study reveals clues to how Eastern equine encephalitis virus invades brain cells (Links to an external site)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined how Eastern equine encephalitis virus attaches to a receptor it uses to enter and infect cells. The whole virus is shown on the left and a magnified view of the viral structural proteins on the right. The findings laid the groundwork for a […]

Announcement of Maritz Lung Center Director

Tonya Russell, MD

It is my pleasure to announce that Dr. Tonya Russell has accepted the position of Medical Director of the Maritz Lung Center effective January 1, 2024. Dr. Russell is Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic, Co-Director of the Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Clinic, and Co-Chair of the Clinical Care Committee within the Division of […]

November 2023 Kudos and Awards

Kudos and Awards graphic

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 judgement, resourcefulness, and work ethic.​​​​​​​Nominate a resident/intern for Housestaff of the month or just share something good.  November 2023 Inpatient Resident of the MonthShannon Coombs Shannon […]

October 2023 Kudos and Awards

Kudos and Awards graphic

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 judgement, resourcefulness, and work ethic.​​​​​​​Nominate a resident/intern for Housestaff of the month or just share something good.  October 2023 Inpatient Resident of the MonthEric Mittauer In […]

Three receive grant for NK cell-based therapy trial for kids with AML  (Links to an external site)

Fehniger (left), Bednarski and Pfeiffer

Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine, and co-principal investigators Jeffrey J. Bednarski, MD, PhD, an associate professor of pediatrics, and Thomas Pfeiffer, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics, all at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have received a total of $1.4 million from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the […]

Announcement of next Medical Director, Lung Transplant Program

Chad Witt, MD

We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Chad Witt has accepted the position of Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program at Washington University in St. Louis, succeeding Dr. Ramsey Hachem starting April 1, 2024.  Dr. Chad Witt received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern and completed his internship and residency training […]

Announcement – Medical Multispecialty Center / Infusion Center Directors

Medical Multispecialty Center / Infusion Center Directors

It is our pleasure to announce Medical Directors who will serve our 4 outpatient Medical Multispecialty Centers with associated Infusion Centers. They will work within the framework of the Ambulatory Operations Executive Council (A-OEC) of the Department of Medicine (DOM) to serve as a physician liaison for the clinical operations at the MMCs. Alongside the […]

Fehniger receives grant for trial of immunotherapy against melanoma  (Links to an external site)

Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD

Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine, and colleagues Alice Y. Zhou, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, Ryan C. Fields, MD, the Kim and Tim Eberlein Distinguished Professor, and George Ansstas, MD, an associate professor of medicine, all at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have received $1.5 million from […]

Siteman Investment Program awards $1.5 million in cancer research grants (Links to an external site)

Siteman Cancer Pedal the Cause

Research focused on blood, brain, breast and colon cancers; improving awareness of the link between alcohol use and cancer risk; and clinical trials for high-risk prostate cancer and high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms are among the projects that will benefit from $1.5 million in new grants announced by Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of […]

WashU Kidney O’Brien Center Takes CKD Research to the Next Level through Team Science (Links to an external site)

Washington University Kidney O’Brien Center for Chronic Kidney Disease Research

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a highly under-recognized disease that affects almost 15% of the US population and carries significant morbidity and mortality.  Although important scientific advances promise to accelerate CKD research, many are not accessible to the kidney research community due to limited expertise and/or the need for expensive equipment.

Awardees announced for Needleman innovation, commercialization program (Links to an external site)

Three Washington University researchers developing promising therapeutics for cancer and heart disease have been named the inaugural awardees of an innovative, new program that provides critical funding to help move research toward early-stage clinical trials and commercialization. The awardees — Carl DeSelm, MD, PhD, John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, and Kory Lavine, MD, PhD — will receive financial support […]

‘Long flu’ has emerged as a consequence similar to long COVID (Links to an external site)

Study shows patients hospitalized for flu or COVID-19 face increased risk of long-term health problems, death Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, extensive research has emerged detailing the virus’s ability to attack multiple organ systems, potentially resulting in a set of enduring and often disabling health problems known as long COVID. Now, new research from Washington […]

Change The World (Links to an external site)

Outlook Magazine

A deepened investment Understanding the brain is key to addressing devastating neurological and psychiatric diseases that affect mankind. This issue of Outlook magazine examines how WashU Medicine — already one of the world’s premier institutions in neuroscience research — is accelerating progress in this area.

Nominate a Colleague for the Drum Major Awards! (Links to an external site)

Drum Major Awards

The Drum Major Awards will recognize individuals at WashU School of Medicine who embody what it means to be an upstander. Awardees should be those who speak up or act in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person being bullied or attacked. Upstanders are people who speak and […]

Kwon, Newland named to antibiotic resistance advisory council (Links to an external site)

From left, Jason G. Newland, MD, and Jennie H. Kwon, DO, both of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have been have been selected to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Will advise leadership in office of secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Jennie H. Kwon, DO, an associate professor of medicine in infectious diseases, and Jason G. Newland, MD, a professor of pediatrics, both at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have been selected to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council […]

Humphreys receives $4.5 million NIH grant for kidney disease research  (Links to an external site)

Benjamin Humphreys, MD

Benjamin Humphreys, MD, PhD, the Joseph Friedman Professor of Renal Diseases in Medicine and director of the Division of Nephrology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a five-year $4.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Ciorba receives grant to evaluate treatment for colorectal cancer    (Links to an external site)

Matt Ciorba, MD

Matthew A. Ciorba, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a $2.8 million award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate a new treatment in combination with routine radiation and chemotherapy in patients […]

Improving heart health to save lives during, after pregnancy aim of programs (Links to an external site)

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Abuja in Nigeria have received grants to work with community organizations in St. Louis and Abuja to improve cardiovascular health during and after pregnancy. Both projects are partnering with Parents as Teachers, a national organization that has long provided support to young families through home visits. (Photo: Getty Images)

Community-based approaches in St. Louis and Nigeria supported with NIH grants The United States and Nigeria may be an ocean apart, but each has distressingly high rates of infant and maternal death in the year following childbirth. In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated the U.S. maternal mortality rate to be […]

Brown, Urano and colleagues publish an article on a potential treatment for human, preclinical Wolfram syndrome cases  (Links to an external site)

On March 30, Cris Brown, BA and Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD of Urano Lab, alongside colleagues from Belgique, Belgium and Italy, had their article titled “GLP-1R agonists demonstrate potential to treat Wolfram syndrome in human preclinical models,” published in Diabetologia. 

Treating Ventricular Tachycardia (Links to an external site)

Every day, nearly 1,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest, a catastrophic event in which the heart suddenly stops functioning. The most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest is a sustained, super-fast heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia, commonly called V-tach. Among heart specialists, this condition is known as VT.

Every day, nearly 1,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest, a catastrophic event in which the heart suddenly stops functioning. The most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest is a sustained, super-fast heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia, commonly called V-tach. Among heart specialists, this condition is known as VT.

Kulkarni recognized for research into complement system (Links to an external site)

Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, MD

Pulmonologist receives Svar Complement Excellence Award Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2023 Svar Complement Excellence Award from the International Complement Society and Svar, a life sciences company based in Sweden.

Department of Medicine 2024 Fellowship Matches

Department of Medicine

Please join us in congratulating this year’s residents, current chief residents, former graduates, and our divisions on another successful fellowship match! Our Internal Medicine residents successfully matched: Department of Medicine Fellowship Match Results by Division Allergy & Immunology Cardiovascular Critical Care Medicine Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Gastroenterology Hematology/Oncology Nephrology Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Advanced Heart […]

New Director of the Forum for Women in Medicine (FWIM)

Namrata Patel, MD

I am pleased to announce that Namrata Patel, MD, has accepted the role of Director of the Forum for Women in Medicine (FWIM). Dr. Patel is an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics in the Divisions of General Medicine and Hospitalist Medicine, respectively.  Dr. Patel received her Bachelors of Science in Biology from Emory University. […]

Radiation therapy may be potential heart failure treatment (Links to an external site)

Radiotherapy may improve heart function by reducing inflammatory immune cells Cardiologists and radiation oncologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis pioneered the use of radiation therapy — a strategy typically used against cancer — to treat patients with a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia.

Researchers identify way to block alphavirus infection (Links to an external site)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an innovative way to block infection by a variety of alphaviruses, a group of mosquito-borne viruses that can cause joint and brain infections in people. The study, led by Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, and Daved […]

CareSTL Health Celebrates 54th Anniversary Gala

CareSTL Event

CareSTL recently celebrated their 54th Anniversary Gala held Thursday, November 16th at the Redbird Club at Busch Stadium, CareSTL Health is a community-based healthcare system that provides healthcare services to underserved, underinsured, and uninsured populations. They help to shape healthy lifestyles in our community. Their mission is to improve health outcomes in our community by […]

DOLF Co-Founder and Director Dr. Gary Weil receives the prestigious Kyelem Prize

Gary Weil, MD

We are pleased to share the news that DOLF Director, Gary Weil received the 2023 Kyelem Prize at the annual Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD). Described by some as the “Oscar” of neglected tropical disease (NTD) research, this prize recognizes people in the field who have been particularly effective in bringing […]

New Assay Could Revolutionize Detection and Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Grant Challen, PhD

More accurate detection of a specific molecular marker in leukemic cells will help assess measurable residual disease and guide treatment decisions, improving patient outcomes, report investigators in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics Grant A. Challen, PhD, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, lead investigator, has been published […]

Career Catalyst Grants from Susan G. Komen® Accelerate Breast Cancer Research (Links to an external site)

Dr. Priyanka Verma

Two Washington University breast cancer researchers at Siteman Cancer Center have received national Career Catalyst Research Grants from Susan G. Komen® to accelerate their discoveries. Siteman is based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers are among 49 scientists in this round of funding receiving a total of $19.3 million […]