A day in the life of Washington University School of Medicine showcases the breadth of ongoing efforts to advance research, education and the best medical care possible for patients.
At Washington University School of Medicine, every day is a day of discovery. The scope of work that transpires in any 24-hour period to advance human health — in research, training and patient care — is inspiring and consequential. Across disciplines, physician-scientists are looking at genetic clues, working to solve some of medicines toughest puzzles: cancer, addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease and so much more.
The School of Medicine is a place with a long tradition in immunology and microbiology, and researchers in those areas are working to develop vaccines for cancer and treatments for emerging infections, autoimmune disorders and antibiotic resistance. Further, researchers are working to understand malnutrition, obesity, diabetes and other conditions by delving deeply into the microbiome. The medical school, with the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, also has a long tradition of being a leader in imaging sciences, from the development of the PET scanner to evaluate organ and tissue function in the 1970s to the use of high-tech glasses to help spot cancer cells today.
A key contributor to the Human Genome Project, the school is going beyond describing genes and how they vary to understanding how to develop better diagnostics and therapeutics to address disease-generating variations in a personalized way.
According to David H. Perlmutter, MD, the inaugural George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine and the executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, over the last two decades, the medical school actually has been a part of two campaigns: “I am using the word campaign in two different ways,” Perlmutter says. “There is an ongoing campaign for determining whether something really is a cause of a disease; the other campaign has been to secure the financial resources necessary to make this important work possible. Thanks to the generosity of those who supported Leading Together, the school has made progress on both fronts.”
Through funding important centers — the McDonnell Genome Institute, the Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, and the Genome Engineering and iPSC Center, all in the Debra and George W. Couch III Biomedical Research Building; the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs; the National Cancer Institute–recognized Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center; and others — Leading Together allows the School of Medicine to support the scientific leaders making progress on these complex medical challenges.
Here, take a glimpse at some of the important work happening on any given day at this busy, vital place.
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Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.