Unanue receives Sanofi-Institut Pasteur Award
Emil R. Unanue, MD, an internationally renowned immunologist at the School of Medicine, has received a Sanofi-Institut Pasteur Award for his invaluable contributions to the field of immunology. The annual awards honor scientists who have made outstanding contributions to biomedical research in fields that profoundly affect global health.
Three medical faculty named Wolff professors
Three highly regarded faculty members in the Department of Medicine have been named Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professors in their
respective fields. They are (from left) Daniel C. Brennan, MD, Chyi-Song Hsieh, MD,
PhD, and Daniel S. Ory, MD.
Immune system uses heart channel to select powerful defenders
When the body makes immune T cells, it relies on a
molecular channel more commonly seen in nerves and heart muscles to
ensure that the powerful T cells have the right mixture of
aggressiveness and restraint, researchers at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered.
Key signal prepares immune cells to defend skin, brain
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine
in St. Louis have identified the molecular signal that triggers the
development of immune cells that patrol the skin and brain.
Urinary tract infections steal from hosts’ defense arsenals
Humans have known for centuries that copper is a potent weapon against infection. New research shows that the bacteria that cause serious urinary tract infections “know” this, too, and steal copper to prevent the metal from being used against them. Blocking this thievery with a drug may significantly improve patients’ chances
of fighting off infections, according to researchers.
Late-stage sepsis suppresses immune system
Patients who die from sepsis are likely to have had suppressed immune systems that left them unable to fight infections, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. The findings suggest that therapies to rev up the immune response may help save the lives of some patients with the disorder.
New model will open immune cell’s secrets
Five decades after the discovery of a rare but potentially pivotal immune cell, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to eliminate it in mice. The finding, which appears in the journal Immunity, will enable more detailed investigations of the important roles the plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) plays in fighting viruses and causing autoimmune diseases like psoriasis and lupus.
Following his instincts
Barry Sleckman, MD, PhD, was a busy young entrepreneur and disaffected commuter college student when his life began taking a sudden series of unexpected turns in the late 1970s.