washington university school of medicine

Valerie S. Ratts, MD, has been named the new associate dean for admissions at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, effective Jan. 1.

Project ARK and The SPOT have been tapped as a model and mentor to what is hoped will be a similar center in East St. Louis. The new clinic, funded through a federal grant, will emulate The SPOT, a School of Medicine program that celebrated its fifth anniversary in September. The SPOT addresses health risks facing youth ages 13-24 by providing health, social support and prevention services free of charge. Pictured are the center’s medical director, Katie Plax (left), and Kim Donica, the executive director.

Researchers at the School of Medicine and Imperial College London are the first to identify the site where the widely used anesthetic drug propofol binds to receptors in the brain to sedate patients during surgery. Shown is a photoanalogue of propofol to identify where it binds to receptors. The small green circles show the site.

Faculty members manned posters highlighting their research at a recent Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences event geared toward helping graduate students meet faculty and learn about research before signing up for laboratory rotations. The event is an engaging step for students earning their PhDs or MD/PhDs through the Medical Scientist Training Program. Pictured is student Allyson Mayer visiting with Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD, at the event.

As part of ongoing efforts to bolster pediatric research and lead to new discoveries, Children’s Discovery Institute plans to award more than $2.4 million to research initiatives at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

H. James Wedner, MD, (left) has been installed as the Dr. Phillip and Arleen Korenblat Professor at the School of Medicine, where he serves as chief of the division of allergy and clinical immunology. The named professorship, a gift from Jess and Alice Yawitz, honors their longtime friend and physician, Dr. Phillip E. Korenblat, and his wife, Arleen.

Carey-Ann Burnham, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and immunology and of pediatrics, has been awarded the American Society for Microbiology/Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Young Investigator Award.

The surface parking lot on the Medical Center campus at the corner of Taylor and Parkview avenues (C-lot) will close permanently at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27.

By passing surgical instruments through a patient’s mouth, School of Medicine doctors have corrected a problem that prevented a woman from easily swallowing food and liquids. The operation is one of the first of its kind in the region performed through a natural opening in the body rather than an incision. Pictured is the surgical knife (blue) in the esophagus.

Researchers have identified the mechanism by which a specific sirtuin protein called Sirt1 (shown in green) operates in the brain to bring about a significant delay in aging and an increase in longevity.