People who endure the daily hassles of big cities often romanticize life in the country. But rural living is not necessarily the carefree, idyllic experience that many people imagine, said Emily Willroth, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Willroth co-authored a study in […]
The Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has named the student winners of its annual awards. New this year is an award established in honor of Garland E. Allen III, a renowned science historian who advocated for racial and gender equality in the biological sciences. The Allen Prize was […]
Every day, we face a series of opportunities to do the right thing. Sometimes we seize those moments; other times, we don’t. So, why do we make these choices, and what drives some people to take the moral high ground? Jessie Sun, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences […]
The Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, established in 2005 by Yale University and Howard University to recognize outstanding scholarly achievement, recently inducted four doctoral candidates from Washington University in St. Louis. Named after the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States, the honor society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in […]
Julian Abt, a senior majoring in Neuroscience, with minors in Medical Humanities and Russian Language and Literature, in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded the 2023 Ralph S. Quatrano Prize by the Department of Biology. Established through a generous donation by Katherine Day Reinleitner, the Quatrano Prize is awarded […]
Each year, the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis awards a prize to a graduating senior in memory of Marion Smith Spector, a 1938 graduate who studied zoology under the late Viktor Hamburger. The Spector Prize, first awarded in 1974, recognizes academic excellence and outstanding undergraduate achievement in […]
Ian Dobbins, PhD, a professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named a 2023 fellow of the Society of Experimental Psychologists. Dobbins is one of eight fellows selected to join the society this year. The society has 281 members that work “to advance psychology by […]
Ursula W. Goodenough, PhD, a professor emerita of biology, and William B. McKinnon, PhD, a professor of earth and planetary sciences, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Election to the academy, announced May 2, is considered one of the highest honors that […]
Matthew Kreuter, a faculty member at the Brown School, is the first recipient of the William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award (STLCA), the Office of the Provost announced. The award focuses on and elevates Washington University in St. Louis’ investment in the region by encouraging research that enhances community impact. “William H. Danforth is the […]
Denise Head, PhD and Lori Markson, PhD, both professors of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, have been named fellows of the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Additionally, Calvin Lai, PhD, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences, has received the 2023 Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award […]
A new deep learning tool from Keith Hengen allows scientists to give neurons a “computational fingerprint,” work that could significantly advance our understanding of the building blocks of thought. The 86 billion neurons of the human brain are involved in constant banter, sending and receiving codes written in strings of electrical impulses. Listening to these […]
John Georgiades, a chemistry major with a concentration in biochemistry in Arts & Sciences, plans to use organic synthesis, biochemistry and structure-based drug design to develop new drug candidates. Georgiades is a research assistant in the lab of Timothy Wencewicz, associate professor of chemistry. In addition, Georgiades is co-director of the Washington University STEM Education […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting March 3, numerous faculty members were appointed with tenure, promoted with tenure or granted tenure. Their new roles will take effect July 1 unless otherwise indicated. Appointment with tenure Sheldon A. Evans as professor of law at the School of Law; and Benjamin Levin as professor […]
A new study from a Washington University researcher offers fresh insights into how the brain goes to great lengths to process and remember everyday events. Zachariah Reagh, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and co-author Charan Ranganath of the University of California, Davis, used […]
A new study co-authored by Joshua Jackson, PhD, the Saul and Louise Rosenzweig Associate Professor in Personality Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, explores how parents’ personalities — boisterous or reserved, agreeable or cranky, concerned or care-free — can shape the lives of their children, for better or worse. The study […]
One of the more intriguing paradoxes emerging from the rubble of the COVID-19 pandemic is new evidence suggesting that older adults — those at the greatest risk of severe illness and death from the virus — fared much better than their younger counterparts when it comes to coping with pandemic-related distress, anxiety, depression and social […]
Washington University in St. Louis welcomed 54 students from the St. Louis region Feb. 25 for the first in-person St. Louis Area Brain Bee since the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants answered questions about the nervous system, brain structure, cognitive disorders and other topics in neuroscience. Sanjay Adireddi of Ladue Horton Watkins High School won this year’s competition and […]
Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital awards 28 investigators as part of the 16th annual Clinical and Translational Research Funding Program (CTRFP). The CTRFP is the largest internal grant funding program of the ICTS. Applicants are required to submit proposals for projects that promote the translation […]
Garland (“Gar”) Edward Allen III, professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died peacefully in Palm Springs, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. He was 86. Allen was born Feb. 13, 1936, in Louisville, Ky. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Kentucky in […]
The revamped office will help students across academic disciplines gain research experience and build relationships with faculty mentors.
Washington University in St. Louis seniors Sabrina Hu and Sam Norwitz are among the 23 U.S. students who have been selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which fully funds postgraduate study and research at the University of Cambridge. Hu, of Houston, is majoring in chemistry and in history and minoring in mathematics in Arts & […]
When teaching about cognitive illusions, Henry “Roddy” Roediger, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences, often begins by asking students to read the following sentence while counting the number of times the letter F appears. Try it yourself: Finished files are the result of years of […]
Todd Braver, PhD, professor of psychological and brain sciences, and ShiNung Ching, PhD, associate professor of electrical and systems engineering, have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than $400,000 to investigate a new way to improve thinking and focus — work that could one day help restore short-term memory in older […]
The relentless neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually shuts down the entire body, but the devastation starts at a molecular level. Over the years, researchers have linked ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, to a handful of proteins that don’t function properly because of genetic mutations. Over time, these distorted or “misfolded” proteins can […]
Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died after a confrontation with police during a traffic stop earlier this month in Memphis, has become the latest face in a racial justice and police reform movement fueled by a string of similar cases in which Black men have died from injuries sustained while being taken into […]
Two of Washington University in St. Louis’ largest student groups are led by one very busy junior: John Jachimiak. As co-president of Heart for the Unhoused, Jachimiak travels to shelters across the region to conduct health screenings. And as president of the campus QuestBridge chapter, Jachimiak gives scholars resources, a voice and, most importantly, a […]
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air. Or in the waxy coating on your skin, if you are a vinegar fly. That’s where flies encounter pheromones that play an important role in regulating sexual attraction. Flies use pheromones to ensure that they court and mate with members of the same species. As […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 2, several faculty members were granted tenure. Their new roles took effect Dec. 2. Granting of tenure Marlon M. Bailey as professor of African and African American studies and of women, gender, and sexuality studies, both in Arts & Sciences; Adam Q. Bauer, PhD as […]
It was one of those meetings that changes your life. As a veteran dancer in New York, Elinor Harrison, PhD (AB ’01) took a professional interest in the effects of injury and movement impairment. “What if I couldn’t dance?” she remembers wondering. “What does this look like as I grow older?” While performing with celebrated choreographers such […]
Patrick Hill, PhD, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received a three-year $237,970 grant from Velux Stiftung, a science-funding foundation based in Switzerland, for research on future time perspective as a motivator for healthy aging practices. Originally published on The Source.
Seniors Sam Norwitz and Ephraim Oyetunji at Washington University in St. Louis were finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the world’s most prestigious academic honors, to study at the University of Oxford in England. Norwitz and Oyetunji, both majoring in the neuroscience track of biology in Arts & Sciences, are striving to improve the […]
QPR training, a nationally recognized suicide prevention program, is now available to all students, faculty and staff at Washington University in St. Louis. Kirk Dougher, associate vice chancellor for student support and wellness, and Arie Baker, director of health promotion and wellness at Habif Health and Wellness Center, liken QPR to CPR — an emergency […]
Erik Herzog, PhD, a professor of biology, was installed Oct. 18 as the Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. The program included welcoming remarks by Feng Sheng Hu, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor; an introduction by Jonathan Losos, the William H. […]
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, anthropologist, and environmental activist, spoke at Graham Chapel last Sunday, Oct. 9, reflecting on defining moments of her career and motivating students to bring positive change to the world throughout their everyday life. Titled “Inspiring Hope Through Action,” Dr. Goodall’s speech discussed a range of topics spanning from her early interest […]
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t unusual to see and hear public health announcements geared toward older populations because they were more susceptible to severe illness. Over and over, older adults were referred to as “vulnerable.” Meghan McDarby, a former PhD student, Catherine Ju, a former undergraduate student, and Matthew Picchiello, a […]
Bruce Carlson, PhD, professor of biology, was recently awarded $980,000 by the National Science Foundation to study neuronal plasticity and the evolvability of behavior. Carlson and his team are examining how changes in an animal’s behavior alters the sensory feedback the animal receives, in turn leading to modifications to the animal’s brain. Mormyrid weakly electric fish, the […]
Does your neighborhood help protect your cognitive health as you age? A growing body of research led by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan suggests older adults’ access to civic and social organizations, cultural centers — such as museums and art galleries — and recreation centers may help protect […]
Children who were exposed to cannabis in the womb continue to show elevated rates of symptoms of psychopathology — depression, anxiety and other psychiatric conditions — even as, at ages 11 and 12, they head toward adolescence, according to research from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences’ BRAIN Lab, led by Ryan Bogdan, PhD, associate […]