Protein accumulations do important work in the human body, but something can go wrong and proliferate in those aggregates, resulting in neurodegeneration and diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. One such assembly, amyloid beta peptide, is synonymous with dementia, but researchers were not certain how these peptide assemblies “break bad” and what really causes them […]
Five researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Among the new senior members are three researchers from the School of Medicine: Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD, Aaron DiAntonio, MD PhD, and John DiPersio, MD, PhD; along with Sophia Hayes, PhD, a professor of chemistry […]
The Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences (TRIADS) has announced its newest crop of seed grant recipients, with eight teams of researchers receiving funding. Featuring faculty from four different WashU schools (Arts & Sciences, Brown School, McKelvey School of Engineering, and the School of Medicine), these projects leverage data science to address pressing societal issues. Each research […]
Complex biological networks control a range of functions in the human body from metabolic processes to the sleep cycle. Though scientists have ever-increasing volumes of data about the effects these complex systems produce, fully describing them mathematically has proven difficult. Without a firm understanding, effective interventions continue to be elusive, leaving more than 50 million […]
The complexity of the human brain – 86 billion neurons strong with more than 100 trillion connections – enables abstract thinking, language acquisition, advanced reasoning and problem-solving, and the capacity for creativity and social interaction. Understanding how differences in brain signaling and dynamics produce unique cognition and behavior in individuals has long been a goal […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 6, numerous faculty members were appointed with or granted tenure, with new titles and roles effective that day unless otherwise indicated. Appointment with tenure Eric J. Huang, MD, PhD, as a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine (tenure took […]
After surgery, pain is expected and often subsides within a few weeks. But for around 20% of patients, persistent pain may continue for months or even years after a procedure, impacting quality of life and putting patients at risk for opioid overuse. Symptoms vary widely in severity and in the type of pain experienced, making […]
Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia are devastating disorders that emerge following the buildup of misfolded proteins in the brain. The newest generation of Alzheimer’s therapeutics targets accumulations of the protein amyloid beta with engineered antibodies, but the results have been underwhelming, with some adverse effects, not to mention using engineered antibodies can be prohibitively expensive. […]
On this episode of Engineering the Future, Addison Schwamb and BethAnna Jones, graduate students in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering, describe their systems-based approaches to brain dynamics and dispel some science-fiction inspired misconceptions. With their adviser ShiNung Ching, PhD, associate professor of electrical & systems engineering in McKelvey Engineering, Schwamb and Jones […]
WashU researchers are studying how the brain perceives, processes, and remembers everyday events.
Roughly 4% of the population is affected by a congenital brain malformation that has eluded researchers’ efforts to find causes and treatments. For the condition, Chiari type-1 malformation, the diagnosis is straightforward: the lower part of the brain, known as the cerebellum, protrudes at least five millimeters through the gap in the skull that connects […]
The Washington University in St. Louis community came together Nov. 9 at its annual Founders Day celebration to honor the outstanding achievements of some of the university’s most distinguished faculty, alumni and friends. The event was held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. Four faculty were among those recognized at the event, which was […]
Ulugbek Kamilov, PhD, an associate professor of electrical and systems engineering and of computer science and engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at WashU, plans to work on innovative algorithms for computing solutions to imaging inverse problems using generative artificial intelligence (AI) models with a $20,000 gift from Google. Kamilov’s goal is to develop […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 27, numerous faculty members were granted tenure, effective that day. Granting of tenure Kirsten Gilbert Alberts, PhD as an associate professor of psychiatry at WashU Medicine; Robert A. Campbell, PhD as an associate professor of emergency medicine at WashU Medicine; Carmen M. Halabi, MD, PhD as […]
Two Washington University in St. Louis PhD candidates have been selected for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Inc. (AAHHE) Graduate Student Fellows Program. The students — Allison Martinez Mejia and Gerson Moreno Romero — are both studying biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering. Martinez Mejia , a member of the […]
Rohit V. Pappu, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Center for Biomolecular Condensates at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected as an American Physical Society Fellow. Pappu was selected for his innovative and fundamental studies regarding intrinsically disordered proteins and phase transitioning behaviors using polymer […]
Three researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have received highly competitive and prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s awards for “High Risk, High Reward” medical research funding totaling $10 million over five years. Hong Chen, PhD, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering and of neurosurgery at the […]
“Craneo,” billed as the “#1 educational Spanish language podcast for kids across Latin America, Spain and among U.S. Hispanics,” recently featured Allison Martinez Mejia, a biomedical engineering PhD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. Martinez Mejia is also a member of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. “Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos,” or, translated, “Skull: Science […]
For the first time, annual research funding to Washington University in St. Louis has surpassed $1 billion. External funding supports WashU investigators tackling big challenges from Alzheimer’s disease to air pollution to childhood depression. Research funding also ripples across the economy, sparking job growth, new construction and local spending, said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. “There […]
St. Louis is vying for a $160 million grant that leaders and academics hope will turbocharge the neuroscience sector and rectify entrenched health disparities throughout the region. The effort is part of an application to be one of the next National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines. The idea is to help assets in higher education, nonprofits, […]
When you think of mindfulness, a personal practice of deep breathing, meditation or pausing for reflection might come to mind. Expanding its use beyond the individual benefit to the collective to achieve systemic change and organizational equity is the focus of a prestigious National Science Foundation grant recently awarded to Washington University in St. Louis. […]
The Research Development Office in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is pleased to announce the final awardees from FY 2024 of the Here and Next Seed Grant Program. The program’s broad goal is to encourage novel, innovative interdisciplinary research excellence amongst Washington University researchers on both the Med School and Danforth Campuses. […]
As a new academic year begins, Washington University in St. Louis is unveiling a new visual identity and an enhanced effort to communicate its important contributions in the areas of education, research and patient care to key internal and external audiences. The update includes a new university logo and website and the official adoption of […]
While new technologies, including those powered by artificial intelligence, provide innovative solutions to a steadily growing range of problems, these tools are only as good as they data they’re trained on. In the world of molecular biology, getting high-quality data from tiny biological systems while they’re in motion – a critical step for building next-gen […]
Biomolecular condensates are membraneless hubs of condensed proteins and nucleic acids within cells, which researchers are realizing are tied to an increasing number of cellular processes and diseases. Studies of biomolecular condensate formation have uncovered layers of complexity, including their ability to behave like a viscoelastic material. However, the molecular basis for this putty-like property […]
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have spent the better part of the decade studying the ins and outs of how locusts smell, including how odors affect the insect’s behavior. In research recently published in eLife, Barani Raman, PhD, a professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, starts to map out just how olfactory […]
Amyloid-beta (A-beta) aggregates are tangles of proteins most notably associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Despite its constant stint in the limelight, however, researchers have been unable to get a good understanding of how A-beta comes together and breaks apart. “The way A-beta behaves in a variety of environments, including the human brain, is […]
Leah Rae Vandiver Czerniewski, a doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, died of a long illness Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was 34. Czerniewski worked in the lab of Jin-Moo Lee, MD, the Andrew B. […]
Human brain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, involve damage in more than one region of the brain, requiring technology that could precisely and flexibly address all affected regions simultaneously. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target […]
Researchers who had been using Fitbit data to help predict surgical outcomes have a new method to more accurately gauge how patients may recover from spine surgery. Using machine-learning techniques developed at the AI for Health Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, Chenyang Lu, PhD, the Fullgraf Professor at the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering, collaborated with Jacob […]
In the world of word puzzles, Sid Sivakumar is a celebrity. A graduate student working toward a medical degree and a PhD in biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Sivakumar also authors crossword puzzle books and creates acclaimed crosswords for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the […]
Bettina Drake, PhD, professor of surgery in public health sciences at the School of Medicine, will be the inaugural faculty director of the St. Louis Confluence Collaborative for Community-Engaged Research, Teaching and Practice, Washington University in St. Louis Provost Beverly Wendland announced May 31. The new role takes effect July 1. The collaborative, identified as […]
Mark Lawrence, PhD and Ismael Seáñez, PhD, both assistant professors in the McKelvey School of Engineering, have been awarded $25,000 Collaboration Initiation Grants from the school. The program awards one-year grants to projects that facilitate collaborative research within McKelvey Engineering departments and other university departments for tenure-track faculty. The grants are a pathway for faculty to apply for larger […]
Impacts or blasts from explosions can lead to potentially damaging shear waves in the brain, which can change the shape or deform brain tissue. Brain tissue is a complex material, mechanically reinforced by the fibers that carry signals between brain cells. A team led by Philip V. Bayly, PhD, the Lee Hunter Distinguished Professor and chair […]
A new imaging technique developed by engineers at Washington University in St. Louis can give scientists a much closer look at fibril assemblies — stacks of peptides that include amyloid beta, most notably associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These cross-β fibril assemblies are also useful building blocks within designer biomaterials for medical applications, but their resemblance […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting March 1, numerous faculty members were appointed with tenure, promoted with tenure or granted tenure. Their new roles and titles take effect July 1, unless otherwise indicated. Appointment with tenure Steven Miles as a professor of history in Arts & Sciences. Granting of tenure Paul […]
For the past several years, Washington University in St. Louis researchers have been using focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles to target an opening in the tough, protective blood-brain barrier to deliver drugs or retrieve biomarkers. To ensure that the fast-developing technology functions safely and consistently, Hong Chen, PhD, and her team, including first author and […]
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, limits the mobility of 32 million people nationwide, many to the point of significant disability. Affected individuals face limited options, as there are no drugs to cure or substantially lessen the disease, and invasive joint replacement is often the only option when it reaches its later stages. With the goal […]
Seven Washington University in St. Louis faculty members have been named fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), joining 23 existing fellows at Washington University. The new fellows are among 162 colleagues inducted March 25 in Arlington, Va. Election to AIMBE’s College of Fellows is limited to the top 2% of […]
Nanomaterials already play a vital role in enhancing the performance of everyday products from electronics to cosmetics to food packaging. But, beyond their usefulness in making images sharper and products more stable, researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have shown nanoparticles may also be an essential tool in […]
Scientists trying to understand the physical and chemical properties that govern biomolecular condensates now have a crucial way to measure pH and other emergent properties of these enigmatic, albeit important cellular compartments. Condensates are communities of proteins and nucleic acids. They lack a membrane and come together and fall apart as needed. The nucleolus is […]
Hong Chen, Jon Silva, both in biomedical engineering, are honored as rising leaders in their fields
First-in-human trial demonstrates safety of sonobiopsy in patients with glioma Getting a biopsy is often an important first step for cancer diagnosis and treatment. But brain tumors present unique challenges: to perform a biopsy, a neurosurgeon will likely need to drill into the skull, and removing brain tissue can cause complications, including bleeding, brain swelling, […]
Two teams of engineers led by faculty in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis will work toward developing products to monitor drinking water quality and to detect explosives with an electronic nose with one-year, $650,000 Convergence Accelerator Phase 1 grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Barani Raman, PhD, professor […]
Team Rainbow Butterfly Rangers was on a mission — to create an assistive technology device that would help Berlin, a bubbly 6-year old with cerebral palsy, carry her plates and toys. Per Berlin’s instructions, the device should be stable, easy to wear and — oh yeah — super cute. “She asked and we delivered,” said […]
The first-floor walls at 4240 Duncan Ave. — home to Washington University in St. Louis’ Office of Technology Management (OTM) — are running out of room. And that’s a good thing. The logos of Washington University startup companies launched to shepherd promising university-owned diagnostics, therapeutics or other technologies to the marketplace are prominently displayed on the walls. […]
In the United States, more than one-fourth of adults over age 40 have an eye disease, including glaucoma, cataracts or age-related macular degeneration, or a chronic health condition that affects the eyes, such as diabetic retinopathy. These conditions are a strain on an individual’s health as well as on the health-care system, yet early diagnosis […]
Our sensory systems are highly adaptable. A person who cannot see after turning off a light in the night slowly achieves superior power to see even small objects. Women often attain a heightened sense of smell during pregnancy. How can the same sensory system that was underperforming can also exceed the expectation based on its […]
Dozens of noted scientists, philanthropists, and university, state and local leaders gathered Jan. 18 to celebrate the dedication of one of the world’s largest neuroscience research buildings, a gleaming state-of-the-art facility on the Washington University Medical Campus. They toured its sophisticated, newly christened labs; listened intently as Washington University scientists described the lifesaving work they […]
Washington University in St. Louis and Deerfield Management, a health-care investment firm, today announced the launch of VeritaScience, a new private R&D collaboration designed to advance the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of promising therapeutic and diagnostic candidates with potential to benefit human health. To support projects that originate from the collaboration, Deerfield has committed up to […]