Medical school mentors, sponsors honored for their impact

It might seem odd, but a steaming cup of coconut chicken noodle soup can go a long way toward advancing patient care, research and education. Similarly, a medical school’s success can be enhanced with a simple reassurance when young scientists worry about research funding, lab experiments or their futures. Or an empathetic “I understand” to […]

Cellular housekeeping process implicated in fatal disorder

Huntington’s disease, a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative condition, is caused by a genetic error present at birth, though its symptoms often don’t begin until middle adulthood. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been trying to understand how the aging process triggers the onset of symptoms, with the expectation that such knowledge […]

$9 million to fund study of ‘jumping genes’ in Alzheimer’s

Scientists have identified a handful of gene mutations that cause or contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. But many scientists suspect that other DNA changes may help drive Alzheimer’s-related damage to brain cells and lead to symptoms of confusion and memory loss experienced by patients. In particular, the researchers want to understand how segments […]

Yoo wins research grants

Andrew Yoo, PhD, associate professor of developmental biology at the School of Medicine, has received a two-year $486,844 grant from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for his project titled “Investigation of neurodegenerative pathways in directly reprogrammed, XDP patient neurons”; and a two-year $345,000 grant from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for his project titled “Neuronal subtype-specific modeling of Alzheimer’s […]

2018 Distinguished Faculty, Goldstein honors awarded

Medical school faculty honored for dedication, talent, achievements From the WashU School of Medicine Newsroom… Each year, Washington University School of Medicine faculty members nominate their peers for Distinguished Faculty Awards, to recognize their colleagues’ wide-ranging achievements, talents and dedication. The recipients, recognized for excellence in clinical care, community service, research and teaching, received the awards […]

Altering Huntington’s disease patients’ skin cells into brain cells sheds light on disorder

Reprogrammed brain cells exhibit ‘symptoms’ of fatal disease From the WashU Newsroom… Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have transformed skin cells from patients with Huntington’s disease into the type of brain cell affected by the disorder. The resulting mass of neurons serves as a new tool to study the degenerative and […]

Human skin cells transformed directly into motor neurons

New technique could aid treatments for diseases that lead to paralysis From the WashU Newsroom… Scientists working to develop new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases have been stymied by the inability to grow human motor neurons in the lab. Motor neurons drive muscle contractions, and their damage underlies devastating diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal […]