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Ross honored by Association of American Medical Colleges

Will Ross, MD, the associate dean for diversity and the Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2024 Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The honor recognizes medical leaders committed to diversifying the health-care workforce.

For nearly three decades, Ross, a nephrologist and public health epidemiologist, has devoted much of his career to eliminating health-care disparities in the U.S. and abroad as well as increasing diversity among medical students, residents and faculty. At WashU Medicine, Ross’ dedication has helped increase enrollment rates for students from underrepresented groups, from 5.7% in 1997 to 30% in 2023.

Additionally, Ross has developed innovative medical school pipeline programs designed to support promising students from underserved neighborhoods in St. Louis to pursue careers in the health-care industry. One example is the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, located a couple of miles from the Washington University Medical Campus.

Ross co-founded Collegiate 11 years ago as a magnet high school within Saint Louis Public Schools. The school aims to serve high-achieving students, many of whom reside in under-resourced neighborhoods and are interested in pursuing careers in science, medicine and health. Today, Collegiate consistently is ranked as one of the top high schools in Missouri.

Ross, who also has a master’s degree in public health, is recognized as a health policy expert. He has promoted health equality through collaborations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as public health officials in Ethiopia and Haiti.

Ross also served as a charter member of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission, which has leveraged more than $500 million to maintain a network of primary care clinics and public health services in medically underserved communities.

As WashU Medicine’s principal officer for community partnerships, Ross works with local organizations to increase access to health care for residents in underserved neighborhoods. He also seeks to develop new initiatives and partnerships with community leaders.

The AAMC award was created in 2020 to recognize Sullivan, a former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the founding dean of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Sullivan received the AAMC’s 2024 Herbert W. Nickens Award for his contributions to promoting justice in medical education and health-care equity in the U.S.

The AAMC will honor Ross, Sullivan and recipients of other AAMC awards during a virtual ceremony at 4 p.m. ET Oct. 30.

Gordon receives Nierenberg Prize

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been awarded the 21st annual Nierenberg Prize from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. The prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to science in the public interest.

Gordon, director of the Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology at WashU Medicine, is credited with founding the field of gut microbiome research. His transformative studies have demonstrated that human health and disease are shaped by the communities of microbes that live in the human gut. His body of work has opened up the vast new therapeutic potential for the microbiome, exemplified by his identification of ways to repair the gut microbiomes of children with malnutrition and restore their healthy growth.

“The public is becoming increasingly aware of the microbiome,” Gordon said. “As such, there is a need to mindfully deal with the body of evidence emerging from bench-to-bedside translation that culminates with carefully designed, rigorously performed, well-controlled clinical trials. Specifically, we need to engage in a discussion about the ethical, regulatory and other societal issues raised by the results of this research. Microbiome research is helping us understand the impact of Westernization, the origins of our health disparities as well as the existential threat posed by climate change.”

The Nierenberg Prize has been awarded to a diverse list of recipients whose work has had an indelible impact on science in the public interest. Past honorees include primatologist Jane Goodall, Intel founder Gordon Moore, evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson, climate scientist James Hansen, nature filmmaker David Attenborough, news anchor Walter Cronkite, Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron, CRISPR-Cas9 co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna, and, most recently, Katalin Kariko, who also was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her contributions to the development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. The Nierenberg Prize honors the memory of William A. Nierenberg, who led Scripps for more than 20 years.

As part of the award, Gordon will deliver a public lecture Oct. 11 at UC San Diego.

“The gut microbiome has emerged as a key mediator of human health, and we hope our studies are helping to reveal new and better strategies to treat childhood malnutrition in ways that are sustainable and widely accessible,” Gordon said. “I’m honored to have worked with so many dedicated and talented colleagues, students and trainees over the years who have made important contributions to the public’s understanding of the gut microbiome.”

A staggering 3 million children die from malnutrition annually, and many more continue to suffer long-term problems with growth and development. While traditional therapeutic foods reduce deaths from malnutrition, such foods do not address the long-standing problems associated with the condition, including impaired immunity, slower brain development and reduced bone and muscle growth.

Together with his collaborators at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr,b), Gordon has led the development of treatments for malnutrition that repair the dysfunctional microbiomes of affected children in ways that benefit the many organ systems and physiologic functions required for restoration of healthy growth. His team’s new approaches have identified the key naturally occurring biomolecules in their “microbiome-directed” therapeutic foods, characterized how these biomolecules are processed by growth-promoting members of the gut microbial community, and revealed how these members operate to improve physiologic functions inside and outside of the gut.

Major international clinical trials are underway to further evaluate the generalizability and durability of the effects of Gordon’s innovative microbiome-directed therapeutic food in children of different ages living in different countries where the burden of disease is great. The trials — funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) — involve nearly 20,000 children in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mali, Tanzania and Niger.

Gordon is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He has served as the research mentor to 147 doctoral and MD/PhD students and postdoctoral fellows since he established his lab at Washington University. Many of these individuals have become leaders in the field of human microbiome research.

His long-standing collaboration with Bangladeshi colleagues at icddr,b is widely viewed as a model for how such relationships, involving an academic lab in a high income country and an institution in a low-income country, can and should be constructed to ensure sustained mutual benefit, scientific progress and societal impact.

Gordon has received many awards recognizing his extraordinary contributions to science and medicine, including the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research, Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, the Balzan Prize, the British Royal Society’s Copley Medal, the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize and the Keio Medical Science Prize.

WashU research funding exceeds $1 billion for first time

WashU Medicine to offer reproductive sciences master’s program

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is offering a new master’s program in reproductive sciences, focused on topics ranging from fertility and fetal development to reproductive aging and menopause, among other subjects.

The program is accepting applications for its inaugural cohort through Dec. 30. Classes will begin in fall 2025.

“Human reproductive health is intimately linked to overall health,” said Sarah England, PhD, the senior faculty adviser for the new program and director of the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences at WashU Medicine. “To understand the biological processes of the reproductive system means understanding how the body works, and this new program is a pipeline for developing future leaders who can advance reproductive science and medicine.”

The new program will be positioned within the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and will support WashU Medicine’s mission to advance human health by better understanding and improving reproductive health.

Students will rotate through three laboratories before joining one to conduct a thesis project. They can pick any laboratory in the reproductive sciences field at WashU, including one of the 11 laboratories within the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences. Students can study uterine contractions, preterm birth, reproductive aging, sperm biology, maternal-fetal immunobiology, and gynecologic cancers, among other research areas.

Illustrations that represent different areas of reproductive sciences researchEric Young
WashU Medicine is launching a new master’s program in reproductive sciences. As part of a thesis project, students can study a diverse range of research topics, including 1) uterine contractility, 2) preterm birth, 3) reproductive aging, 4) sperm biology, 5) maternal-fetal immunobiology, and 6) gynecologic cancers, among other research areas.

“We have a rich research program that spans a wide breadth of disciplines and innovative approaches, aiming to solve a broad spectrum of medical and scientific challenges in reproductive medicine,” said Erin Reinl, PhD, director of the new program. “Students also will be exposed to a WashU’s collaborative culture, working with researchers across different disciplines and departments.”

The impetus for starting the master’s program was to fill a gap in the field, explained Reinl. Although there has been a growing interest among biomedical students in reproductive sciences, few opportunities exist across the U.S. for formal training. Further, there is an urgent need to train researchers who can meet the nation’s growing reproductive health-care needs.

Thus, the vision for the new program is to offer students a solid foundation of knowledge delivered through courses taught by leading WashU Medicine scientists and clinicians in the field. During the 21-month program, students will learn about human reproductive physiology, statistics and common techniques used in reproductive sciences research. They will gain fluency in reading scientific publications and become strong science communicators. Such experiences prepare the students for careers across sectors, including academia, biotechnology and public policy.

“We are training scientists who can effectively communicate about reproductive health, because the goal of this program – and a handful of similar programs around the country – is to improve reproductive health literacy in our communities to help improve human health,” said England, who is also the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “All too often, people don’t share their experiences with menstruation, miscarriages, still births, preterm births and menopause. Talking about the reproductive system is a first step in unraveling its biology and understanding how it works.”

In fall 2025, the program will open applications for a second concentration aimed at training students for the in-demand position of clinical embryologist, a medical laboratory specialist who helps people with infertility. During the 24-month clinical embryology track, students will gain hands-on skills working in an in vitro fertilization clinic at WashU Medicine. After completing the program, students will be prepared for the embryology laboratory scientist certification exam.

In addition to England and Reinl, the program’s leaders are associate program director Ali Ahmady, PhD, an associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology and lab director of the Fertility & Reproductive Medicine Center in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility; and division director and senior faculty adviser Kenan Omurtag, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology.

For more information about the WashU Medicine master’s program in reproductive sciences, including how to apply for the new program, visit the program’s website.

Obituary: T.S. Park, professor of neurosurgery, 77

Tae Sung (T.S.) Park, MD, a renowned neurosurgeon who pioneered a surgical technique that improved the lives of thousands of children worldwide, died Aug 31, 2024, while on vacation with his family in Mexico. He was 77.

After a remarkable career devoted to performing life-changing surgeries for children with cerebral palsy, Park retired from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in June of this year. The beloved surgeon, who treated children at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, was the Margery Campbell Fort Professor of Neurological Surgery.

“Dr. Park changed the lives of countless patients,” said Gregory Zipfel, MD, the Ralph G. Dacey Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery and head of the Department of Neurosurgery. “His brilliance in neurosurgery gave children the ability to walk, and he equipped the field with new techniques so other surgeons could do the same. He was beloved by the WashU community, and we have lost a true pioneer.”

Park joined the faculty in 1989. Over 35 years, he helped build the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery into one of the best in the nation. Families traveled from around the world seeking his care for their children.

Park was renowned as a pioneer and, arguably, the foremost practitioner of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). This surgical procedure reduces the muscle spasticity characteristic of cerebral palsy, a condition that can cause loss of muscle control and coordination. He performed the procedure 5,323 times, the last in May, the month before he retired. SDR surgeries enhance mobility for children who might otherwise require a wheelchair for the rest of their lives.

A Facebook account Park established exists as a testament to his dedication to his patients and the gratitude they have felt for him. At one point, it boasted more than 3,000 members from 80-plus countries. Park took joy in seeing his patients thrive. For example, one posted video captured him at a party held in his honor by former patients in New Zealand. He is shown gleefully dancing with children who might not otherwise have been able to walk.

“His passing was a shock to us all, but I find some solace in knowing that his legacy of compassionate care and unparalleled mentorship will live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew him,” Zipfel said.

A native of South Korea, Park began his medical studies at the Yonsei University College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgery residency. He completed further training at the University of Virginia and Ohio State University as well as research fellowships in pediatric neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and the University of Toronto. He was on the faculty at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and the University of Virginia School of Medicine before he was recruited to WashU Medicine.

Park was deeply respected by his peers and received numerous awards over the course of his career. These include the 1999 Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award for exceptional researchers, and the 2008 H. Richard Winn, MD, Prize for Meritorious Research from the Society of Neurological Surgeons.

He was an active researcher, with a focus on vascular injuries in newborns’ brains. He also studied syringomyelia, a blockage of the flow of cerebral spinal fluid that can damage nerves in the spinal cord.

In his free time, Park was an avid golfer. He was also a competitive ballroom dancer, a pastime he credited for the precision and physical control he brought to bear so effectively in the operating room.

Park is survived by his wife, Meeaeng; his children, Thomas and Mina Park; two grandchildren, his brother, two sisters and several other relatives.

A memorial service is planned for Jan. 10, 2025, in St. Louis.

Cooper named fellow of American Society for Cell Biology

John Cooper, MD, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolfe Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected a fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). This year Cooper was one of 17 across the country whose nomination was approved by the society’s council.

Cooper, who is also a professor of cell biology and physiology, investigates the proteins and processes involved in how cells move and retain their shape. These functions are crucial to cell motility, structural integrity and cell division, which in turn have particular relevance to immune responses, cancer cell proliferation and embryonic development. Cooper characterized several of the key proteins involved in these processes, including a protein that stabilizes actin, part of the cytoskeleton. He and his colleagues have gone on to identify ways to regulate these proteins and in doing so have provided insights into how cell growth is controlled and can go awry in conditions such as cancer.

Cooper was awarded WashU’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Graduate Student Teaching in 2010 and was elected as a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 2017.

WashU Medicine leads 2 major pandemic preparedness research projects

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are laying the groundwork to rapidly respond to potential future pandemics caused by viruses from five understudied families. The effort, the aim of which is to develop strategies and tools to produce vaccines and antibody-based therapies in advance of future pandemic threats, is supported by two major grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which together will add up to more than $90 million in funding over the next three years.

One grant, totaling about $15.6 million per year for three years, is focused on the alphavirus and flavivirus families. These mosquito- and tick-borne viruses cause arthritis, brain infections and congenital disease, and the best-known members include dengue, Zika, West Nile and chikungunya viruses. The other grant, for $14.7 million per year for three years, takes aim at virus families that include respiratory pathogens such as mumps virus, as well as insect-borne viruses that cause high fevers such as Oropouche and Rift Valley fever viruses. Both grants are part of NIAID’s newly established Research and Development of Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness (ReVAMPP) Network, and WashU Medicine researchers are leading two components of the network.

“If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it’s that being prepared saves lives,” said Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at WashU Medicine and the director of the ReVAMPP flavivirus and alphavirus program led by WashU Medicine. Diamond is also a professor of molecular microbiology and of pathology & immunology at WashU Medicine. “We had some preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic because of previous research on the related SARS and MERS viruses. But there are other viruses with potential to cause pandemics for which we are even less prepared. We don’t have specific therapies for any of the flaviviruses or alphaviruses, and we don’t know how to quickly make safe and effective vaccines for them, either.”

The research programs focus on one or two prototype viruses from each family, using them to develop and evaluate vaccine platforms and antibody-based treatment approaches that can be rapidly adapted to generate safe and effective vaccines and drugs for other members of the families in case of an emerging pandemic.

Some of the research at WashU Medicine will take place in specially designed laboratories known as biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) labs. Such labs provide a safe, secure environment for conducting research on highly infectious viruses and play a pivotal role in advancing understanding of infectious diseases.

“There’s no way to predict when and where the next pandemic virus will emerge, so we need to be prepared for all possibilities,” said Sean Whelan, PhD, the Marvin A. Brennecke Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology at WashU Medicine. Whelan is the director of the ReVAMPP paramyxovirus, peribunyavirus and phlebovirus program led by WashU Medicine. “We are identifying the principles that determine a strong immune response for these virus families so we can apply those principles to rapidly design and produce protective vaccines as needed.”

Related: Scientists aim to develop vaccine against all deadly coronaviruses

$8 million NIH grant supports effort to avert next pandemic

Viruses with pandemic potential

Flaviviruses and alphaviruses are spread by mosquitoes and ticks. Although most such viruses are uncommon, collectively they are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths annually, and they are spreading. Climate change and increased international travel make it easier for the insects and other small animals that carry these viruses to thrive in new parts of the world.

The Flavivirus and Alphavirus ReVAMPP (FLARE; grant number 1U19AI181960-01) program will develop prevention platforms for five prototype viruses representing the major subgroups of the flavivirus and alphavirus families. The team is led by Diamond with co-director Richard Kuhn, PhD, the Trent and Judith Anderson Distinguished Professor of Science at Purdue University and Krenicki Family Director of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, and collaborators at another 16 institutions nationwide. The prototype viruses are:

  • West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes brain infections.
  • Tick-borne encephalitis virus, a flavivirus that causes brain infections.
  • Dengue virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, and can progress to a severe shock syndrome. The most widespread virus in either family by far, dengue has four subtypes that create unique challenges for vaccine design.
  • Chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes debilitating acute and chronic arthritis.
  • Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, a mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes brain infections.

The other program is called Vaccines and Therapeutic Antibodies to Respiro, Rubula, Peribunya and Phenuiviridae (R2P2)-ReVAMPP (grant number 1U19AI181984-01). Respiroviruses and rubulaviruses are groups within the paramyxovirus family, and they cause common respiratory infections that can turn serious in vulnerable populations. Peribunyaviruses and phenuiviruses are two related families of bunyaviruses that are spread by insects or exposure to blood and cause uncommon but severe disease involving high fevers.

The R2P2 program is led by Whelan with co-directors Anne Moscona, MD, a professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Rino Rappuoli, PhD, the scientific director of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena in Italy, and collaborators at another 10 institutions across the U.S., Italy, Brazil and Germany. The team will be studying:

  • Parainfluenza virus 3, a member of the respirovirus genus of the paramyxovirus family. Parainfluenza viruses are common causes of colds in healthy adults, but they can cause serious illness and death in infants, young children, older adults and people with compromised immune systems.
  • Mumps virus, a member of the rubulavirus genus of the paramyxovirus family.
  • Oropouche virus, a mosquito- and midge-borne peribunyavirus that causes fever, headache and body aches.
  • La Crosse virus, a mosquito-borne peribunyavirus that causes brain infections, particularly in children.
  • Rift Valley fever virus, a blood-borne and insect-borne phlebovirus that causes fever, headaches and bleeding in infected people. The virus also causes significant economic damage because it infects livestock, causing serious illness, pregnancy loss and death.
  • Toscana virus, an insect-borne phlebovirus that causes high fever and brain and spinal cord infections.

Drafting solutions for rapid deployment

The FLARE and R2P2 teams aim to use the prototype viruses to develop and evaluate vaccine platforms that can be rapidly adapted to generate safe and effective vaccines for other viruses of these types.

In addition, the teams are working on optimizing antibody-based treatments. These drugs, commonly used to treat cancer and infections, are a crucial part of the pandemic response toolkit, because they can be developed much more quickly than other kinds of drugs for infectious diseases. The challenge is that viruses can develop resistance that undermines their utility, which is why all of the antibody-based therapies that were initially approved for COVID-19 became less useful as the virus evolved and were eventually withdrawn. The collaborative teams are investigating the scientific principles underlying human antibodies and their interactions with viruses with a goal of understanding how to quickly develop antibody-based drugs that will maintain their potency.

New home for world-class cancer care opens on Medical Campus

Physicians, scientists, patients and WashU leaders – all united in hope – gathered Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the new home for world-class cancer care on the Washington University Medical Campus.

The nine-story, 657,250-square-foot building will be devoted exclusively to outpatient care at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and will welcome its first patients Sept. 30.

Matt Miller
WashU Chancellor Andrew D. Martin addresses a gathering Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the opening of the new outpatient cancer care building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

“This building represents hope for patients, their families and the community at large,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “It is also rooted in WashU Medicine’s longstanding collaboration with BJC HealthCare, and the ways in which we as partners create the kinds of forward-thinking projects that meet the challenges of this moment and anticipate the needs of the future.”

Also in attendance was St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who called the building “a jewel” in the city and region for offering the highest quality of cancer care, as well as a boost in economic opportunities with the creation of jobs. She also spoke of the hope Siteman has given her and members of her family.

The state-of-the-art building, designed specifically with cancer patients in mind, incorporates an innovative model of care – the first for cancer care in the region. For many patients, this means they can see a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine cancer experts that includes a surgeon, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist, and receive chemotherapy and other services in collaboration with BJC caregivers, all coordinated during a single visit. This approach prioritizes patients’ comfort and convenience and reduces the need to return for multiple appointments.

Matt Miller
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones addresses a group gathered Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the opening of the new outpatient cancer care building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

The meticulously planned building, at 4500 Forest Park Ave., also offers a tangible example of what makes Siteman — the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri and southern Illinois — so unique. It embodies the power of collaboration between BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine in providing innovative cancer care based on the latest research, and an ongoing, deep commitment to the health of our region.

“Patients inspire everything we do here,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, who is the director of Siteman Cancer Center, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and senior associate dean for cancer programs at WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. “This facility expands on our 25-year history of leading-edge care and consolidates outpatient care to make visits easier for patients. We want every patient who walks through our doors to experience a supportive, calming and hopeful environment. This building was created with those goals in mind.”

Matt Miller
Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, (center) director of Siteman Cancer Center, is flanked by Valeda Keys and Mellve A. Shahid Sr., who attended the opening of the new outpatient cancer care building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

Cancer patients and survivors and their families — together with physicians, nurses, social workers and other caregivers — met with the building’s architects and designers before construction began to share insights aimed at enhancing care and improving the overall experience for patients and their family members.

About 75,000 patients seek care at Siteman each year – a number that is growing as more patients from across the region and all 50 states and beyond seek the expertise of WashU Medicine cancer specialists and access to leading-edge clinical trials. While the new building will replace Siteman’s outpatient cancer clinics in the Center for Advanced Medicine on the Washington University Medical Campus, Siteman will continue to provide the same exceptional outpatient cancer care for adults at its five other locations in the St. Louis region, including in southern Illinois, as well as for pediatric patients at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Matt Miller
WashU Medicine Dean David H. Perlmutter, MD, greets WashU Medicine cancer epidemiologist Bettina Drake, PhD, at an event Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the opening of the new outpatient cancer care building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

More than 600 WashU Medicine physicians, physician-scientists and researchers – with broad and deep expertise in every type of cancer – are members of Siteman Cancer Center. WashU Medicine physicians will diagnose and treat patients in the new building with the most advanced, lifesaving therapies. Their care is informed by the latest research discoveries, many of them made by WashU Medicine faculty who are leaders in their fields.

“At WashU Medicine, we invest in pioneering research to advance cancer care, create better outcomes for patients, and improve the overall health of our community,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “In turn, our care deepens and expands our cancer research to move the field forward so we are continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in caring for patients. The clinical trial capabilities that come from our research teams now will be housed in this new building and represent one of the truly distinguishing features of what is possible for our patients at Siteman Cancer Center.”

Matt Miller
WashU Medicine blood cancer specialist Amanda Cashen, MD, (left) and a patient she helped treat, Rachel Rehkemper (standing), are recognized during an event Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the opening of the new outpatient cancer care building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

Among the building’s features are 101 exam rooms and another 88 private infusion rooms for patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients also will have access to complete radiology and breast imaging services.

The building also includes original artwork created by local artists who have their own personal connection to cancer, as well as a café, pharmacy and parking garage that is integrated into the facility. An enclosed, elevated walkway connects the building to other areas of the Medical Campus.

“BJC will bring to the building the very latest imaging technology, which plays a key role in diagnosing and monitoring patients following their courses of treatment,” said Rich Liekweg, chief executive officer, BJC Health System. “We are grateful to the numerous experts who have worked tirelessly over the past four years to bring our vision of patient-centered cancer care to life. It’s a privilege to be able to invest in our community in such a life-sustaining way.”

Patients who come to the new building for their care also will have access to clinical trials led by WashU Medicine physicians. Currently, more than 9,000 patients are enrolled in more than 700 clinical studies at Siteman. WashU Medicine ranks No. 2 among U.S. medical schools in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A significant portion of that funding comes from the National Cancer Institute and is dedicated to innovative cancer research aimed at advancing cancer care.

Matt Miller
Mellve Shahid Sr., cancer survivor and founder of The Empowerment Network, writes a note Tuesday, Sept. 10, for a future patient at Siteman Cancer Center’s new outpatient care center.

WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital also have developed multiple centers of excellence at Siteman, each focused on a distinct type of cancer: blood, brain, endometrial, head and neck, lung and pancreatic. Every center brings together a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine experts who specialize in a specific type of cancer and that is focused on transformative care and research, including clinical trials.

Amanda F. Cashen, MD, a WashU Medicine blood cancer specialist who treats patients at Siteman, is known nationally for her expertise in lymphoma and leukemia and is among the many physicians who will see patients in the new building. Cashen co-leads the Blood Cancer Center at Siteman, which draws patients from across the country and is dedicated to providing innovative care for the entire spectrum of blood cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes, and developing new, more effective treatments.

“Very few institutions in the U.S. have the expertise and resources that WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare bring together to care for patients at Siteman,” Cashen said. “The Blood Cancer Center now has a new, beautiful space that will help us have an even greater impact on patients and families.”

Siteman also is recognized for innovative cancer prevention and community outreach efforts, among them providing cancer screening and education to tens of thousands of people in Missouri and Illinois each year — a role that is expected to expand with new initiatives based out of the new building.

Through Siteman’s Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), WashU Medicine experts have helped to reduce rates of breast cancer deaths among Black women in St. Louis and St. Louis County by just over 30%. Similar outreach and implementation science efforts have substantially reduced hot spots of colorectal cancer deaths in the Mississippi River valley areas in Missouri and Illinois, which have some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer mortality in the country.

“Our community outreach efforts are having a real impact in the St. Louis region and beyond,” Eberlein said. “This building will mark yet another milestone for Siteman, which is powered by WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. Everything we do moves us forward in our quest to solve the intricacies of cancer through research and clinical trials and to provide the very best care possible for our patients.”

The members of the WashU Medicine team that led the project are:

  • Senior Project Executive (Planning and Construction): Melissa Rockwell-Hopkins
  • Senior Project Manager: Paul Sedovic
  • Construction Manager & Equipment Coordinator: Jeff Schimek
  • Activation and Logistics Planning: Raema Howell, Brandon Sackett and Sherry Banez-Muth
  • Project Communications & Project Assistant: Stephanie Maples

Huang named head of pathology & immunology

Eric J. Huang, MD, PhD, a renowned physician-scientist specializing in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, has been named the Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His appointment begins Jan. 1.

Huang comes to WashU Medicine from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he is a professor and vice chair of research for the Department of Pathology. His appointment was announced by David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.

“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Huang, an exceptionally talented physician-scientist, join our leadership team and the WashU Medicine community,” Perlmutter said. “With his leadership and expertise, we see enormous potential to advance the clinical practice and science in anatomic pathology, laboratory medicine and immunology with revolutions in imaging technologies and by applying artificial intelligence and the precision medicine paradigm to our efforts, which altogether will enhance our long-standing legacy as one of the most – if not the most – accomplished faculties in pathological and immunological sciences.”

Trained as a developmental biologist, Huang has made seminal discoveries in unraveling the complexities of human brain development. His laboratory focuses on understanding the processes involved in how the brain develops in utero and in infancy. In recent studies, he has identified how the human brain continuously produces specialized cells – GABAergic interneurons – during the prenatal period and then incorporates them into brain networks during infancy. His studies also have revealed how blood vessel cells develop in the prenatal human brain and how misguided immune cells increase the risk of brain hemorrhage in premature infants, helping to pave the way for future therapeutics to stop brain bleeds in preterm infants.

Huang’s research also focuses on understanding the drivers of frontotemporal dementia, the second most common cause of dementia in people under age 65. Work from his laboratory uncovered that over-reactive microglia – immune cells responsible for protecting the brain from infection and disposing of dead cells – promote excessive pruning of brain cell connections. He also found that such cells work with other brain cells called astrocytes to cause the damage to and loss of neurons implicated in frontotemporal dementia.

His research is funded by six major grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“It is an honor to join WashU Medicine in this role,” Huang said. “I am excited by the opportunity to build upon the strengths of a department that is leading the field in clinical innovation and research. WashU Medicine has a strong collaborative culture, which I aim to continue fostering within the department and with other disciplines. I am eager to support early-career faculty in becoming independent investigators and advancing our commitment to the success of trainees.”

Huang’s research has been published in top-tier journals, including Science, Nature and Cell, among others. His scientific accomplishments also have been recognized throughout his career. As a junior faculty member, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Most recently, he was elected as an academician to Academia Sinica, a leading academic institution in Taipei, Taiwan. He also is known as a dedicated mentor to PhD and MD/PhD students, postdoctoral trainees and early-career faculty.

Huang earned his medical degree from the National Taiwan University College of Medicine before completing his doctoral studies at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York. He completed residency training in anatomic pathology, and fellowship training in neuropathology at UCSF, where he also stayed to complete a Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s postdoctoral fellowship. In 2000, he joined UCSF’s faculty.

Huang will succeed Richard J. Cote, MD, who has led the department since 2019. Cote will continue his research at WashU Medicine, where he studies tumor progression and response to therapy, and as a pathologist focusing on breast and genitourinary cancer diagnoses in patients seen at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

Wall installed as Jacqueline N. Baker and W. Randolph Baker Professor

Lindley B. Wall, MD, a national leader in hand and upper-extremity surgeries for pediatric patients, has been installed as the inaugural Jacqueline N. Baker and W. Randolph Baker Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Wall — director of the Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery — was installed by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.

“Jackie and Randy Baker understand how research and medical education are fundamental to improving patient care and patient outcomes,” said Martin. “They know firsthand, from their family’s own experiences, how research-informed care can transform people’s lives for the better. We’re grateful that they see the orthopedic surgery department as partners in that goal.”

Wall treats children with complex conditions such as congenital upper-limb differences; spasticity and muscle contractions related to cerebral palsy; birth brachial plexus injuries, which can occur to newborns during delivery and lead to lifelong arm weakness or paralysis; and pediatric upper-extremity trauma and reconstruction. Her surgical interventions have drastically improved the quality of life for children whose day-to-day activities are impaired by these conditions and injuries. She performs surgeries at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Shriners Children’s Hospital St. Louis.

“Dr. Lindley is a skilled and innovative surgeon,” Perlmutter said. “She’s dedicated to advancing the practice of orthopedic surgery and to ensuring the well-being of her young patients and their families. The professorship is a reflection of this dedication and will ensure an ongoing commitment to developing new and improved diagnostic and assessment tools for young orthopedic patients.”

Wall’s contribution to the advancement of her field is considerable. Among her areas of focus is evaluating patient outcomes and assessing the effect of these conditions and injuries on both the patients and their families. She has engaged the use of patient-reported outcomes and qualitative analysis to understand the true degree of impact and to develop methods to improve overall care.

WashU Medicine has benefited from her commitment to serve the community as well. Wall has served at the university as the elected assistant ombuds, acting as a peer advocate and sitting on many institutional bodies, including the St. Louis Children’s Hospital international charity approval committee.

“It is with considerable pride that we in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery celebrate Lindley Wall’s accomplishments,” said Regis O’Keefe, MD, PhD, the Fred C. Reynolds Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and head of the department. “Since her time as a resident with us, Dr. Wall has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the practice of orthopedic medicine through teaching and mentoring future surgeons. She is an international leader of hand differences in children. The support of this professorship by Jackie and Randy Baker is transformational and ensures that we will remain a leading provider of pediatric orthopedic services in the United States.”

A native of Columbia, Mo., Wall completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University before graduating from WashU Medicine in 2006. She completed her residency in orthopedics at WashU Medicine and went on to the Mary S. Stern Hand Surgery Fellowship at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and then a pediatric upper-extremity fellowship at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. She joined the WashU Medicine faculty in 2013.

Jackie and Randy Baker have a longstanding connection to WashU. Jackie was the executive assistant to the head of cell biology & physiology for several years. She and Randy, a retired Anheuser-Busch executive, have two daughters and five grandchildren. They have a deep appreciation for how research drives clinical care forward. Their twin daughters required intensive neonatal care, and both parents have received orthopedic care from Washington University physicians for arthritis and hip-replacement surgeries. Inspired by those experiences, the Bakers have been generous supporters of WashU Medicine in areas such as neonatology, musculoskeletal disorders, COVID-19 recovery, and orthopedic research and clinical care.

Siteman to welcome first patients in new building dedicated exclusively to cancer care

Siteman Cancer Center – based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – soon will open a new home for world-class cancer care. The nine-story, 657,250-square-foot building, located on the Washington University Medical Campus and dedicated exclusively to outpatient cancer care, will welcome its first patients Sept. 30.

The state-of-the-art building, designed specifically with cancer patients in mind, incorporates an innovative model of care – the first for cancer care in the region. For many patients, this means they can see a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine cancer experts and receive chemotherapy and other services in collaboration with BJC caregivers, all coordinated during a single visit. This approach prioritizes patients’ comfort and convenience and reduces the need to return for multiple appointments.

The meticulously planned building, at 4500 Forest Park Ave., also offers a tangible example of what makes Siteman — the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri and southern Illinois — so unique. It embodies the power of collaboration between BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine in providing innovative cancer care based on the latest research, and an ongoing, deep commitment to the health of our region.

“Patients inspire everything we do here,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, who is the director of Siteman Cancer Center, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and senior associate dean for cancer programs at WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. “This facility expands on our 25-year history of leading-edge care and consolidates outpatient care to make visits easier for patients. We want every patient who walks through our doors to experience a supportive, calming and hopeful environment. This building was created with those goals in mind.”

Cancer patients and survivors and their families — together with physicians, nurses, social workers and other caregivers — met with the building’s architects and designers before construction began to share insights aimed at enhancing care and improving the overall experience for patients and their family members.

About 75,000 patients seek care at Siteman each year – a number that is growing as more patients from across the region and all 50 states and beyond seek the expertise of WashU Medicine cancer specialists and access to leading-edge clinical trials. While the new building will replace Siteman’s outpatient cancer clinics in the Center for Advanced Medicine on the Washington University Medical Campus, Siteman will continue to provide the same exceptional outpatient cancer care for adults at its five other locations in the St. Louis region, including in southern Illinois, as well as for pediatric patients at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

More than 600 WashU Medicine physicians, physician-scientists and researchers – with broad and deep expertise in every type of cancer – are members of Siteman Cancer Center. WashU Medicine physicians will diagnose and treat patients in the new building with the most advanced, lifesaving therapies. Their care is informed by the latest research discoveries, many of them made by WashU Medicine faculty who are leaders in their fields.

“At WashU Medicine, we invest in pioneering research to advance cancer care, create better outcomes for patients, and improve the overall health of our community,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor at WashU Medicine. “In turn, our care deepens and expands our cancer research to move the field forward so we are continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in caring for patients. The clinical trial capabilities that come from our research teams now will be housed in this new building and represent one of the truly distinguishing features of what is possible for our patients at Siteman Cancer Center.”

Among the building’s features are 101 exam rooms and another 88 private infusion rooms for patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients also will have access to complete radiology and breast imaging services.

The building also includes original artwork created by local artists who have their own personal connection to cancer, as well as a café, pharmacy and parking garage that is integrated into the facility. An enclosed, elevated walkway connects the building to other areas of the Medical Campus.

“BJC will bring to the building the very latest imaging technology, which plays a key role in diagnosing and monitoring patients following their courses of treatment,” said Rich Liekweg, chief executive officer, BJC Health System. “We are grateful to the numerous experts who have worked tirelessly over the past four years to bring our vision of patient-centered cancer care to life. It’s a privilege to be able to invest in our community in such a life-sustaining way.”

Patients who come to the new building for their care also will have access to clinical trials led by WashU Medicine physicians. Currently, more than 9,000 patients are enrolled in more than 700 clinical studies at Siteman. WashU Medicine ranks No. 2 among U.S. medical schools in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A significant portion of that funding comes from the National Cancer Institute and is dedicated to innovative cancer research aimed at advancing cancer care.

WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital also have developed multiple centers of excellence at Siteman, each focused on a distinct type of cancer: blood, brain, endometrial, head and neck, lung and pancreatic. Every center brings together a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine experts who specialize in a specific type of cancer and that is focused on transformative care and research, including clinical trials.

Amanda F. Cashen, MD, a WashU Medicine blood cancer specialist who treats patients at Siteman, is known nationally for her expertise in lymphoma and leukemia and is among the many physicians who will see patients in the new building. Cashen co-leads the Blood Cancer Center at Siteman, which draws patients from across the country and is dedicated to providing innovative care for the entire spectrum of blood cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes, and developing new, more effective treatments.

“Very few institutions in the U.S. have the expertise and resources that WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare bring together to care for patients at Siteman,” Cashen said. “The Blood Cancer Center now has a new, beautiful space that will help us have an even greater impact on patients and families.”

Siteman also is recognized for innovative cancer prevention and community outreach efforts, among them providing cancer screening and education to tens of thousands of people in Missouri and Illinois each year — a role that is expected to expand with new initiatives based out of the new building.

Through Siteman’s Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), WashU Medicine experts have helped to reduce rates of breast cancer deaths among Black women in St. Louis and St. Louis County by just over 30%. Similar outreach and implementation science efforts have substantially reduced hot spots of colorectal cancer deaths in the Mississippi River valley areas in Missouri and Illinois, which have some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer mortality in the country.

“Our community outreach efforts are having a real impact in the St. Louis region and beyond,” Eberlein said. “This building will mark yet another milestone for Siteman, which is powered by WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. Everything we do moves us forward in our quest to solve the intricacies of cancer through research and clinical trials and to provide the very best care possible for our patients.”

 

Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
New Ambulatory Cancer Building
4500 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108 (map)

  • Start of construction: May 3, 2021
  • Opening: Sept. 30, 2024
  • Square feet: 657,250
  • Stories: 9
  • Exam rooms: 101
  • Chemotherapy infusion rooms: 88
  • Patient parking spots: 433, on three levels
  • WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital employees in the building: 400-450
  • Construction workers: 2,000

The building is set to earn LEED Gold certification for its environmentally conscious design focused on energy and water conservation and indoor air quality.

Project Team

  • Architects: Lawrence Group and Perkins Eastman
  • Mechanical, electric, plumbing and fire engineer: Introba
  • Construction manager: Clayco 

WashU Medicine Team

  • Senior Project Executive (Planning and Construction): Melissa Rockwell-Hopkins
  • Senior Project Manager: Paul Sedovic
  • Construction Manager & Equipment Coordinator: Jeff Schimek
  • Activation and Logistics Planning: Raema Howell, Brandon Sackett and Sherry Banez-Muth
  • Project Communications & Project Assistant: Stephanie Maples

Barnes-Jewish Hospital Team

  • Senior Project Manager: Vince Nutt
  • Activation and Logistics Planning: Tina Menne and Steve Sebalja
  • Senior Project Executive (Planning and Construction): Michael Hayes

Pollina named Rita Allen Foundation Scholar

Elizabeth Pollina, PhD, an assistant professor of developmental biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named to the 2024 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars. She is one of seven early-career scientists recognized this year by the foundation for innovative approaches to important scientific questions that address global problems. The scholars each will receive up to $110,000 per year for up to five years to support their research.

Pollina’s lab is focused on understanding the biology of aging and longevity, especially across the diverse cell types of the nervous system. Her award from the Rita Allen Foundation will help her to characterize new DNA repair mechanisms in neurons that function to promote cognition across life span. Her team also is pioneering interdisciplinary approaches to examine how lifestyle factors, such as diet and sleep, impact neuronal transcription and genome repair in aging and neurological disease.

Since 1976, the Rita Allen Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to early-career biomedical scientists, helping them establish labs and pursue high-risk and potentially high-reward research. Rita Allen Foundation Scholars have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize in Medicine, among other honors.