In St. Louis, For St. Louis

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.

Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, dean designate for Washington University in St. Louis’ planned School of Public Health, will provide a first look at his vision for the new school at the Public Health at WashU Annual Conference Oct. 21-22. The school — WashU’s first new school in a century — is set to galvanize public health research and scholarship in the St. Louis region. 

Physicians, scientists, patients and WashU leaders — all united in hope — gathered 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.

How do older adults understand and experience ageism? The Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, at WashU is organizing community focus groups to increase knowledge about ageism for intervention development. 

Carla Bailey, director of learning and development for Human Resources at WashU, has been named one of Women We Admire’s “Top 50 Women Leaders of St. Louis for 2024” for her development and delivery of leadership and team-building programs and workshops.

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.

Lisa Weingarth, senior advisor for St. Louis initiatives at WashU, has been appointed to the board of the United Way of Greater St. Louis. She is serving a three-year term on the board of directors and a one-year term on the executive committee.

Washington University in St. Louis has launched a new partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri to support high school students in the organization’s Big Futures college readiness initiative. Starting this fall, WashU Undergraduate Admissions will work with students and their families to demystify the college application and financial aid processes.

Though students had yet to return to campus, WashU’s on-campus polling place saw nearly double the voter turnout in the Missouri Primary Election this month, compared to April’s Municipal Election. Though the two elections are very different in scope, races and initiatives, the steady turnout at the WashU polling place, hosted by the Gephardt Institute and the St. Louis County Board of Elections, was a welcome sight for the university. 

A new funding program for Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated startups focuses on strengthening the St. Louis region. The WashU Venture Network Follow-on Investments is a joint effort between WashU’s Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” initiative. It will award up to $150,000 each year to companies with WashU ties that previously have been awarded funding through Arch Grants, the local nonprofit that awards equity-free grants to startups. The goal is to support startups with a high probability of remaining in St. Louis after the grant period is complete.