In St. Louis, For St. Louis

The Penelope Shackelford Professorship in Pediatric Infectious Disease, established through the estate of Kevyn Schroeder, will enhance the Department of Pediatrics’ ability to recruit and retain exceptional faculty members. In addition, payout from the endowment will provide ongoing funding to support recipients’ clinical and research programs — and their efforts to improve infant and child health.

A small but mighty team of WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) staff were in New Orleans recently sharing how the CAPS English Language Programs (ELP) Empower program is changing lives for new Americans – immigrants and refugees – in St. Louis. The Empower program was recognized earlier in September by the World Trade Center St. Louis as part of the annual Growing Global celebration where it was revealed that St. Louis leads the nation in foreign-born population growth with a 23.2% year-over-year increase from 2022-2023.

For the second straight year, WashU has won the Citizens for Modern Transit College Transit Challenge. The annual competition encourages students, staff and faculty from local colleges to log their rides on MetroLink and Metro buses for bragging rights and the College Transit Trophy. 

College-educated workers drive innovation and economic development and contribute significantly to a city’s overall prosperity. With more than a dozen colleges and universities, St. Louis has no shortage of talented students. But keeping that talent in St. Louis after graduation remains a challenge. Attracting and retaining talent in the St. Louis community is a key priority of Washington University’s “In St. Louis, for St. Louis” initiative. The university recently commissioned a report from Olin Business School’s Center for Analytics and Business Insights that details which type of students are most likely to stay in St. Louis after graduation, as well as the factors that drive students’ decisions in choosing their first jobs.

James “Russ” Hornsby and Sherry Hornsby’s business is play. Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD, is a cardiologist who conducts groundbreaking research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Together, this unusual trio is forging new pathways to healthier lives for people in our region and around the globe. 

Christine Keller, director of career communities and career development at the Center for Career Engagement at WashU, was selected for Focus St. Louis’ fall 2024 Women in Leadership cohort among 34 local leaders. Members of the Women in Leadership cohort will have the opportunity to refine leadership competencies and network with women from diverse backgrounds. The program is offered each fall and spring and provides professionals with a deeper understanding of the St. Louis region. 

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. 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.

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.