In the News

A $160 million grant proposal submitted last week could establish St. Louis as a nationally-prominent location for neuroscience research, and officials involved in the bid believe there’s reason for optimism that the region could win the award. The region’s bid proposal was unveiled Tuesday during a summit hosted by Neuro360, a regional neuroscience coalition, at Washington University. The region’s bid for the grant is being led by regional innovation hub BioSTL and Neuro360, along with WashU.

Martin Mwita, a 20-year-old from the Omaha area, is the first commercial sickle cell patient at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and in the region to receive a new gene therapy treatment approved by the FDA at the end of 2023. Mwita is under the care of Dr. Shelani Shenoy, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist with the Washington University School of Medicine.

Plenty of WashU alumni launch companies—though they commonly leave St. Louis to do it. Starting this week, there will be a potential perk to staying here. On Thursday, WashU’s Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship will announce the inaugural winner(s) of “Venture Network Follow-on Investments.” Up to $150,000 will go each year to companies of WashU alumni who’ve already received money from Arch Grants and plan to stay in St. Louis. 

For nearly two decades, cinematic art that counters negative stereotypes, combats false narratives and offers first-hand insight about the continent of Africa have been showcased at Washington University in St. Louis. On Friday (March 28) the 19th Annual African Film Festival returns to campus. 

Some great classical music is coming to St. Louis next year. After several years of planning, Washington University in St. Louis has announced its schedule for the 2026 Great Artist Series.

The St. Louis nonprofit BioSTL is taking a leading role to turbocharge neuroscience in St. Louis. BioSTL is partnering with Washington University in St. Louis to lead a new program for the St. Louis region, called the NEURO360 initiative.

Juan Williams Chávez is founder and director of Northside Workshop, an indoor workspace surrounded by a teaching garden divided into a variety of habitats. Visitors learn about bees and ecosystems and make art projects. He’s also one of 10 artists in an exhibition at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum that showcases people who use their artwork to call for a better balance between humans and the natural world.

More than 150 nominations were submitted for the St. Louis Business Journal’s annual Best Places to Work Awards program for 2025. The 80 companies identified including WashU stand out as the finalists in this year’s program.

Black pediatric patients believed to have neurological conditions are falling through the cracks. Half of Black pediatric patients completed the necessary genetic tests for diagnosis and treatment. That puts them well behind white pediatric patients at 75%. This is just one disparity highlighted in a new study from Washington University’s School of Medicine. WashU Medicine neurology professor Dr. Christina Gurnett said these tests are necessary to unlock treatment options.

It wasn’t until 1961 that Washington University in St. Louis’s architecture program saw its first Black graduate – renowned modern architect Charles E. Fleming, who passed last July. From the start, he was destined to break barriers through his craft.