News

A 2019 Washington University Environmental Racism report found Black and low-income residents bear the brunt of the region’s unhealthy air quality. The report was a breath of fresh air to those affected by the region’s poor air quality. It was also a wake-up call for churches within the report’s most at-risk communities, many of which stepped up to work toward drastically increasing the area’s air quality monitoring capability.

When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faceoff in a presidential debate Tuesday in Philadelphia, the atmosphere will be much different than what’s taken place at Washington University for more than 30 years.

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.

Missouri Botanical Garden has named Lúcia Lohmann as its next president, effective Jan. 2. Lohmann, who will also serve as director and George Engelmann professor of botany at Washington University in St. Louis, is the eighth president in MoBot’s history and its first woman president, officials said.

Washington University and BioSTL are hoping to transform St. Louis into a global neuroscience leader through its NEURO360 initiative. BioSTL’s CEO Donn Rubin tells Anthony Morabith that big things are in store for the future of St. Louis.

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.

St. Louis Inno is highlighting eight people, all under 25, all entrepreneurs, most of them connected in some way to Washington University, St. Louis’ magnet for the talented and driven, who have created a business that will likely be neither their last nor only venture of their lifetimes.

Neuro360, a coalition of post-secondary institutions, local and state institutions, businesses, health care and trade groups led by Washington University and nonprofit innovation hub BioSTL, is bidding for up to $160 million in funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The coalition is aimed at advancing neuroscience research and commercialization in the St. Louis region

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.