News

Martin Mwita, who just turned 21, recently became the first patient in the St. Louis region to receive a gene therapy newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sickle cell disease. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital are among only a few academic medical centers in the U.S. that have begun offering the treatment.

Rebecca Brown, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and university governance at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential Business Women” class of 2025. Established in 1999, the “Most Influential Business Women” awards annually recognize and celebrate women in the St. Louis area who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in business careers, and for their accomplishments and contributions to their industries.

St. Louis is known nationally for its excellent (and free) art. Staff, faculty, students and alumni of Washington University in St. Louis are sharing their favorite places to view visual art around the region during the summer.

At summer camps across the region, kids are playing football, tie-dying T-shirts and building mock volcanoes. But at one WashU summer camp, local students are making art to explore an unlikely topic: public health. The LIGHT Creativity in Public Health Summer Camp encourages students to tap into their imaginations and lived experiences to create artwork, poetry and stories that communicate the importance of health and science. 

Thirteen teachers from across the St. Louis region have been selected to work with WashU faculty members for the 2025 Summer Teacher-Researcher Program. Administered in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership, the program is designed to provide opportunities for faculty to connect with local educators and to provide professional development for area K-12 teachers.

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine has been ranked No. 13 of cancer centers nationwide by Newsweek. The recognition — part of the news magazine’s listing of America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2025 — makes Siteman the highest-ranked cancer center in Missouri, Illinois and beyond.

The Clinical Research Training Center (CRTC) TL1 program recently partnered with the Center for Community Health Partnership & Research (CCHPR) for an impactful day of community engagement. Serving as a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) session, this four-hour retreat encouraged two-way learning and building stronger community-academic ties.

Thirteen teachers from across the St. Louis region have been selected to work with WashU faculty members for the 2025 Summer Teacher-Researcher Program. Administered in collaboration with the university’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP), the program is designed specifically to provide opportunities for faculty to connect in meaningful ways with educators in the broader community and to provide professional development for area K-12 teachers.

On May 16, 2025, Centennial Christian Church in St. Louis, a longtime community partner of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, was devastated by an EF-3 tornado. Tragically, community leader Patricia Penelton lost her life, and fellow advocate Sherrill Jackson sustained injuries. Despite the destruction, the church and its partners including WashU’s Center for Community Health Partnership & Research (CCHPR) remain committed to rebuilding and continuing their mission of service and community engagement.

For Tyler Richards, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from McKelvey School of Engineering in 2022, a high school hobby set the stage for a career with purpose. Richards’ business, uFab, was one of three St. Louis startups to receive a $50,000 WashU Venture Network Follow-on Investment through a partnership between the Skandalaris Center and the “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” Initiative. The investments support ventures that are ready to scale and show promise to make a meaningful impact in the St. Louis region. 

Ronné Turner, vice provost for undergraduate enrollment and student financial aid at Washington University in St. Louis, recently sat down for an interview with Inside Higher Ed. Ronné discussed the university’s WashU Pledge program, which offers eligible students from Missouri and southern Illinois a full scholarship. “It is our hope that no talented student, regardless of their family background, sees finances as a barrier to entry at WashU,” Turner said in the interview.

Founders looking to innovate in the health sector are finding that St. Louis’ medical and academic prowess makes it a great place to grow their companies, with experts at local institutions including WashU who are generous with their time and willing to share their knowledge. 

It’s been over a century since the city of St. Louis hosted some of the world’s best athletes for the Summer Olympic Games. On June 20, those fields used over 100 years ago played host to the next generation. Hundreds of kids from our area took a lap around the historic track at Francis Olympic Field at Washington University.

A few months ago, The Jewish Light shared stories of some of the bright lights in the St. Louis arts community. Now, it has published a deeper spotlight on three artists whose brilliance illuminates not just St. Louis, but the international art world.

The St. Louis Business Journal has been honoring and celebrating women business leaders for more than 25 years through its Most Influential Business Women Awards program. With the help of past winners, the Business Journal reviewed 160 nominations to select the 2025 class of Most Influential Business Women. These 25 women are making an impact not only at the companies they work for and run, but at local nonprofits and organizations in the communities they serve. Several WashU staff and alums are being honored this year.

Oladipupo Fadeyi, who will attend Washington University in the fall after graduating from Hazelwood East, was a student speaker during the Wash U College Prep Program (CPP) graduation ceremony in Emerson Auditorium on May 4. CPP prepares talented first-generation, limited-income high school students from the St. Louis region to succeed in college. 

As St. Louis shifts from tornado response to recovery, many residents face complex legal questions about housing, contractors, and insurance. To meet them where they are, attorneys and WashU law students are providing free, on-site legal help.

Construction of a north St. Louis farmers market and pavilion is moving forward, thanks in part to a new Washington University program where students design structures for local organizations. Be Well Cafe and Market will open in the Hyde Park neighborhood later this summer after holding weekly pop-up events. The farmers market pavilion will be surrounded by several metal screens. The creation of the screens is part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ Summer Public Design Workshop. A cohort of 10 students designed the concept after working with Fatimah Muhammad, executive director of Be Well Cafe and Market.

The St. Louis Business Journal’s annual Best Places to Work Awards recognize the top workplaces in the St. Louis region and is one of the most anticipated awards programs of the year. This year, WashU was recognized again as one of the top workplaces in the region.

St. Francis — a ministry of Catholic Charities of St. Louis — was an early stop on a path that led Joy Garcia-Pintor to admission at Washington University in St. Louis. She plans to major in both architecture and marketing. Garcia-Pintor is staying close to home — and still volunteering where she grew up, at St. Francis, helping generations to come.

The nearly 11,000-seat Muny in St. Louis is receiving the regional theater Tony Award. This week it began preparing to open its 107th season with “Bring It On.”

The Muny, the century-old theater in Forest Park, is the winner of the 2025 Regional Theatre Tony Award for excellence in regional theater and “contributing to the growth of theater nationally.”

As Forest Park Forever raises $85 million in donations to make the Steinberg Skating Rink a year-round attraction – along with the 22 acres around it referred to as “the Glade” – the park’s leadership also has a list of “next-up big ticket items” over five years.

St. Louis is a forgotten place in a way. In fact, it has long been on lists of the most underrated cities in America. Back in 2016, Thrillist called St. Louis the “most overlooked city in America.” Perhaps the low-profile is due to the humility of its mid-west residents, who are easily approachable and nice, even when you’re wearing the wrong jersey at Busch Stadium. Or maybe it’s because of the city’s location, far from the coasts. No matter, the secrets of St. Louis, like they always have, await those who pass through.

The Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s Cara Starke shares must-see art experiences in St. Louis, from museums to monuments and beyond.

Across the metro area, transplants can quickly make an impact, both in the community and in their own careers.

The Washington Post recently named the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) as one of the top art museums in the nation. The Post’s art critics ranked SLAM as #12, citing its geography in the “huge, gorgeous” Forest Park and calling its art collection “broad and deep.”

Joi Riley is one of three female business owners selling products in Park Central Development’s Eric Outlaw Business Center at 4256 Manchester Ave. The Grove neighborhood’s business incubator, which opened Oct. 10, helps women in the St. Louis region develop their businesses online and in store.

The employment gain by the St. Louis metro area that ranked as the fourth highest percentage increase in the nation is an indicator of progress, but it must be sustained for the rest of this decade to charge the region’s narrative, some officials say. Federal data released Oct. 4 showed that the number of non-farm employees in the St. Louis region grew 2.6% from August 2023 to August 2024. That’s an addition of 36,600 employees, from 1,422,200 a year ago to 1,458,800 in August, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Only the metro areas of Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis showed larger percentage increases.

The number of employees in the St. Louis region grew 2.57% from August 2023 to August 2024, the fourth-highest percentage increase in the nation, according to federal data released Friday. The St. Louis metro area in the time added 36,600 employees, growing from 1,422,2000 a year ago to 1,458,800 in August, according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Only three U.S. metro areas posted larger percentage employment increases: Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis.