Stewart wins 2024 Excellence in Nursing Award

Audra Stewart

Audra Stewart, RN, with neonatal neurology, is the recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Nursing Award for Neurology / Psychology / Behavioral Health. The annual Excellence in Nursing Awards is hosted by St. Louis Magazine and presented by BJC HealthCare and Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing. Honorees were celebrated at a reception at the […]

3 neurologists elected to WashU Medicine Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Honor Medical Society

Washington University School of Medicine McMillan Building

Three members of WashU Medicine Neurology have been nominated and elected into the WashU Medicine Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Honor Medical Society: AΩA is a national organization — founded in 1902 — that values high quality patient care, leadership, service and scholarship. The Society’s aims are “the promotion of scholarship and research in […]

Morris inducted into WashU Medicine’s GHHS GME Class of 2025

Aimee Morris

Aimee Morris, MD, PhD, has been inducted into WashU Medicine’s Gold Humanism Honor Society GME Class of 2025. GHHS is a “community of medical students, physicians and other leaders who have been recognized for their compassionate care. GHHS reinforces and supports the human connection in healthcare, which is essential for the health of patients and […]

Congratulations to Neurology’s May 2025 SAFE accolade recipients

SAFE accolades - Neurology

Congratulations to the members of the Department of Neurology who received accolades through the Supporting a Fair Environment (SAFE) program! SAFE aims to improve the learning environment by promoting positive behaviors and managing concerns about learner mistreatment and unprofessional behaviors. SAFE accolades include treating others with dignity and respect, creating an environment that values diversity, […]

Research untangles role of stress granules in neurodegenerative disease (Links to an external site)

Biomolecular condensates often appear like shapeshifting droplets but have important jobs to do in the cell, including potentially suppressing effects of mutations that cause neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). (Photo: Shutterstock)

Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis report mechanistic insights into the role of biomolecular condensation in the development of neurodegenerative disease. The collaborative research, published in Molecular Cell, focused on the interactions that drive the formation of condensates versus the formation of amyloid fibrils and how these relate to […]

Sleep aid blocks neurodegeneration in mice (Links to an external site)

A new study by WashU Medicine researchers suggests that lemborexant and sleep aids that work the same way could help treat or prevent damage caused by harmful buildup of the protein tau in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s. Shown are cross-sections of brain tissue from two mice genetically prone to tau accumulation. Treatment with lemborexant (right) results in larger volume in the hippocampus (central purple spiral), important for memory, and a smaller gap in brain tissue (white space) compared with no treatment (left).

A common sleep aid restores healthier sleep patterns and protects mice from the brain damage seen in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The drug, lemborexant, prevents the harmful buildup of an abnormal form of a protein called tau in the brain, […]

Bryant receives 2025 Kelley Mullen Clinical Service Award

Karla Bryant

Karla Bryant, neurology practice office manager, has received the 2025 Kelley Mullen Clinical Service Award, one of four annual WashU Medicine staff recognition awards. Bryant was nominated by her peers, recognizing her for her unparalleled “acts of caring that go beyond the normal expected levels of courtesy, responsiveness, and customer service and creates a positive […]

Staff Spotlight Ashley Wade

Ashley Wade

Ashley Wade began her career at WashU Medicine in the Department of Neurology four years ago. She is a billing/scheduling associate II who processes all incoming pediatric referrals. Initially, she worked with adult referrals but switched to pediatric referrals about three years ago, which she loves. Coming from a small family, Wade is the oldest […]

WashU community joins neighbors in tornado recovery (Links to an external site)

WashU's Danforth Campus suffered moderate damage when a deadly tornado ripped through parts of St. Louis May 16, and the storm took down multiple large trees. But other neighborhoods suffered greatly. In the aftermath, the WashU community has quickly mobilized to help its neighbors. (Photo: Whitney Curtis/WashU)

The Danforth Campus at Washington University in St. Louis suffered moderate damage in the deadly tornado that devastated parts of St. Louis May 16, including damaged building roofs and concrete. Additionally, the storm took down multiple large trees that blocked roads and triggered widespread power and technology outages. But that pales in comparison to the loss throughout the […]

Overlooked cell type orchestrates brain rewiring (Links to an external site)

Colored bursts indicate activity in astrocyte cells in a mouse brain. Exposure to a signaling chemical called norepinephrine triggers a coordinated wave of activity. The lab of Thomas Papouin, assistant professor of neuroscience at WashU Medicine, discovered that astrocytes are responsible for modifying brain activity in response to norepinephrine. (Image courtesy of Thomas Papouin)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have upended decades-old dogma of how connections between brain cells are rearranged during states of heightened vigilance or attention. The team found that a brain chemical associated with alertness, attention and learning alters brain connectivity and function not by acting directly on neurons, the cells […]