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 […]

WashU Medicine researchers identify potential for repurposing Prozac to treat rare epilepsy (Links to an external site)

Christina Gurnett, MD, PhD, and Lawrence Salkoff, PhD, are lead authors on a case report that describes how Prozac can be used in the treatment of children with rare forms of epilepsy.

A team of WashU Medicine researchers has discovered a promising new use for Prozac, which is the brand name of the antidepressant fluoxetine, in the treatment of children with rare forms of epilepsy. In a Frontiers of Pharmacology case report published earlier this year, the researchers describe how fluoxetine treatment of two siblings with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy […]

Inspiring People at WashU | LaMont Reed (Links to an external site)

LaMont Reed

LaMont Reed’s path to WashU Medicine began with a simple desire to volunteer at BJC. During his interview, he expressed a heartfelt wish to understand what it meant to work in a hospital and make a difference in people’s lives. That conversation led to a position as a patient service representative in Radiation Oncology, launching […]

Ten neurologists honored at eighth annual WashU Celebration of Inventors

Group shot of a few of the 2024 WashU USPTO patent awardees

On April 24, 2025, the Office of Technology Management hosted the eighth annual Celebration of Inventors, an event to honor and recognize Washington University inventors, researchers and faculty entrepreneurs. Honorees included 2024 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awardees; newly elected National Academy of Inventors Fellow and Senior Members; and the recipient of the 2025 […]

Drug to slow Alzheimer’s well tolerated outside of clinical trial setting (Links to an external site)

Person with IV in arm

The Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2023 of lecanemab — a novel Alzheimer’s therapy shown in clinical trials to modestly slow disease progression — was met with enthusiasm by many in the field as it represented the first medication of its kind able to influence the disease. But side effects — brain swelling and […]

Most people say they want to know their risk for Alzheimer’s dementia, fewer follow through (Links to an external site)

Illustration of a woman holding Yes and No signs

As researchers make progress in understanding how Alzheimer’s disease develops, there are growing opportunities for healthy research participants to learn their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia in the future. While many organizations often advocate for investigators to share risk estimates with individual participants, there are ethical concerns around doing so, given that there are […]

Zazulia, McIntosh receive 2024-25 Distinguished Service Teaching awards

Allyson Zazulia and Christine McIntosh

Congratulations to Allyson Zazulia, MD, and Christine McIntosh who were celebrated by medical students at this year’s annual Distinguished Service Teaching Awards event. Recipients of the awards are selected by medical education representatives from the Medical Student Government, along with the Office of Medical Student Education and the Academy of Educators. Allyson Zazulia, MD, professor […]