Author: Susan Wightman

Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics Linked To Increased Risk For Adverse Drug Events Among Outpatients With CAP (Links to an external site)

“Among otherwise healthy, non-elderly adults treated for community-acquired pneumonia in the outpatient setting, broad-spectrum antibiotics were associated with increased risk of adverse drug events compared to narrow-spectrum antibiotics. Ultimately, knowledge about antibiotic-related harms can help patients, prescribers, and stewardship programs make judicious decisions about antibiotic utilization” – Ann Mobley Butler, PhD

ID fellow alum, Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD, MPH, FIDSA, keynote speaker at DOM Women in Medicine & Science Annual Seminar

The 4th Annual DOM Women in Medicine & Science Seminar: Strategies for Success: Embracing Transitions & Unconventional Pathways will be at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on Thursday, April 3, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 pm. This year’s keynote speaker features the Director of Health, City of St. Louis, and WashU ID fellow alum, Matifadza […]

Dr. Megan Baldridge receives Global Grant for Gut Health Award

Megan Tierney Baldridge, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases Division, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, received a $100,000 project grant to explore the interactions between bacteriophages (phages) and human intestinal epithelial cells, aiming to uncover how phages, which infect bacteria, also influence human cells. Phages play a vital role in modulating gut bacterial populations, […]

Megan Baldridge, MD, PhD, part of new collaborative of NIH $10 million award to study human virome (Links to an external site)

WashU Medicine labs contribute to a new collaborative program designed to demystify the human body’s resident viruses. Gautam Dantas, PhD, the Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine in the Department of Pathology & Immunology at WashU Medicine, and Megan Baldridge, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, infectious diseases, have received a $5.2 million five-year […]

Nasal COVID-19 vaccine based on WashU technology to enter U.S. clinical trials (Links to an external site)

The investigational nasal vaccine was co-developed by WashU Medicine scientists Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine and the co-director of the Center for Vaccines & Immunity to Microbial Pathogens, and David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, the Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology, along with members of their laboratories.

Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, among three faculty members awarded $3 million NIMH grant for HIV prevention in Africa (Links to an external site)

Fred Ssewamala, PhD, William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at the Brown School and director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD); Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School and co-director of ICHAD; and Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, professor of medicine, infectious diseases division, and associate director for global health and dissemination […]

Former fellow, Bonnie Westrope Rawot, dies at 64

Bonnie Rawot, MD passed away peacefully at her home on April 18, 2024. Many who knew Bonnie will remember Medicine was a second career for her.  She was an accomplished musician and talented flute player, as detailed in her obituary, which we recently came across. Dr. Rawot recognized her true calling would be in medicine, […]

Congratulations Nigar Kirmani, MD, and Janice Hanson, PhD, Lifetime Achievement Awardees

The Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 2021, recognizes current Washington University faculty members with at least twenty years of service as faculty in an academic teaching setting who has shown a lifelong commitment to education and demonstrates excellence in one or more domains of educational service, leadership or scholarship. Nigar Kirmani, MD is a Professor […]

Baldrigde Lab reveals druggable targets against Astroviruses

Megan Baldridge, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology and Director of the Baldridge Lab, recently co-authored a Nature Microbiology publication on targeting the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) or dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (DPP4) using available therapies to prevent human astrovirus infection in human enteroid cultures. Harshad Ingle, PhD, one of the study’s co-first […]

Julia López speaks at APHA 2024 Annual Meeting

At APHA (American Public Health Association) 2024, Dr. Julia López, assistant professor of medicine, delivered an oral presentation addressing the critical issue of mental health stigma in the Latinx/e community. She explored how deeply rooted cultural beliefs and social isolation have historically impacted access to care, emphasizing the importance of cultural humility among practitioners. Dr. […]

Dr. Nongnooch Poowanawittayakom joins the Department of Medicine, ID Division (Links to an external site)

Dr. Nongnooch Poowanawittayakom joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases as an Assistant Professor in November 2024.  After she earned her medical degree from one of the most prestigious institutions in Thailand, Mahidol University, Siriraj Hospital, she came to the United States to continue her training in Internal Medicine and Infectious […]

Center for Vaccines & Immunity to Microbial Pathogens (CVIMP) symposium features podcasts with leading scientists

The CVIMP vaccine symposium this week, features scientists working to discover new therapies to treat microbial pathogens. Podcasts hosted by Larissa Thackray, PhD, professor of medicine, are posted for listening and free downloads. Dr. Thackray is the executive director of the Center for Vaccines & Immunity to Microbial Pathogens. As part of the hashtag#CVIMP vaccine […]

Dr. Ishmael Aziati joins the Infectious Diseases Division (Links to an external site)

Dr. Ishmael Aziati joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases as an Instructor in November 2024. He has been involved in collaborative research for the past decade studying emerging and reemerging infectious viral diseases. After graduating with a BSc. (Hons) in Biochemistry in 2010 from the University of Ghana. He joined […]

WashU ID welcomes ID fellows from Bangkok!

Once again, with the leadership of David Warren, MD, MPH, WashU ID welcomed four infectious diseases fellows from the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The fellows had a three-week observership in healthcare epidemiology and infectious diseases. They spent a week rounding with WashU/Barnes-Jewish Hospital Infection Prevention staff and ID faculty involved in […]