Dr. Brian Laidlaw joins the Department of Medicine (Links to an external site)

Dr. Laidlaw’s research interests lie in investigating memory B cell (MBC) development and function in settings of disease. MBCs are critical for the development of protective immunity following infection or immunization. Repeated pathogen encounters can give rise to broadly reactive MBC clones. However, broadly reactive MBCs rarely arise naturally due to a bottleneck in the […]

Allergen-Reducing Cat Food (Links to an external site)

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Coming this April, Purina Pro Plan will introduce a revolutionary approach in the management of cat allergens: Purina Pro Plan LiveClear, the first and only cat food that reduces the allergens in cat hair and dander. This breakthrough diet is the culmination of more than a decade of Purina research dedicated to finding a safe, […]

Kendall named director of allergy and immunology division (Links to an external site)

Peggy Kendall, MD, has been named director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She joined the university from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, where she was an associate professor of medicine and pathology, microbiology and immunology.

Dr. Aaron Ver Huel joins the Department of Medicine (Links to an external site)

Dr. Ver Heul is originally from Iowa, where he attended Iowa State University on a National Merit Scholarship and earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Master of Science degree in Biophysics. He next attended the NIH-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, where he earned his MD and […]

Dr. Christopher Rigell joins the Department of Medicine (Links to an external site)

Dr. Rigell completed his undergraduate studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Vanderbilt University prior to obtaining his MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital where he served as a VA chief resident during his third year.

Three physician-scientists receive Doris Duke Charitable Foundation awards (Links to an external site)

Three physician-scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a 2019 Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Philip Budge, MD, PhD, Brian DeBosch, MD, PhD, and Andrew Kau, MD, PhD, are among 16 U.S. physician-scientists receiving the awards, which provide $495,000 over three years to each investigator.

Scratching the skin primes the gut for allergic reactions to food, mouse study suggests (Links to an external site)

Scratching the skin triggers a series of immune responses culminating in an increased number of activated mast cells — immune cells involved in allergic reactions — in the small intestine, according to research conducted in mice. This newly identified skin-gut communication helps illuminate the relationship between food allergy and atopic dermatitis (a type of eczema), […]

What the Mystery of the Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Could Reveal (Links to an external site)

One spring evening in 2016, Lee Niegelsky’s underarm began to itch. An investment manager, he was doing housework around his condo, and he thought he’d been bitten by a chigger. But within 15 minutes, hives had erupted all over his body. He responded with what he calls a “typical man reaction” — if the hives […]

Acetaminophen does not worsen children’s asthma symptoms (Links to an external site)

Pediatricians often recommend against giving the pain reliever and fever reducer acetaminophen to children with asthma because some studies have suggested the medication can worsen asthma symptoms. But a new study in young children with asthma comparing acetaminophen to ibuprofen – another pain and fever reliever – shows no difference in the severity of asthma […]