Aayushi Uberoi, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert Glaser Distinguished University Professor and director of the Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, has received the 2024 Mechthild Esser Nemmers Prize in Medical Science from Northwestern University. Gordon was selected for the prize by a jury of distinguished U.S. scientists for transforming the understanding of human health and how it is shaped by the gut microbiome.

Given every two years, the Nemmers Prize in Medical Science recognizes physician-scientists whose body of research represents outstanding achievements in biomedical science and has shown lasting significance. The prize in medical science is one of five Nemmers Prizes; the other four prizes recognize contributions in earth sciences, economics, mathematics and music.

Read more in this Washington University School of Medicine press release.

Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, a BJC Investigator and the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology & Immunology, has received the Dr. Tovi Comet - Walerstein C.A.I.R. Institute Science Award 2024 from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. This prize was awarded to Dr. Kipnis for his "scientific breakthrough in the interactions between the immune system and nervous system, which has an outstanding impact on the research in neurodegenerative diseases," the university said. Dr. Kipnis will be honored at an award ceremony at Bar-Ilan University in June 2024.

Scientists from the Department of Pathology and Immunology have found passageways that connect the brain to vessels that carry fluid waste out of and away from the brain. The newly discovered anatomical structures, found in mice and people, are like tiny gates, allowing waste to leave the brain and enter lymphatic vessels, where immune cells monitor it for signs of danger or infection.

The team's findings, which were published on February 7th in Nature, reveal a previously unknown route that immune cells can use to access the brain in diseases driven by inflammation. "We think these structures, and the cells and molecules strategically positioned around the gates to control passage, can help lead to new drugs for neuroinflammatory diseases," said Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology & Immunology and a BJC Investigator. Leon Smyth, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Kipnis Lab, is first author on the paper.

Read more in this Washington University School of Medicine press release. 

A genetic test that identifies cancer mutations in solid tumors and that was developed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been approved for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The test, known as GatewaySeq, identifies mutations that can be targeted with available drugs, helping advance precision medicine treatment strategies for patients with solid tumors, such as those of the lung, colon and pancreas.

GatewaySeq is the most recent genetic assessment tool developed by Washington University to receive CMS approval. Other recent such tests are ChromoSeq, which is a whole-genome sequencing test specifically for initial diagnosis of the blood cancers acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome; and MyeloSeq, which is used to monitor the effectiveness of ongoing treatment for blood and bone marrow cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and others.

Read more in this School of Medicine press release. 

Slow brain waves are associated with restful, refreshing sleep. And now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that brain waves help flush waste out of the brain during sleep. Individual nerve cells coordinate to produce rhythmic waves that propel fluid through dense brain tissue, washing the tissue in the process. The findings were published on February 28 in Nature.

“These neurons are miniature pumps. Synchronized neural activity powers fluid flow and removal of debris from the brain,” explained first author Li-Feng Jiang-Xie, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Pathology & Immunology. “If we can build on this process, there is the possibility of delaying or even preventing neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, in which excess waste – such as metabolic waste and junk proteins – accumulate in the brain and lead to neurodegeneration.”

Read more in this Washington University School of Medicine press release. 

A new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis could help physicians strike the right balance between proactive intervention and cautious monitoring for patients with early-stage lung cancer. The study, published March 4 in The Journal of Pathology, uses an artificial intelligence (AI) method to study patients’ lung biopsy images and predict whether the cancer will spread to the brain.

“There are no predictive tools available to help physicians when treating patients with lung cancer,” said Richard J. Cote, MD, the Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Pathology & Immunology. “We have risk predictors that tell us which population is more likely to progress to more advanced stages, but we lack the ability to predict individual patient outcomes. Our study is an indication that AI methods may be able to make meaningful predictions that are specific and sensitive enough to impact patient management.”

Read more this School of Medicine press release. 

Innovative pilot projects led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have received funding from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative to address critical challenges in the fields of neurodegeneration and neuroscience. The initiative has awarded a total of $12.8 million to more than 60 pilot projects nationwide. Each project receives $200,000 over 18 months, and successful projects will be eligible for an additional $1.6 million in funding over four years.  

In one project, Felipe A. P. Ribeiro, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, and Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, a BJC Investigator and the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology & Immunology, will investigate how sensory neurons in the tissue surrounding the brain — called the meninges — influence immunity and brain function to alter memory and contribute to neurodegeneration. Their findings have the potential to advance therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.  

Read more in this article in The Source. 

An article including authors in the Department of Pathology and Immunology was named to the Top 100 Cancer Scientific Reports papers list in 2023. "Automatic detection of circulating tumor cells and cancer associated fibroblasts using deep learning" received 1888 article downloads last year. Richard J. Cote, MD, FRCPath, FCAP, Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology and Immunology, and Mark Watson, MD, PhD, Margaret Gladys Smith Professor in Pathology and Immunology, are authors on the paper.

View the full citation:

Shen C, Rawal S, Brown R, Zhou H, Agarwal A, Watson MA, Cote RJ, Yang C. Automatic detection of circulating tumor cells and cancer associated fibroblasts using deep learning. Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 7;13(1):5708. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32955-0. PMID: 37029224; PMCID: PMC10082202.

A team including scientists from Yale School of Medicine and Scott Handley, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine, have received $575,000 from PolyBio Research Foundation to fund long COVID research. The grant will support the team’s efforts to define mechanisms by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist for long periods of time in tissue and blood.

Dr. Handley’s role in the project will be to use targeted long-read sequencing technology to define full length SARS CoV2 genomes from tissues. “The goal is to identify specific mutations, or predict secondary RNA structures that may be associated with or involved with the immune response driving long COVID,” Dr. Handley said.

Read more in the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Drs. Kevin Bowling and Alexa Dickson from the Clinical Genomics Laboratory led a session at the 2024 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) annual meeting focused on Variant Scientists in Genomic Medicine. The session was a resounding success, drawing significant attendance with standing-room-only capacity, and receiving rave reviews. It highlighted the pivotal role of Variant Scientists in genomic medicine.

Read more on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

National Doctors Day was observed this past Saturday, March 30, 2024. The Department of Pathology and Immunology is grateful for our physicians and their ongoing dedication to improving human health. 

Learn more about our physicians on the Washington University Physicians website. 

Expression of CD25, mast cell markers and T-cell markers in eosinophilic esophagitis: doi: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2024.152287

An update on the activities of the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, 2024: doi: 10.1111/ijlh.14270

Prevotella copri and microbiota members mediate the beneficial effects of a therapeutic food for malnutrition:
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01628-7

Deconvoluting the Complexity of Congenital Sideroblastic Anemias through Genetic and Functional Profiling: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoldx.2024.03.002

Non-Invasive Markers of Inflammation and Protein Loss Augment Diagnosis of Pediatric Celiac Disease: doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000695

Red blood cell distribution width as a biomarker in acute kidney injury: too soon?: 10.1007/s11255-023-03644-8

Impaired hepatic VLDL secretion promotes tumorigenesis and is accelerated with Fabp1 deletion: doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2024.02.005. 

AI-guided histopathology predicts brain metastasis in lung cancer patients: doi: 10.1002/path.6263

Neuronal dynamics orchestrate cerebrospinal fluid perfusion and brain clearance: 10.1038/s41586-024-07108-6

A Case of Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome with Crescents Caused by a Novel Compound Heterozygous Pairing of NPHS1 Genetic Variants: https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/5121375

Is Lab Staffing a Matter of More than Just Numbers?: https://www.myadlm.org/science-and-research/scientific-shorts/2024/is-lab-staffing-a-matter-of-more-than-just-numbers#

Maternal Obesogenic Diet Attenuates Microbiome-Dependent Offspring Weaning Reaction with Worsening of Steatotic Liver Disease: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2023.11.006

Identification of direct connections between the dura and the brain: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06993-7

Reviewing the Clostridioides difficile Mouse Model: Insights into Infection Mechanisms: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12020273

Automating the Detection of IV Fluid Contamination Using Unsupervised Machine Learning: https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/hvad207

Blast identification in cerebrospinal fluid specimens from patients with acute myeloid leukemia: laboratory perspectives: doi: 10.1080/10428194.2023.2273749

Reporting standards for cerebrospinal fluid studies: more transparency of laboratory data is needed: doi: 10.1007/s15010-023-02131-7

Clinical whole-genome sequencing and FISH identify two different fusion partners for NUP98 in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia: A case report:  doi: 10.1016/j.cancergen.2023.11.001

View a full list of publications on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Ali Ellebedy, PhD
$3.29 million, multi-year award from NIAID for "Programming Durable Immune Responses To Vaccination"

Scott Handley, PhD
$575,000 from PolyBio Research Foundation for Long COVID research (in collaboration with Yale School of Medicine researchers)

Department of Pathology & Immunology
Washington University School of Medicine
pathology.wustl.edu