Adam L. Booth, MD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
Division of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology

Claudia Han, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
Division of Immunobiology

Nathan McLamb, MD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine

Anthony Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
Division of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology

Sarah D. Ackerman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Immunology, has been named a 2023 Young Investigator grantee by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. This year’s funding supports 150 promising early-career scientists across the field of neuropsychiatry with innovative ideas in mental health research. The two-year grant is expected to provide up to $70,000 per recipient. 

Dr. Ackerman, who is affiliated with the Brain Immunology and Glia Center, uses fruit flies to study the brain’s ability to form new neural connections and rewire itself - a process that is flexible during childhood and fades with age. Because glial cells in the brain, called astrocytes, are critical players in this neuronal plasticity, Ackerman’s work aims to leverage such cells to modify plasticity in the adult brain. Her findings have potentially important implications for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia that involve altered fading of neuronal plasticity.  

Read more in this story from Washington University. 

GatewaySeq, a targeted next-generation sequencing test for solid tumors developed at Washington University School of Medicine, has received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS approval for GatewaySeq marks a milestone for test developers, including Eric Duncavage, MD, Professor of Pathology and Immunology; Lulu Sun, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Immunology; Drew Hughes, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Immunology; and David Spencer, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, who created a rapid, inexpensive panel designed for initial diagnosis and therapy selection in most solid tumors, helping patients and clinicians make important therapeutic decisions sooner.

Read more on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Three faculty members in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine were recently honored by the Academy of Educators, an institutional collaboration of educators who foster a culture of educational excellence and an institutionally valued community of leaders in health science education at the School of Medicine. Ian Hagemann, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology and Immunology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, won an Exemplary Educator Award; Suzanne Thibodeaux, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology and Immunology, won a Rising Star Award; and Neil Anderson, MD, D(ABMM), Associate Professor of Pathology and Immunology, was selected as a new member of the Academy of Educators. The faculty members were recognized at the Academy of Educators’ annual meeting, “Education Day,” on October 10, 2023.

Read more on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Malnutrition threatens the lives of millions of children under age 5, causing about 500,000 deaths per year in low- and middle-income countries. Short courses of antibiotics paired with a therapeutic peanut butter-based food are the standard of care for treating severe acute malnutrition in children — but using antibiotics in this vulnerable population is controversial; public health experts worry about the worsening problem of antibiotic resistance.

A new study led by Gautam Dantas, PhD, Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, shows that the concerns of increasing antibiotic resistance have merit but that the long-term benefits may outweigh the short-term risks. The findings – published Oct. 19 in The Lancet Microbe – indicate a diverse, more mature gut microbiome in malnourished Nigerien children two years after antibiotic treatment. Brief increases in antibiotic resistance genes in gut bacteria after the children were treated completely dissipated within three weeks.

Read more in a press release from Washington University School of Medicine. 

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis including Robert Schreiber, PhD, Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor, Pathology & Immunology, have received a prestigious Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research and clinical trials aimed at improving therapies for pancreatic cancer. The five-year grant will provide about $10.9 million to research programs for the development of new therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the deadliest form of pancreatic cancer. Fewer than 10% of patients with this cancer survive longer than five years after diagnosis.

Read more in a press release from Washington University School of Medicine. 

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an innovative way to block infection by a variety of alphaviruses, a group of mosquito-borne viruses that can cause joint and brain infections in people. The study, led by Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, and Daved H. Fremont, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Immunology, could be the first step on a path to a broad-spectrum therapy for these uncommon but serious infections. The study was published Oct. 6 in Cell. 

Read more in this article from The Source. 

Clarivate, an analytics company, has named more than 50 Washington University in St. Louis researchers to its Highly Cited Researchers 2023 list including several members of the Department of Pathology and Immunology.

Researchers from Pathology and Immunology highlighted in Clarivate's list include:

Maxim N. Artyomov, PhD, Alumni Endowed Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Marina Cella, MD, Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Marco Colonna, MD, Robert Rock Belliveau Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Gautam Dantas, PhD, Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine; Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Susan Gilfillan, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor; Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, BJC Investigator, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology

Gwendalyn J. Randolph, PhD, Emil R. Unanue Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Robert D. Schreiber, PhD, Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Igor Smirnov, DVM, Associate Professor, Pathology and Immunology

Read more on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Hussein Sultan, PhD, Instructor in Pathology and Immunology, received a Presidential Travel Award from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). As part of the award, Dr. Sultan was one of four early-career investigators selected to give a presentation at the SITC 38th Annual Meeting in San Diego. Dr. Sultan’s talk showed that high dose cancer vaccination can induce a population of LILRB4+ suppressive CD4 T cells, which can be overcome with LILRB4-depleting strategies.

Read the article on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

Kim Green, Senior Fellowship Program Coordinator, has received certification in Graduate Medical Education Training Administration through the National Board of Certification Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education (C-TAGME). TAGME certification is the gold standard in professional development for graduate medical education administration. The the C-TAGME credential is accomplished through a combination of experience, continuous education and successfully earning a passing assessment result. 

The Department of Pathology and Immunology is now on LinkedIn. Follow our page, "WashU Pathology & Immunology," for the latest news.

Additionally, the department has two Twitter/X accounts. Follow @wusm_pathology for department news and @washupathedu for news about our trainees and educational programs. 

If you would like to share content to any account, please contact Emily Wasserman.

Alifiya Kapasi, et. al. High-throughput digital quantification of Alzheimer disease pathology and associated infrastructure in large autopsy studies. Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, Volume 82, Issue 12, December 2023, Pages 976–986. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnen/nlad086

Lian V, et. al. Maternal Obesogenic Diet Attenuates Microbiome Dependent Offspring Weaning Reaction with Worsening of Steatotic Liver Disease. The American Journal of Pathology. 2023 Nov 27:S0002-9440(23)00445-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2023.11.006. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38029921.

Kim H, et. al. Cutting Edge: STAT4 Promotes Bhlhe40 Induction to Drive Protective IFN-γ from NK Cells during Viral Infection. The Journal of Immunology, 2023 Nov 15;211(10):1469-1474. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300402

Gomez F, et. al. Ultra-Deep Sequencing Reveals the Mutational Landscape of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Cancer Research Communications, 2023 Nov 15;3(11):2312-2330. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0140

He M, He B, Weng J, Cheng JQ, Gu H. Manual and Semi-Automated Measurement and Calculation of Osteosarcoma Treatment Effect Using Whole Slide Image and Qupath. Pediatric and Developmental Pathology. 2023 Nov 9:10935266231207937. doi: 10.1177/10935266231207937

Yang F, et. al. Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin impairs early neutrophil localization via electrogenic disruption of store-operated calcium entry. Cell Reports. 2023 Nov 9;42(11):113394. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113394

Marina Terekhova, et. al. Single-cell atlas of healthy human blood unveils age-related loss of NKG2C+GZMB−CD8+ memory T cells and accumulation of type 2 memory T cells. Immunity, 2023, ISSN 1074-7613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.10.013

Borcherding, N., Brestoff, J.R. The power and potential of mitochondria transfer. Nature, 623, 283–291 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06537-z

Intelly S Lee, Steven J Van Dyken. Both Horatio and Polonius: Innate Lymphoid Cells in Tissue Homeostasis and Repair. Immunohorizons. 2023 Nov 1;7(11):729-736. doi: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2300053

Melissa E. Cook, et. al. BHLHE40 Mediates Cross-Talk between Pathogenic TH17 Cells and Myeloid Cells during Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis. Immunohorizons, 1 November 2023; 7 (11): 737-746. https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2300042

Zita M L Hubler, Christopher W Farnsworth, Nicholas C Spies, Asymptomatic Hyponatremia and Hyperkalemia in a Patient with Leukemic Leukocytosis. Clinical Chemistry, Volume 69, Issue 11, November 2023, Pages 1322–1323. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/hvad105

Balasubramanian I, et. al. Stress activated Paneth cell subset propagates inflammation. The EMBO Journal, 2023 Nov 2;42(21):e113975.

Irina Shchukina, Pavla Bohacova, Maxim N. Artyomov. T cell control of inflammaging. Seminars in Immunology, Volume 70, 2023, 101818, ISSN 1044-5323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smim.2023.101818

Schwartz DJ, et. al. Effect of amoxicillin on the gut microbiome of children with severe acute malnutrition in Madarounfa, Niger: a retrospective metagenomic analysis of a placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Microbe, October 19, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00213-6

Christopher Snyder, et. al. Generative Artificial Intelligence: More of the Same or Off the Control Chart? Clinical Chemistry, Volume 69, Issue 10, October 2023, Pages 1101–1106, https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/hvad129

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

Sarah Ackerman, PhD
$70,000 for 2023 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

View a full list of grants and notables on the Pathology & Immunology website. 

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