Research

Our Research

Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and research staff investigate questions at the forefront of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of a great university is its ability to contribute new knowledge through research. Faculty in Arts & Sciences are frequently recognized around the world for their research leadership. In addition to faculty, both graduate and undergraduate students are critical to research and often play a hands-on role in major projects.

Fostering connections — among disciplines and throughout the research community — is an idea that lies at the heart of Arts & Sciences research. Our faculty are pioneering interdisciplinary approaches for investigating some of the planet’s most intractable challenges, such as climate change, antibiotic resistance, and global food insecurity. Our vibrant campus serves as an incubator for original ideas and scholarly innovations across disciplines and among faculty and students.

In Arts & Sciences, we are uniquely positioned to bring together scientific and humanistic approaches that will develop critical perspectives on global heath, the environment, social issues, and policy. Such topics form the basis for engaging our students in a variety of academic research projects both in the US and abroad. Our new initiatives address complex problems for society’s benefit, focusing on diversity, community, and culture.

Phages

Phage or Foe?

As everyone has probably heard, antibiotics are less and less effective. So what would happen if you got an infection that was resistant to all the known antibiotics? One surprising answer is that they might treat you with viruses from pond sludge. As Fredrik Inglis explains, this old remedy is getting a new look.

How innovative Arts & Sciences courses reshape learning

Arts & Sciences faculty are transforming classrooms by taking students into communities, workplaces, and digital spaces, creating lessons that resonate far beyond campus.

WashU team finds viral strategy that could target hard-to-treat infections

In a new study, researchers in Arts & Sciences and in the School of Medicine help reveal how certain bacteria-targeting viruses can break up potentially harmful biofilms.

the faculty bookshelf

We’re exploring Mars to better understand Earth. On Mars, we can learn about geological processes and environmental processes — maybe habitability, maybe life, that remains to be seen — for a period of time that’s lost on Earth.

― Ray Arvidson James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences