Ampersand Magazine

News, milestones, and spotlights from across Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
 

• Pandemic course success story
  A survey of nearly 1,000 people found that Arts & Sciences’ course “The Pandemic: Science and Society” led to more accurate risk perception and stronger protective behaviors

• Can we build a better bot?
  A team of researchers funded by the Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences found that humans change their own behavior when training AI.

• Humanities in Asia
  Assistant professors Jiayi Chen and Uluğ Kuzuoğlu recently received coveted fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies.

• Teaching from the heart
  Rowhea Elmesky, associate professor of education, received the 2024 William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award for her at University City High School.

• Rediscovered cities of the Silk Road
  Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology, and his team used drone-based lidar to map two recently discovered high-elevation sites in Uzbekistan.

• Happiness may protect against dementia
  For the annual World Happiness Report, Assistant Professor Emily Willroth explained how behaviors associated with a sense of happiness can potentially protect against dementia.

• Forbes honors first-year student
  In her first year at WashU, Naina Muvva found herself joining an elite group: Forbes’ “30 Under 30” honorees.

• Inclusive immigration policies improve health
  Laws allowing undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license indirectly improve the health and well-being of immigrant mothers and their babies, according to new research by Margot Moinester.

• Access to urban wildlife
  A national study with contributions from the St. Louis Wildlife Project found that gentrified areas have more urban wildlife than ungentrified regions of the same city.

• Chemists develop groundbreaking test
  A team of chemists developed a cutting-edge test to precisely track naturally occurring edits in cells, an advance that could help scientists identify novel targets for cancer therapies.

• Next-gen champion of civil rights
  Isaac Seiler won the Truman Scholarship, the leading graduate fellowship for students committed to careers in public service.

• A collaborative approach to public health
  Dr. Rochelle Walensky, AB ’91, returned to her alma mater in April with an important message: Universities can no longer think about medicine and health policy as distinct fields.

• Mellon Foundation honors
  Jonathan Fenderson, associate professor of African and African American studies, became WashU’s fourth faculty member to receive a coveted New Directions Fellowship.

• A new tool in the battle against brain cancer
  A research team found that glioblastoma cells have built-in circadian rhythms that create better times of day for treatment.