Four physician-scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in recognition of original, creative and independent investigations in the clinical or allied sciences of medicine. The new members — Opeolu M. Adeoye, MD; Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD; Kory Lavine, MD, PhD; and Julie K. Schwarz, MD, PhD — will be inducted April 8.
Adeoye, the BJC HealthCare Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine and head of the Department of Emergency Medicine, is a noted physician-scientist whose research is focused on improving acute treatment and long-term outcomes for patients with acute brain injuries, especially stroke. He has extensive clinical trial experience, including holding leadership positions in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials focused on optimizing treatments for ischemic stroke. His goal is to identify pathways that may contribute to stroke outcomes and response to treatment to develop new therapies for stroke.
Chen, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology, is a kidney specialist whose research is focused on understanding renal diseases in which the filtration capacity of the kidney is damaged, resulting in protein spilling into the urine. Her lab is working to understand the molecular origins of kidney diseases defined by stress on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a part of cells that manufactures and transports proteins and performs other complex functions. She also is studying cross-talk among the ER, mitochondria and lysosomes.
Lavine, an associate professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, is a cardiologist whose research is focused on understanding the role of the body’s immune system in the development and treatment of heart failure. He is developing new methods to image heart inflammation and crafting therapeutic strategies aimed at limiting damaging inflammation and promoting the heart’s capacity to repair itself and restore normal heart function. Most recently, his lab has investigated the heart’s response to COVID-19.
Schwarz, a professor of radiation oncology and director of the Cancer Biology Division in the Department of Radiation Oncology, is a physician-scientist whose work is focused on understanding the biology of cervical cancer. Schwarz and her team at Siteman Cancer Center study cervical tumor metabolism, radiographic imaging of these tumors and how best to use radiation and chemotherapy to attack these types of cancer cells. Her research helped establish routine use of a type of PET scan for monitoring response to cervical cancer treatment.
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