Monitoring Mongolian elections; Eddie F. Brown heads up international delegation

Sheepherders emerging from their desert tents ... urban dwellers waiting patiently in long lines at the polls ... voters traveling as much as 50 miles by horse --the abundant evidence of the Mongolian people's enthusiasm for democracy was an inspiration for Eddie F. Brown, D.S.W, who led a 19-member delegation last month to observe the Asian nation's parliamentary election.

"It was a moving experience," said Brown, associate dean for community affairs at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. "The Mongolian people took very seriously their right to vote. At one voting site on the outskirts of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, people were lined up hours before the polls were scheduled to open. From the oldest to the youngest voters, there was a tremendous excitement about having a say in the political process."

Click to see entire article

Find holds hope in war on infectious scourge

By David Linzee

Researchers have clarified the role a vital molecule plays in a parasite's infection of human beings in a discovery that could lead to improved treatment for leishmaniasis, a scourge of developing countries.

The microscopic protozoan parasite Leishmania infects more than 10 million people in tropical lands. Transmitted by biting sand flies, the organism causes massive ulceration of the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs. The disease is often fatal. No satisfactory vaccines or chemotherapies exist, so scientists are using genetic approaches as they search for more effective treatments.

"Anything we can find about how it survives may be useful in combating it," said Stephen M. Beverley, Ph.D., the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the School of Medicine. Beverley and his colleagues have focused on lipophosphoglycan (LPG), a molecule that coats the parasite. In a previous study, they showed that LPG protects the parasite in the early phase of its life cycle, while it is in the sand fly. In the present study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they investigated whether LPG plays an equally crucial role in survival of the parasite in the human host.

Click to see entire article

Phillip E. Cryer new chair of Faculty Senate Council

Phillip E. Cryer , M.D., has been elected chair of the Faculty Senate Council. Cryer is the Irene E. and Michael M. Karl Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism and director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the School of Medicine.

"I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with the distinguished members of the Faculty Senate Council to serve our Washington University community," Cryer said after his election.

The council brings together 15 representatives from the University's eight schools and from the Faculty Senate, comprised of all faculty members. The council serves as liaison between the administration and the faculty on a broad range of issues touching virtually all aspects of campus life.

Cryer succeeds Arnold W. Strauss, M.D., the Alumni Professor of Pediatrics and professor of molecular biology and pharmacology, outgoing council chair.

Click to see entire article

They're here! Class of 2004 arrives

This fall's incoming freshmen will graduate from Washington University as St. Louis celebrates the 1904 World's Fair centennial, and, fittingly, this World's-Fair class boasts world-class accomplishments.

The first-year students, who hail from all over the world and represent 25 countries, 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, arrived Aug. 24 and have been busy unpacking, learning their way around campus and gearing up for the fall semester, which began Wednesday, Aug. 30.

Many in the select group were academic leaders, officers in student government and active participants in extracurricular activities and athletics in high school. Collectively, the incoming class has received almost 2,200 special awards and recognitions.

Click to see entire article