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WSU Health Sciences Spokane Extra

Meet a Scientist: Dr. Lucia Peixoto’s Work Narrows the Search for Autism Risk Factors

Lucia Peixoto in her lab on the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus

Lucia Peixoto in her lab on the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus

A landmark study by scientists at WSU and elsewhere has brought focus to the search for genetic links to autism spectrum disorder, which affects an estimated 2 million Americans. Published in the Jan. 16 issue of Science Signaling, the study identifies more than 2,000 areas of DNA that are active when mice learn a new task and are strongly associated with autism. Taking a closer look at one of those areas, the researchers found a genetic mutation that is associated with increased risk of developing autism.

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WSU Spokane employee leads WSU APAC

Brigitta the chair of Administrative Professional Advisory CouncilLeading an advocacy group trying to represent 2,026 employees is not exactly how Brigitta Jozefowski (pronounced joe-zah-fow-ski) imagined her job when she first started working at Washington State University Spokane back in 2004.

After all, she was “just an hourly staff person” still working on an undergraduate degree she had started years earlier.

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Listen to nutrition students at lunch on Wednesdays

Shannon Dunn, NEP instructorTired of the same old song and dance about diets this time of year?

Change it up by spending a lunch hour on Wednesdays listening to presentations on the subject by the students studying Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.

It just might be a good way to jump start a new diet or pick up some tips on creating healthier habits.

Starting on January 17, the students will take turns giving presentations in the HERB 317 classroom, beginning at 12:10 p.m., and continuing weekly on Wednesdays through most of the semester. All faculty, staff and students are invited. Some people bring their lunch, some don’t.  (No lunches are examined or judged for content.)

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WSU Spokane library director writes about servant leaders

Jonathan Potter

By Lorraine Nelson, WSU Spokane Communications

What if you were promoted at work over someone who had been there longer and was qualified, but who had been laboring at a more menial job and who did not enjoy the same rapport with the boss?

Would you feel squeamish about accepting the job?

That happened to Jonathan Potter many years ago when he was a young librarian, and he recounts that experience in an academic paper published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Servant Leadership.

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First Translational Medicine Symposium Showcases Progress, Challenges in Dealing with Brain Diseases

Finding a cure is an important goal of research on brain diseases. However, to patients and their loved ones, research that can help preserve or restore functional ability in their daily lives is just as crucial. This was one of the takeaways from the first annual WSU Translational Medicine Symposium held last week at the Providence Auditorium in Spokane.

The symposium brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, physicians, patients, and caregivers to share knowledge about treatment innovations and key issues related to brain diseases, the theme for this inaugural event.

Photo of ALS patient Matt Wild and his wife Theresa Whitlock-Wild
Assisted by his wife Theresa, Matt Wild talks about life with ALS during the symposium’s clinical problems discussion panel. (More event photos available on our Flickr page)

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Justice Department grants $300,000 to WSU Spokane for victim services

Jim Mohr

Jim MohrA $300,000 grant over three years from the U.S. Department of Justice will enable the Spokane campus of Washington State University to enhance what it has to offer victims of domestic or dating violence or stalking.

“Based on national data, we know that students experience violence in many areas of their lives,” says James Mohr, vice chancellor of Student Affairs at WSU Spokane (pictured). “This grant provides us the opportunity to reach those students and tell them that they are not alone and we are here to assist them.”

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Why we should talk about death

Barbara Richardson

Barbara RichardsonBy Lorraine Nelson, WSU Spokane

The patient had end-stage COPD and could hardly walk more than a few steps before she had to rest.

She was tethered to oxygen all of the time, and when she arrived at her health care provider’s office she declared she wanted to stop taking her medications.

If you were on her health care team, how would you treat her?

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