Executive Director of Advancement - Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, University Advancement

In the clouds. WashU team uses AI, statistics to improve predictions for rainfall, extreme weather In brief. * WashU won a federal grant to build AI models that will help scientists better understand aerosol effects on marine low clouds. * The new models will separate out the effects of tiny particles from wildfire smoke. * The knowledge can help communities protect public health and prepare for extreme weather. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded researchers at Washington University in St. Louis a grant worth $1 million to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered approach to improve predictions of aerosol and cloud properties. The new tools that researchers will develop can help isolate and quantify the effects of aerosols on clouds that play an important role in global climate. Marine low clouds cover vast areas of the world's oceans and act almost like a giant reflector, sending incoming sunlight back to space and helping cool the planet. But these clouds change when they are exposed to outside influences. Scientists know that aerosols - tiny particles from sources such as wildfire smoke - can influence how bright these clouds are and how long they persist, but the strength of these effects remains poorly understood. "Small changes in these clouds can have a surprisingly large effect on Earth's energy balance and climate," said Jian Wang, a professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering and director of the Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering (CASE) at WashU. "Yet we still do not fully understand how aerosols change marine low clouds," said Wang, the principal investigator for the project. "Even for people living far from the ocean, including here in the Midwest, understanding these processes matters because they affect our ability to predict future warming, precipitation and other climate changes," he said. This new research will improve understanding of aerosol effects on marine low clouds and improve scientists' capability to predict the environment, according to the NSF, thereby helping American communities prepare for extreme weather, protect public health and guide sound investments in infrastructure and risk management. Cloud science becomes clear. The new project requires an unusual combination of expertise in aerosol and cloud science, artificial intelligence and environmental statistics. Wang brings deep expertise in atmospheric aerosols, clouds and field observations, while co-principal investigators Bo Li and Maxine Yu - both in the Department of Statistics and Data Science in WashU Arts & Sciences - together contribute complementary expertise in AI, statistical learning, environmental and spatial statistics, causal inference and uncertainty quantification. "Bringing these perspectives together within WashU allows us to develop AI methods that are not only technically advanced, but also physically meaningful and statistically rigorous," Li said. The researchers will train their new models on actual satellite observations and field measurements that capture episodic smoke plumes from North American wildfires. Importantly, instead of looking only at conditions at one location and time, the models will follow the history of an air mass as it travels across the atmosphere, incorporating emissions and meteorological conditions along its path. WashU researchers will use this data to develop three physics-informed generative AI models. The first two models will predict scenarios of aerosol concentrations and cloud properties if there were no wildfire influences, while the third AI model will quantify the probability distributions of aerosol concentration and cloud properties that are influenced by wildfire smoke. "The AI creates the counterfactual: what would the aerosols and clouds likely have looked like if the wildfire had not occurred?" Yu said. "This allows us to separate the aerosol effect from the many meteorological factors that also influence clouds." The scientists said that the AI and statistical framework they are developing will be adaptable to address challenges beyond wildfire impacts, and they could help researchers separate the effects of particular environmental drivers from background weather and climate variability. Workforce implications. The project also will train students and researchers in cutting-edge AI methods, strengthening the nation's AI-ready scientific workforce - a priority for the NSF. "Training is an important part of the project, because the next generation of scientists increasingly needs to understand both the physical sciences and modern AI and statistics," Li said. The WashU team's goal is to give students hands-on experience using advanced AI to address consequential real-world scientific problems. "We also plan to develop a human-in-the-loop agentic AI framework that can help scientists automate parts of the process - from preparing and screening data to training models and analyzing results - while keeping scientists involved in the critical decisions," Wang said. "Our goal is therefore not just one scientific result, but a reusable tool for tackling similar problems in earth science."

Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente announce Bernard J. Tyson Award for Pursuit of Healthcare Equity awardee. OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente today announced the winner of the 2026 Bernard J. Tyson Award for Pursuit of Healthcare Equity, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and BJC HealthCare. This prestigious award, established in honor of late Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson, recognizes healthcare organizations and their partners for their efforts in achieving a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more healthcare disparities. The 2026 Tyson Award was presented to WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare today at UNIFY 2026(TM): Convening for Quality, Joint Commission's annual, flagship two-day conference. The initiative was selected for its efforts to improve urine drug screening (UDS) during the peripartum period, which begins during pregnancy and extends to 6 weeks postpartum. The team identified variation in urine drug screening and reporting practices during the peripartum period. Their review found that Black patients were more likely than White patients to undergo UDS (42% vs. 25%) and be reported to Child Protective Services (9% vs. 3%). While national benchmarks are unmeasured, the limited number of health systems examining these practices have reported similar disparities, highlighting the need for standardized measurement and more equitable, clinically based screening practices. WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare launched a system-wide diagnostic stewardship initiative focused on improving screening and ordering practices to address the disparity. Over two years, multidisciplinary leaders from obstetrics, pediatrics, nursing, social work, laboratory medicine, and hospital administration partnered to build consensus, redesign the policy, and implement a clinical decision support (CDS) tool within the electronic health record. The organizations reduced screening rates by 90% and CPS reporting by 80%, while maintaining infant safety. Throughout the implementation of the improvement initiative, there was no increase in preterm birth, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, neonatal withdrawal diagnoses, infant length of stay, mortality, or readmissions. Selection committee panelists commended the initiative for addressing a structural bias that contributed to unnecessary CPS involvement, which also helps keep families together without compromising infant safety or clinical outcomes. They also highlighted the initiative's impact on reducing stigma, potentially improving outcomes for multiple generations. This initiative can serve as a scalable model for diagnostic stewardship and system-level policy reform to reduce disparities and improve outcomes for all. "Congratulations to WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare for their tremendous efforts in reducing disparities in peripartum care," said Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Joint Commission. "These accomplishments truly embody the spirit of the Tyson Award and stand as a powerful example of patient centered excellence. We commend all team members involved for their dedication to ensuring that all patients receive safe, high-quality healthcare." "Congratulations to the teams at WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare who have demonstrated their commitment to meaningfully addressing healthcare disparities to create a more equitable healthcare system for all," said Andrew Bindman, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Kaiser Permanente. "It is gratifying to see Bernard Tyson's legacy live on through this work and through all the Tyson Award finalists and winners." "On behalf of the teams at WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare, we are proud to be presented this award by Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente," said Dineo Khabele, MD, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at WashU Medicine and a leader in the Women and Infants Service Line for BJC HealthCare. "This initiative has made a significant impact on our patients and families, and we hope it will serve as a model for other healthcare systems. The award inspires us to continuously improve care delivery and outcomes for all patients, everywhere." During this week's UNIFY 2026(TM): Convening for Quality conference, leaders each the respective organizations shared their best practices and lessons learned with attendees. To learn more about the 2026 Tyson awardee, as well as the honorees of Joint Commission's other award programs, visit Joint Commission's website: https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/about-us/recognizing-excellence/awards About Joint Commission Joint Commission enables and affirms the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all. Founded in 1951, it is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare, evaluating more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs across the United States. As an independent, nonprofit organization, Joint Commission inspires healthcare organizations across all settings to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. About UNIFY(TM) UNIFY(TM) is Joint Commission's premier, flagship annual conference dedicated to advancing healthcare quality, patient safety, and organizational excellence. UNIFY fosters thought leadership and amplifies key voices across the healthcare industry, uniting stakeholders to address critical challenges and shape the future of healthcare and patient safety. About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.9 million members in 9 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health.

HMN 2026: How A painless punch with a microneedle patch could detect kidney disease earlier. Kidney disease is silent in its early stages, progressing without symptoms until the disease is advanced. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, in collaboration with researchers at WashU Medicine and Texas A&M University, have been developing a minimally invasive method to improve diagnosis at earlier stages. New research from the lab of Srikanth Singamaneni, the Lilyan & E. Lisle Hughes Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, shows the early success of a microneedle patch that can be applied to the skin to quickly and safely capture biomarkers and accurately quantify them. The patch detected early signs of kidney injury and may one day support home or point-of-care monitoring without requiring refrigeration. Results of the research were published in Advanced Materials. It is the first study to show that encapsulating biomolecules on microneedles preserved their biological functions. A stable patch for early detection. The research team, which includes Yixuan Wang, a doctoral student in Singamaneni's lab, created microneedles coated with a metal-organic framework (MOF) that can sample interstitial fluid in the skin. The microneedles are coated with a material that forms a shell that detects and preserves antibodies to neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), an early biomarker of acute kidney injury. The MOF shell preserved the antibodies for up to four weeks at 50°C (122°F) without refrigeration. "This metal-organic framework encapsulation is a simple and highly effective way to create microneedle sensors that are resilient to environmental challenges and provide a scalable path to minimally invasive biosensing for at-home or remote health monitoring," Singamaneni said. NGAL increases in the blood within hours of a kidney injury and is a clinically validated biomarker for kidney damage. However, because it requires drawing blood with a needle and cold-chain logistics, it has not been useful in home-based or resource-limited settings. Overcoming the cold-chain barrier. Previously, Singamaneni and collaborators established another type of microneedle patches that can look for biomarkers of disease. Adapting that low-cost, easy-to-use technology required them to create a biosensor with high sensitivity and a broader range, as well as address cold-chain logistics. Publication details. Yixuan Wang et al, Metal-Organic Framework?Preserved Thermostable Microneedle Patch for Minimally Invasive Detection and Monitoring of Kidney Dysfunction, Advanced Materials (2026). DOI: 10.1002/adma.74423 Journal information: Advanced Materials NephrologyLaboratory medicine Provided by Washington University in St. Louis The content is provided for information purposes only.