In 2025, the WashU community made new discoveries, celebrated new victories and launched new efforts to make the globe safer and healthier.
Highlights include the official launch of the new School of Public Health; the development of a sensor that detects airborne avian flu; NCAA titles in women's tennis and women's soccer; and the launch of Catalyst: Powered by WashU, a bioscience startup hub in the heart of the Cortex Innovation Community.
In addition, scientists at Washington University in St. Louis continued to make new discoveries about Alzheimer's disease, while WashU senior Omar Abdelmoity won the prestigious Marshall Scholarship and renowned legal scholar Mark West began his tenure as provost.
The year also brought a number of unprecedented struggles. A deadly tornado devastated the St. Louis community in May, cuts in federal funding stalled important research across the Danforth and Medical campuses and structural budget challenges led to job cuts.
"It's no secret we face challenging times and widespread pressures across higher education," Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said in an earlier letter to the campus community. "While there are many uncertainties, I believe in WashU's strength as an institution and especially in its people. I am proud of what we've accomplished during the past six years and of what we will achieve next together."
Here, The Source looks at some of the biggest and most-read stories of the year.
New discoveries
New research from Gary Patti, the Michael and Tana Powell Professor of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences and a professor of genetics and of medicine at WashU Medicine, suggests that alternative sweeteners may have negative health effects. His lab found that the sugar alcohol sorbitol is converted to disease-causing fructose in the liver. The research builds on the lab's prior work that found dietary fructose may promote tumor growth.
Researchers in the lab of Rajan Chakrabarty, a professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the WashU McKelvey School of Engineering, developed a first-of-its-kind sensor that detects airborne H5N1 avian flu. The discovery will help dairy and poultry farmers and public health experts monitor for infections in real time and better respond to outbreaks.
Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences and director of the Living Earth Collaborative, recently published surprising findings related to our two most beloved companion animals - cats and dogs. He found that generations of intentional breeding have led these animals to converge on a rounded, flat-nosed head shape that humans prefer - a kind of "copycat evolution."
WashU continues to be a leader in Alzheimer's research. This year, WashU Medicine researchers reported a series of advances in Alzheimer's disease. One group reported that a blood test they developed for Alzheimer's disease not only aids in the diagnosis of the neurodegenerative condition but also indicates how far it has progressed; an overlapping team of researchers reported that an anti-amyloid drug shows signs of preventing early-onset Alzheimer's dementia; and other researchers conducted a mouse study that shows how Alzheimer's disease reprograms genes in specialized cells involved in amyloid plaque removal.
On campus, in the community
It was a big year for WashU Athletics. For the first time in program history, the women's tennis team won the NCAA Division III national championship in May, defeating Pomona-Pitzer 4-3. And then in December, the No. 1 women's soccer team won its second-straight national championship with a 2-1 win over Emory. It is the third national title in program history, all under Head Coach Jim Conlon. The victories represent the Bears' 27th and 28th national titles.
Mark D. West, a renowned legal scholar and former dean of the University of Michigan Law School, was appointed provost, succeeding Beverly Wendland, who served in the role for five years. A highly respected academic leader and expert in Japanese law, West brings more than two decades of experience in higher education leadership, scholarship and cross-disciplinary collaboration to WashU.
WashU senior and Ervin Scholar Omar Abdelmoity received one of the most selective scholarships in academia, the Marshall Scholarship, which provides American students the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom. Abdelmoity has conducted groundbreaking research about the progression of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down syndrome.
In May, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles delivered a memorable keynote address at WashU's 164th Commencement ceremony, telling graduates that the world doesn't need them to be perfect, just bold.
Bold initiatives
After its official launch in 2025, the WashU School of Public Health announced the Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM), an ambitious initiative that aims to address challenges in agricultural production, food distribution and access to nutritious foods by developing practical, scalable solutions for global impact.
WashU also kicked off an ambitious fundraising and engagement campaign to provide transformative solutions to society's greatest challenges and to create new opportunities for students. With You: The WashU Campaign invites alumni, parents and friends to partner with WashU to create a more promising future for all.
WashU is also transforming a historic building in Cortex into a bioscience startup hub. The project, Catalyst: Powered by WashU, will help retain and recruit world-class talent, research and innovation to St. Louis by providing lab, office and other critical supports. C2N Diagnostics, a WashU startup focused on developing diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, will be the building's anchor tenant.
This fall, Barnes-Jewish Hospital unveiled a state-of-the-art patient care tower. The 16-story facility reflects the latest major investment by BJC and WashU Medicine to increase access to highly specialized clinical care and to improve the patient experience.
