Every few years, as he pursues breakthroughs for one of the world’s most notoriously difficult cancers to treat, William Hawkins, MD, says he feels like the first man who walked on the moon. “When you have an idea, and you test it in the laboratory, and you find a new insight that no one else has known previously, that’s cool,” he says. “It pushes the frontier of cancer research that much closer to effective treatments for my patients. It really is like boldly going where no one has gone before.”

Whether it’s monthly menstrual cycles, pregnancy, childbirth or menopause, women’s bodies change a lot over a lifetime. But often, these life changes aren’t just physical. They can affect women’s mental health, too, in ways large and small.

BY JULIA EVANGELOU STRAIT

The spiral-shaped cochlea of the inner ear is responsible for detecting sound. Inner hair cells lining the cochlea transform the mechanical vibrations of sound waves into chemical signals. These chemicals—primarily one called glutamate—are then released from the hair cells and received by glutamate receptors on auditory nerve fibers. These fibers then send electrical impulses to the brain. There, the signals are interpreted as language, music or signs of danger, for example.

BY PAM MCGRATH

In the past two decades or so, minimally invasive surgery has become widely used for many operations: gallbladder removal, appendix removal and hernia repair, just to name a few. The benefits of several small incisions versus a large, single one are well documented: reduced pain, faster recovery, fewer complications. Some heart surgeries, too, have gone the way of minimally invasive surgery, making standard open-heart surgery one option among several instead of the only option available.

John DiPersio, MD, PhD, is deputy director of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, and chief of the School of Medicine’s Division of Oncology. Beloved by patients, DiPersio is a highly regarded oncologist and researcher, who also is known for his interest in making art. He and his colleagues have been at the forefront of breakthroughs in cancer research, developing new drugs that have moved from the laboratory to patient care. He has led efforts to create personalized cancer immunotherapies that trigger a person’s own immune system to fight a specific type of cancer. Recently, Curiosus writer Stephanie Stemmler visited with DiPersio to talk about his research and his art.