Healthier Lives

At age 88, Professor Emerita of Physical Therapy Shirley Sahrmann, BS ’58, MA ’71, PhD ’73, PT, FAPTA, is still as passionate about advancing the field as she was when she joined the WashU faculty in 1961. Now retired, the revered educator of more than five decades — whose scholarship has shaped what it means to practice physical therapy today — continues to advocate for the role of movement in preventing illness and fostering healthier lives.

WashU Medicine’s Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery is home to the latest innovations in neurosurgery and neurotechnology to address complex brain tumors. Eric C. Leuthardt, MD, performed a groundbreaking, minimally invasive procedure in 2010.

Physician-scientist Michael Avidan, MBBCh, leads WashU Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology, a world leader in anesthesiology research, education, and patient care.

In her first year of high school, Alissa Ling, AB ’18, started volunteering more than 10 hours a week at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. There, she first learned about emerging rehabilitation devices — like brain-controlled prosthetic arms — that offered soldier amputees a rare and vital return to mobility.

Eric Lenze, BA ’90, MD ’94, leads the Department of Psychiatry at WashU Medicine, which has a long history of international excellence in research, education, and patient care.