Dr. Laura Jean Bierut, who served as principal investigator on several national studies of addiction genetics, has been named Alumni Endowed Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. Her work focuses on the genetic and environmental influences that contribute to addiction and other psychiatric disorders. Bierut received a medallion from the school’s dean, Dr. Larry Shapiro.
St. Louis-born filmmaker/human rights activist Michael Rohrbaugh created a public service announcement for the Fair Games Project, a campaign to raise awareness about injustices faced by the LGBT community in Russia and elsewhere. It got more than 500,000 YouTube views and thousands of comments in its first week of release, during the Olympic Games in Sochi. The Clayton High School graduate (class of 2000) has worked as an editor/writer/producer at the Style Network and Oprah Winfrey Network. Parents Dr. Jim and Jane Rohrbaugh live in Clayton.
The local company behind ZhuZhu Pets, those toy hamsters that went viral in 2009 and generated $700 million in sales, now has a new line of interactive dogs and cats. Cepi a launched The Happy’s, toy pets that can do tricks, at the recent Toy Fair in New York City. They’ll hit the shelves in April.
Neurosurgeons don’t have a lot of free time. But Dr. Eric Leuthardt has turned spare moments between surgical cases into RedDevil 4, a futuristic techno-thriller inspired by his research and surgical experiences. “I love writing in coffeeshops,” he says. “Access to chocolate chip cookies and iced tea is crucial!” Leuthardt is an associate professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering at Washington University School of Medicine. His novel focuses on a St. Louis neurosurgeon who becomes entangled in a series of murders committed by prominent citizens who have received brain implants.
On opening night at the Tivoli Theatre in 1924, a movie called The Confidence Man shared the stage with five vaudeville acts. Through the years, the theater endured numerous changes in ownership and, following a long decline, shut its doors in 1994—only to be reborn when Joe and Linda Edwards of Blueberry Hill bought the building and restored it to its original splendor. On May 24, the Tiv, as it’s affectionately known, celebrates its 90th anniversary with a special showing of—what else? Meet Me in St. Louis, the Vincente Minnelli classic starring Judy Garland. Longtime patrons will miss the late John Thompson, who served as ticket-taker at the theater for 35 years. Thompson recently died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 74.
