Asia-Pacific

The silkworm moth, whose caterpillars have been used in silk production since antiquity, may have been brought to southern Central Asia 4,000 years ago — nearly 2,000 years earlier than previously assumed — according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Psychological and brain sciences PhD graduate Merve Ileri-Tayar, a native of Cankiri, Turkey, earned the 2025 Dean’s Award for Graduate Research Excellence and was named a McDonnell International Scholar. She will continue her research on attention, cognitive control, and goal-directed behavior as she pursues a career in cognitive psychology.

Nine recent WashU alumni and one current student received Fulbright awards to teach English or to conduct research abroad during the 2026-27 academic year. Established in 1946, the prestigious Fulbright program recognizes talented leaders and scholars and strives to increase global collaboration and fellowship.

From Singapore to Azerbaijan and beyond, sovereign wealth funds reflect national promises to invest in strategic priorities. In Kazakhstan, an important promise has been kept for a third consecutive year.

For the second year in a row, Xiang Hui, an associate professor of marketing, is the recipient of the Olin Award, which recognizes the impact that scholarly research by WashU Olin Business School faculty can have on business results. The annual award includes a $25,000 prize.

WashU’s Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement honored Naseh and her community partners for her ongoing research with the Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award. Now in its fourth year, the prize recognizes researchers and community partners who work together to address regional challenges.

WashU’s Asian American Association (AAA), otherwise known as “Triple A,” recently collaborated with 25 cultural clubs and nine sponsors to host its biggest event of the year: “Night Market.” The 2026 theme, Neon Lights, brought a vibrant, energetic atmosphere to over 1,200 students from the Gregg storefronts to the Clocktower on the South 40 as a welcoming space for WashU students to come together in celebration of the distinct Asian communities on campus.

Staff of UNICEF China gathered in-person and online for a briefing on Child Development Account (CDA) policy by scholars from the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis and Peking University.

Fischer, professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, heads the school’s Death to Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis Project (DOLF). The program’s dramatic name feels appropriate given the audaciousness of its goal: the complete elimination of two devastating parasitic diseases. Lymphatic filariasis (LF, known as elephantiasis) and onchocerciasis (oncho, known as river blindness) cause illness and disability, affecting millions in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Michael Sherraden delivered “Social Work Renewal and Global Partnerships: The Example of Asset Building,” the keynote address at the “Centennial Symposium on Social Work Education,” an event marking the centennial of social work education at Peking University, Beijing, China, on December 7, 2025.