A better reading test for kids.
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, public schools in California will be required to screen all kindergartners, first graders, and second graders for reading difficulties, and the Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (or ROAR)—developed at Stanford—is one of the four approved screening tools. ROAR is a free, open-access tool that can screen an entire school’s worth of kids for dyslexia and other reading difficulties in the time it historically has taken to assess a single student. Using game-like questions, ROAR reliably measures reading ability in just 20 minutes, sharing results with teachers in real time. “These are the partnerships that are most exciting for me, when forward-thinking districts work with researchers to build a more effective system of support,” said ROAR founder Jason Yeatman, PhD ’14, an associate professor of education, of psychology, and of pediatrics.
Intelligent design.
Photo: Jack Tse
Algae, aluminum, and peacock feathers? Sounds like the height of style at Stanford. At the third annual FashionX runway show, held in a sold-out Memorial Church in February, more than 80 student designers and 120 student models showed off their interpretations of the show’s theme, Metamorphosis: Becoming the Future of Fashion. In addition to floor-length veils and denim tops, there were garments featuring 3D-printed chain mail, a ball-bearing rotating hoop belt, and a huge pair of robo-skeletal arms.
Full-court press.
Maxime Raynaud came home from the Lycee Henri-IV secondary school one day to news from his mother: She’d fielded a recruiting call from Stanford. “When am I leaving?” he asked. It was the beginning of a journey that would take Raynaud, ’24, from Paris’s 14th Arrondissement to the heart of Maples Pavilion, where the senior forward leads the 19-12 Cardinal in scoring, with 20.1 points per game, and rebounds, with 10.9. On March 5, Raynaud was named the recipient of the Skip Prosser Award, presented annually to the top scholar-athlete in ACC men’s basketball.
Next-gen Ozempic?
Using an AI algorithm called Peptide Predictor, Stanford researchers have identified a molecule that, in animal testing, works as well as semaglutide for weight loss and appetite suppression, but without such side effects as nausea, constipation, and loss of muscle mass. The molecule, BRP, acts through a similar metabolic pathway but may provide a more targeted approach to weight reduction. “The receptors targeted by semaglutide are found in the brain but also in the gut, pancreas, and other tissues,” said senior author Katrin Svensson, an assistant professor of pathology. “That’s why Ozempic has widespread effects including slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract and lowering blood sugar levels. In contrast, BRP appears to act specifically in the hypothalamus, which controls appetite and metabolism.”
Thinking inside the box.
Growing up, Sofie Roux, ’26, spent her summers accompanying her physician parents on work trips in Africa. One year, she befriended a girl in Malawi who wanted to be an animator, but whose school had no facilities or equipment to support that. So Roux decided to get to work on the problem herself. In 2021, she finished building the first BloomBox—a computer lab inside an upcycled shipping container—and delivered it to her friend’s school. She’s since produced three more labs, and the Malawi Ministry of Education has approved installing a total of 70 around the country as part of an effort to advance science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education. “They want everyone to be very technologically literate by 2063,” Roux told Stanford magazine, “and that starts with making sure that young people have access to technology and creative maker spaces.”
But wait, there’s more.
Stanford announced that it will increase scholarship totals and introduce a revenue-sharing model that will provide direct benefits to student-athletes, in anticipation of the expected settlement in House v. NCAA. The university intends to fund the investment entirely through incremental athletics revenue and philanthropic support.
After 13 years, 33 NCAA championships, 46 national titles, and 146 conference championships, Stanford athletics director Bernard Muir will step down from his role at the end of the academic year.
University president Jonathan Levin, ’94, and provost Jenny Martinez have implemented a freeze on staff hiring. Given recent federal policy proposals—including possible dramatic reductions in scientific research funding and an increased endowment tax—“we need to take prudent steps to limit spending and ensure that we have flexibility and resilience,” they wrote in a letter to the campus community.
Four years after entering into an option purchase agreement with Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Stanford has decided not to purchase the property, due in part to a changing landscape for research universities. The university said it remains committed to supporting the Belmont community and will make contributions toward public K-12 education and other city efforts, and will work to support NDNU’s next steps.
Researchers have found 380 heritable changes (called single nucleotide variants) that are key to driving cancer growth. The discovery could help improve genetic screening for the disease.
When Jenny Tice was planning her wedding, she knew right away who she wanted to walk her down the aisle: Carlos Esquivel, the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health surgeon who twice saved her life: first, with a liver transplant in infancy and, 30 years later, with bile duct surgery.
Stanford Talisman a cappella recently celebrated 35 years with an anniversary concert. Check out some musical highlights.
Note: The Loop sometimes links to articles outside of Stanford that may require a subscription to view.
