Weekly news from the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis
Dear colleagues,
Friday’s tornadoes
As everyone knows, a tornado directly hit our campus last week, damaging the campus and property for many in our WashU and neighboring communities. As far as we know, all members of our WashU community are physically safe, which is an extraordinary relief. And yet, these large-scale events have consequences that extend throughout populations affected, an area that has long been a feature of my own science. So, a note of care for all members of the local community and their loved ones who have been affected by the Friday tornadoes here and elsewhere in the region, a reminder of the importance of our whole health. Our thoughts are very much with the residents of the St. Louis region who were injured or who lost loved ones in this disaster. The events of Friday were certainly a close-to-home reminder, if we needed any, of the importance of our ongoing work in better understanding both how to prevent, and to mitigate, the consequences of extreme weather events.
As I noted in the message sent earlier to our primary community, cleanup work from Friday’s tornado is continuing across the Danforth Campus. The university reports that major pathways have been cleared, but some debris remains. Power has been restored to most campus buildings, but some roads around the Danforth Campus are still closed or only partially accessible.
The university is encouraging everyone to continue to avoid the area near the Danforth Campus as much as possible while crews continue their work. All are encouraged to reach out to supervisors to determine whether remote work is appropriate for the coming days. For more information, please refer to WashU’s Emergency website.
Thank you to everyone in our community for looking out for one another in this moment.
The past week
I had the opportunity to attend my first WashU universitywide Commencement this past week. It was just an extraordinary event, an opportunity to celebrate graduates, truly the happiest day of the year. Congratulations to all graduates. I am much looking forward to celebrating our first graduates from the school next year.
The coming week
WashU, in partnership with the Quality Evidence for Health System Transformation (QuEST) Network and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, will host a panel discussion Thursday, May 22, in Geneva, Switzerland, to highlight new trend data from the People’s Voice Survey, a multicountry survey revealing perspectives on health system performance. The discussion — a side event during the 78th World Health Assembly — is titled “Listening to people to improve health systems: Post-COVID trends in public attitudes on healthcare.” The event is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT/St. Louis time; 6 to 7:30 p.m. CEST in Geneva. To attend in person, or via webinar, please register here.
Also Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m. CT, a webinar titled “Nutrition Policy and Programs in Educational Settings: Equitable Approaches to Food Security.” The webinar includes Sarah Moreland-Russell, PhD, MPH, of the School of Public Health and Dan Ferris, PhD, of the Brown School. Registration and details here.
Joining the School of Public Health
We welcome three new staff members this week.
Hayley Abshear joins the school’s communications team as digital content strategist and social media coordinator. She brings almost a decade of experience in writing, content strategy and social media marketing to the team.
Zachary Linhares joins the school’s communications team as a videographer and photographer. He will produce visual storytelling and art for the school’s website, social media and print publications. Before joining the team, Zach worked as a visual journalist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Kelly Childress, MA, joins the school as a research administrator. Previously a senior grants specialist in WashU’s Office of Sponsored Research Services, she will assist faculty with pre- and post-award needs. Kelly has an academic background in criminology.
Public Health Ideas
A video of my conversation with Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, a secondary faculty member at the School of Public Health and a professor of cardiology at WashU Medicine. We discussed two papers he co-authored, “Community-Based Participatory Research and System Dynamics Modeling for Improving Retention in Hypertension Care,” and “The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Attributable to Hypertension in Nigeria: A Modelling Study Using Summary-Level Data.” See hereand here for the papers.
SPH committees, councils
We continue to shape the school and share our progress. Find here the Dean’s Cabinet, Governing Council, Faculty Senate and, committees and subcommittees key to our growth.
Research matters
The assistant vice chancellor for advocacy and engagement is inviting the graduate student community and others to submit personal stories and videos about WashU’s impact and the importance of federally funded research. See here for more information.
Papers of interest
Lindsey Filiatreau, MPH, PhD, an assistant professor at the School of Public Health, and Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, PhD, a secondary faculty member at the school and a professor of psychiatry at WashU Medicine, recently published a pair of papers on opioid misuse. “Sociodemographic Differences in Logins and Engagement With the Electronic Health Coach Messaging Feature of a Mobile App to Support Opioid and Stimulant Use Recovery” was published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth in April, and “Self-Reported Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Networking About Opioid Misuse Among Those Who Have or Are Currently Misusing Opioids” was published in Substance Use and Misuse in May.
Reis named journal co-editor
School of Public Health professor Rodrigo S. Reis, PhD, an expert on the intersection of physical activity, the built environment and health, has been appointed co-editor of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health (JPAH). His term begins in January. See here for details.
SPH photos
Faculty and staff will have the opportunity to have professional photographs taken this Wednesday, May 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions will be scheduled in 10-minute increments and held on the lower-level patio by the parking garage, between Sumers Welcome Center and Weil Hall. If you are interested in having your photo taken, send an email to SPH photographer Zach Linhares, and please copy Tamara Schneider, our assistant director of communications, by noon Tuesday. They will send emails to let you know what time to arrive. There will be future opportunities for photos for those who cannot make it Wednesday.
On-campus parking registration
A reminder for faculty and staff who want to register for 2025-2026 parking permits and Metro U-Passes. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 21, via this portal. Visit the WashU Parking & Transportation website for information about parking options. Students register for parking later in the summer.
Also this week
In The Healthiest Goldfish, some thoughts on acknowledging challenge, engaging with hope, here.
And an article in The Lancet, with Steven Woolf and David Williams, on how the Trump administration’s policies are affecting health research in the U.S. and their potential long-term implications.
To the week.
Warmly,
Sandro
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health
Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health
Vice-provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives
Washington University in St Louis
Past PHiPs, as well as Community notes, are archived here. You are receiving this email if you signed up for it or are a core member of the SPH community. Please feel free to reach out to Elizabethe Holland Durando, our director of communications, if you would like an item added in a future PHiP, or if you would like to change your subscription.