From the associate dean for faculty affairs
SPH faculty survey
The Office of Faculty Affairs and the Faculty Development Subcommittee are thankful for everyone’s participation in the faculty survey at the SPH faculty orientation August 13, and want to share what we learned, along with our next steps.
A total of 36 faculty members completed the survey (18 full professors, 10 assistant professors, five associate professors, and three lecturers). There were no clear differences in responses by rank. Faculty felt that key strengths at WashU included strong teaching resources, engaged mentorship by senior faculty, and leadership programs.
Areas for improvement included work-life balance, support for non-tenure track faculty, administrative support, and securing and managing research funding.
Faculty valued development opportunities such as communication training, mentorship, and leadership development. Preferred mentorship formats included opt-in paired mentorship for junior faculty, and quarterly small group meetings. Respondents encouraged us to make sure we sustain our initial faculty development efforts.
Our action items:
Our first two faculty development seminars are focused on mentorship and communication training (see details on both below).
We will plan a seminar in the spring based on results from this survey.
We also soon will send a note to pair early-stage investigators and junior faculty with senior faculty for mentorship. We encourage early-stage investigators to attend the monthly group meetings with Dean Galea.
SPH Faculty Mentorship Program
The Office of Faculty Affairs and the Faculty Development Subcommittee are excited to announce the SPH Faculty Mentorship Program. Faculty soon will receive communications to confirm mentor and mentee pairings. Information will be provided to guide the development of mentorship goals and plans. Mentorship pairings will be effective for the 2025-2026 academic year and will be reassessed for the following academic year. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Mary Politi or Leah Kemper. Thank you for your participation.
SPH faculty development seminars
Join the “Enhancing your Mentorship Practice” seminar at noon September 16 with Alison Antes, PhD, of WashU Medicine, in Room 2104 in the 4300 Duncan Avenue building. Antes directs a national program aimed at supporting early-career researchers and enhancing their leadership and management skills, and co-directs a coaching program for researchers facing issues related to research integrity or compliance. Register for the mentorship seminar to attend in person or over Zoom.
A second SPH faculty development seminar, “Enhancing Effectiveness Through Communication Skills,” will be held at noon October 14, with John Horn of Olin Business School, location TBD. Register here to attend in person or over Zoom.
From the interim associate dean for research
The Office of Research Affairs: Who we are, what we do
The Office of Research Affairs (ORA) is focused on advancing research at SPH. We support our research community with expert guidance, collaborative resources, and hands-on assistance to secure funding, support good project management, and ensure compliance. As we grow, ORA will provide comprehensive support across the research life cycle, from identifying funding opportunities to developing strong, competitive proposals for program projects, center grants, grant renewals, and training awards. To contact ORA, please email sphresearch@wustl.edu. All questions related to IRB and letters of support can be sent here.
Grant opportunity
The Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC) is accepting applications for its Developmental Project grants, offering $100,000 a year for up to two years to support innovative research in aging and dementia. Faculty new to Alzheimer’s research — whether early-career or shifting focus — are encouraged to apply. Letters of Intent with specific aims are due October 1. Full-time WashU faculty are eligible; two to three projects will be funded. See Knight ADRC Developmental Projects for details.
Learning opportunity
Join the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) for the 2025 Workshop for Early Career Investigators in HIV, on Friday, September 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT. Intended for students, postdocs, and new HIV investigators, the virtual event will provide the opportunity to learn about the NIH HIV research program, understand recent changes to NIH funding opportunities and the grant application process, discover NIH resources to support the independence of early-career investigators, network with fellow HIV researchers, and engage with NIH staff. The Zoom event is open to the public; registration is required. Learn more and register at the NIH workshop page.
Research resource
SPH faculty, staff and students are eligible to become members of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) at Washington University in St. Louis. The WashU ICTS is an NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hub. Such hubs aim to accelerate clinical and translational research — including health services and population health research — to improve health outcomes and the well-being of our communities. There is no fee to join, and members have access to resources such as:
• Research navigation and development support. Personalized help connecting researchers to core facilities, collaborators, and funding opportunities. This includes scientific editing, grant development workshops, and mock NIH study sections.
• Core services and precision health. Access to dozens of specialized cores (genomics, imaging, data science, regulatory support, etc.) and services to streamline project design, data sharing, and regulatory compliance.
• Community and collaboration. ICTS fosters partnerships across WashU, BJC HealthCare, community organizations, and other CTSA hubs nationwide, supporting multisite studies and implementation research.
One of the most widely used ICTS programs is the Just-in-Time Core Usage Funding Program. The program provides up to $5,000 in core service vouchers to support preliminary data collection for extramural grants or quality-improvement projects directly tied to patient care. Applications are short and reviewed monthly, with decisions provided by the following month. Visit the ICTS website for more information.
From the associate dean for administration
Room scheduling and building access
Flex spaces at 4300 Duncan and Hillman Hall are now set up in Outlook, making it easier for faculty and staff to self-schedule. Here are instructions. Please continue to use the scheduling system for meeting rooms, which helps us manage space effectively and minimize conflicts. As a reminder, 4300 Duncan is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. If you plan to access the building outside of those hours, you will need a building access card. For stairwells and suite-level doors, your WashU ID will allow entry.
IT tech support
WUIT support continues to be available on site at both SPH locations. Technicians are stationed at the reception desk on the third floor of 4300 Duncan and in Suite 30 at Hillman Hall. They make regular rounds to check in with faculty and staff, but you are welcome to stop by their desks or contact them at SPHsupport@wustl.edu.
SPH and Cortex resources
If interested in viewing slides from the September 8 SPH Compass session, you can find them here.
We encourage you to explore Cortex Innovation District resources available through Cortex Connections. See here for a visitor parking map and details on lunch options nearby.
Events this week at SPH
Workday workshops
Two sessions have been scheduled to support the SPH community’s familiarity with Workday tools. The first will focus on Workday HR, and will be held Tuesday, September 16, at 10 a.m. in Room 3104 in 4300 Duncan Avenue. The second, focused on Workday Student functions, will be Thursday, September 25, at 10 a.m. in the same location. The workshops are designed to provide guidance and an opportunity to ask questions. A Zoom option is available. If questions, contact SPHsupport@wustl.edu.
Talking Public Health with Ginger McKay
Ginger McKay, MA, PhD, assistant professor of public health at the School of Public Health, will give a talk titled, “Reducing Excessive Antibiotic Use in Pediatric Surgeries, and the Future of Implementation Science in Antibiotic Stewardship.” The talk will be from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, September 17, in the Havana Room, on the second floor of 4240 Duncan Avenue, and also will be available via Zoom.
Other events this week
Virtual Seminar: Visual Tools for Informed Consent
Join the MHealth Research CoreSeminar on Monday, September 15, noon to 1 p.m. CT, featuring Mary Politi, PhD, professor of public health, presenting on evidence-based visual tools for informed consent in research. This is a virtual event. Register online here.
Incubator Unbound
“The Incubator Unbound,” a new conversation series from the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures, will have an event at 4 p.m. September 16 at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. This event will feature Executive Vice Provost Mary McKay and others in an unscripted dialogue exploring resilience, hope, and bold ideas across disciplines. RSVP here.
Validating Your Idea: Pre-Seed Metrics that Matter
A hands-on workshop with startup advisor Jake Truemper on how to test assumptions, gather user insights, and validate early-stage ideas will be hosted by the Skandalaris Center from 4–5 p.m. September 18 in the Skandalaris Center, Mallinckrodt 128. For more information, see here.
New to the school
This week we welcome four new secondary faculty members and two new staff members to the school.
Anne Mobley Butler, PhD, MS, an associate professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, joins the SPH secondary faculty as an associate professor. Her pharmacoepidemiologic research seeks to answer important clinical questions about the utilization, effectiveness, and safety of medical interventions by applying epidemiologic study designs and analytic methods to data from large clinical and health-care utilization databases.
Tristram R. Kidder, PhD, the Edward S. and Tedi Macias Professor in the Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences and the co-director of the Program in Public Health & Society, joins the SPH secondary faculty as a professor. Kidder studies how climate and environment shape human societies through time. He is especially interested in the Anthropocene concept, which argues that humans have come to rival nature as a force shaping the earth.
Linda C. Samuels, PhD, the chair and a professor of urban design at the Sam Fox School, joins the SPH secondary faculty as a professor. Samuels’ work is focused on the design, mapping, and metrics of public infrastructure to create more equitable cities. Her book, “Infrastructural Optimism,” focuses on symbiotic systems-based urban design strategies and the ways investments in infrastructure can be leveraged for greater social and environmental gains.
Hannah Szlyk, MSSW, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at WashU Medicine, joins the SPH secondary faculty as an assistant professor. She studies how to harness technology and mobile health tools to facilitate and enhance recovery from substance use and mental health disorders, with a particular emphasis on suicide prevention and health disparities.
Aliyah Bradshaw joins the school as a service coordinator on the operational excellence team. She will support operational excellence initiatives and drive for strategic alignment for SPH faculty and staff. Prior to joining SPH, she was a project coordinator specializing in cross-functional communication, process improvement, and streamlining workflows.
Peyton Jernigan, MPH, joins the School of Public Health as the research coordinator for Julia Fleckman, MPH, PhD, an associate professor. She is responsible for managing Fleckman’s research and evaluation projects related to firearm violence prevention. Her previous work at the Tulane University Violence Prevention Institute focused on management of two evaluation projects, where she combined her passions for data driven solutions and a deep commitment to relationship-building and community impact.
Opportunities
Here and Next research grants
Here and Next Grants provide initial funding and support for interdisciplinary research at WashU, fostering collaboration across disciplines in alignment with the university’s Here and Next strategic plan. FY 2026 calls for proposals are open, with application portals for all programs available via InfoReady.
Applications open for Health Data Science Training Program
Applications are open for cohort 3 of the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) & National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Health Data Science Training Program, a six-month online experience focused on AI/ML and real-world clinical data. Trainees commit eight to 10 hours per week and receive an $8,000 stipend plus a $2,000 travel allowance to present their work at the AIM-AHEAD Annual Meeting in July 2026. An informational webinar will be held at 2 p.m. CT September 17, and applications are due by September 26. Current and former AIM-AHEAD participants are not eligible to apply. Sign-up for the informational webinar
Applications open for faculty fellowships
The application cycle for the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2) Faculty Fellowships is open for the fall 2026 and spring 2027 semesters. The submission deadline is November 17, 2025. The faculty fellowship provides dedicated research time, fostering connections and new conversations in the study of race and ethnicity. See here for details and to apply.
SPH convenings
Policy, Biodiversity, and the Future of Food
This SPH panel discussion will explore the alarming decline in biodiversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels and its critical implications for food security and public health nutrition. Join leading experts as they discuss policy frameworks, community solutions, and actionable strategies needed to protect and enhance biodiversity for food and nutrition security, on Tuesday, September 23, 4 to 5:15 p.m. CT, at WashU and online. See the event page here for details and to register to attend at WashU or online.
The Story of COVID in the Heart of America
An SPH convening, “The Story of COVID in the Heart of America,” will be held Tuesday, October 7, 4–6 p.m. CT, at WashU and online. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated communities throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Many of the voices most affected remain unheard. A new book, “Novel Virus, Old Divides: How COVID-19 Touched Every Piece of Life in St. Louis,” presents the stories of 54 St. Louis residents during the pandemic. Visual storytelling of their experiences offers insight into community resilience, health gaps, and the human impact of public health policy. See the event page here for details, and to register to attend at WashU or online.
Looking ahead: other events in the coming weeks
D&I Bootcamp Proposals
Submit dissemination and implementation research proposals for discussion at the D&I Proposal Development Bootcamp, co-sponsored by the Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network (DISIRN). To participate, submit a concept paper by September 29. For more information, see the D&I Bootcamp page.
Air Quality in a Changing Climate
The Center for the Environment will hold its monthly research lunch — part of its Environmental Research Collaboration Series — from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. September 22 in Schnuck Pavilion Room 202 in Green Hall. The gathering will feature Lu Xu, an assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering, discussing solar geoengineering. RSVP here.
Visual Informed Consent Workshop
The Visual Informed Consent Workshop will be held from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. September 25 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC) on the Medical Campus. Learn about a novel approach that uses visual elements & health literacy best practices to present Informed-consent forms for research. Details and registration here.
Let us know
If you have SPH news, events or research to share, please send details to sphcomms@wustl.edu or Elizabethe Holland Durando, SPH director of communications and change management.