SPH faculty and staff holiday party

For all School of Public Health faculty and staff, if you have not had a chance to respond to the invitation to our first annual holiday party, please RSVP via this form by Wednesday, December 3. The party will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 11, at Work and Leisure. We look forward to seeing you there!

From the associate dean for faculty affairs

Annual faculty review information session

The Office of Faculty Affairs will host a Q&A session at 10 a.m. December 11 in Duncan 2104 and over Zoom. This session will be hosted by Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Debra Haire-Joshu, other members of the Faculty Affairs Committee and the Office of Faculty Affairs to provide an opportunity to address any questions regarding the annual faculty evaluations and any other general faculty affairs questions you may have. You are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the session here. Thank you for your participation.

From the associate dean for education

SPH teaching orientation

All faculty teaching in the School of Public Health in the spring semester are invited to the SPH teaching orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 10, over Zoom. We will cover topics such as Canvas, Workday, syllabi expectations, teaching resources, and more! If you can’t attend but have questions, please contact Angela Hobson or Charlene Caburnay.

Future-Ready Public Health curriculum

The second of six faculty and staff input sessions aimed at informing the next phase of graduate public health education at WashU will be 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, December 5, in Hillman Hall 120. All staff and primary, secondary, and adjunct faculty are welcome to attend. Please bring a laptop for collaborative note-taking and, more importantly, your best ideas for the core knowledge and skills MPH graduates need today and into the future. If you have questions, please contact Angela Hobson or Charlene Caburnay.

Nurturing Future Researchers

Applications for faculty to receive a one-year SPH-funded research assistant starting in Fall 2026 will remain open through the end of today, December 1. If you have any questions, please contact Angela Hobson or Caroline Clasby.

Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

Faculty, please encourage your doctoral students and postdocs to apply for induction into the WashU chapter of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. The deadline to apply is Thursday, December 4. The Bouchet Society is a prestigious national organization that recognizes exceptional scholarly achievement and fosters a commitment to service and excellence in doctoral and postdoctoral education, as well as in the professoriate.

From the interim associate dean for research

Learning opportunities

CRTC to host professional development seminar

WashU’s Clinical Research Training Center (CRTC) will host a professional development seminar, “Great ICTS Resources You Should Know About,” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, December 2. This workshop is part of the CRTC Career Development Seminar Series, which offers educational opportunities regarding professional development, best practices, resources, and guidelines pertaining to clinical research. Registration is required. 

ICTS to host research coordinator session

The Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) will host the next Research Coordinator Brown Bag Session, from noon to 1 p.m. December 11. Carissa Minder will present on, “Re-consenting Research Subjects at the Age of Majority, and Other IRB Updates.” Registration is required. 

NIH guidance on resuming operations post-shutdown

The NIH has issued guidance on resuming operations post-government shutdown. The deadline for late grant submissions has been moved to December 8, and the deadline for the extramural loan repayment program has been moved to December 4. Post-submission materials for the January council will be accepted up to one week before the scheduled meeting. Due to the volume of missed peer-review meetings during the shutdown, only 30% to 35% of applications will be discussed at most meetings through May. More details and guidance can be found in the full memo. 

From the associate dean for administration

Space notes at Duncan and Hillman

SPH spaces are available for booking with Outlook

Please use your Outlook calendar to view and reserve SPH-specific spaces. We have expanded our available rooms to support private conversations and multi-person meetings. Reserving via Outlook helps us minimize scheduling conflicts and keep shared spaces running smoothly. Learn more about how to check availability and reserve a space in this quick guide. 

Need a meeting room outside SPH spaces?

SPH faculty and staff can now reserve shared spaces in Hillman via Reserve-A-Space. These rooms are available across the university and may have associated fees. To get started, check out the Reserve-A-Space portal, the room reservation guide, and the full how-to resource. Please note that some Hillman spaces cannot be reserved until after classrooms are scheduled for each semester, hence some spaces may not be readily apparent until early in the semester.  

Phone booths available at 4300 Duncan

In addition to the five reservable conference rooms, 4300 Duncan now includes individual phone booths — ideal for 1:1 meetings or private calls. These spaces are open to all SPH faculty and staff, regardless of primary work location. The Outlook Scheduler has been updated with new locations and capacities, along with a step-by-step guide for booking.  

AED access and first-aid awareness

The SPH buildings are equipped with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). We encourage all faculty and staff to watch this short video from WashU Emergency Management on how to use an AED. WashU also offers periodic in-person first-aid training. We will share those opportunities in the newsletter as they become available.

Printing is live across SPH

SPH faculty and staff can print from any device and retrieve their documents at any SPH printer, whether at Duncan or Hillman. No more abandoned print jobs: Documents stay in the queue for up to three calendar days. This secured print system helps protect sensitive information while offering added flexibility. See here to get started.

SPH events this week

Early-stage investigator meeting with the dean

A meeting between early-stage investigators and Dean Galea will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, at 4300 Duncan, Room 3203. These sessions provide an opportunity for early-career researchers for informal conversation and discussion.

Staff meeting with the dean

SPH staff are invited to join colleagues for coffee and conversation with Dean Galea at 1 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, in the Cortex district’s Dorris Building, 20 South Sarah Street, in the first-floor Showroom.

Faculty breakfast with the dean

All faculty are invited to the monthly informal gathering with Dean Galea over breakfast from 9 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 3, in 4300 Duncan, Room 3203. This month will feature a discussion about the evolution of our doctoral program

Talking Public Health with Bill Effah

As part of the Talking Public Health seminar series, William Effah, MD, MPH, MBA, a lecturer at the School of Public Health, will give a talk at noon Wednesday, December 3, titled, “Building for Impact: Directions for Public Health Education and Practice.” The talk will be at 4240 Duncan (Havana Room) and available over Zoom.

Universitywide food drive

WashU’s universitywide food drive will continue through December 20, with collected items delivered weekly to Operation Food Search and the St. Louis Area Foodbank. Collection bins have been placed all over campus, including in Goldfarb Hall and 4300 Duncan. For a complete list of requested items and drop-off points, see the WashU food drive page.

Other events

Rising Stars in Vaccinology and Immunity seminar

WashU’s Center for Vaccines and Immunity to Microbial Pathogens will host Dr. Sandhya Bangaru at 3 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, as part of the “Rising Stars in Vaccinology and Immunity to Microbes” online seminar series.  A staff scientist at the Scripps Research Institute, Bangaru will give a talk titled, “Structural and Functional Basis of Antibody-Mediated Mechanisms in Infections and Allergies.” Access the Zoom link here.

#SciComm Seminar

From 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, December 3, Chris Schaberg, WashU’s director of public scholarship, will discuss in a session over Zoom how to explore the value of public scholarship, and strategies for sharing expertise with wider audiences. Hosted by WashU Medicine’s Center for Health and Science Communication at the Becker Library, the session is free and open to all. Registration is required.

Navigating next steps following the MAHA Report

WashU’s Children and Youth Collaborative Network is hosting a meeting at noon Friday, December 5, in Brown Hall’s Brown Lounge and over Zoom to discuss the MAHA Report. The meeting will include an overview of the report from a government relations expert, followed by a panel discussion with investigators whose research is directly relevant to the report’s stated priorities, including SPH Professor Lora Iannotti and WashU Medicine’s Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, a member of the SPH secondary faculty. See here for details and to register.

New to the school

This week we welcome three new secondary faculty members and a new staff member.

Alison Antes, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, joins the secondary faculty. Her work examines factors that foster and hinder excellence and integrity in research. Current areas of interest include ethical decision-making, instruction aimed at promoting professionalism and ethics, and leadership and management in research. 

William G. Powderly, MD, the Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine at WashU Medicine, joins the secondary faculty. Also the director of WashU’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Powderly is focused on helping translate advances in biomedical science into improvements in population and community health. Powderly also led WashU’s Institute for Public Health, beginning in 2013. There, he was instrumental in facilitating the establishment of the new School of Public Health.  

Applied economist Nishant Vats, PhD, an assistant professor of finance at Olin Business School, joins the secondary faculty. His research investigates demand-side dynamics across diverse contexts, such as farmer-entrepreneurs in India, and Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. He is also interested in examining the effects of financial hardships on mental and physical health. 

Emma Swinford, MPH, MSW, has joined the Office of Research Affairs as the research resources projects coordinator. Swinford previously managed educational and research training programs at WashU Medicine’s Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center. She has nearly 10 years of program implementation, management and evaluation experience in nonprofit and higher-education settings.  

Looking ahead: Events in the coming weeks

SPH Compass session

SPH’s monthly Compass session will begin at noon, December 8 over Zoom. These sessions are held from noon to 1 p.m. the second Monday of every month. This month’s session will include updates and best practices from HR, IT, and finance. See here to join the session over Zoom. 

SPH School Assembly

There will be an SPH School Assembly from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 10 in 4240 Duncan in the Havana Room. Those unable to attend may participate via Zoom. These monthly gatherings are an opportunity for our community to hear progress updates and discuss steps we are taking to build the school. We encourage all SPH faculty and staff to attend. See the agenda here. 

SPH Toolbox

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.