From the communications director
All news that’s fit to email
August 31 marked the introduction of the School of Public Health’s external weekly newsletter, The WashU Public Health Moment; if you did not receive it in your email, let me know at Elizabethe.durando@wustl.edu so we can fix that right away. The Moment will feature many of the items that have been appearing in this newsletter — among them, stories about SPH news and people, published research, and Public Health Ideas videos. That shift means that Inside WashU Public Health now will better reflect its name by sticking primarily to internal news for SPH faculty, staff and students.
We, of course, hope you will read both newsletters top to bottom. That is not only the best way to keep up on everything happening with our school, it will be a great way to learn about the many amazing people of SPH and the consequential work they do. To that end, please feel free to send news items and story ideas to me or to our communications team email, sphcomms@wustl.edu. Thank you for reading!
From the associate dean for administration
A few notes about the Duncan move
Thank you to everyone for your work on transitioning to our Duncan Avenue building. Recognizing that our move to Duncan was mid-month for many, as a small token of gratitude for everyone’s patience, the university will waive the August parking fee at 4300 Duncan.
Beginning September 2, parking access at Duncan will be limited to vehicles with an active parking/access card. 4300 Duncan security officers will not allow entry to the parking lot without a card, so please make sure your parking access card is current.
Dodge Moving & Storage needs the green moving boxes returned. It would be very helpful if everyone could empty all of the green boxes by the end of the day Thursday, September 4, to ensure we do not incur extra charges. Thank you.
Conference rooms and flex spaces at 4300 Duncan are now set up in Outlook for easy self-scheduling. Here are the instructions. For anyone who has reserved rooms by manually signing up at the rooms, please make sure to re-enter any such reservations in Outlook to ensure you have reserved that space. We also are working on a system of room reservations for Hillman Hall. We will communicate when that is available.
Cortex connections
We are a part of the Cortex Innovation District, a 200-acre area that brings together universities, health systems, startups, and other companies to drive research and entrepreneurship. All can stay connected and discover upcoming district news and events by subscribing to Cortex Current.
SPH Compass
SPH Compass will take place Monday, September 8, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 3104 of 4300 Duncan. You can join us in person or via Zoom. We will host future Compass meetings alternating between Duncan and Hillman.
Events this week at SPH
SPH school assembly
Our first SPH School Assembly of the semester will be from 10–11 a.m. Tuesday, September 2, in the Havana Room on the second floor of 4240 Duncan Avenue, in the Cortex district. 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. Here is the agenda.
Early-stage investigators meeting with the dean
A meeting between early-stage investigators and Dean Galea will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, September 2, in Conference Room 3203 on the third floor of4300 Duncan Avenue. These sessions provide an opportunity for early-career researchers to ask questions and receive guidance.
Faculty breakfast meeting with the dean
Primary faculty members are invited to join Dean Galea for coffee and breakfast at 9 a.m. Wednesday, September 3, in Conference Room 3203 on the third floor of 4300 Duncan Avenue. This is an opportunity to meet with the dean, ask questions, and share your work.
Talking Public Health with Mary Politi
Mary Politi, PhD, a professor at the School of Public Health, will speak at noon Wednesday, September 3, as part of SPH’s Talking Public Health seminar series. Her talk is titled “Multilevel Interventions Supporting Health Decisions Across Settings,” exploring strategies that help individuals and communities make informed health decisions in diverse environments. The talk will be held in the Havana Room, on the second floor of 4240 Duncan Avenue, and also will be available via Zoom.
D&I Day
Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Day is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, September 5, in Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall. Registration has closed.
Other events this week
The Longest Table
WashU’s third annual Longest Table event — civic dialogue and dinner designed to foster connections and spark ideas for social change — will be held at Tisch Park from 5–6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 3. Registration is recommended.
Future of Civic Education and Universities
The Weidenbaum Center will host a conversation titled “The Future of Civic Education and Universities” from 4–5:15 p.m. Thursday, September 4, in Emerson Auditorium in Knight Hall. The event will feature American Enterprise Institute (AEI) President Robert Doar, AEI Senior Fellow Benjamin Storey, and Weidenbaum Center Director Andrew Reeves. A reception will follow. RSVP here.
New to the school
We welcome several new faculty and staff this week.
Violence prevention researcher Julia Fleckman, PhD, MPH, joins the School of Public Health as an associate professor. Fleckman uses community-centered research and evaluation approaches to study the social-structural determinants of violence, and to evaluate the implementation of public health strategies that reduce risk for gun and family violence. She comes to SPH from Tulane University, where she served as the director of research and evaluation at the Tulane University Violence Prevention Institute and director of the Tulane Gun Violence Policy Lab.
Laura Brugger, PhD, a research assistant professor at the Brown School, joins the School of Public Health secondary faculty as an assistant professor. Her research focus is socio-environmental issues, particularly the interaction of natural and human systems, and pathways to strengthen both ecological resilience and social equity.
Richard T. Griffey, MD, MPH, a professor of emergency medicine at WashU Medicine and general medical education director for patient safety and quality improvement, joins the School of Public Health secondary faculty as a professor. Griffey’s interests in patient safety and quality extend to adverse event detection, evidence-based imaging and radiation safety, health literacy, implementation science, and operations and organizational performance.
Feng Jiao, PhD, the Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at McKelvey School of Engineering, joins the School of Public Health secondary faculty as a professor. Also a member of SPH’s Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM), Jiao works to advance electrochemical technologies to tackle critical global challenges in energy storage, chemical manufacturing and sustainable food production.
Chisom Adirika, MD, MPH, joins SPH as coordinator for the Office of Student Applied Practice. Adirika’s interests are in global maternal and child health, cardiovascular health, and reproductive health. Prior to coming to WashU, she worked with the Parents as Teachers National Center in St. Louis as a research and quality-improvement intern, and as program director at the Brain and Spine Foundation Africa in Abuja, Nigeria.
Mark Doyle, PhD, joins the school as the senior network manager for SPH’s Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM). He has more than 20 years of experience in research and program development in agriculture, nutrition and natural resources management. He spent the past 10 years overseas with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he oversaw food security, environment, and water and sanitation programming in close partnership with local communities, U.S. universities, international research centers, and the private sector.
Susan Vorkoper, PhD, MPH, MSW, joins the school as director of research development in the Office of Research Affairs. Vorkoper previously worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center, where she oversaw a portfolio of global health projects on several topics, including adolescent HIV implementation science, HIV and noncommunicable diseases, and childhood obesity prevention.
Notables
Kreuter invited to National Academies’ meeting
Matt Kreuter, PhD, MPH, the Kahn Family Professor of Public Health at SPH, was invited as an expert participant to the National Academies’ meeting on “Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration to Support Effective Health Communication,” held August 7 and 8 in Washington, D.C. The convening brought together leaders in public health to advance strategies for impactful health communication.
Shields receives grant to study psychiatric hospitalization
Morgan Shields, MS, PhD, an assistant professor at SPH, is a co-recipient of a grant for a project titled “Evaluating the Impact of Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization on Adolescents: A Mixed-Methods Approach,” awarded by the Center for Institutional Courage.
Joynt Maddox accepts leadership roles at AHA
Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, a secondary faculty member at the School of Public Health, and a co-director of SPH’s Policy and Structural Solutions (PS2) Innovation Research Network, has accepted new leadership roles with the American Heart Association: vice chair of the Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; and chair of the Quality Oversight Committee.
Grant 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.
Training program on health and criminal justice
The Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network offers a one-year mentorship program for researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of public health and the criminal legal system. Called Learning Experiences to Advance Practice (LEAP), the program is offered on two tracks: an investigator track, designed for people interested in a career as an independent investigator; and a scholar track, for clinicians, practitioners and analysts interested in collaborating on such research. The deadline to apply is September 15. For more information, see here.
Looking ahead: SPH events in the coming weeks
Faculty development seminars
SPH will hold a faculty development seminar, on “Enhancing Your Mentorship Practice,” at noon September 16, with Alison Antes, PhD, of WashU Medicine. 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. The location is yet to be determined, but register here to attend in person or over Zoom.
A second SPH faculty development seminar, on “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.
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 22. For more information, see the D&I Bootcamp page.
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.
Other events in the coming weeks
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.
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.
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.
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.