Inside WashU Public Health, September 29, 2025 - WashU School of Public Health

Nominations for Confluence Award

The Confluence Collaborative invites you to apply, or nominate a colleague, for the William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award. This award is designed to elevate WashU’s investment in the St. Louis region by encouraging and rewarding faculty research that enhances our impact in St. Louis. The award honors and recognizes faculty members for ongoing and completed research that focuses on interdisciplinary community-engaged research that exemplifies impact, innovation, and deep engagement with the region. Visit here for more information, to nominate a colleague, or to apply for the award. Email any questions to confluence@wustl.edu.

Science for Health Systems Conference

Pre-conference skills lab

Held Tuesday, October 28 from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. in the Knight Center, this paid course builds foundational knowledge in health system quality measurement and introduces innovative tools for assessing performance across diverse settings. The deadline to apply is October 10. For more information about the skills lab and to apply, follow the link.

Call for faculty

WashU School of Public Health is looking to add faculty from around the country and world. Our new call for faculty, along with details, are available via Interfolio and on the WashU Public Health website. Please share with faculty who might be interested.

From the associate dean for faculty affairs

Annual faculty review process

The Office of Faculty Affairs is coordinating the annual review process for all WashU School of Public Health faculty members, as detailed in the SPH Faculty Handbook and the SPH website. All SPH faculty members will have an in-person annual review with the SPH dean. The purpose of the review is to discuss each faculty member’s progress in career development, including scholarly activities, teaching and service. Merit compensation will be awarded based on the review. This process ensures transparency by clearly outlining criteria, timelines and expectations.

Faculty members should submit the following materials to the Office of Faculty Affairs:

The Annual Faculty Review template. This document provides a brief overview of the year’s progress in scholarship, teaching and service, and highlights achievements and challenges.
An updated CV with new (or continuing) activities in 2025 highlighted in yellow. For grants, please include the following information: grant name, funding agency, role (PI, Co-PI, or Co-I), grant start and end date, and total award amount.
All required information must be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs at SPHFacultyAffairs@wustl.edu by December 31. Meetings with the dean will be held from January 15 through March 31. Submitted materials will be reviewed by the Faculty Affairs Committee and the dean; the committee will advise the dean on annual reviews.

Mentoring workshop

Thank you to those who attended the SPH faculty mentoring workshop. For faculty interested in a deeper dive on such resources, a day-long mentoring workshop is available through the Office of the Provost from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. October 10. Additional details are available here.

ASPPH faculty recognition opportunity

Nominations are open for the ASPPH 2026 Annual Excellence Awards for faculty. The nine awards open for nomination, which includes self-nomination, offer an opportunity to recognize colleagues who go above and beyond in their careers in public health teaching, research, practice, community service, mentorship, and student services.

Reporting external appointments

Please note this update from the WashU Research Office on reporting external appointments to WashU and funding agencies.

From the interim associate dean for research

Review accuracy of grant information before October 6

It is time for signing officials to verify the accuracy of their grant assignmentsin eRA Commons. Any corrections must be made by 8 p.m. ET Monday, October 6, to be reflected in NIH annual reports.

Submit research concepts by October 10

WashU’s Office of Government & Community Relations, in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, invites faculty to submit research concepts for consideration in the university’s federal FY2027 appropriations priorities. A “ready” concept will depend on multiple factors, including the targeted funding agency, degree of prior socialization with agency program managers, the amount of funding needed, and other criteria. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 10. For questions, contact Nick Saab, associate vice chancellor for federal relations, at saab@wustl.edu.

Funding opportunities and resources

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is a private foundation that supports biomedical research and education, fostering innovation and developing future leaders in science. The fund has two current opportunities. If you are interested in applying, reach out to the SPH Office of Research Affairs or Caitlin Bristow in Advancement.
- Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative – Advisory Committee seeks to advance reproductive sciences by bringing together experts to guide and support innovative research on pregnancy and maternal-fetal health. Research grants will provide $500,000 over a four-year period and are expected to begin October 1, 2026. Deadline for applications is December 4 at 3 p.m. ET.
- Career Awards at the Scientific Interface provides $560,000 over five years to help postdoctoral researchers transition into faculty roles, supporting those applying physical, computational, and engineering approaches to biological research. Deadline for applications is January 12 at 3 p.m. ET.
The WashU Skandalaris Center External Funding Opportunities tool lists current competitions and grants for WashU innovators, with support available from the venture development team.
Siteman Cancer Center is seeking reviewers in the areas of decision-making, quality of life, and cancer caregiving for the Siteman Investment Program Research Development Award. If you are interested in being considered as a potential reviewer, please contact Steve Baer by October 2 for the upcoming review cycle.

Research resources

The WashU Research Education and Information department, under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, created a list of resources for effective research management from the 2025 Research Forum that took place earlier this year. These resources, accessed here, include a number of WashU-supported tools, such as library services, research infrastructure services, writing protocols for human subjects, and digital intelligence tools.

Becker Medical Library hosts an NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS) Submission Tool. Becker acts as a third-party submitter for Washington University faculty, helping them deposit their Author Accepted Manuscripts into NIHMS to ensure compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Learn more at Becker Medical Library’s NIHMS submission guide.

Call for nominations for early-stage investigators

The NIH has issued a call for nominations for the 2026 Early-Stage Investigator Lecture. The honor recognizes early-career prevention scientists who have not successfully competed for a substantial NIH-supported research project, but who have already made outstanding research contributions to their respective fields and are poised to become future leaders in prevention research. Nominations are due October 24. Click here for more information and to nominate an investigator.

Upcoming learning events

The NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Program is designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. To learn more, join the Technical Assistance Webinar on October 9, from 1-3 p.m. ET (registration required). The webinar will provide essential information on the application process, eligibility requirements, and the benefits of receiving an Extramural LRP award.
Amazon Web Services Research Day at WashU brings together WashU researchers, faculty, staff, and students to explore how cloud computing can enhance academic work. The day will feature technical talks, hands-on demos, and research case studies, covering topics such as high-performance computing, AI/ML via Amazon SageMaker, and research data management. The event is October 9 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Brauer Hall, Room 3015. For more information, see event details here.

From the director of communications

Faculty portraits

SPH photographer Zachary Linhares has scheduled blocks of time at Hillman Hall and 4300 Duncan Avenue for faculty portraits. These will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, in the hallway next to Coffeestamp on the first floor of Hillman Hall; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, October 1, at 4300 Duncan, in the courtyard area outside the building’s entryway. Please email Zach or sphcomms@wustl.edu to schedule a time — or show up during those windows of time.

Dean Galea asks that faculty please schedule a portrait. These are needed for the SPH website now under construction.

New to the school

We welcome a new faculty member and a new staff member this week.

Elisabeth (Beth) Stelson, MSW, MPH, PhD, joins SPH as an assistant professor. A licensed social worker and social epidemiologist, Stelson studies how to support the health and well-being of people working in “helping professions,” especially those who experience vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress as a result of their work. Stelson has a second line of research focused on long COVID, as a member of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative.

Nancy Childrey, PhD, joins the school as academic advising team coordinator in the Office of Education as part of the student support team. She will be the primary academic advisor for MPH students. Prior to joining the school, she was a specialized master’s program academic advisor at Olin Business School.

SPH events this week

Talking Public Health

At noon Wednesday, October 1, Lora Iannotti, MA, PhD, the Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor and co-director of the Food and Agriculture Mission (FARM) Innovation Research Network at the School of Public Health, will give a talk titled, “Why the 3 E’s of the E3 Nutrition Lab matter for public health.” The talk will be in the Havana Room, on the second floor of 4240 Duncan Avenue and available via Zoom.

Looking ahead

School of Public Health Assembly

There will be an SPH School Assembly from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 7, in the Havana Room on the second floor of 4240 Duncan Avenue. 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 investigator meeting

A meeting between early-stage investigators and Dean Galea will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 7, in Conference Room 3203 on the third floor of 4300 Duncan Ave. These sessions provide an opportunity for early-career researchers to ask questions and receive guidance.

SPH convening: The Story of COVID in the Heart of America

An SPH convening, “The Story of COVID in the Heart of America,” will be Tuesday, October 7, 4 to 6 p.m., in the Anheuser Busch Dining Hall at the Charles F. Knight Center on the Danforth Campus, and also via Zoom. See the event page here.

SPH convening: FARM Food Futures Forum

An SPH convening, the FARM Food Futures Forum on Thursday, October 9 at 9 a.m. in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall, and via Zoom, is the inaugural convening of SPH’s Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM) Innovation Research Network. See the event page here.

Danforth shared research facilities expo

Held Tuesday, October 7, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. in the Whitaker Hall Atrium, this expo is an opportunity to explore cutting-edge resources, connect with experts and discover how shared research facilities can advance innovation and collaboration across disciplines. For more information about the facilities expo, click here.

Confluence Collaborative event

The Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement will host an event on Wednesday, October 15, from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the Delmar DivINe, focused on four themes: planetary health, food security and systems, social determinants of health, and third spaces in tornado recovery. For more information and to register, visit the community-engaged research symposium page.

Talk on community resilience with Dr. L.J. Punch

Dr. L.J. Punch — trauma surgeon, founder of Power4STL and advocate for human-centered healing — will give the keynote address for Leadership Week, sponsored by the George and Carol Bauer Leadership Academy, on October 21 from 5 to 6 p.m. at Emerson Auditorium. His talk is titled, “Healing, Hope, and Community Resilience.” See here for details and to save your seat.

SPH Toolbox

WashU IT support is available on the third floor of 4300 Duncan, in Suite 30 at Hillman Hall, or via SPHsupport@wustl.edu.
Faculty and staff can schedule meeting and flex space at 4300 Duncan and Hillman Hall via Outlook. Here are instructions.
SPH Teaching and Education Resources is the go-to Box storage space for teaching resources.
Classroom supplies are available in Suite 150. Contact Tish Torian or stop by workstation Hillman 149.
For a complete list of SPH events, visit our Events page.
For information on the SPH Faculty Mentorship Program, contact Mary Politi or Leah Kemper.
Have tips about potential funding opportunities? Send details to sphresearch@wustl.edu.
SPH faculty, staff and students are eligible to become members of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS). Visit the ICTS website for details.

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.