An expert in chronic disease prevention and implementation science, Ross Brownson is a global leader in the field of evidence-based public health. Brownson directs the Prevention Research Center, which develops innovative approaches to chronic disease prevention through implementation research. He has led many research and training projects funded by various federal and foundation sources, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the World Health Organization.
Brownson is a co-leader of the Prevention and Control Program at Siteman Cancer Center. Within WashU School of Public Health, he co-leads the Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network.
Brownson is an associate editor of the Annual Review of Public Health and on the editorial board of four other journals. He has published over 650 peer-reviewed articles and 15 books, including “Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control,” “Evidence-Based Public Health,” and “Dissemination & Implementation Research in Health: Translating Science to Practice.” Thomson Reuters/Clarivate have consistently noted him as one of the world’s most cited scientists. For over 20 years, Brownson has led a large-scale training program for public health practitioners on evidence-based public health. In this course, his teams have trained over 4,000 practitioners.
Areas of Focus:
- Evidence-based public health
- Dissemination and implementation science
- Chronic disease prevention through environmental and policy change
Featured Publications
- Equipping the public health workforce of the future: Evaluation of an evidence-based public health training delivered through academic-health department partnerships
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
Jan./Feb. 2025 - Reimagining public health: Mapping a path forward
Health Affairs
June 2024 - Understanding health equity in public health practice in the United States
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
Sept./Oct. 2023 - Revisiting concepts of evidence in implementation science.
Implementation Science
April 2022