Weekly news from the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis
Dear colleagues,
The past week
We welcomed two outside guests to speak in our Talking Public Health series this week.
Andrew Subica, PhD, from the University of California, Riverside, spoke about community-engaged research to address health disparities. Marcus Howard, PhD, founder and CEO of GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness in St. Louis’ Delmar DivINe, told a story of public health in action, how the pharmacy he started came to be. Their presentations are here.
The coming week
Please join us if you can for our monthly School Assembly on Wednesday, April 16, 10-11 a.m., in Umrath Lounge, Umrath Hall, and on Zoom. In addition to my update, Professor Morven McLean, PhD, executive director of our Innovation Research Networks, will speak about the networks, and as always, we will have time for any needed discussions.
Join us also for our monthly Thinking Public Health session, this time on Friday, April 18, 9-10 a.m., Kuehner Court, Weil Hall. The topic is: truth. Some background readings, if you have time to read/browse, are here.
We also welcome two outside guests for our Talking Public Health series this week.
At noon Tuesday, April 15, Julia Fleckman, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, will speak in 333A Goldfarb Hall. Also director of research and evaluation for the Tulane University Violence Prevention Institute, she will speak on “Getting at the Roots: The Role of Public Health and Community-Partnered Research in Preventing Violence.” RSVP here to attend in person or over Zoom.
At noon Thursday, April 17, Susan M. Kiene, PhD, MPH, a professor of global health in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the director of Building Research Initiatives Advancing Global Health Equity (BRIDGE) at San Diego State University School of Public Health, will speak on “Developing and Scaling Evidence-Based Interventions: Partnerships for Evolving Community Priorities,” also in 333A Goldfarb Hall. RSVP here to attend in person or over Zoom.
Among other events of note this week, the William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award Research Showcase will be Wednesday, April 16, 5-7 p.m. in Clark-Fox Forum, Hillman Hall. This event is led by the Confluence Collaborative for Community-Engaged Research, Teaching and Practice. See here for more information and to register.
Also, Professor Ross C. Brownson, PhD, will lead a SciComm Seminar on Thursday, April 17, 2-3 p.m., over Zoom, hosted by WashU Medicine’s Becker Library. Ross will discuss principles for effective communication with policymakers. See here to register.
Looking ahead to next week, our friends at the Brown School will celebrate the school’s centennial, on April 25 and 26. Events include a faculty symposium, “A Century of Progress, A Future of Possibilities”; the Brown School Reunion Reception; and a Centennial Community Celebration. The RSVP deadline is Friday, April 18.
Joining the School of Public Health
We welcome a number of secondary faculty and staff this week. The new secondary faculty are:
Victor G. Davila-Roman, MD, a cardiologist and a professor of medicine at WashU Medicine, and vice chair for global health and co-director of the Center for Global Health in the Department of Medicine. He uses implementation science frameworks to improve health systems and heart health, with a focus on hypertension, heart failure and how conditions such as diabetes, obesity, pregnancy and HIV infection affect heart health. He has major research projects in seven African countries, Peru and the U.S.
Mark A. Fiala, MSW, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at WashU Medicine. His work focuses on cancer disparities, including how social determinants of health such as race, socioeconomic status and insurance coverage impact treatment decisions and health outcomes for people with cancer.
Elvin Geng, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at WashU Medicine. Using the lens of implementation science, he conducts research to optimize the use of evidence-based interventions to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat.
Ige A. George, MD, MS, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at WashU Medicine. He specializes in the epidemiology and treatment of infections in people with compromised immune systems, such as organ-transplant recipients and patients with tuberculosis.
Tyriesa L. Howard, PhD, MPH, LMSW, an assistant professor at the Brown School whose research focuses on social and cultural determinants of sexual, reproductive and maternal health outcomes for Black people living in the U.S. She is particularly interested in improving maternal and infant health outcomes through engaging fathers.
Mark Huffman, MPH, MD, the William Bowen Endowed Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and co-director of the Global Health Center in the Department of Medicine at WashU Medicine. His research focuses on cardiovascular implementation science, health systems and health policy with an aim of improving cardiovascular health and health care globally.
Lisa Klesges, MS, PhD, a professor in the Division of Public Health Sciences in the Department of Surgery at WashU Medicine. Trained in behavioral epidemiology, Klesges primarily focuses on behavioral interventions, psychosocial predictors of smoking and obesity-related behaviors, and women’s and children’s health. Her recent work focuses on clinical and community health interventions, with a particular interest in addressing rural health disparities.
Julia López, PhD, MPH, LCSW, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at WashU Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding how gaps in research and clinical practice in the areas of HIV care, immigrant health, and sexual and gender minority health affect mental and physical health outcomes, and developing ways to address these gaps effectively through community collaboration, both domestically and globally.
Clive Muir, PhD, a teaching professor at WashU Olin Business School, where he studies minority participation in business organizations and the larger economy, and teaches business and economic discourse, leadership development, organizational behavior, and teamwork.
Susan Searles Nielsen, MS, PhD, an associate professor of neurology at WashU Medicine who studies environmental, pharmacological and occupational factors that influence the epidemiology of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Kyle Pitzer, MSW, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine at WashU Medicine. He studies the experiences of patients receiving care for serious illness and their family caregivers, with an aim of finding ways to improve psychosocial and care-related outcomes.
Byron Powell, PhD, an associate professor and associate dean for research at the Brown School. His work focuses on improving the quality of health and social services by advancing methods in implementation research and practice.
Candice L. Woolfolk, MPH, PhD, an assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology at WashU Medicine, where she studies maternal and fetal illnesses, including how racial discrimination and social disadvantage affect pregnancy outcomes.
Elizabeth Yanik, PhD, ScM, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at WashU Medicine, where she studies prevention of musculoskeletal disease. Her current research focuses on understanding factors that influence risk of shoulder osteoarthritis, including the contributions of genetics and occupational exposures; and investigating the relationship of sleep and circadian rhythm disruption with osteoarthritis risk.
Three new staff members also joined us recently.
Alan Beck, PhD, has joined as the school’s internal projects and events manager, coordinating school events such as the monthly School Assemblies and Thinking Public Health convenings, as well as SPH committees including the Governing Council, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, and Student Senate. Alan comes from the Here and Next team in the Office of the Provost, where he worked on the Public Health Initiative.
Chandler Spradling, MA, is an admissions and recruitment specialist for the school. He brings to the team recruitment experience working with domestic and international graduate students as well as NCAA student-athletes. Additionally, he brings several years’ experience working in nonprofit behavioral health agencies.
Liz Vestal, MSW, is the senior program manager for accreditation and evaluation. Liz was previously the senior manager of evaluation and client services at the Brown School Evaluation Center, where they managed complex evaluations, including that of Here and Next.
To all, thank you for becoming a part of the School of Public Health.
Save the date
We are planning our first annual all-school retreat for Thursday, Aug. 14. This will be an opportunity for all faculty and staff to engage in our school building and will launch our strategic thinking that will unfold during the 2025-26 academic year. Place and time will be forthcoming, but please do save the date. Thank you.
Public Health Ideas
A video of my conversation with Morgan Shields, PhD, an assistant professor at the Brown School. We discussed two papers she co-authored: “Institutional Betrayal in Inpatient Psychiatry: Effects on Trust and Engagement With Care,” and “Patient-centered inpatient psychiatry is associated with outcomes, ownership, and national quality measures.”
SPH in the Record
A story about a study in the March 2025 Refugee Survey Quarterly challenges assumptions about what makes resettlement successful in the U.S. The study was led by senior author Ilana Seff, DrPH, a research assistant professor at the Brown School. WashU co-authors were Margot Moinester, PhD, an assistant professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences, and Lindsay Stark, DrPH, MPH, a professor at the School of Public Health.
Public health students recognized
Three public-health students won awards for their research at WashU’s 30th annual Graduate Research Symposium in March. Isheeta Gupta, MD, an MPH/MSW student at the Brown School, placed first overall out of more than 90 graduate and professional students for her research showing that social media use is weakly but significantly correlated with lower self-esteem in young adults. The study found that the effect of social media was strongest for nonbinary and gender-fluid individuals, followed by men and then women, and about twice as strong for younger (age 18 to 23) than older (age 24 to 29) participants.
Gifty Aboagye-Mensah, MD, an MPH student at the Brown School, received the Excellence in Research on Social Themes Award and took first place in the professional category for her study highlighting the critical role of dietary diversity on infant development, particularly gross motor and problem-solving skills.
Vishnuvardhan Thotakura, MBBS, an MPH student at the Brown School, placed second in the professional category for his research on the association between body-mass index (BMI) and coronary heart disease. His study showed that obesity (but not overweight or underweight), low or middle income, older age and male gender significantly increased the risk of coronary heart disease.
A paper of interest
Mustafa Rfat, a PhD candidate at the Brown School, and Jean-Francois Trani, PhD, an associate professor at the Brown School and a researcher with the Prevention Research Center, were published in The Lancet for their paper, “The devastating effects of abrupt U.S. refugee policy shifts.”
Also this week
Some thoughts in JAMA Health Forum about “A terrible moment for health” here; related thoughts about “The potential consequences of disinvestment in health in the U.S.” are here.
This week, in The Healthiest Goldfish, some thoughts on “What we owe history,” here.
I hope everyone has a fine week.
Warmly,
Sandro
Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health
Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health
Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives
Washington University in St Louis
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