Weekly news from the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis
Dear colleagues,
It is April, spring, bringing optimism, and storms.
Some of the storms seem to grow more intense by the day. The new administration began layoffs last week at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other health agencies. I have written before about the underfunding of public health, and how it contributed to the disaster of COVID-19, among many other diseases. This new disinvestment in health agencies is almost certainly going to make this worse. I worry, as do many others, that this will lead to an escalation of public health challenges that are going to manifest in the years to come. That is a worrisome thought, and one I would be perhaps remiss to not recognize in this space.
I reflect on this moment in The Healthiest Goldfish and on the challenge of disagreeing on issues when we cannot agree on facts — a reality that contributed to and complicates where we are at this moment, and one that will be key for us to navigate together.
The past week
We welcomed two outside guests to speak in our Talking Public Health seminar series last week. Gregory Phillips II, PhD, an associate professor in the Departments of Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern, spoke on health research and evaluation with and for LGBTQ+ communities. Stephen E. Lankenau, PhD, professor and director of the Medical Cannabis Research Center at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, talked about new directions in cannabis and overdose prevention research. Their presentations can be found here.
The coming week
This evening — Monday, April 7, at 5 p.m. — the university’s Assembly Series will feature distinguished environmental attorney Rob Bilott speaking at Graham Chapel. The title of his talk is “Dark Waters: The Environmental Legal Battle Exposing Corporate Coverup in the Name of Public Health.” See here for more information and to register.
We welcome Andrew Subica, PhD, to our Talking Public Health seminar series at noon Tuesday, April 8. Andrew is an associate professor of social medicine, population & public health at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, and a founding co-director of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Center for Pacific Islander Veterans Health. He will speak on “Community Engaged Research to Address Health Disparities” in 333A Goldfarb Hall on the Danforth Campus. RSVP here to attend in person or over Zoom.
Also of note, the Health Care Systems Research Network’s annual conference is in St. Louis this week, April 8-10. I am honored to have been invited to speak, focusing on “Why health? Data, Determinants, and Decision-making for Better Health.” The talk is at 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, 800 Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis. See here for more information about the conference and to register.
Joining the School of Public Health
We happily welcome a number of staff this week.
Bernard Banda, MPH, is a statistical analyst working with Dr. Salma Abdalla at the Healthier Futures lab. Bernard is passionate about leveraging data and evidence-based research to enhance health outcomes in vulnerable communities.
Madisen Brewer, MPH, is a research assistant with the Prevention Research Center. She works on research to foster relationships between academic and governmental public health institutions, bringing expertise in digital content production and data visualization.
Laura Brossart is the assistant director for communications and dissemination for the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Laura oversees the center’s communication activities and the design and dissemination of center research and evaluation products.
Bobbi Carothers, PhD, is a senior data analyst at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Bobbi oversees data analysis across multiple center projects, bringing expertise in social network analysis, online survey tool development, interactive dashboard creation and publication development.
Victoria Carter, MSW, LCSW, is a senior research assistant at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Victoria primarily has worked on the CDC Best Practices User Guides project, assisting with all aspects of guide development including research, writing, editing and qualitative data analysis.
Veronica Chaitan, MPH, is a senior data analyst at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Veronica leads data management and analysis for several center projects, supporting online survey development and administration, interactive dashboard creation and the preparation of findings for dissemination products.
Ella Clark, MPH, is a senior research assistant at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Ella brings expertise in writing, editing, online survey development, and qualitative data analysis to the Translational Science Benefits Model project team and other center projects.
Krista Cooksey is a public health research coordinator who has worked in the laboratory of Mary Politi, PhD, since 2020 and in clinical research since 2015. She is interested in community engagement and has expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis and project management.
Michelle Dorce, MSW, joined the E3 Nutrition Lab in 2022 as a research project coordinator. She oversees the lab’s grant projects operating in Haiti.
Jessica Gannon, MSW, is a senior research manager with the Prevention Research Center, with expertise in technical assistance delivery and communicating research to practitioners. She manages multiple grants that focus on chronic disease prevention in community settings.
Eliana Goldstein, MPH, is a public health research coordinator who has worked in the laboratory of Mary Politi, PhD, since 2023. After graduating from WashU, she began working in health communication for nonprofit clinical organizations and industry settings. She has expertise in project management, program evaluation, maternal and child health and health communication.
Rachel Hackett, MPH, is a research project coordinator at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Rachel coordinates sustainability planning and training, maintains the sustaintool.org website, and contributes writing and qualitative data analysis expertise to other center projects.
Elizabeth Hahn has been the research project manager for the E3 Nutrition Lab for more than five years. She previously worked in the MPH program office at the Brown School as the MPH program manager.
Anna La Manna, MSW/MPH, is the manager of research translation at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Anna manages all aspects of the Translational Science Benefits Model project, which helps scientific researchers plan, track, and demonstrate the impact of their work.
Catalina Melendez Contreras, MD, MPH, is a senior research manager working with Dr. Salma Abdalla at the Healthier Futures lab. Catalina contributes to managing projects that bridge data on social and economic policies and decision-making to improve the health of populations.
Zara Petković, MA, is a research project coordinator at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Zara manages research translation projects, most recently the CDC Best Practices User Guides project, where she led research, writing, editing and layout of tobacco control user guides.
Christy Potthast, CPA, is director of financial management and grants administration. She brings more than 15 years of experience in budgeting, compliance, and financial operations, most recently supporting strategic planning and variance reporting at WashU’s DI2 Accelerator. Known for streamlining processes and building cross-functional partnerships, Christy is participating in the NACUBO Emerging Leaders Program.
Kim Prewitt, BA, is the manager of sustainability at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Kim facilitates workshops and webinars on sustainability planning, provides technical assistance, and manages the administration of the online Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and the Clinical Sustainability Assessment Tool, available at sustaintool.org.
Jessica Price, MS, is the manager of evaluation at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Jessica oversees evaluation and implementation science projects, providing expertise and project management for numerous community-engaged evaluation and mixed methods research projects.
Viktoria Schmitz is a public health research coordinator who has worked in the laboratory of Mary Politi, PhD, since 2022 and in clinical research since 2020. She has expertise in qualitative data collection and analysis and recruitment across multiple projects.
Jen Weinman, MA, is the center manager at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Jen oversees the center’s operational, human resources, and financial functions, including monitoring project budgets, developing research and evaluation proposal budgets, and serving as a liaison with university offices.
Katie Wiedeman, MSW, is a senior research assistant at the Center for Public Health Systems Science. Katie brings expertise in research, writing, editing, and qualitative data analysis to several center projects, including the CDC Best Practices User Guides project.
Rachel Zimmerman, MPH, a registered dietitian, has worked with the E3 Nutrition Lab for over two years and coordinates the lab’s projects in Ecuador as well as the Nutrition Research Incubator.
Public Health Ideas
A video of my conversation with Douglas Luke, PhD, the Distinguished Professor in Public Health Systems Science, about a paper he co-authored, “Bridges and Mechanisms: Integrating Systems Science Thinking into Implementation Research.” See here for the paper.
Administrative updates
We are starting SPH Compass sessions, orientation sessions designed to support faculty and staff in navigating key administrative processes: Reserve A Space, people services, IT, finance and grants. These sessions will be monthly, every second Monday at noon. The informal sessions will offer helpful guidance and have time for Q&A. The first session will be from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, April 14, in 333A Goldfarb Hall and via Zoom.
We recently posted school guidelines for new websites and social media accounts. A reminder that these and school policies, procedures, and bylaws can be found here.
SPH ventures
SPH assistant professors Maura Kepper, MPH, PhD, and Sara Malone, MSW, PhD, have established the Health Design & Impact Lab. You can read more about it here.
I hope everyone’s week unfolds well.
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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