WashU School of Public Health is committed to generating world-class science and scholarship that advance the field of public health and lead to actionable breakthroughs that improve the lives of people everywhere. From food systems to health communication to policy development, our faculty generate the ideas, data and solutions that lead to a healthier world for all. 

Innovation Research Networks

Innovation Research Networks (IRNs) are at the center of the school’s research mission. These are dynamic research hubs that both imagine and respond to frontiers in public health research, situating interdisciplinarity at their core. Each network has a core mission, and together the IRNs form an ecosystem that catalyzes innovation, leading to meaningful improvements in human health locally, regionally and globally.

Food and Agriculture Research Mission

The Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM) advances research that can be translated into practical, scalable innovations, contributing to sustainable agricultural and food system transformation and improved public health.   

  • Director: Morven McLean, MSc, PhD, Executive Director of Networks & Innovation and professor of practice at the School of Public Health
  • Co-director: Lora Iannotti, MA, PhD, the Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor at the School of Public Health
  • Network manager: Mark Doyle, PhD, doylemark@wustl.edu

Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network (DISIRN)

The Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network (DISIRN) seeks to close the gap between evidence and practice. The network supports research that accelerates the successful adoption and implementation of evidence-based, sustainable solutions to all kinds of public health challenges. 

  • Co-director: Ross Brownson, PhD, the Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor at the School of Public Health
  • Co-director: Byron Powell, PhD, an associate professor at the Brown School
  • Co-director: Elvin Geng, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at WashU Medicine
  • Network manager: Ashley Sturm, MA, sturm@wustl.edu

Global Health Futures

The Global Health Futures Innovation Research Network aims to anticipate changes to the global health landscape and develop adaptive solutions grounded in the strengths of WashU. The network emphasizes the connection between local and global contexts, ensuring that research addresses both community-specific needs and broader international health priorities. 

  • Co-director: Salma Abdalla, MBBS, DrPH, an assistant professor at the School of Public Health
  • Co-director: Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, William Bowen Endowed Professor of Medicine at WashU Medicine
  • Co-director: Victor Davila-Roman, MD, professor of medicine at WashU Medicine
  • Network manager: Joshua Bogus, MPH, jbogus@wustl.edu

Policy and Structural Solutions (PS2)

The aim of the PS2 network is to catalyze innovative approaches to improve public health through local, state, and federal policy, systems and solutions. 

Planetary Health

The Planetary Health network’s goal is to understand how changes to the environment affect human health, and find sustainable ways for people to live healthier lives while maintaining the health of the planet that supports us all. 

  • Co-director: Dan Giammar, MS, PhD, Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering at McKelvey School of Engineering
  • Co-director: TBD
  • Network manager: TBD

Health Communication Collaborative

The Health Communication Collaborative aims to advance public health by helping communities and health professionals learn from one another. The collaborative will establish listening infrastructure to help health professionals better understand what people know, believe and value when it comes to health; incorporate the insights gained into health information that is clear, unbiased, actionable, and responsive to people’s needs; and share it widely through diverse messengers and channels that reach all people.

  • Co-director: Matthew Kreuter, MPH, PhD, the Kahn Family Professor of Public Health at the School of Public Health
  • Co-director: TBD
  • Network manager: Alexis Marsh, MSW, alexis.marsh@wustl.edu

Other areas of research

The Innovation Research Networks are a key part of the school’s research enterprise, but not all of the school’s research efforts are under the umbrella of the IRNs. Faculty members also are developing novel evidence-based approaches that promote healthy behaviors, tackling the complexities of health systems to improve how they work, investigating the impacts of the built environment on the health of communities, and more – all part of the innovative and transformative research taking place at WashU School of Public Health.