Your source for public health news and updates at WashU.

WashU announced that Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, one of the world’s most influential public health leaders, will become the inaugural Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the university’s planned School of Public Health, effective January 1. Galea also will hold the Eugene S. and Constance D. Kahn Distinguished Professorship in Public Health.

In this critical leadership role, Galea will help shape and launch WashU’s first new school in 100 years. The school is part of WashU’s 10-year strategic plan to make both the university and St. Louis a global hub for solving society’s deepest challenges.

Galea

"I can think of no more important time to create a school of public health than today. And I can think of no better place to do so than at Washington University, with this institution’s deep and rich tradition of excellence in scholarship and in thought".

— Sandro Galea

Kruk

Kruk to join WashU Medicine faculty

Margaret E. Kruk, MD, MPH, will also join WashU's faculty. Kruk is a professor of health systems at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the QuEST Centers and Network, a multicountry research consortium generating evidence to build high-quality health systems. Her research focuses on how health systems can produce better outcomes for people living in low- and middle-income countries. Working with global research and policy partners, Kruk develops new measures of health system quality and evaluates the effects of large-scale health-care reforms. 

Epidemiologist, Physician, Author...

Galea holds a medical degree from the University of Toronto, graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow. He is one of the most widely-cited scholars in the social sciences. He has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature about the social causes of health, mental health, and trauma. Read more about Galea's many published works.

In addition to his many literary and research accomplishments, Galea has made a name for himself as a knowledgeable, powerful, and articulate speaker and storyteller. See examples of his work below:  

Galea appeared as the 2023 keynote presenter at the Public Health at WashU Annual Conference. In his presentation, he discusses many social and environmental elements that can impact a population, or a person, over a lifetime. 

Galea looks at how hate, injustice, trauma, and bias impact human health. He points us beyond our understanding of Social Determinants of Health to observe how feelings such as love and hate can shape health just as greatly as one's environment.

In this PBS production, Galea explores the fascinating world of the human immune system, offering a deep dive into the complex mechanisms that protect us from diseases and infections.

Click here for a detailed SPH development timeline. 

The A&S Public Health & Society undergraduate program continues to progress in its development with the remaining core courses for the minor and major submitted to the ASCC for review. The proposal for the full Public Health & Society major has also been submitted with expedited approval requested.

Student registration is currently underway for the fall semester Foundations in Public Health course co-taught by Diana Para Parez, PhD and E.A. Quin, PhD, MPH.

Staffing and hiring is underway with Eleanor Bergquist, PhD, MSPH, MA, joining as a new senior lecturer, and Kirsten Jacobsen, as an academic coordinator. Additional teaching position listings have posted online and are being disseminated for potential candidates.

Learn more about the program by exploring the new Public Health & Society webpage.

The School of Public Health initiative is excited to begin the formation of Research Networks, designed to cultivate collaborative research that addresses salient public health challenges. Under the leadership of Lisa Klesges, PhD, MS and supported by a team from the Office of the Provost, these networks will foster cooperative environments, encouraging the sharing of scientific advances and resources to build cross-disciplinary capacity. Initial phases of consultation and stakeholder engagement in partnership with public health-related centers has begun. A phased approach from 2024-2026 will lay the groundwork for the strategic implementation of the research networks and will be further refined with Sandro Galea as the new dean.

A new treatment for childhood malnutrition, developed at The School of Medicine, nurtures the beneficial microbes in the gut, with the aim of more effectively treating the condition.

The Center for Community Health Partnership and Research is pleased to announce seed funding for two community-academic partnerships that center on achieving racial equity.

In her work with local organizations to promote health and wellness in the St. Louis region, Diana Parra Perez, PhD, sees the power of solidarity.

Recent years have seen a number of advances in the evolving field of cancer chemoprevention. During the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024, a panel of experts will discuss new and emerging research that is driving the field.

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