May 2025

One of the Light Institute's programs, LIGHT (Leaders Igniting Generational Healing & Transformation), has three upcoming events that you don't want to miss! 

Starting on Monday, June 2, LIGHT is inviting students entering 5th – 8th grade to join us for a 5-day program created to engage youth in the arts, creative writing, and public health through visual art, letter writing, poetry, and storytelling. We will encourage and empower young learners to grow more confident in both their artistic and creative writing skills, using their imagination and lived experiences as inspiration. 

 The fourth annual LIGHT Festival is returning this summer and welcomes everyone in the field of public health and all members of the public—artists, poets, practitioners, storytellers, and the like—who have an interest in communicating public health information in a way that is meaningful and resonates with all. This event bridges the divide between public health researchers and the public by creating opportunities to connect with one another and explore the power of creative expression in building and restoring the public's health.

If you have questions about these events, contact Alexis Engelhart at alexise@wustl.edu. 

The STAR (Stimulating Training and Access to HIV Research Experiences) Bootcamp for the third cohort of STAR Scholars has officially begun!

This six-week hybrid bootcamp started on May 19 and will run through June 28. The STAR team has prepared a schedule for the scholars starting with three weeks of learning from dissemination and implementation science experts, researchers, guest speakers, and members of the STAR team on HIV research, qualitative and quantitative research methods, utilizing creativity and design in research, partnerships with community based organizations, and youth engagement in HIV research and intervention implementations. Following these three weeks of virtual learning, the 17 STAR Scholars from WashU, UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia State University, and Northeastern University will be working in their local communities to gain fieldwork experience before traveling to St. Louis for the final week of bootcamp. While in St. Louis, the STAR team and STAR Scholars will continue working with their teams and mentors to refine their HIV self-testing interventions, go on field trips in the St. Louis community, hear from local HIV researchers, practitioners, and advocates, and prepare to give their final pitch to the panel of esteemed judges. Stay tuned for our next newsletter to learn more about the STAR Scholars and all of the amazing things they will do throughout their Bootcamp experience!

On May 22, Dr. Juliet Iwelunmor gave one of the keynote addresses at the 10th Annual Weill Cornell Women in Global Health Research Symposium in New York City, NY. With her address, titled, Loving Clearly: Women’s Global Health Research in Uncertain Times, Dr. Iwelunmor walked the audience through a journey of building clarity to stay rooted in the love of global research for women’s health, especially amid uncertainty and disruptions. With the words of poet Adrienne Rich from Final Notations, “It will be short, it will take all your breath, it will not be simple, it will become your will,” she set the stage for the conversation as she invited the audience to look beyond resilience for a clear path to stay on course amidst monumental shifts in the space of global research.

Likening the journey of clarity to the unique contributions of the roots, trunk, and branches of a tree, she encouraged us to be roots that anchor, absorb, and accumulate resources and knowledge; to be trunks that connect, carry, and stay central to upholding purpose and love for women’s health; and to be branches that embrace complex scenarios, cycles, and changes to remain on course. She charged the audience to preserve connections, keep learning, and be ready to evolve plans, seek out accessible opportunities, and push to reach everyone with the critical, innovative solutions they are researching.

At the same event, Dr. Iwelunmor also moderated a panel discussion titled, Women’s Health as a Research Priority, with Rana Hajjeh, MD, Lauren Osborne, MD, and Daniel Fitzgerald, MD - senior experts and leaders in global health practice and research in women’s health.

On Thursday, May 8, the 4 Communities By Communities Change Challenge welcomed Dr. Morenike Ukpong, Professor at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, to present a Change Challenge Grand Rounds titled "Manuscript Writing and Publication and Disseminating Information with Published Manuscripts". During her presentation, Dr. Ukpong discussed what is required for the structure of a high-quality manuscript and what is necessary for the soul of a high-quality manuscript. 

Dr. Ukpong encouraged the attendees to think about anatomy when considering the structure of a high-quality manuscript, likening research reporting guidelines to gross anatomy, answering valid, contemporary, and multidisciplinary research questions, to stay curious and show evidence of research developing from a concept, and to collaborate with national, regional, and international researchers in the writing process as the manuscript's embryology. Dr. Ukpong also described the histology of a high-quality manuscript, providing guidance about what information should be included and how to approach each section. 

Believing a high-quality manuscript needs both structure and soul, Dr. Ukpong also discussed three processes for ensuring the manuscript has soul: mechanical, physical, and biochemical. The mechanical process was described as a time to develop questions, the biochemical process was described as a way to structure sentences and strive for gender and cultural inclusivity, and the physical process was described as a way to look beyond one's immediate field, spend more time listening than talking, and to be open to learning from multiple formats. 

Dr. Ukpong also shared the order in which sections of a manuscript should be written, discussed how to both solicit and learn from peer to peer reviews, and encouraged everyone in attendance to utilize these lessons as they continue on as early career researchers. She closed her session reminding the audience of four important lessons to remember:  

The Light Institute was proud to participate in the recent conference, Global Health at WashU: Focus on Impact this month! This event was an opportunity for WashU global health faculty, students and community partners to come together to share and celebrate the impact of WashU research on global health. 

Dr. Temi and Dr. Funto co-presented a session titled, "The Journey towards Light: Reimagining Global Health Connections and Collaborations" and showcased how our team uses innovative, co-created strategies to foster equitable collaborations driven by connections with a shared vision to enhance public health and achieve a sustainable global health impact. 

Additionally, four of the Light Institute's programs were invited to present posters, detailed below. 

Carmen Dillman

Bachelor of Science

Marketing

Priscilla Kabutey

Master of Public Health 

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Shravya Allena

Master of Public Health

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

The Light Institute is excited for our three graduates and very proud of all of their accomplishments! We cannot wait to see what the future holds for them. 

The LIGHT team is busy reviewing all of the 114 submissions from the recent open call asking artists, writers, and storytellers to reflect on public health and answer the questions, “How might we build public health systems that are trustworthy?" and "How might we foster peace and strengthen community in the face of chaos?" creatively in an original piece of art, story, poem, or letter. On behalf of the LIGHT Team, thank you to everyone who submitted pieces, spread the word about this open call, and encouraged others to respond. This was one of the largest responses to an open call yet and we look forward to announcing which pieces will be featured in the next issue of LIGHT magazine! 

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