institute for public health · alaina maciá bs ’98, mba ’02 president and ceo, mtm, inc. mary...

institute for public health

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH NATIONAL COUNCIL

Robert Fruend Jr. MBA ’94, MHA ’94 President and CEO, St. Louis Regional Health Commission

Mark S. Gold, MD AB ’71 Retired Distinguished Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida

Dolores J. Gunn, MD Community Physician and Liaison, Integritas Physicians Group

Timothy J. Henkel, MD/PhD MD ’88, PhD ’88, HS ’90 Chief Medical Officer, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Eugene S. Kahn Trustee Former CEO, Claire’s Stores Former Chairman and CEO, The May Department Stores Co.

Alaina Maciá BS ’98, MBA ’02 President and CEO, MTM, Inc.

Mary Mason, MD MD ’94, HS ’98, MBA ’99 Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Corporate Health Initiatives, Centene Corporation

Washington University launched its pioneering, transdisciplinary Institute for Public Health (IPH) 10 years ago. In its first decade, IPH has witnessed rapid progress and tremendous achievement, from identifying faculty leadership and establishing centers and initiatives to seeding cutting-edge research and implementing results in communities near and far. Today, IPH is a powerful catalyst for the university’s vast efforts in public health research, training, practice, and outreach.

The Institute for Public Health National Council has played an integral part in this growth and success. Through their leadership, members of the national council have guided the institute’s development and strategic direction, shaped its programs, and helped build its reputation. The group, including both past and present members, comprises some of the institute’s—and the university’s—most steadfast and exemplary supporters. We are grateful for their confidence in the IPH mission and vision, ongoing partnership, and exceptional dedication during Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University. Together, we are improving human health across our globe, community by community.

Current MembersChairJoyce F. Buchheit BSBA ’76, MBA ’77 Emeritus Trustee Owner, JCB Management, LLC

Mark S. Clanton, MD Senior Manager, Accenture Health and Public Service Chief Medical Officer, Accenture Texas Medicaid Claims and Administration

David P. Conner AB ’74 Retired CEO and Director, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation

Nicholas V. Costrini, MD HS ’77 Consultant in Gastroenterology, Baptist Hospital (Pensacola, FL)

R. Chris Doerr AB ’68 Retired Executive Vice President, CAO, and CFO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida

Kenneth M. Dude MHA ’83 Retired Principal, Human Resources, Edward Jones

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George Paz Trustee Chairman, Express Scripts

Donald L. Ross Retired Vice Chairman, Enterprise Holdings

Robert J. Shakno MHA ’61 Retired President and CEO, Sinai Hospital System

Patrick T. Stokes Former Chairman, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.

John P. Stupp Jr. President and CEO, Stupp Bros., Inc.

Alan S. Taylor PhD ’84 Retired Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Gilead Sciences

Mark C. Trudeau President and CEO, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals

Richard K. Weil Jr. Former Managing Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Former MembersSteven H. Lipstein Chair, 2008–2017

Richard W. Brown MHA ’70

Jay Grinney MHA ’81, MBA ’81

James R. Kimmey, MD

Nicole Lurie, MD

Ian McCaslin, MD

Bruce C. Vladeck

Diana Chapman Walsh

Eric E. Whitaker, MD

Mark Wolsey-Paige BSBA ’83

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MESSAGE FROM THE LARRY J. SHAPIRO DIRECTOR

Washington University’s Institute for Public Health is having a remarkable impact on St. Louis, our nation, and our world. By connecting and catalyzing public health work across the university, IPH advances pioneering solutions to urgent health challenges facing communities today. Through Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University, generous donors made critical commitments to support the institute’s visionary work, enabling strong momentum and rapid growth.

IPH was born from a university-wide strategic planning process to dramatically enhance teaching, research, and service to society. While developing what would become the Plan for Excellence, leaders identified an extraordinary opportunity to leverage the university’s innovative, highly ranked schools of medicine and social work—and a variety of other disciplines—for the advancement of human health around the globe. Public health, they determined, was an area in which the university could distinguish itself through a powerful transdisciplinary approach, compared to more insular programs at other universities. Most important, by expanding and strengthening its efforts in public health, Washington University could improve more lives than ever.

When the Leading Together effort began in 2009 to help realize the Plan for Excellence, IPH had been in operation for less than a year. With the guidance of the newly assembled Institute for Public Health National Council, IPH leaders already had hosted the institute’s first annual conference for faculty, students, and community partners and had opened four centers focused on accelerating discovery and impact in the field. The faculty directors and national council members were confident that, with additional resources, they could build on these early milestones and greatly advance public health research, training, practice, and outreach at the university.

By the campaign’s end in 2018, donors had invested more than $21.7 million in IPH. We are grateful for their loyal support, which has been integral to our progress and impact throughout the last decade. Today, IPH is entering a new era of excellence, making even greater strides to create a healthier world for all.

With gratitude,

William G. Powderly, MDLarry J. Shapiro Director, Institute for Public HealthDirector, Global Health CenterDr. J. William Campbell Professor of MedicineCo-Director, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine

William G. Powderly, MD

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broader than traditionally undertaken from one or two disciplines,” says Graham A. Colditz, MD, IPH’s deputy director and the Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery at the School of Medicine. “To eliminate health disparities, for example, requires new approaches integrating efforts from many disciplines.”

Researchers, practitioners, and educators at Washington University and beyond rise to the challenge, taking on pressing problems affecting human health in communities around the world. Using an evidence-based approach, they seek to prevent disease, prolong life, and promote overall well-being. “While medicine treats individual patients as they become sick or injured, public health protects the health of entire communities by focusing on prevention of illness or of the complications of disease,” says Dr. Powderly. “Those communities can be as small as a neighborhood or as large as a country or continent.”

As we consider prevalent health problems threatening populations in our country and our world today, many deeply complex questions arise. Why are more than one-third of children in the U.S. overweight or obese? Why is breast cancer significantly more lethal in African-American women than in Caucasian women? When will opioid-related drug overdoses stop claiming the lives of 115 Americans every day? Why are chronic diseases—linked by common and preventable risk factors—now the leading cause of death worldwide? How will our global society manage as the number of people over age 60 doubles by 2050? And in St. Louis and many other cities throughout the nation, why are differences in life expectancy so stark between neighborhoods in such close proximity?

Answering these urgent questions is a complicated endeavor. Many factors affect these health disparities, from access to nutritious food and recreational facilities to levels of pollution and violent crime. Pervasive inequalities linked to race, ethnicity, education, and financial circumstances are often at the root of health issues in the U.S. and abroad. “The magnitude of public health challenges calls for approaches that are

Public health: a transdisciplinary Approach

Drs. Powderly and Colditz, and other scientists and clinicians in the field consider social determinants of health or the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. They work to prevent obesity in children, promote physical activity to reduce the risk of cancer, and address fundamentals such as clean water, nutrition, vaccinations, and access to medical care. The field is continually evolving in response to the changing needs of populations across the globe.

Improving the health of others benefits everyone—families, communities, and society at large. It leads to longer life expectancies, greater success in schools, and a more productive workforce. Through public health efforts, Washington University investigators, scholars, and practitioners have a lasting impact, enhancing lives today and for generations to come.

“ While medicine treats individual patients as they become sick or injured, public health protects the health of entire communities by focusing on prevention of illness or of the complications of disease,” says Dr. Powderly. “Those communities can be as small as a neighborhood or as large as a country or continent.” —William G. Powderly, MD

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“ Collaboration is at the heart of the institute, expanding current relationships and building new partnerships with diverse communities, agencies, and other universities.” —Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton

Establishing the Institute for Public HealthIn preparation for the Plan for Excellence, the university’s seven schools assessed their priorities for the future and areas for potential growth. These efforts were part of a larger initiative to evaluate ways to align university goals with the needs of communities in St. Louis and throughout our world. The School of Medicine and Brown School both included significant expansion of public health work in their long-range plans. Each of the other schools—Arts & Sciences, Olin Business School, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, and the School of Law—also identified significant expertise, strength, and interest in this area on the part of both faculty and students.

The strategic planning process revealed an important and compelling opportunity for Washington University. Although faculty and students throughout the institution already were working across disciplines to improve human health, university leaders knew they had the potential—and a duty—to do more and make even more critical contributions to urgent health issues in St. Louis and beyond. Having identified public health as an institutional priority, the Plan for Excellence called for establishing the Institute for Public Health, which launched in 2008. The university committed $8.5 million in endowed funds to support IPH and began developing its programs. Guiding these efforts was a desire “to improve health indicators overall and to overcome health disparities in St. Louis and beyond,” as Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton explained in 2008.

IPH integrates and enhances the public health efforts of all seven of the university’s schools while fostering connections with community partners. “Collaboration is at


the heart of the institute, expanding current relationships and building new partnerships with diverse communities, agencies, and other universities,” Chancellor Wrighton said. The university’s long-term partner in health-care delivery, BJC HealthCare, has been a key collaborator and integral supporter of IPH since its inception.

A Vision and Mission for the InstituteThe institute strives to improve community and global health through the creation of new knowledge, the application and translation of science, and the training of advanced academic and practice leaders in public health.

IPH harnesses the strengths of Washington University to address the complex health issues and health disparities facing the St. Louis region and the world.

The mission includes five objectives:

» Generate distinctive transdisciplinary research discoveries and service interventions that address significant community and population health problems.

» Train a cadre of leaders who take an evidence-based approach to public health interventions, health services, and health policy.

» Educate the next generation of academic leaders in community and population health sciences.

» Eliminate health disparities and improve measurable health outcomes through sustained community and organizational partnerships.

» Significantly influence the development of sound public health policy.

Forming a National CouncilCollaboration across disciplines and fields is at the core of the institute’s mission. Soon after launching IPH, the university assembled the Institute for Public Health National Council, comprising local and national leaders in medicine, health care, business, education, and journalism to assist in crafting an innovative and distinctive approach to public health research, training, practice, and outreach. The group first convened on September 4, 2008. Integral to IPH’s early development, the national council continues to play a critical role in guiding the institute’s efforts.

The formation of the IPH National Council in 2008 began a decade of accomplishment for the institute. And as Leading Together gained momentum, so too did IPH.

In pursuit of its mission, IPH acts as a:

CONNECTORIPH improves, amplifies, and supports public health efforts across the university, within the local community, and around the world.

CONVENERThe institute brings faculty, researchers, practitioners, staff, and students from diverse disciplines together to share ideas, form partnerships, and turn ideas into action.

CATALYSTIPH inspires innovative solutions to today’s most pressing public health challenges through targeted forums, ventures, and opportunities to stimulate new approaches aimed at improving public health.

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Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University

The Plan for Excellence provided a detailed vision for the future of Washington University. At the plan’s core was the university’s responsibility, as a premier research institution, to anticipate the challenges of the future and prepare to meet them. As such, the plan centered on an overarching goal to “enhance our leadership today to benefit America and the world tomorrow.” This noble objective reaffirmed the university’s mission of teaching, research, and service to society. Through its faculty, staff, students, and alumni, Washington University could play an even greater

role in helping improve quality of life across the globe.

This broad objective established the framework for Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University, the most ambitious fundraising initiative the university had undertaken to date. With an initial goal of $2.2 billion, Leading Together addressed four major priorities to advance the university’s mission: preparing the leaders of tomorrow; advancing human health; inspiring innovation and entrepreneurship; and enhancing the quality of life. Through support for faculty, scholarships, research, academic programs, facilities, and the Annual Fund, campaign donors provided vital resources to help the university pursue

the important goals set forth in the Plan for Excellence, including the vision for IPH.

In its early years, the institute laid essential groundwork, planning and implementing academic programs to facilitate research, practice, and outreach in the field. As IPH progressed in its development, many campaign donors contributed critical support to establish key initiatives and programs. With the dedication of these donors and the university’s investment, IPH gained the programmatic infrastructure necessary to begin integrating and capitalizing on the extensive public health work occurring across the university.

Institute for Public Health Director, William G. Powderly, MD, left, and Associate Director, Victoria Anwuri


Connecting Faculty Across the UniversityA key function of IPH’s mission is fostering connections among faculty and scholars working on issues of public health across schools and campuses. The institute’s Faculty Scholar Program provides a supportive infrastructure for meaningful collaborative exchanges that enrich and advance public health pursuits. Through the program, IPH leaders help spark productive

Vetta Sanders Thompson, far right, co-taught a course titled “Interrogating Health, Race, and Inequalities: Public Health Medical Anthropology and History” with fellow IPH Faculty Scholar Shanti Parikh, center in background.

collaborations, remove barriers to collaboration, and make it easier for faculty to broaden their networks for their efforts in the field.

Faculty Scholars come from schools across Washington University and are engaged in research, practice, advocacy, education, or another scholarly activity that is relevant to public health. They apply to IPH for inclusion in the Faculty Scholar Program. Within the group, engagement in the field ranges from full immersion to an occasional project.

The program has grown significantly since it began. The number of Faculty Scholars has doubled, increasing from 140 in 2010 to more than 280 today. IPH Faculty Scholars represent all seven schools at the university and more than 55 disciplines. IPH works to support, connect, and amplify their public health work. These faculty members, in turn, advance efforts at the core of the university’s mission of teaching, research, patient care, and service to society.

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HEATHER A. CORCORAN

Director of the College and Graduate School of Art and the Jane Reuter Hitzeman and Herbert F. Hitzeman Jr. Professor of Art, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

“I recently co-taught a course mixing public health graduate students, communication design seniors, and computer science students to make sense of a set of St. Louis crime data. Courses for students working in such disparate disciplines can be difficult to organize, but IPH was extremely helpful. My teaching partner was based there, and we were able to take advantage of IPH’s extensive network to build a significant cohort of reviewers from a variety of fields within the university and from the city to evaluate the students’ work.

“At the end of the course, students made a set of very strong presentations. I hope to build on collaborative classroom efforts like this as we move forward and expand our efforts in public health at the Sam Fox School.”

KRISTEN L. MUELLER, MDAssistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine

“The IPH Faculty Scholar Program and Gun Violence Initiative have provided invaluable support through mentorship,

particularly from Drs. Bill Powderly and Randi Foraker, as well as Victoria Anwuri and Poli Rijos. Through their ongoing guidance, I have transitioned from full-time clinical practice to become an academic clinician-researcher. In direct response to this mentorship from IPH leaders, I recently applied for my first federal funding opportunity and have bolstered my skills for future research grant applications. These collaborative projects are yielding practice innovations to help improve safety from firearm-related suicide and violence for emergency department patients at the bedside.

“Through my work with IPH, I have a greater awareness of the social determinants of health and how they impact patients. This knowledge helps me provide higher quality and better-informed clinical care for patients in the emergency department. Additionally, I have integrated these patient-centered practice changes in work and teaching with my colleagues, residents, students, and other trainees in the School of Medicine.”

Dr. Mueller is an active member of the Gun Violence Initiative and serves as the physician liaison to the St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program. See pages 27-28 to read more about these innovative violence prevention efforts.

Heather A. Corcoran

Kristen L. Mueller, MD


RUMI KATO PRICEProfessor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine

“Addressing the complex issue of human trafficking requires input from a wide variety of disciplines and sectors. For this reason, the Human Trafficking Collaborative Network (HTCN) draws on schools throughout the university as well as other institutions. As the other faculty founders and I have worked to build the network, IPH has been a major catalyst. Its connections throughout Washington University and with many other surrounding universities and health-care systems have helped us grow rapidly.

“IPH staff members have been extremely helpful in assisting us to develop HTCN’s

operational infrastructure. Seed funding from the institute enabled us to focus on the sex trafficking landscape of the St. Louis metropolitan area, and these efforts have really defined our value in the community. Institute support was critical to our participation in a recent congressional briefing on the issue. The results of the briefing—coinciding with the passage of an important piece of legislation—have helped spur our community partners to further action, encouraged by the impact our work has had.”

For more information on the HTCN and the congressional briefing, see page 24.Rumi Kato Price

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LARRY J. SHAPIRO DIRECTORSHIP

In 2017, BJC HealthCare established an endowed fund to support the institute’s efforts to address health disparities in St. Louis and beyond. The university recognized this generous gift by presenting BJC HealthCare with the opportunity to name the institute’s directorship. In 2017, BJC HealthCare named this leadership position in honor of Larry J. Shapiro, MD, who served as the executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. A strong proponent of public health at the university, Dr. Shapiro served as co-chair, with former IPH director Lawlor, of

a university-wide faculty advisory council guiding the development and implementation of the institute’s programs during its early years.

“Advances in public health—clean water, public sanitation systems, immunizations, and many other programs to improve human health—have contributed so much to our society, to increases in our human life span, and to our quality of life. We can think of no one who cares more about the human condition than Larry Shapiro,” said Steven H. Lipstein, now retired president and chief executive officer of BJC HealthCare who chaired the IPH national council from 2008 to 2017. This generous gift exemplifies BJC HealthCare’s commitment to reducing health disparities in the communities it serves.

Dr. Powderly, who had served as IPH director since 2013, was installed as the inaugural Larry J. Shapiro Director in 2017.

“I could not be more pleased over Bill Powderly’s being named the inaugural holder of this directorship and for BJC HealthCare’s generous support,” said Dr. Shapiro. “Bill has dedicated his career to finding ways to improve the lives of others and to bring attention to deeply important public health issues, health disparities in particular.”


Leading the Institute Distinguished faculty are integral to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to society. They attract and teach students of the highest caliber, serve as leaders in their fields, and create new knowledge to advance our world. Washington University’s reputation as a leading center for learning and discovery rests upon the strength of its faculty.

The university’s first step in establishing the institute in 2008 was identifying faculty leadership. Edward F. Lawlor, the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor Emeritus, who served as dean of the Brown School at the time, was selected as the founding director, and Graham A. Colditz, MD, the Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery, as deputy director, a position he continues to hold today.

In 2013, William G. Powderly, MD, the Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and co-director of the division of infectious disease at the School of Medicine, assumed leadership of IPH as director. “Washington University’s Institute for Public Health has flourished under the leadership of its founding director Eddie Lawlor,” Chancellor Wrighton said in 2013. “Bill Powderly is the perfect person to take the institute to the next level. His research is known around the world, his leadership is proven, and his energy is contagious.”

Attracting and Retaining Outstanding FacultyEndowed positions are the highest honor the university can bestow on its faculty and leaders. These investments help the university attract and retain the most inspiring teachers, noted scholars, and groundbreaking researchers. During Leading Together, two donors made generous gifts to establish the institute’s endowed directorship and the first university-wide endowed professorship in public health.


BJC HEALTHCARE

A long-term partner of the Institute for Public Health and the university, BJC HealthCare made two significant investments in IPH. The first, in 2010, created scholarships for graduate students pursuing public health degrees in the Brown School or School of Medicine, and the second supported transdisciplinary research and outreach addressing health disparities in St. Louis.

BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine have a world-class reputation for outstanding medical care. Washington University physicians, treat patients at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, each part of BJC HealthCare. One of the largest nonprofit health-care organizations in the United States, BJC HealthCare delivers services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois, and mid-Missouri regions at 15 hospitals and multiple community health locations. BJC is the largest provider of charity care, unreimbursed care, and community benefits in the state of Missouri, providing more than $800 million annually in community benefit. BJC’s partnership with IPH expands the organization’s efforts to improve the health of the region by offering additional prevention initiatives, health promotion services, and policy contributions.

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JOYCE WOOD PROFESSORSHIP

Leading Together included another significant milestone for the institute—the first university-wide endowed professorship in public health. Emeritus Trustee Joyce (Wood) Buchheit, BSBA ’76, MBA ’77, made a generous commitment to IPH to establish the Joyce Wood Professorship in 2012.

Buchheit, who chairs the institute’s national council, has served on the boards of several rural hospitals in Missouri and is passionate about enhancing the lives of people in the region. “I feel strongly that we need research on effective policies that improve public health, and we need to revise or delete policies that have had unintended negative consequences. Dissemination and implementation of proven best practices in health care should be our highest priority,” she says.

Debra Haire-Joshu, the inaugural Joyce Wood Professor, is an internationally renowned researcher in obesity and diabetes prevention who holds joint appointments in the Brown School and the School of Medicine. “I could not have designed someone whose work is focused on areas that have more personal importance and who so aptly represents the combination of the strengths of the Brown School and the School of Medicine, in the Institute for Public Health,” says Buchheit.

The results of Haire-Joshu’s research have informed health-care policy improvements on state and national levels. Many national organizations use her evidence-based obesity-prevention approaches to tackle diabetes in high-risk populations, and several states have adopted a database she developed for Missouri that evaluates obesity- related policies.

Debra Haire-Joshu, left, and Joyce (Wood) Buchheit


Leadership TeamWILLIAM G. POWDERLY, MD

Larry J. Shapiro Director, Institute for Public HealthDirector, Global Health CenterDr. J. William Campbell Professor of MedicineCo-director, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine

For more than 30 years, William G. Powderly, MD, has focused his research and practice on the area of infectious diseases in patients with HIV and AIDS. When the disease surfaced as a public health crisis in the 1980s, Dr. Powderly began investigating drug cocktails in order to identify effective first-line treatments. Today he is evaluating the long-term side effects of these medications. His research, along with that of others in the field, has transformed the prognosis for those infected with HIV. What was once a death sentence is now a chronic disease that can be successfully managed. Dr. Powderly and other global health investigators and clinicians continue to work to make treatment options for the disease available to populations worldwide.

Dr. Powderly began his career as a fellow at Washington University School of Medicine. In 2004, he returned to his native Ireland to serve as dean of medicine and head of the School of Medicine and Medical Sciences at University College Dublin. Eight years later, in 2012, Washington University recruited Dr. Powderly to the School of Medicine. A key reason he came back to St. Louis was the opportunity to lead the institute’s global health initiatives, which he continues to direct today. Dr. Powderly also serves as an ambassador

for the university’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

Dr. Powderly is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, Royal College of Physicians in London, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is immediate past-president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.


GRAHAM A. COLDITZ, MD

Deputy Director, Institute for Public HealthNiess-Gain Professor and Chief, Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of SurgeryProgram Director, Master of Population Health Sciences Degree ProgramAssociate Director for Prevention and Control, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center

Graham A. Colditz, MD, became interested in the potential of disease prevention during his medical training, which he completed at the University of Queensland in Australia. Now, 35 years later, he is an internationally recognized epidemiologist and public health expert on the causes and prevention of chronic

Graham A. Colditz, MD

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disease, particularly among women and adolescents.

After 23 years at Harvard University, Dr. Colditz joined the faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine in 2006 to serve as the Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery and associate director for prevention and control at the Siteman Cancer Center. In 2010, he was named chief of the Division of Public Health Sciences in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Colditz leads research studies in a variety of areas, including benign breast disease; adolescent diet, activity, and growth in relation to risk of benign lesions as well as invasive breast cancer; and implementing guidelines for prevention and care in routine medical care settings.

Dr. Colditz is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies, a fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and serves on the board of scientific advisers for the National Cancer Institute, among other professional affiliations.

VICTORIA V. ANWURI

Associate Director, Institute for Public Health

Victoria Anwuri has devoted her career to advancing public health programming and research. After earning her master’s degree in public health from Saint Louis University, she served the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducting research on policy, environmental, and systems-level interventions that promote health. In 2004, she joined the Washington

University School of Medicine. For nine years, she managed and coordinated program operations for multiple large-scale, nationally funded health initiatives at the school that focused on a variety of chronic disease topics and the social determinants of health.

Anwuri became part of the IPH leadership team as associate director in 2013. Responsible for advancing the strategic plan and programs of the institute, she works closely with Drs. Powderly and Colditz as well as the directors of IPH’s six centers and flagship initiatives. She also oversees all programmatic, administrative, and operational activities. In 2017, Anwuri was chosen to participate in the university’s selective Professional Leadership Academy & Network, a year-long professional development program designed to cultivate future leaders, strengthen institutional knowledge, foster an appreciation for the importance of inclusion, and build core skills, such as strategic thinking, innovation, creativity, and project management.

Victoria V. Anwuri


Preparing the Next Generation of Public Health LeadersAs our world evolves, new problems threatening the health of communities frequently arise. An integral aspect of the IPH mission is educating future leaders to meet these challenges through research, practice, and outreach in the field of public health. Through these efforts, the institute works to create a healthier world today—and tomorrow.

During Leading Together, dedicated supporters invested in the institute’s educational pursuits by supporting

students working and training with Faculty Scholars. Their support ensures that Washington University attracts a diverse body of the brightest and best public health students and gives them exceptional opportunities to grow and learn as they prepare to serve society.

BJC HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Through a generous gift in 2010, BJC HealthCare established a scholarship fund for students training for careers in public health. The BJC HealthCare Institute for Public Health Scholarship

Fund provides full- and partial-tuition scholarships for students pursuing a Master of Public Health in the Brown School or a Master in Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine. This support opens doors of opportunity to exceptional students, regardless of financial need, enabling them to pursue meaningful careers in which salaries rarely correlate with the valuable and life-sustaining contributions these professionals make to society.

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SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM

Made possible by support from the Children’s Discovery Institute of Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Stephanie and Chris Doerr, AB ’68, and a number of other individual donors, the Summer Research Program gives students from Washington University and other institutions worldwide extraordinary opportunities to engage in real-world public health research and practice. Launched in 2014, this highly competitive program is offered annually over the course of eight weeks during the summer.

Students work with Washington University faculty mentors in labs and field-based settings in St. Louis and at other sites around the globe. In addition to gaining exposure to diverse topics and leading researchers in the field, participants receive career counseling and have the chance to network with student peers and faculty. At the program’s conclusion each summer, students present their research projects at a symposium.

The Summer Research Program, which attracts more than 200 applications for approximately 20 spots each year, gives students hands-on experience that shapes their future careers in public and global health. Since its inception, the program has trained 80 students and engaged 48 faculty mentors from 14 departments at the university. Sixteen student participants have published a total of

20 articles in peer-reviewed journals after completing the program.

A member of the 2018 cohort, Sarah Wishloff, an undergraduate from Amherst College, assisted Mark J. Manary, MD, the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and one of the world’s foremost experts in childhood malnutrition, with a new research study in rural Malawi. “My time in Malawi has taught me that there are some aspects of global health and clinical research trials that cannot be understood unless you immerse yourself in the thick of things,” says Wishloff. “In order to design and implement a clinical study, you have to actually see people; see how they live; look a mother and her child

in the eyes and level with them. To do anything else is to neglect the truth of people’s lives.”

The program benefits both students and investigators. During summer 2018, Tiffany Xie, a junior at Indiana University who aspires to combat health disparities as a physician, worked with Kathleen Bucholz, professor of psychiatry in Washington University’s School of Medicine. Xie assisted in analyzing data from one of Bucholz’s studies that focused on adolescents and young adults from high-risk families. In particular, Xie explored the association between racial and socioeconomic discrimination experiences and risk-taking behaviors, including early use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis.

Students in the Summer Research Program assisted IPH Faculty Scholar Mark J. Manary, MD, in addressing childhood malnutrition in rural Malawi.


“For me, the most formative lesson from the program is not just research training. Rather, it has been understanding the significance of my research in the real world,” Xie says of the experience she gained in the program.

The collaboration inspired Bucholz as well. “Observing [Xie’s] engagement in the research questions, the care with which she executed her analysis, and the thoughtful interpretations she attached to her results—in short, the excitement of her discoveries—excited me in turn and reminds me of why I chose to become a researcher in the addictions field in the first place.”

Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program participant in the lab

SUPPORTING STUDENTS, BUILDING LEADERS

Supporting students interested in public health yields forward-thinking leaders devoted to improving the health of communities across the globe. Many generous donors to Leading Together—including Margaret Etheridge Smitheram; MTM, Inc., along with its CEO Alaina Maciá, BS ’98, MBA ’02

and her husband, Daniel Maciá, MBA ’04; and an anonymous supporter—have partnered with IPH to enable the university’s critical work to prepare the next generation of public health researchers, educators, and practitioners.

Washington University offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate degrees and concentrations in public health through Arts & Sciences,

the Brown School, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, and the School of Medicine. Students in these programs have access to a wide range of opportunities and resources offered through IPH that complement and enrich the offerings in their degree programs.

Students throughout the university benefit from the myriad ways they can engage with the institute. They attend trainings on topics such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization, and complete public health and global health courses designed by faculty affiliated with IPH. Internships with IPH centers and initiatives expand their educational experience and help prepare them for careers in a variety of fields. IPH events on campus expand their knowledge of pressing problems facing our society, often sparking an interest to get further involved in efforts to address these challenges and better our world.

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A Home for the InstituteState-of-the-art facilities are essential for collaborative, transformative research and learning at the highest level. Throughout Leading Together, numerous dedicated donors, including several anonymous supporters, stepped forward to make significant investments in IPH facilities on the Danforth and medical campuses. Their investments expanded the institute’s presence within the university; bolstered its ability to facilitate collaboration and to amplify public health research, practice, and outreach; and further strengthened the exceptional teaching, research, and learning environment at Washington University.

JOINING THE MEDICAL SCHOOL CAMPUS

After establishing IPH in 2008, the university quickly began building vital infrastructure. One priority was providing space to accommodate the collaborative research, teaching, and outreach activities at the heart of the institute’s mission. Early, essential contributions to the Annual Fund, including generous support from national council member Timothy J. Henkel, MD ’88, PhD ’88, HS ’90, and his wife, Monica Fleck Henkel, MA ’82, MSW ’82, helped IPH obtain and renovate space in the Taylor Avenue Building on the medical school campus. This suite continues to anchor the institute’s efforts.

SEIGLE SUITE FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

As the institute grew and additional faculty and students joined its efforts, the need arose for unified space on the Danforth Campus. In 2014, Washington University Trustee Harry Seigle, AB ’68, and his wife, Susan, made a generous commitment to establish the Seigle Suite for the Institute for Public Health in Thomas and Jennifer Hillman Hall, an academic building completed in 2015 to support the Brown School.

Prominently placed near Hillman Hall’s garden-level entrance, the suite includes a reception area, several offices, and two conference rooms. The institute’s second location has been integral to its efforts to connect and catalyze public health work by faculty and students across the institution.

“The Seigle Suite has greatly enhanced the institute’s presence and provided the kind of spaces that our students, faculty, and staff need to conduct their work here,” says Dr. Powderly. “With this gift, the Seigles made an important contribution to advancing public health.”

Made possible through a generous commitment from Harry and Susan Seigle, the Seigle Suite for the Institute for Public Health in Thomas and Jennifer Hillman Hall serves as a hub for the institute on the Danforth Campus. From left: William G. Powderly, MD, Edward F. Lawlor, Susan and Harry Seigle, and Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton


Enhancing Excellence through Annual GivingThe field of public health is continually changing. Unrestricted support provides essential resources that allow IPH to respond to emerging issues, new opportunities, and unexpected challenges. “Annual Fund donors throughout the last decade have been critical to ensuring that the institute can address urgent problems and timely opportunities as they arise,” Dr. Powderly says. “We are grateful for these partners and their dedication to improving the health of communities here in St. Louis and abroad.”

The Annual Fund supports students, seeds cutting-edge research projects, and

underwrites events that encourage open discussion on pressing and complex topics. It ensures that institute faculty and staff can bring visiting scholars to campus and have the technology they need to communicate with partners across the globe. Unrestricted support maintains the margin of excellence that defines IPH and Washington University.

The institute grew and thrived during Leading Together, due in no small part to unrestricted contributions from dedicated IPH Annual Fund donors, including Joyce and Chauncy Buchheit; Timothy Henkel and Monica Fleck Henkel; MTM, Inc. and Alaina and Daniel Maciá; Donald L. and Nancy A. Ross; Richard and Cynthia S. Schilsky, BSN ’69; and Pat and Aja Stokes.

Several generous individuals, including James A. Harding, MHA ’75; Sam Nussbaum, MD, and his wife, Rhoda; and Margaret Marek Rohter, AB ’73, made commitments to provide future unrestricted support for the institute through endowed and planned gifts. Through their commitment to enhancing human health throughout our world, these and other loyal donors—many of whom also give of their time and talents through their service on the IPH National Council—have helped grow the institute and sustain its ongoing efforts to lead and innovate within the field of public health.

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A Healthier Future Washington University’s Institute for Public Health began with a compelling aspiration to greatly improve and sustain human life throughout the globe. Visionary support from Leading Together donors has accelerated the university’s pursuit of this crucial goal. Today, IPH harnesses the many strengths of the university to address complex issues and disparities affecting the health of communities throughout our world. And in doing so, the institute is helping fulfill Washington University’s responsibility, as a premier center for learning and discovery, to serve society.

Through their generous investments, campaign supporters have helped the institute progress and flourish in its first decade. IPH leaders have established a vast network of Faculty Scholars and community partners, incorporating diverse perspectives and approaches. They have nurtured pioneering research projects with seed funds and support. These projects and partnerships have yielded innovative solutions and important advancements—changes to public policy and new legislation, intervention programs at area hospitals, strategic and effective disease-awareness campaigns, and more. All the while, IPH has elevated and enhanced educational opportunities in public health across campuses and beyond, ensuring that future leaders in the field are well prepared to carry on these efforts and tackle new issues as they emerge.

After a decade of significant achievement, IPH stands poised for further accomplishment. “Looking ahead, we have prioritized four public health issues for our efforts in the coming years: mental health, diabetes, community and social determinants

of health, and health disparities, which will require even greater attention as we enter an era of personalized medicine,” says Dr. Powderly. “I am confident that the institute, along with our Faculty Scholars and students, can make significant contributions in these areas and, in turn, to our region as well.”

The secret to the record-setting success of Leading Together is in its name.

Together, we have made history. Together, the institute’s leaders and Faculty Scholars, along with every campaign donor, have built on a noble vision to create an innovative, interdisciplinary collaboration that is effecting lasting change in communities in St. Louis and beyond. We will continue to create a healthier world and future—together.


improving health outcomes, and addressing social and economic conditions,” says Vetta Sanders Thompson, the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Brown School and co-director of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research (CCHPR).

By connecting Washington University public health researchers with members of the St. Louis community, the center facilitates community participation

Centers, initiatives, and other programs within IPH focus on specific efforts that advance the institute’s overall mission. Through these endeavors, IPH bolsters pioneering research, tackles critical issues threatening human health worldwide, and facilitates productive discussions among investigators, practitioners, and students engaged in work in the field of public health. The institute’s research, practice, and outreach are enhancing many lives locally and globally.

Catalyzing Discovery, Implementing ResultsIn order to drive meaningful discoveries, several IPH centers build university investigators’ capacity to produce high-quality research projects in the field. Faculty affiliated with these centers facilitate collaboration and teach effective methods, enriching public health research throughout Washington University. They also assist faculty and students in translating timely findings into practice.

Center for Community Health Partnership and Research “Engaging community stakeholders throughout the research process is essential for reducing health disparities,

The institute’s research, practice, and outreach are enhancing many lives locally and globally.

Centers & Initiatives: Advancing Public Health Research, Practice, and Outreach

in all stages of research and outreach projects, from identifying health issues to planning, implementing, and assessing interventions that can improve health indicators. In addition to supporting academic-community collaboration, CCHPR provides education and training to advance community-engaged research and partnerships.

The center regularly convenes interest groups for investigators and clinicians working within and outside

Community residents engaged in open dialogue at a forum presented by the Gun Violence Initiative.

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of Washington University to address public health challenges affecting the St. Louis area, such as diabetes, immigrant and refugee health, and pediatric and adolescent ambulatory care. Some efforts, like the Gun Violence Initiative (see pages 27-28), are ongoing. This initiative, which shines a light on one of the most urgent public health problems facing society today, has spurred new, cutting-edge violence-prevention programs in our area.

Another effort of the center, the Human Trafficking Collaborative Network is an informal group of researchers, students, and community partners working to increase awareness and reduce the incidence of sex and labor trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable populations in the St. Louis region. IPH and the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox Policy Institute at the Brown School supported faculty experts who served on a panel during a congressional briefing on human trafficking and the impact on children and families in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2017.

This briefing helped shape a number of important advancements in the fight against this devastating problem. The passage of two recent bills—one to curb online sex trafficking throughout the country and another that mandates the display of human trafficking hotline posters in designated public places in Missouri—addresses the issue at a policy level. Another important result is the critical partnerships that researchers and local activists in the network initiated with lawmakers.

Center for Dissemination and Implementation“There’s a huge lag, a backlog, of effective programs, services, and interventions that we could all be benefiting from,” says Enola K. Proctor,

the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Brown School. “But to get them adopted, delivered, and sustained in real-world service-delivery systems takes time, and it often happens with only partial success. Through the study of dissemination and implementation science, we are trying to figure how to help clinicians deliver better services.”

Proctor directs the Center for Dissemination and Implementation, which strives to close the gap between discovery and practice. Through training, funding, and events, the center supports pioneering research projects focused on improving the distribution of public health findings and enhancing methods that promote the uptake of proven treatments, programs, and policies into routine use in new clinical and community settings.

Center for Community Health Partnership and Research Vetta Sanders Thompson, Co-Director E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Public Health and Social Work Programs, Brown School

Angela L. Brown, MD, Co-Director Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division in the Department of Medicine

Jane Garbutt, MD, Co-Director Research Professor, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics

Center for Dissemination and Implementation Enola K. Proctor, Director Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Brown School

Center for Health Economics and Policy Timothy D. McBride, Co-Director Bernard Becker Professor, Brown School

William Peck, MD, Co-Director Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine Former Dean, Washington University School of Medicine

Global Health Center William G. Powderly, MD, Director Larry J. Shapiro Director, IPH Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and Co-Director, Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging Nancy L. Morrow-Howell, Director Bettie Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy, Brown School

Public Health Data and Training Center Randi Foraker, Director Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine Sciences, School of Medicine Faculty Lead for Population Health Informatics, Institute for Informatics

INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH CENTERSFor detailed descriptions of the institute’s centers and initiatives, please see pages 23-27.

Over the past four years, the center has provided seed grants for 22 new implementation research pilots carried out by university faculty and students. Examples of these cutting-edge projects include investigating methods to increase HPV vaccine rates, to optimize the functional status of children treated in pediatric critical care units, to inform efficient responses to food poisoning, and to implement evidence-based interventions for alcohol and drug addiction, obesity among pregnant women, post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans, and child malnutrition. With this initial funding and guidance from center leaders, these investigators have been able to leverage more than $52 million in external research support to continue their projects.


Center for Health Economics and Policy Established in 2015, the Center for Health Economics and Policy (CHEP) focuses on disseminating timely research results to policymakers and other stakeholders in order to advance improvements in public health. The center provides opportunities for faculty and students from the medical school, schools across the Danforth Campus, and outside institutions to collaborate on evidence-based research that provides insights into how market forces and governmental policies affect public health. Faculty affiliated with the center also offer programs and training to increase university investigators’ capacity to use these methods in their research projects.

“The nation seeks to expand access to high-quality medical care, while containing rising medical care costs. In our region, in the U.S., and around the globe, health systems also face the issues of health disparities, financing medical care for a rapidly rising aging population, and provider shortages,” says Timothy D. McBride, the Bernard Becker Professor in the Brown School.

“Against that backdrop, an increased understanding of health economics and policy is essential to solving the nation’s goals for access, quality, and affordability.” McBride co-directs the center with William A. Peck, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine and former dean of the School of Medicine.

On October 13, 2017, CHEP and the Brown School’s Clark-Fox Policy Institute hosted Transforming Health Care in Missouri, a conference that led to the delivery of several nonpartisan policy proposals to Missouri lawmakers. A key recommendation was to reinstitute coverage for physical or occupational therapy services for Missouri Medicaid beneficiaries. Without these services, the primary treatment for patients with chronic pain has become narcotic medication, which frequently leads to dependence and is contributing to the state’s opioid crisis. In January 2018, the governor announced the 2019 budget, which recommended adding Medicaid coverage for alternative pain-management options—including physical and occupational therapy, chiropractic services, massage, and acupuncture—for individuals with a pain diagnosis. These

efforts are building a dialogue between public health scholars at Washington University, community stakeholders, and state officials in order to advance changes that improve the health of people throughout Missouri.

Public Health Data and Training CenterThe Public Health Data and Training Center (Data Center) puts public health data into action by promoting its effective use in research, practice, and policy. As part of its mission, the center annually hosts two or three free crash courses in statistical and programming software for all university and community members, expanding data curriculum offerings across campuses and in St. Louis. Randi Foraker, associate professor of general medicine sciences in the School of Medicine, directs the center.

Data Center trainings give students invaluable experience working with data: “I have learned how to interpret a real-world dataset in order to understand what it means on a deeper level,” explained Will Lyons, BS ’18, who completed one of the center’s courses. “I am grateful to have mastered this skill

Center for Health Economics and Policy and the Brown School’s Clark-Fox Policy Institute hosted the conference Transforming Health Care in Missouri.

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since, especially in the modern age of data, being able to comprehend statistics and their implications is critical in so many fields.”

Other Data Center efforts extend beyond campus, addressing urgent public health issues facing the community. Faculty affiliated with the center recently worked with Washington University emergency medicine physicians and infectious disease physician-researchers to document rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, infection, and treatment at emergency departments in the St. Louis area. This work showed that, although there is a high volume of infection and testing in local emergency departments, rates of follow-up by patients are low. Center leaders designed and implemented an intervention at Barnes-Jewish Hospital that daily identifies all patients with positive test results so that a team of medical professionals in emergency medicine can contact them to arrange treatment.

A Focus on Widespread Issues: Aging and Health InequitySome public health problems vary by neighborhood or city, while others are more pervasive, affecting whole regions or continents. Social determinants of health differ considerably around the

globe, creating tremendous inequity. Addressing prevalent health inequity is the focus of global health researchers and clinicians. Similarly, rapidly aging populations present challenges and opportunities for societies worldwide. Faculty leaders, scholars, and students working through two IPH centers are enhancing and improving many lives as they tackle these widespread problems.

Global Health CenterSince its inception in 2012, the Global Health Center (GHC) has helped position Washington University as a leader in global health. Through transdisciplinary programs and partnerships within the university and beyond, the center addresses human health issues that cross national borders. “The gross inequalities in health that we see within and between countries present a challenge to the world,” says Dr. Powderly, who, in addition to his role as IPH director, directs the GHC. “Resolving these inequalities requires partnerships transcending the boundaries between disciplines.”

The center encourages innovation and cross-disciplinary research in a number of key areas, including:

» Infectious diseases

» Nutritional deficiency

» Maternal and child health

» Productive aging

» Cancer and chronic disease

Other work includes hosting events that bring together the campus community and center partners to focus on global health issues and developing a comprehensive curriculum at Washington University to educate the next generation of global health investigators and practitioners.

Faculty from across the university are engaged in more than 270 research projects in 31 countries throughout the world. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded the university, along with just 34 other organizations in the nation, the opportunity to develop and conduct novel research and prevention projects related to safety in health-care settings. Through this important program, the GHC assists the CDC in finding pioneering approaches to preventing infections and antibiotic resistance associated with health care.

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging The Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging works toward a global society in which all older adults have maximum opportunity for health, security, and engagement. The center connects individuals and organizations across disciplines to conduct innovative research and ensure its translation into practice, to expand education on issues relevant to individual and population aging, and to support aging-focused initiatives throughout St. Louis and around the world. Established in 1998 and renamed in 2007 to recognize the generosity of Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman, this powerful initiative became a part of IPH in 2012. Dorismae Hacker Friedman and members of the Friedman family have continued her and Harvey’s legacy of support. Many other donors, including university Trustee John D. Beuerlein, MBA ’77, and his wife, Crystal, as well as Pfizer Inc., also have invested in the center’s important work.

In recent years, the center has greatly enhanced the university’s efforts to


educate students about the growing diversity in health, needs, and interests of older adults in our society. In fall 2014, the center launched a new interdisciplinary course, “When I’m 64: Transforming Your Future,” to help inform first-year undergraduate students of issues related to aging and the many career opportunities related to enhancing older adults’ quality of life. “There are many undergraduate courses around the country on issues of aging, but we are one of the few that focuses on first-year students, to set the stage for not just their academic work, but their personal lives as well,” explains Nancy Morrow-Howell, the Friedman Center’s director and the Bettie Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy in the Brown School.

With the support of a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the center also recently began a new summer research program for undergraduate students to learn about three neurological conditions and diseases that often interplay with the aging process—stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia—while gaining experience in the lab and other academic settings.

Preventing Violence, a Public Health CrisisEvery year, around 470,000 people are victims of homicide in our world. Hundreds of millions more suffer non-fatal acts of violence—from child and elder abuse to sexual assault. The effects can plague individuals throughout their lives and can even undermine the social and economic development of whole communities.

“Violence in our community is an issue that affects every one of us, no matter

who we are or where we live,” says Chancellor Wrighton. “It is a problem that requires a coordinated response, and we each must play a role in finding a solution.”

IPH is at the forefront of efforts to address this urgent problem in St. Louis, where the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes. Through recent pioneering initiatives, the institute has emerged as a national leader in violence prevention.

Gun Violence Initiative

Launched in spring 2015, the Gun Violence Initiative (GVI) examines one of our greatest public health challenges: death and injury resulting from gun violence. The initiative brings together partners across Washington University,

The interdisciplinary course “When I’m 64: Transforming Your Future” helps first-year students learn about aging-related issues.

national experts, and stakeholders throughout the St. Louis community to develop solutions focused on safety and prevention that reduce violence linked to firearms. According to Poli Rijos, who coordinates the initiative, “During the past three years, we have connected with more than 50 community organizations that are actively working to prevent gun violence and are applying evidence-informed interventions into their practices. Our goal is to support innovative research and unify hundreds, if not thousands, of people working toward solutions.” GVI is now an effort of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research at IPH (see page 23).

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St. Louis Area Violence Prevention CommissionIn 2016, IPH initiated a partnership between the university and the United Way of Greater St. Louis to reduce violent crime in the region. A result of GVI, this collaboration promotes a coordinated, well-resourced support system and interventions among area governments, institutions, and agencies that serve individuals and families most at risk of violent crime. The group comprises more than 20 initiatives, representing education, health care, law enforcement, local government, neighborhood groups, and social services.

“As we have been exploring the efforts that are currently underway throughout the community, it has become clear that the many programs and organizations that are already doing good and important work would benefit greatly from regional alignment and a coordinated approach,” says Jason Purnell, associate professor at the Brown School, an IPH Faculty Scholar, and the leader of Health Equity Works. “By pooling our collective knowledge and resources at a common table, we will ultimately strengthen our impact.”

Life Outside of Violence: St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention ProgramAnother result of GVI, Life Outside of Violence (LOV), or the St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program, is the only program of its kind in the nation incorporating three research universities and four trauma centers. A collaboration between Washington University, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri St. Louis, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, SSM Health Saint Louis University

“ Through a yearlong internship with the Gun Violence Initiative at the Institute for Public Health, I had the opportunity to work with academics, professionals, community members, and students. This invaluable experience included broad exposure to their work and varied responsibilities. I built a resource matrix and facilitated community conversations. I gained in-depth knowledge of the issue from different perspectives, including those of community members, law enforcement, social service, and academia. I learned how to reconcile diverse experiences and opinions and how to balance theory and research with the practicalities of limited resources and the realities of community experience. I plan on continuing this work through the pursuit of a doctorate in public health with a specific focus in violence prevention, a path that I didn’t even know existed when I started working with IPH.”

– Alexandra Liss, AB ’18 Undergraduate Intern, Gun Violence Initiative

Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, the program started in early 2018 thanks to a grant from Missouri Foundation for Health and gifts from anonymous donors. Through the program, hospital case managers promote alternatives to violence with individuals injured by gunshot, stabbing, or assault in order to decrease incidences of retaliation, criminal involvement, re-injury, and death.

Faculty leaders from multiple IPH centers collaborated with the participating hospitals to design and implement this innovative program, which the institute continues to coordinate. “This kind of program is a wonderful example of the power and impact of research universities and hospitals working together to face head-on one of America’s greatest public health challenges,” says Chancellor Wrighton. “Interrupting the cycle of violence in our region is crucial, and I am pleased that Washington University’s Institute for Public Health has stepped forward to help lead such an effort.”

The institute is piloting the program with 600 participants over three years. As the program progresses, IPH researchers are closely evaluating results. LOV has the potential to become a national model for violence prevention, saving and enhancing lives in St. Louis and other communities across the country.

Seeding Innovation: Public Health Cubed and Other Pilot Funding ProgramsEarly-stage funding for Faculty Scholars’ research and outreach projects is one of many ways that IPH nurtures and inspires novel solutions to public health

issues. Grants through programs like Public Health Cubed (PH³) enable faculty teams to address major social problems too complex for a single disciplinary approach—and to pursue experimental ideas that might be too unconventional to attract traditional funding immediately. Often these


“ Interrupting the cycle of violence in our region is crucial, and I am pleased that Washington University’s Institute for Public Health has stepped forward to help lead such an effort.” —Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton

programs include highly visible campuswide opportunities to highlight results.

Support for IPH’s seed funding efforts has come from a variety of sources, including BJC HealthCare and the MTM, Inc. Community Health Access Fund, both of which underwrite university efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities. Thanks to the dedication and generosity of these

and other Leading Together donors, the institute has awarded Faculty Scholars and partners more than $1.6 million for 79 interdisciplinary projects to spur cutting-edge solutions to 21st-century public health challenges.

Examples of the many funded projects include: » Sex and Labor Trafficking in St. Louis,

a precursor to the Human Trafficking Collaborative Network

IPH has been a major catalyst in developing the Human Trafficking Collaborative Network in St. Louis

» Inter-district School Transfer Program Participation and Student Health

» Developing Technology-Based Tools for Chronic Disease Case Management

» Parenting for Growth and Development: A New Intervention Approach in Haiti

» Public Access to enRiched Conditions Initiative (PARC), evaluating the use of public parks for health and fitness in north St. Louis County

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Study Seeded by IPH Helps Prevent HIV in MissouriRoutine use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or preventative daily medication, helps to thwart HIV acquisition and significantly lower HIV incidence among at-risk populations. Ensuring that these populations are aware of the benefits of PrEP often presents a challenge to state and local health officials.

A PH³-funded study, led by Faculty Scholar Rupa Patel, MD, assistant professor of medicine, helped the state

of Missouri use targeted messaging among at-risk populations to yield significant increases in the use of PrEP by the state’s residents. Through the study, Patel and her fellow researchers were among the first investigators to use network analysis to evaluate populations at the highest risk of contracting HIV. They found that online messaging is the best approach to engaging these populations and produced a list of physical and virtual venues where individuals with high-risk behaviors convene.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services used these recommendations in their awareness campaigns to tap into social networks where peer-to-peer communication about PrEP occurred, resulting in efficient and rapid dissemination of information about this important HIV-prevention method. Missouri saw a large increase, relative to other Medicaid non-expansion and Midwestern states, in reported PrEP use, which climbed from 3 to 21 of every 100,000 people from 2013 to 2016.

Through a pioneering study, Rupa Patel, MD, left, has helped the state of Missouri see a significant increase in residents’ use of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or daily medication that can lower the risk of contracting HIV.


Promoting Dialogue and Partnerships through Institute EventsA key aspect of IPH’s mission is convening faculty, investigators, practitioners, staff, and students of diverse backgrounds to discuss public health issues facing communities in St. Louis and beyond. The institute holds a variety of events that serve to facilitate the exchange of ideas and to spark connections among public health researchers, professionals, and students.

Since its launch in 2008, IPH has hosted an annual conference every fall. More than 300 faculty, staff, students, and community partners attend the half-day event, which includes presentations, a panel discussion, a poster session, and networking opportunities. The 11th annual conference took place

October 31, 2018, and focused on the intersection of local public health and health equity.

Next Steps in Public Health is an event series that addresses complex public health challenges, with a focus on producing actionable reports, research agendas, policy priorities, and dissemination plans. Faculty and students across the university participate alongside stakeholders and partners in the community.

Topics of past Next Steps in Public Health events include:

» Eliminating Population-Based Disparities in Diabetes and Obesity

» Developing the Workforce for an Aging America

» Advancing the Transition to a High-Performance Rural Health System

for Greater Community Health and Well-being

» Dissemination and Implementation Proposal Development Training

» Understanding the Microbiome as a Means to Address Human Malnutrition on a Global Scale

» Environment, Sustainability, and a Healthy St. Louis: A Collaborative and Transdisciplinary Vision for Washington University

Longstanding institutional partner BJC HealthCare helps make the Next Steps in Public Health series possible through their generous support of the institute’s work to address health disparities.

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Enhancing Human Health Today and TomorrowIPH centers and initiatives are greatly enhancing human health throughout our world by catalyzing pioneering research, driving promising discoveries, and bringing innovative programs and interventions to communities near and far. Through these focused efforts, IPH is effecting lasting change on a wide variety of critical issues—gun violence, human trafficking, STD prevention and treatment, infectious diseases, aging populations, the opioid crisis, and much more. With the tremendous support of Leading Together donors, IPH has brought Washington University to the forefront of public health efforts worldwide. Thanks to these steadfast supporters, the university stands strong for continued impact. As new public health issues emerge, IPH will rise to meet them, uniting the brightest minds across this great institution and beyond to form and implement creative solutions.


institute for public health · alaina maciá bs ’98, mba ’02 president and ceo, mtm, inc. mary...

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