February 15, 2026

The inaugural convening of WashU Public Health's Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network (DISIRN) explored how to promote public health by improving communication between experts and the public. The symposium was Tuesday, February 10.

The latest Ignite grant awardees were chosen for their innovative, interdisciplinary research projects toward solving pressing public health problems. Several School of Public Health faculty were among those awarded.

Trained as a clinical health psychologist, Mary Politi, PhD, develops tools and approaches to help patients and their health-care teams make shared decisions on care.   

The Talking Public Health seminar series features presentations by leading thinkers in public health at WashU and elsewhere.

Last week, the School of Public Health hosted two Talking Public Health presentations. Rachel Garg, a WashU Public Health assistant professor, gave a talk titled, "Assessing Social Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Her presentation was Wednesday, February 11, at WashU and online.

Natalicio (Nat) Serrano, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, presented “Do Healthy Neighborhoods Occur by Chance or Design?” on Thursday, February 12, at WashU and online. 

This week, there are two Talking Public Health presentations. Syeed Iskander, an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Dakota State University, will give a talk titled, "Environmental systems in exposure pathways: Linking lifestyle, environmental, and human health," in person and via Zoom at noon Tuesday, February 17, in 4240 Duncan's Havana Room.

Andrew Medina-Marino, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, will give a talk titled, “Addressing inequities in tuberculosis care: Men’s health and diagnostic service delivery." The talk will be in person and via Zoom at noon Thursday, February 19, in 4240 Duncan's Havana Room.

To see the school's full collection of recordings, see here.

Media coverage of WashU Public Health's people, research, and other news.

WashU Law's Rachel Sachs, a WashU Public Health secondary faculty member, says it's difficult for patients to do the type of financial calculations needed to figure out the best prices for medications. (Source: The New York Times)

WashU Public Health's Beth Stelson was among the first wave of people to develop long COVID in 2020. The experience has changed how she views public health and health care. (Source: New England Psychologist)

Everyone wants to 'Make America Healthy Again,' but some of the ideas of the MAHA movement will end up making America less healthy, said WashU Public Health Dean Sandro Galea. (Source: Scientific American)

Physician and researcher Patrick Aguilar, a professor of practice at WashU's Olin Business and a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, discusses high prescription drug costs, lack of price transparency, and rising insurance premiums. (Source: The Conversation)

With new U.S. nutrition guidelines encouraging Americans to consume more protein and avoid foods and drinks with added sugar, iHeard asked St. Louis adults to name foods that have protein or added sugar. 

iHeard is a listening project of the Health Communication Research Laboratory at WashU Public Health. iHeard surveys about 200 people who live or work in St. Louis weekly to find out what they know, believe and care about in regard to health.

Yi Wang, a postdoctoral researcher in WashU Public Health's People, Health & Place Unit, is the first and corresponding author on "Do Priorities for Developing Livable Cities Change Over Time?" published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research. WashU Public Health co-authors include Alexandre Augusto de Paula da Silva, a postdoctoral research associate; Milena Franco Silva, a PhD student; Maryse Rios-Hernandez, a research manager at the People, Health & Place Unit; Raúl D. Gierbolini-Rivera, a PhD student; Ross Brownson, the Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor; and Professor Rodrigo Siqueira Reis, who leads the People, Health and Place Unit.

Juliet Iwelunmor, a professor at WashU Medicine and a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, is a senior author on "Creative arts to enhance cervical cancer awareness using art-based messages from a Nigerian crowdsourcing open call: qualitative thematic analysis," published in JMIR Formative Research. Onyeka Anikamadu, a PhD student in Public Health Sciences, is a co-author.

Kyle Pitzer, an assistant professor at WashU Medicine and a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, and Judith Mwobobia, a PhD student in Public Health Sciences, co-authored "Factors associated with lymphedema therapist willingness to refer to surgery," published in Supportive Care in Cancer.

In The Healthiest Goldfish this week, Dean Galea co-authors a piece with Nason Maani, a longtime colleague and senior lecturer in inequalities and global health policy at the University of Edinburgh. Their topic: "On the difference between novelty and insight — and why that matters for the world of ideas."

Also, in JAMA Health Forum, Dean Galea, the journal's editor-in-chief, writes, "A Role for Market Forces in U.S. Health Care — Principles and Guardrails."

The WashU Public Health Moment is published by the School of Public Health Office of Communications. You can reach us at [email protected].

Visit publichealth.washu.edu for the latest news and information, and follow us on social media.

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