April 19, 2026

A pause on foreign development assistance that was ordered the first day of President Trump’s term included PEPFAR — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — an initiative launched in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush to combat HIV/AIDS around the world. That and other abrupt changes disrupted HIV care worldwide. But in South Africa, home to the largest population of people living with HIV, PEPFAR’s stoppage caused ripple effects that undermined the country’s whole HIV care system, according to a study by a team including WashU Public Health researchers. 

Leading voices in global public health convened at WashU on April 14 to envision how best to work toward making the world a healthier place for all.

When Olivia Weng began her doctoral studies in public health sciences at WashU, she joined iHeard, a brand-new project of the Health Communication Research Laboratory. She will graduate this semester with her PhD for her research in health communication.

Andrew D. Williams, an associate professor at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, presented, “Maternal care in context: Integrating epidemiology, health systems and community contexts to understand perinatal inequities.” His talk was Wednesday, April 15.

Salma Abdalla, a WashU assistant professor of public health, has been named a 2026 Public Scholarship Faculty Fellow. The fellowship recognizes scholars whose work connects rigorous research with public audiences. Abdalla was selected as a fellow in recognition of her sustained commitment to translating research for people outside of the academy through media appearances, accessible storytelling, and original public-facing content. Read more here.

Alex Antonio Florindo, an associate professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, is participating in the Distinguished Visiting Scholar program at WashU from April 19 through April 30. Florindo is an international affiliate of the People, Health & Place Unit at WashU School of Public Health. While here, he will participate in a discussion at noon Thursday, April 23, on the ISA (Inquérito de Saúde de São Paulo) Physical Activity and Environment Longitudinal Study.

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

A 2024 National Academies for Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report lead-authored by WashU Public Health Dean Sandro Galea was cited in this Reflection article. The report called for rigorous, independent research on the impact of social media on mental health. (Source: The Lancet Adolescent and Child Health. See PDF here.)

WashU Public Health's Tim McBride, an author of a policy brief on Medicaid work requirements, said the new requirements will require significant money and manpower to reach the relatively small share of Medicaid recipients who are not working. (Source: St. Louis Public Radio)

As part of a committee that awarded grants to companies developing ways to use living organisms to improve agricultural productivity, WashU Public Health's Morven McLean said she looked for ideas with solid data and clear paths to commercialization. (Source: St. Louis Magazine)

WashU Public Health's Beth Stelson joined the Healthy Work podcast to discuss vicarious trauma — which occurs when workers are repeatedly exposed to other people's traumatic experiences — and employers' responsibility to protect their workers from it. (Source: Healthy Work)

Some GLP-1 weight loss drugs are now available in pill form, in part because many people don’t like injecting medicine, or having to store it in their refrigerators. iHeard asked St. Louisans if they had strong preferences about the forms of medicine they like and dislike. They do!  

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

Emmanuel Tetteh, a research assistant professor at WashU Public Health, is the corresponding author on, “Perceived readiness and ability to socially distance during the early COVID-19 epidemic in a U.S. metropolitan area: Implications for local public health preparedness,” published in Epidemiologia. Co-authors include Collin McGovern, a former WashU undergraduate research assistant; WashU Public Health research assistant Gifty Aboagye-Mensah; Ginger McKay, a WashU Public Health assistant professor; as well as WashU Medicine’s Julia D. López and Elvin Geng, both of WashU Public Health's secondary faculty.

WashU Public Health PhD student Luis Fuenmayor-Gonzalez is the last author on, “Expanded dengue and the digestive system: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases.

Nicholas Szoko, an assistant professor of pediatrics at WashU Medicine and a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, is the first and corresponding author on, “Protective factors against violence and substance use in adolescents: a latent class analysis,” published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. WashU Medicine’s Kristen Mueller, a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, is a co-author.  

WashU Medicine’s Margaret E. Kruk, a member of the WashU Public Health secondary faculty, is last author on, “’If they were telling us to go, we will go’: factors associated with effective postnatal care coverage before and after discharge – a mixed-­methods study in rural western Kenya,” published in BMJ Global Health.

Hosted by Dean Galea, the newly launched "Ideas Matter" podcast is a space for thoughtful, informed conversations about the forces shaping our lives and institutions. Its aim is to provide expert perspectives that deepen understanding and inform better conversation about what matters most in the moment.

In this first episode, Dean Galea visits with the University of Notre Dame's Alexander Kustov, an expert in public opinion and democratic governance, to unpack the factors shaping how Americans think about immigration — and where there may be room for consensus.

Dean Galea's latest post in The Healthiest Goldfish — "Trust and public health; How to be transparent so we are trusted without having to say 'trust us' — is co-authored by frequent collaborator Salma Abdalla, a WashU Public Health assistant professor, co-director of the school's Global Health Futures research network, and director of the school's Healthier Futures Lab.

This piece is part of the Purple Public Health Project, a multiyear, multimedia effort started by Galea and Abdalla. The project aims to re-establish public health’s legitimacy, broaden its reach, and shore up its foundations in this moment and beyond. 

Wednesday, May 20, 2026
A World Health Assembly side event in Geneva, and online. 

This convening will focus on disrupting traditional research paradigms and fostering innovative approaches to knowledge generation for better population health.

1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130

[email protected]

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