Public Health Ideas convenings

Public Health Ideas convenings are events that bring together renowned experts across disciplines to discuss the myriad challenges confronting population health and the field — and innovative, collaborative ways to effect positive change near and far.

Events in 2026

In addition to the events listed below, more events will be posted here in the coming months.

Implementation Science & the Public Health Information Ecosystem

This gathering will explore how implementation science — the field that studies how to put evidence into practice — can help us communicate more effectively so that accurate, trustworthy health information is able to hold its ground in a crowded information landscape.

The Resilience & Recovery of Former Child Soldiers

This event explores the long-term impact of war on child development, the ethics of cross-cultural trauma research, and how evidence-based interventions can support recovery in the most challenging circumstances.

Disease Ecology on a Changing Planet

This event brought together academics, clinicians, policymakers, and community leaders to explore the role climate change plays in reshaping patterns of infectious disease, and why coordinated, multisectoral collaborations are essential to build future readiness.

Events in 2025

Bringing Science to Society: A conversation with Katelyn Jetelina

This was a talk by epidemiologist and scientific communicator Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD, who discussed her pioneering approach to public health communication, and her experience translating complex data for audiences online through her Substack platform, “Your Local Epidemiologist.”

A conversation with Kenneth Cole

This conversation explored how collaborations between business, public health, and advocacy can drive measurable impact regarding population mental health.

Science for Health Systems Inaugural Conference

Science for Health Systems Inaugural Conference

The inaugural conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and implementers from multiple disciplines and regions of the world to share health system research methods and findings to maximize impact on health.

Can We Harness AI to Promote Healthier Lives?

This symposium brought together leading experts to explore how we can harness the potential of Al while safeguarding against bias and ensuring its benefits reach all communities.

FARM Food Futures Forum

The inaugural convening brought together leading voices from academia, government, civil society, and the private sector to engage in critical dialogue on transforming food systems to support human and planetary health

The Story of COVID in the Heart of America

This event brought together the team that documented, with this book, COVID-19’s impact on St. Louis. The event features the book’s creators, as well as community leaders, in a conversation about lessons learned from the pandemic.

Policy, Biodiversity, and the Future of Food

This panel discussion at WashU and online explored the alarming decline in biodiversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels and its critical implications for food security and public health nutrition.

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