Research networks are at the center of the school’s research mission. The networks cultivate interdisciplinary research agendas to achieve research excellence and address critical public health priorities. Each network has a core mission, and together they form an ecosystem that catalyzes the innovation that leads to meaningful improvements in human health locally, regionally and globally.
The Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM) advances research that can be translated into practical, scalable innovations, contributing to sustainable agricultural and food system transformation and improved public health.
The Dissemination & Implementation Science Innovation Research Network (DISIRN) seeks to close the gap between evidence and practice. The network supports research that accelerates the successful adoption and implementation of evidence-based, sustainable solutions to all kinds of public health challenges.
The Global Health Futures Innovation Research Network aims to anticipate changes to the global health landscape and develop adaptive solutions grounded in the strengths of WashU. The network emphasizes the connection between local and global contexts, ensuring that research addresses both community-specific needs and broader international health priorities.
The aim of the PS2 network is to catalyze innovative approaches to improve public health through local, state, and federal policy, systems and solutions.
The Solutions through Planetary Health Research (SPHERE) network’s goal is to understand how changes to the environment affect human health, and find sustainable ways for people to live healthier lives while maintaining the health of the planet that supports us all.
The Health Communication Collaborative aims to advance public health by helping communities and health professionals learn from one another. The collaborative will establish listening infrastructure to help health professionals better understand what people know, believe and value when it comes to health; incorporate the insights gained into health information that is clear, unbiased, actionable, and responsive to people’s needs; and share it widely through diverse messengers and channels that reach all people.
The research networks are a key part of the school’s research enterprise, but not all of the school’s research efforts are under the umbrella of the networks. Faculty members also are developing novel evidence-based approaches that promote healthy behaviors, tackling the complexities of health systems to improve how they work, investigating the impacts of the built environment on the health of communities, and more – all part of the innovative and transformative research taking place at WashU School of Public Health
