Advancing public health at the University of Washington – The Source

As part of its strategic vision, “Here and then“, Washington University in St. Louis mobilizes research, education and patient care to make the university – and St. Louis – a global hub for transformative solutions to our most pressing societal challenges. deep. This priority includes public health.

“We have an opportunity – from here in St. Louis – to transform public health to improve lives across the country and our planet,” said Dean Beverly Wendland. “As we emerge from the pandemic, we have seen the strengths and weaknesses of public health as it has been practiced for decades. We have the talent to reimagine the future of public health to address unmet needs, and with the right investments, WashU can improve lives on an unprecedented scale.

While WashU already has a strong foundation in public health expertise, research and curriculum, the university is expanding its commitment to this area. Work is underway to create a new school of public health to meet the changing needs of the city, region and world. WashU’s first new school in a century will expand the well-established academic and applied excellence in public health that already exists here.

Search for public health dean begins

The intention to build the School of Public Health was announcement last October, when the university unveiled its 10-year strategic plan. Two new committees including WashU faculty on the Danforth and Medicine campuses were recently given their mission to identify the school’s first dean. The Nominations and Recruitment Committee will propose a first round of leading candidates for the decan. The interdisciplinary advisory committee will add to the list of target appointments with a particular emphasis on seeking potential leaders from a broad range of disciplines as well as local and global contexts. Together, the committees will work to leverage their extensive networks and support the recruitment of a leader who will help develop WashU’s next era of public health.

“These committees work collaboratively and in a highly focused manner to identify our next world-class dean,” Wendland said. “WashU is fortunate to have many public health faculty leaders with extensive networks to reach highly qualified individuals and help us launch our new school. This is a unique opportunity that will allow us to mobilize our strengths and position WashU as a leading institution in public health.

The new School of Public Health will drive equitable, evidence-based public health initiatives – here in St. Louis and around the world – and provide an exceptional training ground for new generations of researchers and practitioners.

“Improving the health of the public is the ultimate goal of everything we do at the academic medical center, including patient care, education and biomedical research,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, George Dean and Carol Bauer of the School of Medicine. , executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.

“We live in an era where technological advances have profoundly accelerated the impact of medical science, and the School of Public Health represents a critical next step in translating that impact for the benefit of our communities. This includes key aspects of implementing new therapies and preventative strategies in ways that lead to better outcomes for all communities, including economically strong and under-resourced urban and rural communities, as well as those in our area. locally, in our region or around the world.

The WashU community is invited to contribute to the research effort. Two virtual public meetings, scheduled for October 19 and 23, are designed to collect recommendations from faculty, students and staff. Additionally, members of the WashU community are encouraged to name specific people to consider. (See full list of committee members below.)

Advancing the debate on public health

The annual Public Health at WashU conference, titled “Focusing on the Public in Public Health” will take place on October 23 and 24. The conference will highlight the impactful work already being done by WashU faculty, staff and students across all eight schools and explore new directions in public health.

Topics that will be covered include strengthening vital public health collaboration between the university and its community, as well as collaboration among state, regional and local leaders on critical public health issues.

The keynote speakers are:

• Darrell J. Gaskinan internationally recognized expert on health and health care disparities and director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and

• Sandro Galeadean of the Boston University School of Public Health, past chair of the board of directors of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, and past president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Interdisciplinary Association for population health sciences.

Visit the event page for more information about the conference and to register; all members of the WashU community are invited to attend.

Gupta to speak at WashU

The university will also welcome Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, multiple Emmy Award winner and associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital, to campus.

The Gupta Assembly Series lectures, scheduled for November 15 at Graham Chapel, will focus on medicine and media.

More information about the event, including registration, will be available soon.

Dean of Public Health Nomination and Recruitment Committee

Public Health Deans Interdisciplinary Search Advisory Committee