public health

The Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis will host a symposium titled “What Hurts, What Works, and What Have We Learned in Eliminating Health Disparities” from 8 a.m.-noon on Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus.

When Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, went to medical school, he was struck by the kinds of patients he saw in the hospital. Too many were suffering from heart attacks or lung cancer — conditions linked to smoking. “It made me wonder: Couldn’t we do a better job at prevention?” he says.

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:’Times New Roman’;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} Missouri has one of the highest statewide smoking averages in the country, more than 23 percent. And racial and ethnic minorities, people with lower incomes and education levels, Medicaid recipients and the LGBT community smoke or experience secondhand smoke at a rate significantly higher than the state average. These findings are highlighted in a recent report by the Center for Tobacco Policy Research (CTPR) at Washington University in St. Louis. The report, “Who is Most Affected? Tobacco-Related Disparities in Missouri,” identifies statewide differences related to who is smoking, who is exposed to secondhand smoke and who is quitting. 

The health care industry needs managers with a strong foundation in business and public policy. A new dual degree from WUSTL is designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of complex companies across the health care spectrum. Details of the new MBA/MPH graduate program offered by the Brown School and Olin Business School are announced today.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a five-year, $13 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve efforts to eliminate two parasitic diseases, elephantiasis and river blindness. The award is believed to be the largest global health grant so far to the University.

Two days before the Haiti earthquake, Lora Iannotti, Ph.D., nutrition and public health expert from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, traveled to Port-au-Prince and Leogane, Haiti, to continue her research about undernutrition and disease prevention in young children. The massive tremor changed her focus from research for the future to survival, with her team helping children in the aftermath of the quake.

People committed to improving the health of vulnerable communities and populations have a new degree option at Washington University in St. Louis — a Master of Public Health (MPH). The MPH Program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work is accepting applications for its first class. The Brown School regularly hosts information sessions about its academic programs. The school plans a special half-day “Focus on MPH” event on February 13 from 8:30 – 1:30 p.m. Individuals who have applied or plan to apply for the fall 2009 semester should attend. The event will be held in Brown Hall Lounge.

The Master of Public Health Program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work is accepting applications for its first class.

The Institute for Public Health will host its inaugural symposium on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus. The overall goal of the event is to raise awareness of public-health research and service activities currently conducted at the University.

The new Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis will host its inaugural symposium on Sept. 5 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus. The conference symposium will begin at 8:30 a.m. with an overview of the Institute. The overall goal of the event is to raise awareness of public health research and service activities currently conducted at the University.