Edward F. Lawlor, PhD
Dr. Lawlor is the founding director of the Institute for Public Health. He is also the dean and William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at Washington University's Brown School. Dean Lawlor researches and writes on access to health care, health care reform, policy analysis and aging. A national Medicare expert, he is the author of "Redesigning the Medicare Contract: Politics, Markets, and Agency." He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Indepencence Center and the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater St. Louis. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for NORC. Prior to joining Washington University, he served as dean of the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.
Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, FAFPHM
Dr. Colditz serves as deputy director and is the Niess-Gain Professor at Washington University's School of Medicine and the associate director, Prevention and Control at Siteman Cancer Center. He also leads the Siteman Cancer Center Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities. He has devoted much of his career to the application of scientific advances in cancer prevention to broader population programs. He also developed the website www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu to assess individual risk and communicate tailored prevention messages to the public.
Samantha J. Books, MPE
Ms. Books brings nearly 15 years of research and project management skills to her role as special assistant to the directors. As the special assistant, she oversees the day-to-day activities of the Institute, including the planning and implementation of special public events, symposia, and lectures, as well as other special community programs.
Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Books was the field research coordinator for the Brown School's Center for Mental Health Services Research. She has also served as research coordinator at Washington University School of Medicine's Department of Pyschiatry and at the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In these roles she organized a variety of research projects focusing on issues ranging from parenting skills to depression treatment and from pathological gambling to chronic multi-symptom illness.