Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager, Institute for Public Health
The annual Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program launches June 3 with research opportunities for selected students in three tracks: the Public and Global Health track; the Aging and Neurological Diseases track, and the RADIANCE track in cardiovascular disease and blood disorders. Each summer, the program is open to students who seek challenge, research and the opportunity to explore and grow academically in a diverse environment. The institute accepts students from the U.S. and Ireland by application, and the program is presented at WashU between June and July.
The 2024 program welcomes nine students to the Public and Global Health track and 15 in the RADIANCE track, while 14 students will participate in the Aging and Neurological Diseases track. In all, more than 240 students applied to the 2024 Summer Research Program.
The RADIANCE and Public and Global Health tracks provide students from a wide range of backgrounds with a rigorous research training experience with the long-term goal of developing the next generation of health researchers.
Ashley Bardon, assistant director, Global Health Center
Students in the Public and Global Health track will receive training in topics such as biostatistics, environmental research, epidemiology, racial and ethnic health disparities, health policy and economics, and community engagement. They will spend a large part of their program conducting research projects with volunteer WashU faculty mentors, who are experts and educators in their field, working in labs or on projects pertaining to current public and global health issues.
Research topics include: disparities in the effects of Medicaid expansion in Missouri and other policy-based research; Asthma Home Occupation-Based Modified Environmental (HOME) assessment; and, adapting guideline-based oncology care in global settings, among others.
The Public and Global Health track student cohort will end their program by delivering a presentation about their summer projects and experience. Other students and program donors are encouraged to attend.
Read about previous Summer Research Programs in the Public and Global Health track.
Students in the Summer Research DIversity Program in Cardiovascular Disease & Hematology (RADIANCE) track enhance the skills needed to become successful researchers in cardiovascular and blood disorders. Students work side-by-side for eight weeks with WashU mentors on research projects focusing on topics like COVID’s effect on cardiovascular care; the impact of stroke on children and families in Nigeria; proteins in the lung and acute lung injury; and obesity cardiomyopathy. In addition to their hands-on research, students attend seminars with educational experts on topics such as cardiovascular diseases, hematologic diseases, scientific writing, ethics in research, clinical trials, and other useful topics. They’ll also wrap their program with a final presentation of their projects and summer experience.
Funded by a grant renewal from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, the Aging and Neurological Diseases track is entering its seventh year. Students in this track attend seminars, conduct hands-on lab work, and connect with older adults and aging specialists from various St. Louis community organizations. Students also create blog posts about their program experiences.
Program Manager, Natalie Galucia, LMSW, said she looks forward to the Summer Research Program and the exciting experiences in store for students.
Adding to the myriad of research that students experience, we have a number of new mentors joining us this summer. We are grateful that the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders provided us with several experts who will broaden the types of research and topics available to our participants.
Natalie Galucia, manager, Friedman Center for Aging
This student cohort and their mentors focus on three neurological diseases most commonly associated with aging, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Among the track’s seminar topics are Parkinson’s disease: Clinical assessments & therapies, Intro to Dissemination & Implementation Research, and Sleep & Alzheimer’s disease. Students will also visit Memory Care Home Solutions.
As part of the Aging and Neurological Diseases track, students will work with mentors on such research topics as: cognitive function and circadian rhythms, prospective memory in Parkinson’s disease, age-related improvement in emotion regulation, and strategies to recruit and retain diverse samples in cognitive rehabilitation clinical trials.
On July 25, the Aging and Neurological Diseases track concludes with a poster symposium summarizing the students’ summer research.
Read about previous Summer Research Programs in the Aging & Neurological Diseases track.