Author: External Media Source
Public Health experts see a way forward for Africa, despite U.S. funding cuts (Links to an external site)
MAHA will make groceries unaffordable for many (Links to an external site)
Disposing of red and other dyes in foods may be better for our health, but will it cause a hike in food costs and other issues for families? Public Health Faculty Scholar and data science expert, Liberty Vittert weighs in.
What would it ACTUALLY take to balance the federal budget? (Links to an external site)
WashU engineers make microwave-size bird flu detector amid outbreak (Links to an external site)
Researchers in the lab of Rajan Chakrabarty, PhD, professor, McKelvey School of Engineering, & public health faculty scholar, built a biosensor that can detect the presence of bird flu particles within minutes.
WashU Expert: The disruptions of daylight saving time (Links to an external site)
As we “spring forward,” & move the clocks ahead one hour there are health issues that arise with the change. Biologist & public health faculty scholar Erik Herzog, gives an update.
Zacks installed as Edgar James Swift Professor (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Jeffrey Zacks, PhD, chair of the Dept of Psychological & Brain Sciences, & a professor of radiology at the School of Medicine, has been installed as the Edgar James Swift Professor in Arts & Sciences.
New biosensor can detect airborne bird flu in under five minutes (Links to an external site)
Researchers in the lab of Rajan Chakrabarty, PhD, professor, McKelvey School of Engineering, & public health faculty scholar, developed a biosensor to improve the speed and sensitivity of bird flu detection.
Will Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 make daylight saving time permanent? What to know (Links to an external site)
Public health faculty scholar Erik Herzog, PhD, professor of biology, is quoted in an article about whether states want to permanently stay on daylight saving time.
What would it ACTUALLY take to balance the federal budget? (Links to an external site)
Public health faculty scholar Steven Fazzari, PhD, professor of economics & of sociology joined the Chris & Amy Show on KMOX to talk about what it would it actually take to balance the federal budget.
WashU Expert: The disruptions of daylight saving time (Links to an external site)
Next Sunday, we “spring forward,” & move the clocks ahead one hour. “Heart attacks and traffic fatalities increase in the days following the change to daylight saving time in the spring,” warns biologist & public health faculty scholar Erik Herzog.
Mediterranean Diet Tied to Lower Risk of Obesity-Related Cancer (Links to an external site)
Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, deputy director of the Institute for Public Health & public health faculty scholar, is quoted in an article about a study finding that the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of 14 cancers even when not impacting a person’s weight.
Ahmad, Fraum named Loeb Teaching Fellows (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Fahd Ahmad, MD, MSCI, associate professor of pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, has been selected as a 2025-27 Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellow at WashU Medicine.
Generation X and Millennials Face a Steep Rise in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Cases (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar & Associate Professor Yin Cao, ScD, is mentioned in an article about research studying how lifelong exposures may cause genetic & biological changes & increase the probability of developing cancers in young adults.
Plant-based, fast-food, Western-contemporary, and animal-based dietary patterns and risk of premature aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer: a cross-sectional study (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, deputy director of the Institute for Public Health, co-authored a study published in BMC Medicine examining whether dietary patterns specific to childhood cancer survivors are associated with premature aging.
Five named National Academy of Inventors senior members (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD, professor in mechanical engineering & materials science, McKelvey School of Engineering, has been named a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
What’s next? (Links to an external site)
“Multicancer detection tests could open the door to screening for many different types of cancer simultaneously,” said Aimee James, PhD, professor of surgery & public health faculty scholar, about new technologies for cancer screening.
Get motivated to exercise regularly like these gym rats in their 70s and 80s (Links to an external site)
“If you want to be cognitively active, it is so important to be physically active,” said Amy Eyler, PhD, professor, Brown School, & public health faculty scholar, in an AP article on the importance of exercise as we age.
Undiagnosed diseases clinic expands outreach to underserved communities (Links to an external site)
Brett Maricque, PhD, co-director, Ctr for Community Health Partnership & Research, & public health faculty scholar, leads the community engagement team of WashU Medicine’s Undiagnosed Diseases Network Diagnostic Center of Excellence, which is expanding outreach.
Patient partner engagement in the publication process: challenges and possible solutions (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Mary Politi, PhD, professor, Department of Surgery, co-authored “Patient partner engagement in the publication process: challenges and possible solutions”, published in BMC Medical Research Methodology.
Weight-loss, diabetes drugs linked to vision problems in small study (Links to an external site)
“This is a very small study and it was uncontrolled – meaning it did not include people who were not using GLP-1 drugs,” says Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, public health faculty scholar, about a small study linking vision problems to popular weight-loss medications.
Researchers to study health impact of changes to school lunch, breakfast programs (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar, Sarah Moreland-Russell, PhD, received a four-year $2.65 million NIH grant to study how schools act to changes in policy affecting school lunch & breakfast programs & its effects on health.
How a Navy vet from Washington may hold key to curing ALZHEIMER’S (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar, Jorge Llibre-Guerra, MD, is quoted in an article about a person carrying a gene associated with dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease, who has remarkably been asymptomatic past the expected time of clinical onset.
Strongest evidence yet that Ozempic and Wegovy reduce alcohol intake (Links to an external site)
Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, assistant professor of neurology & public health faculty scholar, is quoted in an article about the first randomized clinical trial of the effects of Wegovy and Ozempic on alcohol use disorder.
His genes forecast Alzheimer’s. His brain had other plans. (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar, Jorge Llibre-Guerra, MD, is first author of a study published in Nature Medicine, on someone carrying a gene associated with dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease, who has been asymptomatic past the expected time of clinical onset.
Here and Next Research Seed Grant Awards, Fall 2024 (Links to an external site)
Nine public health faculty scholars & Brown School faculty were awarded “Here and Next” Seed Grants during Fall 2024. These interdisciplinary research projects focus on public & global health, environmental research & research that impacts the St. Louis community.
Patient defies genetic fate to avoid Alzheimer’s (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar, Jorge Llibre-Guerra, MD, is quoted in an article about a person carrying a gene associated with dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease, who has remarkably been asymptomatic past the expected time of clinical onset.
Sadat honored with international human rights award (Links to an external site)
Leila Sadat, JD, professor & public health faculty scholar, has been awarded the American Society of International Law’s 2025 Goler T. Butcher Medal for her “outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights law.”
Marijuana addiction increases risk for premature death, Canadian study finds (Links to an external site)
“There is a growing public health threat with cannabis use,” says Public Health Faculty Scholar Laura Jean Bierut, MD, professor of psychiatry, in an editorial recently published in JAMA Network Open & tied to a study on cannabis use disorder.
For Your Health — Keep Active in Winter with an Eye Toward Spring (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, deputy director of the Institute for Public Health, reminds us of the health and other benefits of staying active though winter.
Nasal COVID-19 vaccine based on WashU technology to enter U.S. clinical trials (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar and Professor Jacco Boon, PhD, is mentioned in an article about a nasal vaccine for COVID-19, developed by WashU Medicine scientists, that is ready for a phase 1 clinical trial this spring.
The Healing Power of Sound: Meditation Research Suggests Sound Can Reduce Anxiety & Pain (Links to an external site)
Diana Parra Perez, PhD, assistant professor, Brown School, and public health faculty scholar, talks about meditation research and the benefits of sound therapies.
Metabolites and lipid species mediate the associations of adiposity in childhood and early adulthood with mammographic breast density in premenopausal women (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholars Lei Liu, PhD, Jingqin Luo, PhD, & Adetunji Toriola, MD, PhD, co-authored a study published in Breast Cancer Res to identify biomarkers mediating the associations of BMI at ages 10 & 18 with mammographic breast density.
Colditz receives award from Susan G. Komen (Links to an external site)
Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, received the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Population Science by Susan G. Komen for his “pivotal advances in implementation science, health services research, epidemiology, and evidence-based interventions to enhance breast cancer outcomes.”
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection is Explored at WashU with $1.5 Million Grant to Fight Global Warming (Links to an external site)
Rajan Chakrabarty, PhD, professor, McKelvey School of Engineering, & public health faculty scholar, is studying aerosols for possible stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) to help reduce global warming.
RFK Jr. Made Promising Statements on Long Covid. Too Bad the Rest of His Plans Undercut Them (Links to an external site)
Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, assistant professor of medicine and public health faculty scholar, comments on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s surprising pledge to prioritize Long Covid research, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Ultra-processed foods and health risks (Links to an external site)
Deputy Director and Public Health Faculty Scholar Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, talks about how to identify ultra-processed foods and why they are not good for your health, and gives tips on how to reduce them in your diet.
Mobilizing the best to start the fight earlier (Links to an external site)
An article in WashU Medicine’s Outlook, discussing cancer detection and treatment in adults under 50, mentions the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Program & research by Yin Cao, ScD, a program leader and public health faculty scholar.
Will we change to daylight saving time this year or will this be the last time? What to know (Links to an external site)
“The medical and scientific communities are unified … that permanent standard time is better for human health,” says Erik Herzog, PhD, professor of biology & neuroscience & public health faculty scholar, in an article on ending daylight savings time.
Doctors opposing RFK Jr. rally in the lead-up to his confirmation (Links to an external site)
Ross Brownson, PhD, professor of public health and public health faculty scholar, weighs in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ability to lead the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.
WashU Public Health Ideas with Lora Iannotti (Links to an external site)
As part of Public Health Ideas, WashU School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, spoke with Public Health Faculty Scholar & Professor Lora Iannotti, PhD, about a paper she co-authored on wild food harvest & child growth in Madagascar.
WashU Public Health Ideas with Proscovia Nabunya (Links to an external site)
As part of Public Health Ideas, WashU School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, spoke with Public Health Faculty Scholar Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, about her research & paper on the mental health of caregivers of adolescents with HIV in Uganda.
Negative Health Outcomes From Wildfire Smoke Plumes are Investigated at WashU After New Discovery (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholar Rajan Chakrabarty, PhD, professor, McKelvey School of Engineering, is studying the harmful health effects from inhaling dark brown carbon particles and is investigating a possible link to a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
You think red dye no. 3 is dangerous? This is much worse. (Links to an external site)
Do we really need to worry about red dye number 3 now that it has been banned? “Not really,” says Liberty Vittert, PhD, professor of the practice of data Science at Olin and Public Health Faculty Scholar, in an opinion piece she wrote for The Hill.
Public Health Faculty Scholars honored (Links to an external site)
Several of IPH’s interdisciplinary Public Health Faculty Scholars, who engage daily in innovative public health research, practice, advocacy & education, have recently received awards & honors amplifying their work.
WashU Public Health Ideas with Matthew Kreuter (Links to an external site)
As part of Public Health Ideas, WashU School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talked with Matthew Kreuter, PhD, professor & public health faculty scholar, about his research & paper on repeated exposure to COVID-19 misinformation.
NIH awards $10 million to study human virome (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholars Gautam Dantas, PhD, & Megan Baldridge, MD, PhD, have received a five-year, $5.2 million dollar NIH grant for research on bacteriophages, viruses which infect bacteria, to study the roles they play in the gut microbiome.
Fizz Bump: The case for fermented foods (Links to an external site)
Yin Cao, ScD, associate professor & Public Health Faculty Scholar, explains why fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt, miso and kombucha can improve digestion and help relieve digestive issues.
Three faculty members awarded $3 million NIMH grant for HIV prevention in Africa (Links to an external site)
Public Health Faculty Scholars & Brown School faculty Fred Ssewamala, PhD, & Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, received a $3 million research grant from the NIMH to study oral PrEP access, initiation & adherence in adolescent girls & young women in Uganda
Violence against women and girls research: Leveraging gains across disciplines (Links to an external site)
Public health faculty scholar Lindsay Stark, DrPH, professor & associate dean for global strategy & programs, Brown School, is co-author of a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article on research studying violence against women and girls.