Health inequities in endometriosis care

Practicum student Katie Wiedeman, MSW candidate, writes about diagnostic gaps as just one of the inequities in the care of this common women’s condition.

No longer a death sentence: The evolution & development of HIV in the U.S.

by Marley Vogel, Cornell University ’24 and participant in the 2021 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program- Public & Global Health Track On July 20, trainees in the Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track attended a captivating seminar by William G Powderly, MD.  Among his many roles […]

Addressing sexual health in St. Louis

Written by Maya Terry, BA, Washington University in St. Louis; Gold Family Summer Research Scholar for the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Abbreviated Track On July 16, 2020, as part of the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Abbreviated Track, we […]

HIV prevention: Advances and disparities

Written by Raveena Mata, MA candidate in Medical Anthropology at Wayne State University& the Colonel Carroll A. Ockert Award Scholar in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program As COVID-19 and racial tensions continue to bring health disparities to the forefront in America, it is crucial to take a deeper look at other […]

HIV prevention: past and present role in global health

As COVID-19 and racial tensions continue to bring health disparities to the forefront in America, it is crucial to take a deeper look at other prevalent infectious diseases, their sociopolitical context, and their past and present role in global health. As of 2019, there were about 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. […]

Next steps in sexual health

Sexual health is now a regional priority for St. Louis, as identified by the regional coalition, St. Louis Partnership for a Healthy Community. Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to increase in St. Louis as well as nationally, while public health funding continues to decline. Missouri’s congenital syphilis rates have increased 218 percent (from […]

A summer of many firsts

Written by Relebohile Masitha, BA, Agnes Scott College and participant in the 2019 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public & Global Health Track I have conducted interviews for needs assessments and small projects before. This is my first time conducting interviews for research. What I enjoy most about the research I do is the […]

Exploring the power of narratives for reproductive health

Written by Brianna Cusanno, graduate student at University of South Florida & alumna of the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program When I entered the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track in June 2015, I was a college junior with little interest research as a career. Four years […]

A look at Idudi, a truck stop in Uganda and HIV stigma

Written by Marissa Rasgado, undergraduate student at DePaul University and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program Embarking to Uganda to research sources of stigma that discourage female sex workers and their customers from accessing HIV prevention and care, I was unaware how unimaginable this experience would be. During our first day […]

Considerations for progression in science and practice related to HIV therapy

Written by Kricia Ruano, graduate student, Vanderbilt University and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program Dr. George Kyei, assistant professor—whose primary research focuses on infectious diseases, HIV latency and reservoir maintenance—gave a presentation this week during the summer research program. Dr. George Kyei was born and raised in Ghana, where he […]

Sexually transmitted infections among adults

Written by Aishwarya Nagar, research assistant and Anne Trolard, manager of the Public Health Data and Training Center, with support from the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging staff at the Institute for Public Health Missouri and the St. Louis region consistently observe rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia that are higher than the national average. […]

Summer Research Program alumni blog – Michael Conroy

Written by Michael Conroy, Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program alumnus Just over fourteen months ago I completed the longest road trip of my life. I snaked across the hills of the southern tier of New York State, shot across the old industrial plains of the Midwest, and found myself in St. Louis, Missouri. […]

Center for D&I and partner funds five projects

The Center for Dissemination and Implementation pilot and small grants program at the Institute for Public Health announces the award of funding for five new projects. One of the grants is fully funded by the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine and four are fully funded by our Center for Dissemination and Implementation. Dissemination of […]

Access to PrEP: A “game changer” for HIV

The number of new HIV infections per year in St. Louis and nationally have not declined over the past 10 years despite the enormous amounts of money and energy spent on this issue. The medication used for PrEP, Truvada, is more than 90% effective when taken as one pill once a day. While PrEP is […]

A regional approach to improving STI care

In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released two reports detailing the increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections in the US. As a provider of care for patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, increasing rates of all STIs are a great concern to me. National STI data indicates that rates […]

Studying St. Louis, sexually-transmitted infections, and superusers

Written by Ben Cooper, MPH, manager of the Public Health Data and Training Center at the Institute for Public Health St. Louis is known for many things… our beloved Cardinals, frozen custard, and toasted ravioli to name a few. Regrettably, another thing we are known for are the high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), […]

Getting to know the SPOT

Established in 2008, Supporting Positive Opportunities with Teens – better known as the SPOT – is a one-stop drop-in center for teens and young adults that provides HIV/STD testing, health care, counseling, social support, case management, substance abuse and more services — all at no cost. Katie Plax, MD is one of the founders of […]

Fostering connections among HIV/AIDS workers in the St. Louis region

CCHP members look at a presentation slide in a conference room

On December 2, 2014, the Center for Community Health Partnerships at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis convened a meeting to bring together community groups and university researchers working in HIV/AIDS. The meeting involved short overview presentations to help familiarize the groups and individuals with one another, plus time for […]