What began as a sociology major turned into a career as a data engineer. Read about the career trajectory of one student who began his path at the Institute for Public Health.
Category: Public Health Data & Training Center
Public Health Data and Training Center
Institute adds new staff
The Institute for Public Health continues its mission as a connector, convener and catalyst for public health solutions by adding new staff.
Results of COVID-19 immigrant and service provider project released
On November 16, at the Immigrant Service Provider Network’s (ISPN) Annual Conference, researchers from the Institute for Public Health presented results from the study, “Impacts of COVID-19 on immigrant communities & service providers in St. Louis.” The study was a collaboration between ISPN and the Institute’s Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration, Center for […]
Institute welcomes new Data Center manager
Welcome Ben Cooper – Manager of the Public Health Data & Training Center! Ben’s role as the Center Manager at the Public Health Data & Training Center at the Institute for Public Health is to help develop and build public health data capacity, with a particular focus on health and social services data. A St. […]
Data Infrastructure Part II: How to build a bridge for information transport
How does information like the number of positive COVID-19 cases get from here to there to help decision makers? Read more to find out.
Data Infrastructure Part I: The unseen fabric that connects information
Wrangling the ebb and flow of medical data is a tireless job but members of the Data Center and the St. Louis Regional Data Alliance are making it happen.
Study looks at relationship between crime/environmental factors
According to a new study by the Public Health Data & Training Center, there is a correlation between vacancy and crime. Read more.
Data Center Pivots in the Wake of Pandemic: 2020 Highlights
One of the strengths of the Institute for Public Health is its flexibility. Faculty and staff at the Public Health Data and Training Center pivoted quickly to support Covid-19 data efforts when the pandemic hit. Covid-19 & Regional Data Infrastructure Data Center Director, Randi Foraker leads an effort to create a regional Covid-19 dataset that […]
Patients seeking sexual health care more likely to visit emergency rooms despite clinics being located closer to home, study says
Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health Gonorrhea and chlamydia infections are prevalent here in St. Louis and across the county, and left untreated can result in serious complications such as infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. These infections are transmitted through sexual contact, and can be diagnosed at a clinic, […]
Faculty Scholar Spotlight! Driven to the Fast Lane

In her off-campus hours, Dr. Foraker is one of a growing number of women in a primarily male dominated sport: drag racing.
Institute welcomes Dr. Randi Foraker as director of the Public Health Data and Training Center
As of July 1, Dr. Randi Foraker has joined Washington University as an Associate Professor in the Division of General Medical Sciences. She serves as the director of the Public Health Data and Training Center at the Institute for Public Health and faculty lead of population health informatics at the Institute for Informatics (I2). In […]
Tackling the high rates of STIs in the St. Louis region with data

Approximately 3,000 people are tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the Barnes-Jewish Hospital emergency department (ED) each year, and until recently 70-80% were lost-to-follow-up. A number of factors contributed to this high rate, including the lack of a robust mechanism in the ED for follow-up care and incorrect contact information. With funding from the Barnes-Jewish […]
Data visualization skill lab
The university offered a class this fall that combined data visualization with real-world crime data. This class was the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art’s course “Capstone in Design 1: Form and Function.” It included a Data Visualization Skill Lab in which students formed interdisciplinary teams to explore crime data from St. Louis City. […]
Data center presents on collaborations at APHA

Ben Cooper, MPH, manager of the Institute’s Public Health Data and Training Center, recently attended the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and offered two presentations on recent collaborative projects. The first, “Novel approaches to obesity surveillance using population level data,” involved a partnership with the St. Louis City Department of Health […]
Data center to work with faculty scholar on Sickle Cell Project

The Public Health Data and Training Center at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis will work with Allison King, MD, MPH, institute scholar and assistant professor in the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, on a project to help improve care to patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). […]