Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health
The Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program launches on June 1 with two tracks, one in Public and Global Health (virtual) and the other in Aging and Neurological Diseases (live with appropriate campus health and safety protocols). Each year, the program is open to students who seek challenge, research and experience, and the opportunity to explore and grow academically in a diverse environment. Presented between June and July, the Institute accepts participating students by application.
This year’s program welcomes 16 students participating in the Public and Global Health Track, and 14 students in the Aging and Neurological Diseases Track. More than 100 students from across the U.S. applied for the 2022 program.
Students in the Public and Global Health Track are participating in online sessions centering on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include topics on environment, climate, infrastructure; preparing for careers in public, and global and pediatric health. Students will hear from summer program alumni, participate in social events, and create blog posts on program seminars, their project work and reflections of their overall program experience.
This is going to be another exciting year with Public & Global Health Track students working closely with their mentors, making a journey through the sustainable development goals, and hearing from experts from Washington University in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis University, University of Wisconsin – Madison, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and program alumni.
Jacaranda van Rheenen, PhD, director of the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track
This year, the program features an inaugural Alumni Symposium with a keynote by longtime summer program mentor and alumni-nominated speaker, Patricia Cavazos, PhD, professor of psychiatry, who will present, “Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program: The Path from Research to Impact”. Eight alumni from past Summer Research Programs will present talks about their journey from summer program participant to their current careers.
The Public and Global Health Track culminates in an online symposium that includes a keynote by Caline Matter, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at WashU’s School of Medicine presenting, “North-South: From Divide to Partnership and Beyond”. To wrap up their summer experience, students present an overview of work accomplished during the past two months.
Read about previous Summer Research Programs in the Public and Global Health Track.
Students in the Aging and Neurological Diseases Track will attend seminars, work in labs and connect with older adults and aging specialists at various St. Louis community organizations. They will also submit blog posts about their program experiences. This track hosts 10 multidisciplinary faculty mentors working with 14 students.
The summer of 2022 promises to bring a revitalized program for our students that combines the best of what we learned about training during the pandemic with our previous rich opportunities. Students will have the benefit of connecting with scholars from various places virtually, and at the same time immerse themselves into research labs and professional development seminars in person, cultivating a network of scholars that’s a hallmark of our summer research program.
Brian Carpenter, PhD, director of the Summer Research Program-Aging and Neurological Diseases Track
Students in the Aging and Neurological Diseases Track focus on topics such as: aging, research, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, stroke and Parkinson’s disease and research ethics. Among the new topics for 2022 are communicating research using plain language and open science in aging. Students will explore the book, American Dementia, and participate in a journal club centering on stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Alumni from previous summer programs and current WashU graduate students will participate in panel discussions. The program will conclude with a poster symposium summarizing the students’ summer program research.
Read about previous Summer Research Programs in the Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.