Faculty members from the Brown School rank among the best social science and humanities scientists in the world. According to Research.com, a leading organization in scientific research rankings, 13 Brown School scholars are featured on its annual ranking of best scientists in the area of social sciences and humanities.  

For the 2023 edition of the ranking, more than 6,200 scientist profiles on Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph were examined, with several indicators and metrics reviewed to consider each scientist’s inclusion in the ranking. 

The 13 Brown School scholars who earned their place on the prestigious list are as follows: 

The full ranking for the 2023 list of top humanities and social scientists is available on the Research.com website.   

Virginia McKay, research assistant professor at the Brown School, is leading a five-year, $3.35 million project to test the sustainability of an effort to improve cancer treatment for children in Latin America. A partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the new research is a massive expansion of a pilot project enabled by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for early career investigators. The funding is split between McKay and Asya Agulnik, associate member of the St. Jude faculty and Director of the Global Critical Care Program at St. Jude Global. The award makes the project eligible for two additional years of funding.

“This grant is an exciting opportunity to develop strategies to sustain a system that works to improve cancer treatment for children and reduce disparities in childhood cancer outcomes around the world,” McKay said.

Children who develop cancer in low-resource settings are far less likely to survive than those in wealthier nations. In the U.S., for example, over 80 percent of children with cancer survive, compared to only 20 percent in in low- or middle-income countries due to a lack of access to cancer treatment and resources for supportive care. McKay’s research will examine hospitals that use a Pediatric Early Warning System (PEWS) for detecting complications during treatment for child cancer patients in Central America and South America.  This system is being implemented in over 80 hospitals in 20 countries that treat over 8,000 new cancer cases each year among children and adolescents.

A recently published study by McKay and Agulnik in the journal Cancer concluded PEWS in Latin American hospitals was a success that could point the way to improve its use in low-income countries. This new study is looking at whether that success can be extended long-term. In addition to McKay and Agulnik, faculty on the project include Douglas Luke, the Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy and director of the Center for Public Health Systems Science at the Brown School; and Sara Malone, an instructor in Public Health Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine. McKay said staff and students at the Brown School will also be working on the research team.

Sustainability is especially important in low- and middle-income countries because the initial investment is expensive.  “You have to make judicious decisions about how to use limited resources, or you risk causing even greater harm,” McKay said. The team will also conduct a series of focus groups with doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators among hospitals to identify ways to improve the system’s lasting power. The additional two years of funding will be used to test those strategies in hospitals.

“We’re going to be following hospitals over the next five years to see if they’re able to sustain PEWS and determine what factors are influencing that,” McKay said. “We’ll also be developing strategies to support better cost-effective sustainability. Following hospitals will tell us a lot about whether they can keep PEWS in place over time.”

Anthony Nixon Jr., a doctoral student in public health sciences at the Brown School, has been selected as a recipient of the Race and Ethnicity Scholar Fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The fellowship is awarded by the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE²) at Washington University, established in 2020 to study how race and ethnicity are integral to the most complex and challenging issues of our time.

As part of the fellowship, Nixon will receive funding to support his research efforts, along with mentorship and professional development opportunities. The fellowship is also renewable for a second year. 

Nixon is eager to contribute to the CRE² community and delve deeper into his research.

“I am thrilled and honored to be chosen for this incredible opportunity,” he said. “I am excited to become part of this cohort of like-minded fellows, share my research work with my peers, attend center events, and take advantage of special professional development opportunities. I am looking forward to aligning with other researchers who do health equity and social justice work. I believe this program could be a really valuable opportunity in doing that.”

Patrick Fowler, associate professor and director of the doctoral program in public health sciences, said “Anthony is an exceptional emerging race and ethnicity scholar focused on promoting health among young Black families. The CRE2 fellowship provides a wonderful opportunity to engage with other students and faculty across campus studying the complexities inherent in dismantling historical racism and segregation.”

 Nixon’s research lies at the intersection of epidemiology, social structures, and societal conditions impacting maternal and child health. His current research incorporates epidemiological methods to understand the Black maternal and child health crisis and its underlying causes. His work emphasizes Black fathers as powerful allies for improving Black maternal health and child health outcomes to reduce health disparities.

Currently, Nixon is a research assistant supporting the Fathers First Initiative, a joint program between WashU, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Barnes-Jewish Hospital to support fathers and father figures. Throughout his career, Nixon has assumed various roles in public health, contributing at the local, state, and federal levels. Prior to attending WashU, he served as a Senior Maternal and Child Health Epidemiologist managing data initiatives for Cradle Cincinnati at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Before that, Nixon worked as an epidemiologist for the City of Cincinnati for nearly four years.

“I have a passion for community-level work and public health,” Nixon explained. “I want to make sure that my work aligns with giving back to the community and making a social impact. Making a difference is crucial to my work.” 

Per person, Black children are almost twice as likely to be referred to state or local Child Protective Service agencies as are White children.  That discrepancy has been the subject of allegations of racism and even a movement to eliminate Child Protective Services (CPS).

But a new study by the Brown School’s Brett Drake, and other faculty within and beyond Washington University reveals that differences in the underlying risks Black children face are even higher than the differences in the rates at which they are reported, compared to White children. “The data are consistent with the higher rate of protection,” said Drake, Professor of Data Science for the Social Good in Practice. “The findings suggest that child protection is not contacting Black children at high rates just because they’re Black.”

The real culprit, Drake asserted, is economic disparities. “As long as the United States tolerates severe economic differences between Black and White populations, Black children will have greater needs, including for child protection,” he said.

The nationwide study took advantage of the development of “big data” from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and the U.S. Census to look at disparities across a wide array of outcomes.

“Our findings have implications for the current policy debate about whether CPS and the foster care system should be abolished in the United States,” he and co-authors wrote in the study, published in Child Maltreatment.  “In the current analysis, we found that the racial disparities in CPS contact do not exceed, and are generally smaller than, racial disparities in external measures of social risk and harm. This suggests the need for broader efforts that respond to well-established factors, such as residential segregation and intergenerational poverty, that continue to adversely affect the safety, health, and opportunities of Black children and families.”

Drake noted that his research provided evidence of the “Hispanic paradox”: that even though they have much more risk than White children, Hispanic children have similar health outcomes to White children. Drake’s study showed a similar paradox for Hispanic child-protective outcomes compared to White children. Just why isn’t known for sure.

In the paper, Drake wrote that a narrow focus on CPS as racially unfair without addressing the underlying causes of disparate outcomes for Black children could make things worse for them.

“It is possible that a narrow focus on reducing Black children’s CPS involvement without addressing the pronounced inequities documented by the external indicators will result in disproportionate and systematic unresponsiveness to abuse and neglect experienced by Black children,” the study concluded. Drake acknowledged a need for CPS to improve the quality of services and address legitimate criticisms about the sensitivity and respectfulness with which CPS engages families of varying racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

The paper suggests three courses of action:

• Acknowledge the current realities of racial inequity and focus attention on large drivers of inequity by redoubling efforts to reduce disparities in income, access to services, and other issues bearing on children and families. 
• Address racial or ethnic inequities that may exist in specific localities with concrete, tailored responses.
•  Consider restructuring child and family policy generally to include a focus on providing preventive services, including material assistance, to families.

Want to know more about racial/ethnic disproportionality in child protective services? Watch Professor Drake’s presentation (below) from May, 4, 2023.

Carolyn Kornfeld Lesorogol, a beloved professor for 20 years at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, died Thursday, May 17, 2023, of cancer. She was 58.

Lesorogol​ grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Frontenac. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in social studies. She completed master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1991, and Washington University in 2000. In 2002, she obtained a doctorate in anthropology from Washington University.

Lesorogol joined the faculty of the Brown School in 2003, concurrently serving as an adjunct in anthropology in Arts & Sciences at WashU. She was named a full professor at the Brown School in 2016. From 2014 to 2020, Lesorogol served as associate dean for global strategy and programs, leading the Brown School’s development of global initiatives and educational programs.​

“Carolyn was a brilliant, remarkable human being with an unwavering commitment to her students, global research, and the communities she lived in and worked with in Kenya. From the first to her last days at the Brown School, she was deeply engaged and incredibly thoughtful. She has made an indelible and lasting impact on the Brown School, her colleagues, and former students,” said Interim Co-Dean Tonya Edmond. “I will miss her terribly, but we will cherish her memory as a champion of international development and an irreplaceable member of the Brown School family.”​

​Lesorogol was a leading scholar in her field. She specialized in international social development, with a particular focus on community change in rural northern Kenya. She earned numerous awards, fellowships, and grant support. She authored two books, 40 peer-reviewed articles, and eight book chapters.

Lesorogol’s impact extended far beyond her academic achievements. She touched the lives of those around her as a teacher, mentor, mother, wife, and friend. Professor Lora Iannotti fondly recalled their initial meeting and immediate connection.

“I first met Carolyn when I came to WashU for my job talk and interview. By the end of our lunch meeting, we were already planning ways to collaborate. She would become one of my closest research partners and dearest friends.” 

“Carolyn was more inquisitive than anyone I know,” reminisced Iannotti. “She asked probing questions on broad-ranging topics and was never satisfied until she understood the answers. Carolyn once told me she wanted to be a journalist for NPR – an entirely imaginable, alternative career for her.”

Iannotti added, “Carolyn’s legacy as a true academic, teacher and mentor, mother, wife, and friend will endure. Her impacts on so many will undoubtedly reverberate through time.”  

Tammy Orahood, director of global programs, also praised Lesorogol’s dedication to the Brown School community, emphasizing her genuine interest in others.

“I always admired her dedication to students. Her door was always open to current students, to alumni with whom she steadfastly kept in touch, and to staff and fellow faculty for collaborations. She was always patient, kind, and truly interested in you as a person. Carolyn was my boss, my mentor, my friend, and the world is poorer with her loss. She will be greatly missed,” expressed Orahood.

Lesorogol is survived by her daughters Sarah Lesorogol Shivers, Jennifer Lesorogol Eyen, and Emily Lesorogol, grandsons Namon Jones and Sterling Shivers, sons-in-law DeVonte Shivers and Joe Eyen, father Stuart Kornfeld, sister Katherine Kornfeld and brother Kerry Kornfeld. She was predeceased by her mother Rosalind Kornfeld and her husband Leretin Lesorogol.

In honor of Lesorogol’s remarkable contributions to academia, her colleagues and friends have established The Carolyn Lesorogol Global Student Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will honor Lesorogol’s life’s work and passions while creating a legacy of student support in her memory and inspiring future social workers.​

Those who wish to share memories or send condolences can visit Lesorogol’s obituary page.​​​

Dominique Horton, a PhD candidate in social work at the Brown School, was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society​ at the annual Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education,​ March 31-April 1 at Yale University.

Named after the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States, the honor society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and​ promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Its network of pre-eminent scholars exemplifies academic and personal excellence, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.

“It was an honor to be inducted alongside 121 other scholars from across the country who are committed to being agents of change in their respective disciplines,” she said. Horton​ added that the honor has left her encouraged and with a fresher vision for the future.

Horton’s work aims to dismantle systemic racism in and around schools. She seeks to expand the ways urban educators, parents, community stakeholders, other researchers and policymakers think about how racism impacts academic, social-emotional and family well-being outcomes, particularly for African American families and their children.

Horton is one of four Washington University PhD students inducted this year into the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. They were celebrated during a reception on April 11 at the Danforth University Center.

​​​“I am grateful to have already begun to expand my network, not just with other Bouchet scholars from across the U.S., but also with the three other amazingly accomplished inductees and current chapter members here at Washington University. They each carry a deep commitment to justice, advocacy, and authenticity that I admire.”

The Bouchet Society is named for Edward Alexander Bouchet – the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American university, graduating from Yale University with a PhD in physics in 1876.​​