PhD Faculty Students in the PhD in Public Health Sciences program have the opportunity to work with faculty participating in locally, nationally, and globally recognized research and studies on both the Danforth and Medical School campuses. Their areas of interest range from data analysis to community outreach to AI modeling for positive health outcomes. Learn more about our faculty community and how you can be a part of building a better present and future. Browse Our PhD Faculty Name Areas of Interest Peg Allen Ellis Ballard Abigail Barker Ana A Baumann Derek Brown Ross Brownson Anne Mobley Butler Charlene Caburnay Yin Cao Su-Hsin Chang Graham A. Colditz Todd Combs Victor G Dávila-Román Kia L. Davis Elizabeth Dodson Bettina F. Drake Alexis Duncan Bradley A. Evanoff Amy Eyler Patrick Fowler Elvin Geng Jeremy Goldbach Debra Haire-Joshu Ross Hammond Jenine Harris Angela Hobson Ashley Housten Tyriesa L. Howard Mark Huffman Jean Hunleth Lora Iannotti Juliet Iwelunmor Aimee S. James Shu (Joy) Jiang Kim Johnson Maura Kepper Matthew Kreuter Jessica Levy Erin Linnenbringer Ying Liu Douglas Luke Chongliang (Jason) Luo Ragini Maddipati Karen Joynt Maddox Sara M. Malone Stephanie Mazzucca-Ragan Timothy McBride Mary McKay Virginia Mckay (Ginger) Caitlin McMurtry Sarah Moreland-Russell Proscovia Nabunya Diana Parra Perez Mary C. Politi Byron Powell Beth Prusaczyk Jason Purnell Rodrigo Reis Elizabeth Salerno Vetta Sanders Thompson Ilana Seff Ozge Sensoy Bahar Morgan Shields Michelle Silver Fred Ssewamala Lindsay Stark Joe Steensma Siobhan Sutcliffe Rachel Tabak Jean-Francois Trani Nhial Tutlam Fei Wan Leyao Wang Karla Washington Erika A Waters Child and Maternal Health Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Dissemination and Implementation Environmental Health and Justice Global Health Health Equity Health Policy Public Mental Health Systems and Data Science Filter: Health Equity Ying Liu Associate Professor of Surgery 314-747-5601 ylui3@wustl.edu Dr. Lui’s research work identifies and addresses the determinants of disparities along the cancer care continuum from a multilevel perspective, including health policies, neighborhood contexts, healthcare providers, individual health behaviors, and biological responses and pathways. She also has extensive expertise in the impacts of lifestyle exposures across the life course on breast cancer risk. Timothy McBride Bernard Becker Professor 314-935-4356 tmcbride@wustl.edu Timothy McBride is an influential health policy analyst and leading health economist shaping the national agenda in health insurance, health reform, rural health care, Medicare and Medicaid policy, health economics, and access to health care. McBride studies the effects of health reform at the state and national levels, the uninsured, diabetes policy, Medicare Advantage, and long-term entitlement reform. In addition to several dozen scholarly publications, he produced the book "Transdisciplinary Public Health: Education, Research and Practice" co-edited with Debra Haire-Joshu, as well as a collection of reports, white papers and other policy products that have had an important impact on the national policy debate. Caitlin McMurtry Assistant Professor 314-935-3159 mcmurtry@wustl.edu Caitlin McMurtry (she/they) combines theories and methods from public health, economics, and political science to examine the politics of health in the United States. Their current research focuses on the magnitude and origins of political polarization during disease outbreaks, the causes and consequences of firearm deregulation, experiences of discrimination among Asian Americans, and the role of state ballot initiatives in health policy. Broadly, they aim to understand how public opinion and political processes affect health and inequity (and vice versa) in the U.S. Diana Parra Perez Assistant Professor parrad@wustl.edu Dr. Diana Parra Perez is an Assistant Professor at Prevention Research Center, from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Parra Perez is Associate Director for Faculty and Scholarship, at the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity (CRE2), and Co-Principal Investigator of the NSF ADVANCE AIM for Equity Insitutional Grant. Dr. Parra Perez is also a founding member and Co-Lead of the Mindfulness Science and Practice Cluster at WashU. Dr. Parra Perez is steering Committee Member as Events Chair of the SOMOS WashU Affinity Group, and a Scholar at the Institute of Public Health. Mary C. Politi Professor of Surgery 314-747-1967 mpoliti@wustl.edu Dr. Politi’s primary research interests include health communication and shared decision-making. Her work helps patients and the public understand health information, explore what is important to them when making health decisions, and collaborate to make evidence-informed decisions that meet their needs. She also trains health care professionals, public health advocates, and members of the public interested in shared decision-making and patient engagement. Dr. Politi’s research includes a focus on reducing health disparities by engaging communities with unmet health needs and including them in both research and dissemination efforts. She has expanded her work to study the financial toxicity (burden of care costs) of health care and ways to offset the high costs of care through insurance decisions and discussions about cost-saving strategies. Beth Prusaczyk Instructor of Medicine, Division of General Medical Sciences, School of Medicine beth.prusaczyk@wustl.edu Dr. Prusaczyk’s research focuses on improving the health and healthcare of older adults, particularly vulnerable older adults such as those with dementia or those living in rural areas, through the use of implementation science and data and technology. Specifically, her research focuses on the implementation of evidence-based practices and policies that improve care at the intersection of the health and social service settings. She is also interested in using social network analysis to understand care coordination and communication among health and social service providers. Show More