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 Mary McKay Executive Vice Provost 314-935-6693 mary.mckay@wustl.edu Executive Vice Provost McKay has received substantial federal funding for research focused on meeting the mental health and health prevention needs of youth and families impacted by poverty. Working with colleagues in the field, she has developed a substantial body of research findings around engagement practices to improve involvement in family-based HIV prevention programs and mental health services for children, youth, and families in high-poverty urban areas. She has significant expertise in services and implementation research methods, as well as over 15 years of experience conducting HIV prevention and care-oriented studies, supported by continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Dean McKay has collaborated with the National Institute of Mental Health, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create evidence-based engagement interventions and to test models of dissemination and training for mental health professionals in engagement best practices 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. Sarah Moreland-Russell Associate Professor of Practice 314-935-8382 smoreland-russell@wustl.edu Sarah Moreland-Russell’s research focuses on health policy analysis and evaluation, specifically regarding tobacco control and obesity prevention, organizational and systems science and evaluation, and dissemination and implementation of public health policies. Her work has made contributions to the need for local-level policy adoption, strategies for disseminating results for more effective implementation of evidence-based policy, and the evaluation of public health programs. Proscovia Nabunya Assistant Professor 314-935-9087 nabunyap@wustl.edu Proscovia Nabunya's global research focuses on HIV-stigma reduction interventions, mental health, and family and community-based support systems as protective factors for the development and well-being of children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS. She has research expertise in poverty-reduction strategies that utilize asset-based interventions and their impact on children and families' social, economic and health well-being in HIV-impacted communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Nabunya's current NIMH-funded study known as Suubi4Stigma examines two evidence-based interventions, i.e. multiple family group and group cognitive behavioral therapy, to address individual and family-level HIV-associated stigma among adolescents living with HIV and their families in Uganda. 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. Show More