Sean Joe is a nationally recognized authority on suicidal behavior among Black Americans, and is expanding the evidence base for effective practice with Black boys and young men. His research focuses on Black adolescents’ mental health service use patterns, the role of religion in Black suicidal behavior, salivary biomarkers for suicidal behavior, and development of father-focused, family-based interventions to prevent urban African American adolescent males from engaging in multiple forms of self-destructive behaviors. Working within the Center for Social Development, Joe has launched the Race and Opportunity Lab, which examines race, opportunity, and social mobility in the St. Louis region, working to reduce inequality in adolescents transition into adulthood. The lab leading community science project is HomeGrown STL, which is a multi-systemic placed-based capacity building intervention to enhance upward mobility opportunities and health of Black males ages 12-29 years in the St. Louis region. Joe’s epistemological work focuses on the concept of race in medical and social sciences. He serves on the Steering Committee of the national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and the National Advisory Council of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Forward Promise initiative. In recognition of the impact of his work, Joe was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, the Society for Social Work and Research, and the New York Academy of Medicine. Sean Joe Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development Office Phone: 314-935-6145 Email: sjoe@wustl.edu Areas of Focus: Black male social mobility Black suicidal behavior Community Organizing Intervention Research Father-focused family-based interventions Community Science In The News Sean Joe named Institute for Economic Equity research fellow November 21, 2024 WashU Receives Grant to Address Economic Mobility of Black Youth June 7, 2024 Sherraden to Receive Distinguished Career Achievement Award December 19, 2022 HomeGrown StL Wins Social Justice Innovation Award October 13, 2022 Regional Steering Committee Named To Enhance Efforts For Black Boys, Young Men In St. Louis November 15, 2021 Brown School Presentations at APHA 2021 October 25, 2021 Brown School Partners with STL Mayor’s Office to “Transform” Public Safety September 2, 2021 The Brown School’s International Center for Child Health and Development Builds a Pipeline of Researchers from Underrepresented Backgrounds April 8, 2021 Brown School’s Race and Opportunity Lab recommends specific policing reforms July 1, 2020 Professor Sean Joe Wants to Change the Lives of Young Black Men in St. Louis February 8, 2020 Featured Publications What Works for Adolescent Black Males at Risk of Suicide Research on Social Work PracticeMarch 1 2018 Suicide risk among urban children Children and Youth Services ReviewSeptember 2016 12-month and lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among black adolescents in the National Survey of American Life. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryMarch 1 2009