McKay receives NIH support to test cancer treatment tool for children

Published in WashU’s The Source on June 19, 2023 Virginia McKay, a research assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, is leading a five-year $3.5 million project to test whether an effort to improve cancer treatment for children in Latin America is sustainable over the long term. A partnership with […]

Applications are open for the 4th annual SSSI Summer Training Institute

Photo of group of summer institute participants at the Missouri Botanical Garden

The 4th annual Systems Science for Social Impact (SSSI) Summer Training Institute will be held at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, from July 31 – August 4, 2023. Applications are open. At this 5-day Summer Training Institute, participants will get a hands-on introduction to systems science methods that enhance the social […]

Study Focuses on Evidence-Based Cancer Treatment for Children in Latin America

Content by Tim Poor in Brown School News published January 3, 2023. A recently published study in the journal Cancer concludes that the success of a collaboration that included the Brown School can point the way to improve the use of a proven cancer intervention and reduce disparities in childhood cancer outcomes around the world. Co-Author Virginia McKay, […]

CDC publishes Tobacco Where You Live: Retail Strategies to Promote Health Equity guide

Tobacco Where You Live: Retail Strategies supplement cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new supplement to the Best Practices User Guides, Tobacco Where You Live: Retail Strategies to Promote Health Equity. The supplement was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. The […]

CDC publishes Tobacco Where You Live: Mapping Techniques guide

Tobacco Where You Live: Mapping Techniques supplement cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new supplement to the Best Practices User Guides, Tobacco Where You Live: Mapping Techniques. The supplement was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. The Tobacco Where You Live […]

CDC publishes Tobacco Where You Live: Native Communities guide

Tobacco Where You Live: Native Communities supplement cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new supplement to the Best Practices User Guides, Tobacco Where You Live: Native Communities. The document was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. The Tobacco Where You Live […]

Applications are open for the 3rd annual SSSI Summer Training Institute

Systems Science for Social Impact Summer Training Institute 2019 participants

The 3rd annual Systems Science for Social Impact (SSSI) Summer Training Institute will be held at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, from July 25-29, 2022. Applications are open. At this 5-day Summer Training Institute, participants will get a hands-on introduction to systems science methods that enhance the social impact of health […]

TSBM & IRI partner to develop six impact case studies

Translational Science Benefits Model graphic

In fall 2021, the Translational Science Benefits Model project team at the Center for Public Health Systems Science at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis worked with the Implementation Research Institute (IRI) to develop six impact case studies demonstrating how implementation science can improve health services and change communities. The case studies […]

CDC publishes Putting Evidence into Practice User Guide

Putting Evidence Into Practice User Guide Cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new Best Practices User Guide: Putting Evidence into Practice in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. After more than 50 years […]

Center Uses Partnerships to Broaden its Public Health Impact

Center for Public Health Systems Science, Brown School, Changing systems to create healthier communities through research, evaluation & translation

From Brown School News, July 1, 2021 Although the Brown School’s Center for Public Health Systems Science tackles a wide variety of research, its two decades of nationwide success can be traced largely to a single element: collaboration. The center’s largest current project, ASPiRE, is a good example. The $11.6 million tobacco-control effort with teams from Stanford […]

CDC publishes Partnerships in Tobacco Prevention and Control User Guide

Cover of Best Practices User Guide: Partnerships

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new Best Practices User Guide: Partnerships in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Since the publication of the Best Practices User […]

Over 60% of Public Schools Are Within 1,000 Feet of Tobacco Retailers, Finds New Study

Shelves of cigarettes at store

From Brown School News Across 30 major U.S. cities, an average of 63% of public schools are located within 1,000 feet — about two city blocks — of a store selling tobacco and e-cigarette products, according to a comprehensive new study mapping tobacco retailers. The study was conducted by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, along […]

ASPiRE D&I Pilot Research Program accepting applications

The ASPiRE Center is pleased to announce its Dissemination & Implementation (D&I) pilot research program for the 2020–2021 grant cycle, beginning October 1, 2020. The purpose of the program is to advance D&I science and build capacity for D&I research in evidence-based tobacco retail policy. The ASPiRE Center is awarding pilot grants of $10,000 each […]

CPHSS launches new aspirecenter.org website

The new aspirecenter.org website was launched this week! The website is a product of the ASPiRE Center, an NCI-funded collaborative of tobacco control researchers, practitioners, and legal experts investigating how tobacco retailer density and innovative retail tobacco interventions impact people and communities. The new website shares current research, resources, and updates for practitioners working in […]

CDC publishes Cessation in Tobacco Prevention and Control User Guide

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new Best Practices User Guide: Cessation in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Although smoking is at an all-time low, more […]

CDC publishes updated Youth Engagement in Tobacco Prevention and Control User Guide

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published an updated Best Practices User Guide: Youth Engagement in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. This user guide focuses on the critical […]

Computer Models Show Impact of Retail Restrictions

Content from Public Health Law Center publication April 17, 2019 Policies that limit where menthol cigarettes are sold and that restrict the number of tobacco retailers in a community can significantly reduce tobacco-related health disparities among area residents. This is just one of the findings unearthed by the Tobacco Town Minnesota project, a recent collaboration between researchers […]

First Annual Systems Science for Social Impact Summer Training Institute

The 1st annual Systems Science for Social Impact Summer Training Institute will be held at the Washington University’s Brown School from July 29 to August 2, 2019. Co-organized by principal faculty Ross Hammond, Douglas Luke, and Peter Hovmand, the 5-day workshop will train up to 45 participants in systems science methods, especially those most useful for enhancing the […]

WashU Expert: Want to stop e-cig epidemic? Don’t forget state, local policies

Content from the Source publication February 26, 2019 Tobacco control experts Douglas Luke and Todd Combs of Washington University in St. Louis would welcome regulation of e-cigarette commercials on television and radio. But an advertising ban, as recently suggested by a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), should be part of a broader plan […]

Communities That Most Need Tobacco Sales Restrictions Aren’t Getting Them

Content from Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health publication January 17, 2019 U.S. communities with higher smoking rates or lower excise taxes were less likely to adopt retail policies restricting tobacco sales, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Researchers interviewed personnel from 80 county tobacco control […]

Website Launch for Translational Science Benefits Model

A cross-disciplinary team, which includes members of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences and the Bernard Becker Medical Library at the Washington University School of Medicine and the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University’s Brown School, is pleased to share news of the launch of a new website: translationalsciencebenefits.wustl.edu. The site was […]

UNC, Stanford, WashU Receive $11.6 Million NIH Grant to Study Retail Tobacco

Content from Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health publicationSeptember 13, 2018 Public health researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford University, and Washington University in St. Louis are recipients of a five-year $11.6 million National Institutes of Health grant, Advancing Science & Practice in the Retail Environment (ASPiRE). The […]

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford University, and Washington University in St. Louis receive 5-year, $11.6 million NIH grant to study retail tobacco policies across the U.S.

Tobacco use causes nearly a half million premature deaths each year from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary illnesses. Most tobacco is purchased from brick-and-mortar retailers, where the tobacco industry spends $1 million every hour on advertising and marketing. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave states and localities more authority to regulate […]

CDC publishes Health Communications in Tobacco Prevention and Control User Guide

Report cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new Best Practices User Guide: Health Communications in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. This user guide focuses on the critical […]

Communicating the Societal Impact of Translational Science…

Nurse caring for patient

Content from Clinical & Translational Science Awards Program’s Center for Leading Innovation & Collaboration publication March 15, 2018 Researchers at the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) have developed a framework to better understand the real-world impacts of translational research. The new model was designed to help institutions go beyond the standard measures of scientific […]

CDC publishes Program Infrastructure user guide

Report cover

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Office on Smoking and Health has published a new Best Practices User Guide: Program Infrastructure in Tobacco Prevention and Control. The guide was written in partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis. This user guide focuses on the critical […]

Tobacco Town shows benefits of limiting retailers

Douglas Luke

From April 28, 2017 ASPPH Friday Letter ​Reducing the number of retailers that sell tobacco products could benefit public health, but the strategies for doing so should be adjusted to account for differing community characteristics, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Researchers used a computational model they […]

CPHSS staff present at National Conference on Tobacco or Health

Speaker and panelists on stage at conference

Several CPHSS staff members had the opportunity to present at the recent National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH), held in Austin, Texas March 22-24. Posters and presentations include: Health Communications in Tobacco Prevention and ControlIsaiah Zoschke, Erin Foster, Stephanie Andersen, Laura Brossart, Caitlin Ashby, and Sarah Moreland-Russell Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs […]

New book on Systems Science and Population Health

Book cover and Douglas Luke

A new book, Systems Science and Population Health, edited by Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed and Sandro Galea, was published this March by Oxford University Press (OUP).  Chapter 10 is entitled Social Network analysis: the ubiquity of social networks and their importance for population health and was authored by CPHSS director Douglas A. Luke, senior data analyst Bobbi […]

Mentoring is Key to Future Collaboration

Douglas Luke

From ASPPH Friday LetterJanuary 12, 2017Mentoring relationships developed during implementation training resulted in more scientific collaboration by participants years later, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Researchers surveyed 94 participants in training conducted from 2012-2014 at the Implementation Research Institute, a two-year training in mental health implementation […]

States Increase Tobacco Retail Regulation

Retail store cigarette display showing special offer for Camel cigarettes

Recently published research with CPHSS authors Douglas Luke, Amy Sorg, Todd Combs, and Sarah Moreland-Rusell shows that state action to regulate retail sales of tobacco nearly doubled between 2012 and 2014. Read article in WUSTL’s the Source.Read full research article in Tobacco Control.

Point-of-Sale Report to the Nation…

Report cover

Point-of-Sale Report to the Nation highlights growth in retail tobacco policy activity since 2012 The Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS) at Washington University in St. Louis, in collaboration with researchers from the Stanford Prevention Research Center and the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, recently published Point-of-Sale Report to the […]

CPHSS publishes spring 2016 newsletter

Cover of newsletter

The Spring 2016 issue of the CPHSS Connection is now available for download. Issue highlights include: Message from Doug Luke about the concept of translation News of dissemination of several recent reports and papers Announcement of new interest group focusing on network science Download Spring 2016 CPHSS Connection.

WashU Expert: Proposed Missouri tobacco tax increase doesn’t…

Douglas Luke

WashU Expert: Proposed Missouri tobacco tax increase doesn’t go far enough From WUSTL Newsroom, by Neil SchoenherrThere is renewed interest by some Missouri groups for a proposed 23-cent-per-pack raise to Missouri’s tobacco tax, currently the nation’s  lowest. While any raise in tobacco prices is one of the most effective ways to reduce and prevent smoking, the modest […]