The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded a $3 million grant to a team at the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis to transform how health research is conducted and how it drives real-world policy change.
he three-year initiative is co-led by Salma Abdalla, MBBS, DrPH, an assistant professor, and Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health and the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health. The WashU team is partnering with the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR), a global leader in community-engaged health policy.
“While decades of health research have shaped policies and improved outcomes, many of the leading — and preventable — causes of early death, such as smoking and air pollution, still remain poorly addressed by policy,” Abdalla said. “This project will focus on bridging the gap between health research and policy, leveraging cutting-edge data tools to enhance efficiency and impact.”