Cao and Colditz Study on Sedentary Behavior Published in JAMA

Researchers in the Division of Public Health Sciences, including Yin Cao, ScD; Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH; Chao Cao, MPH; and Yikyung Park, ScD, have published a new study in JAMA that elucidates “Trends in Sedentary Behavior Among the US Population, 2001-2016.” Sitting for long periods of time, especially while watching television, has been associated with multiple […]

New Faculty Fei Wan, PhD and Shu (Joy) Jiang, PhD

The Division of Public Health Sciences welcomes new faculty member Fei Wan, PhD, as Assistant Professor. He will work with our biostatistics shared resource to collaborate on projects in the Siteman Cancer Center. Dr. Wan comes to us from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department of Biostatistics, where he has served as Assistant […]

29th Annual Spring Pow Wow A Success

The 29th Annual Washington University in St. Louis Pow Wow took place on Saturday, April 20. This year’s event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, was themed “Keep Them Sacred: Honoring Generations of Indigenous Women.” The Pow Wow is an inter-tribal gather of American Indians to dance, sing, drum, share […]

5th Community Research Fellows Training Program Cohort Begins in May

The fifth cohort of the Community Research Fellows Training (CRFT) program, a community training program offered through the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), begins in May. This 17-week program, based on a Master of Public Health curriculum, provides community members interested in reducing health and cancer disparities with education and hands-on experience to take […]

Congratulations to BCaP Community Partner Valeda Keys

PECaD would like to congratulate our BCaP community partner Valeda Keys on receiving the Woman of Achievement Award in Health Advocacy. She will receive the award in a ceremony on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at the Ritz Carlton along with nine other women. She is being honored for her volunteer work as executive director for […]

North County Town Halls

Community town halls will be held on May 6 and June 10 by PECaD and Siteman Cancer Center to help address community questions about the new Siteman facility under construction at Christian Hospital’s Northwest HealthCare campus, slated to open in December 2019. These town halls, leading up to our Smart Health event on June 29th […]

Drake Receives DOD Prostate Cancer Research Program Grant

  Bettina Drake, PhD, MPH, associate professor of surgery, has been awarded a U.S. Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program grant to study “Treatment Options and Survival of Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients.” The project will look at a prostate cancer cohort from VA hospitals to explore the survival benefit among men diagnosed with metastatic prostate […]

DPHS Welcomes New Faculty Member Lisa Klesges, PhD

The Division of Public Health Sciences welcomes new faculty member Lisa Klesges, PhD, who will join us at the level of Professor on April 1. Over the past ten years, Dr. Klesges has served as Professor of Epidemiology, Director, and Founding Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis. Previously, she […]

Study Links Eating Whole Grains with Lower Risk of Liver Cancer

A large new study has found that regularly eating whole grains may significantly lower the risk of liver cancer. The study, published online in JAMA Oncology, followed 125,000 men and women for an average of 24 years, gathering information on participants’ diet at regular intervals over that time. The researchers found that those who ate […]

TV Watching a Risk Factor for Early-onset Colorectal Cancer

In an article out this week in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, et.al. found that prolonged sedentary TV viewing time was associated with increased risk of young-onset colorectal cancer (CRC), or CRC diagnosed before the age of 50. This study […]

PECaD Welcomes New Staff: Kelly Oman

The Division of Public Health Sciences and PECaD welcome a new staff member to their team. Kelly Oman, PhD, joined us in December as the new full time media and marketing administrator. In this position she will be coordinating PECaD media campaigns, including our 8 Ways series, and compiling the PECaD Annual Report. Kelly has […]

Community Research Fellows Training Program Seeking Applicants

Applications are now being accepted for the 5th Community Research Fellows Training Program! If you currently work in community health or if you’re interested in reducing health disparities in your community, consider this 17-week program based on the Master of Public Health curriculum at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The program will […]

North St. Louis Co Smart Health Day – Christian Hospital June 29

PECaD is excited to announce our next Smart Health Cancer Community Education Day in North St. Louis County will be held on Saturday, June 29 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Make sure to save the date for this free, educational and community-based event. The event will be held in the Paul F. Detrick Building […]

Breast Cancer Community Partnership Update

For the past several months the Breast Cancer Community Partnership (BCaP) has been working with various community members and organizations to address breast cancer disparities in the region, specifically in North County. St. Louis was recently reported to have the second highest rates of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses of any city in the United States. […]

North St. Louis Co Smart Health Day – Christian Hospital June 29

PECaD is excited to announce our next Smart Health Cancer Community Education Day in North St. Louis County will be held on Saturday, June 29 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Make sure to save the date for this free, educational and community-based event. The event will be held in the Paul F. Detrick Building […]

Park receives R01 NCI funds to study dietary patterns

  Yikyung Park, ScD, associate professor of surgery, has received a three-year, $969,000 R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute. The project, Temporal Dietary Patterns: Development and Evaluation against Adiposity and Metabolic Biomarkers, will identify dietary patterns based on when and how often people eat during a day and will evaluate if those patterns are […]

Hunleth Receives Skinner Book Award

  Jean Hunleth, PhD, MPH, instructor of surgery and anthropology, has been awarded the 2018 Elliott P. Skinner Book Award from the Association of Africanist Anthropology for her book Children as Caregivers: The Global Fight against Tuberculosis and HIV in Zambia (2017, Rutgers University Press). This annual award recognizes exemplary work in advancing African Studies […]

Take Time for Your Health During the Holidays

The holidays are here, and that means a calendar filled with family, friends and festivities. And as wonderful as that can be, it can also make it challenging to stick to the regular routines that help keep us healthy. To help you have the physical and mental freshness to fully enjoy the season, try these […]

Obesity linked to increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer

A new study led by Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, shows a link between weight gain and increased risk of young-onset colorectal cancer. Rates of colorectal cancer diagnosed in people under age 50 are going up and researchers are searching for possible reasons […]

Ying receives R01 NIH funds to study relocation patient follow-up care

Ying Liu, MD, PhD, assistant professor of surgery, has received a three-year, $1,075,887 grant from the National Institutes of Health. The project, Residential Mobility, Treatment Quality and Survival in Low-Income Women with Breast Cancer, will study how relocation after a cancer diagnosis impacts follow-up care for low-income patients, and thus, effects their treatment. Dr. Liu […]

Waters to study caregiver decisions for asthmatic children

Erika Waters, PhD, MPH, associate professor of surgery in the Division of Public Health Sciences, has received a three year, nine month R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The $2,584,000 project, Child asthma exacerbation: Role of caregiver risk beliefs, aims to lay the groundwork for improving interventions for caregivers of children with asthma. […]

Successful North St. Louis County Community Town Halls

Community town halls were held in late August and early September by PECaD and Siteman Cancer Center to help address community questions surrounding the new Siteman at Christian Hospital. Slated to open in December 2019, these town halls were designed to give community members the opportunity to ask Siteman physicians and researchers about the next phase […]

Drake named associate director of cancer health equity

Bettina Drake, PhD, MPH, associate professor of surgery in the Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named associate director of cancer health equity for Siteman Cancer Center. In this newly formed position, Drake will oversee Siteman’s community outreach and engagement and will work to promote […]

2018 East St. Louis Smart Health

PECaD is excited to announce our fourth East St. Louis, Il Smart Health Cancer Community Education Day event on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Make sure to save the date for this free, educational and community-based event. The event will be held at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Foundation (101 Jackie Joyner […]

Reducing American Indian Health Disparities

PECaD is proud of our partnership with the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, and providing education and outreach for the American Indian population in the St. Louis region. Through this relationship, PECaD is able to work towards our overall goal of increasing awareness of cancer disparities in our region, and providing resources […]

Improving health insurance literacy aids Missourians’ ACA enrollment

Community outreach and educational support for navigating health insurance options available in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace are crucial for helping people choose the best plan based on their individual needs, according to researchers, health policy experts and community partners across Missouri – one of 19 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid eligibility. Such efforts […]

For World Breastfeeding Week: Breastfeeding Tips & Tricks

Excerpted from TOGETHER – Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer Breastfeeding for a total of one year or more (combined for all children) lowers the risk of breast cancer. It also has great health benefits for the child. Unfortunately, as natural a thing as breastfeeding is, it doesn’t always naturally fit into today’s modern […]

New Resource – 8ight Ways to a Healthier Weight & Lower Risk of Cancer

Latest addition to the 8IGHT WAYS® health series offers simple, evidence-based tips for keeping weight in check Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has launched a new public resource, “8ight Ways to a Healthier Weight and Lower Risk of Cancer.” This evidence-based guide is free […]

Our Top Posts: Winter into Spring 2018

Even in today’s frenetic media landscape, health news can still grab the headlines.  It is a real testament to the priority we place on good health and well being – how important they can be not only to ourselves but also to our family, friends, and communities.  In the first part of 2018, we posted pieces on a wide variety of […]

Celebrate National Women’s Health Week With These Five Easy Tips

    Time is hard to come by. If you’re a woman in today’s world, that’s more than likely one of the constants in your life. Between work, home, school, and family obligations, the days just fill themselves, leaving little extra. And, though that time-crunch is certainly evident to you – and those around you […]

HPV Vaccine Prevents Cervical Pre-Cancer – New Report

By Hank Dart An important new report further confirms that the HPV vaccine is both safe and extremely effective at preventing cervical pre-cancers that could develop into cervical cancer. The report, published Wednesday in the Cochrane Library, reviewed the results of 26 HPV vaccine clinical trials that included over 73,000 girls and women ages 15 […]

Getting Started with Mindful Weight Loss

Stop. Read this. Now read this slowly. S l o w l y. Now take a slow deep breath in and count “one.” Take a slow breath out and count “two.” Now repeat that three times. S l o w l y. You’ve just had a mindful moment. It’s a real rarity in today’s busy, […]

10 Easy Ways to Be More Active on This ‘World Physical Activity Day’

It’s World Physical Activity Day – a great reminder that there really is nothing quite like regular activity when it comes to both individual and population health. Among other benefits, physical activity helps prevent many serious diseases – from stroke to diabetes to cancer – and also improves quality of life and boosts mental mood. […]

Weighty Matters: The Obesity Epidemic Keeps Advancing

A new federal analysis shows that the adult obesity epidemic in the United States keeps on getting worse.  Between 2007 and 2016, the percentage of the adult population that was obese increased from an already very high 33.7 percent to a staggering 39.6 percent.  And the rate of those severely obese increased from just under […]

Save the Date for the 28th Annual Pow Wow

The 28th Annual Washington University in St. Louis Pow Wow will take place on Saturday, April 21st. This year’s event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, will be themed “Balancing Two Worlds-Indigenous Teachings, Traditions, and Truths.” The Pow Wow is an inter-tribal gathering of American Indians to dance, sing, drum, […]

Quick Nutrition Tips for Lowering the Risk of Colon Cancer

It’s March, which means it’s both National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and National Nutrition Month. And that’s an apt combination. A number of healthy diet tips can help lower the risk of colon cancer. And they’re all pretty straightforward. Eat whole grainsWhole grains are filled with fiber and other healthy nutrients. And eating more of […]

Short Take: Calories Matter in Weight Loss, Despite Some Recent Headlines

A recently published clinical trial out of Stanford University found that high-quality low-fat and high-quality low-carbohydrate diets could be equally effective for weight loss. It was a positive finding from a well-designed study. Many news headlines about the study, however, focused on something else entirely: that calories don’t matter for weight loss. Some examples: The […]

PECaD Welcomes New Staff

PECaD welcomed Amy Ayala, MPH, a Public Health Research Coordinator, in February who will be working for PECaD part time. Amy’s past work experience has been focused on community nutrition education and public health programming. Amy moved to Arkansas after being born in Los Angeles, where she’s spent time working for University of Arkansas extension […]

New Diet Study Finds “Ultra-Processed” Foods May Be Linked to Cancer Risk

by Hank Dart A new study out of France highlights another possible reason to avoid eating too many highly processed foods:  They may increase the risk of cancer. The paper, published yesterday in the British Medical Journal, followed close to 105,000 adults for an average of 5 years.  Along the way, participants were asked to regularly […]

New HPV campaign from PECaD

As one of PECaD’s goal is to increase community education to help reduce cancer disparities in our region and beyond, a new campaign in winter 2018 was launched to address cervical cancer prevention. This campaign highlights the risks of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and the benefits of the preventative HPV vaccine. Unfortunately, at least two […]

In Practice: What I Learned from Weighing Myself (Almost) Every Day

by Hank Dart In my many years of writing about and promoting healthy behaviors, I’m happy to say that I’ve at least tried to put into practice just about everything I’ve espoused. Of course, like many people, my success at doing so can be uneven. Some behaviors I do pretty well with – like exercise, […]

Protect Your Children with the HPV Vaccine

by Dr. Lindsay Kuroki Parents grow up wanting their kids to be healthy and happy. And taking control of your child’s health may be easier than you think with evolving research. We know that with healthy eating, encouraging exercise, staying safe in the sun, and getting scheduled vaccinations your child is on the right path […]

North St Louis County Updates

With the launch of Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital in July 2017, PECaD has been busy expanding our presence in the community. Throughout the fall and early winter, PECaD has attended many community events, offering free cancer education resources and prevention information, as well as conducted multiple free PSA testing to men in the […]

2018 Smart Health Save the Dates

PECaD is excited to announce the first Smart Health Cancer Community Education Day event in North St. Louis County. This event will be held June 30, 2018 at Christian Hospital. Make sure to save the date for this free, educational and community-based event. This signature PECaD event provides our community residents and partners with deeper […]

Room for Improvement: Rates of Cancer Risk Factors in Young Adults

As we’ve written about before on Cancer News in Context, good evidence points to the important role that behaviors in youth and young adulthood can have on cancer risk later in life. Health habits started in youth not only have a longer time to impact risk, but they can also have unique and important interactions with the […]

Practical Steps to Prevent Breast Cancer

Two years ago during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we posted over nine days excerpts from our, then, new book TOGETHER:  Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer. Each of the nine days focussed on a single practical step that could help lower the risk of the disease.  With each of the steps still relevant and […]