Ross Brownson


Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor

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A leading expert in chronic disease prevention and an expert in the area of applied epidemiology,  Brownson is regarded as one of the great intellectual, educational and practice leaders in the field of evidence-based public health. Currently serving as a member of the Faculty Advisory Council of Washington University’s Institute for Public Health, Brownson has a joint appointment with the university’s School of Medicine in the department of surgery and at Siteman Cancer Center.

Brownson directs the Prevention Research Center, a center that develops innovative approaches to chronic disease prevention through translational research. He leads a large number of other research and training projects funded by a broad array of federal and foundation sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

He is an associate editor of the Annual Review of Public Health and on the editorial board of six other journals. Brownson is the editor or author of 14 books including: “Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control,” “Evidence-Based Public Health,” and “Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health: Translating Science to Practice.” He is past-president of the American College of Epidemiology and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. Brownson is also active in the American Public Health Association.

In the media

Reimagining Public Health: Mapping A Path Forward

Our recommendations are largely aimed at governmental agencies overseeing public health at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels, but they can apply to other aspects of the system, from the political leaders who oversee these entities to the other governmental and private organizations whose work affects population health, wrote Ross Brownson, along with Jonathan Samet.

Stories

WashU Experts: Coronavirus challenges facing rural America

WashU Experts: Coronavirus challenges facing rural America

As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, larger cities, like New York and Seattle, are dealing with increasing numbers of infections and deaths daily. However, less populated rural areas are not immune from the disease, say two public health experts at Washington University in St. Louis, and controlling it in rural America presents a unique set of challenges.
Brownson receives APHA Award for Excellence

Brownson receives APHA Award for Excellence

Ross Brownson, the Bernard Becker Professor at the Brown School and director of the Prevention Research Center, has received the American Public Health Association Award for Excellence for his work as a scholar, leader and public-health practitioner.
Reducing the burden of diabetes

Reducing the burden of diabetes

Ross Brownson, the Bernard Becker Professor at the Brown School and director of the Prevention Research Center, has received a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to find ways of reducing the burden of diabetes by increasing adoption of proven programs and policies among local health practitioners.

Books