Rethinking Public Health with Dean Sandro Galea

As public health faces mounting challenges, what does meaningful progress actually look like? This inaugural episode features Sandro Galea, Margaret C. Ryan Dean and Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor at Washington University's newly established School of Public Health.

Salma and Dean Galea dive deep into his concept of "consequential epidemiology"—the idea that research should drive real-world change, not just academic publications. They explore the "Healthiest Goldfish" analogy and what it reveals about how we think about population health interventions. The conversation also tackles why this moment feels particularly significant for launching a new school of public health, and Dean Galea shares the one public health question that genuinely keeps him awake at night.

This episode sets the stage for our series by examining not just what public health does, but what it should aspire to do differently. What assumptions about public health do you think need challenging?

Useful resources:

  • The Healthiest Goldfish:https://sandrogalea.substack.com

  • Galea S. Well: What We Need to Talk about When We Talk about Health. Oxford University Press; 2019.

  • Galea S. The Contagion next Time. Oxford University Press; 2022

  • WashU Public Health 4x4 Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRa1zpLXwCc&t=1s

Host: Dr. Salma Abdalla
Editors: Catalina Melendez Contreras and Zachary Linhares
Music: Eden Avery / Melting Glass from Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2fqOXWpHab/

Gateway to Informatics: Building the Future of Public Health: A Conversation with Dr. Sandro Galea

In the latest episode of Gateway to Informatics, Dr. Philip Payne, WashU Medicine's Chief Data Scientist, hosts Dr. Sandro Galea, the inaugural Margaret C Ryan Dean of the newly established Washington University School of Public Health. Dr. Galea, a renowned population health scientist and physician, shares his extraordinary journey from Malta to Canada and ultimately to St. Louis, detailing his pioneering work in public health. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Galea provides profound insights into his ambitious vision for the new public health school, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and the role of social causation in addressing the most significant health challenges of our time.





The Potential Repercussions of Disinvestment in Health in the US

The first months of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of actions, many that have affected agencies directly related to health domestically and globally. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the contemporary threats to the health of the American public.











The US, the World Health Organization, and a New Era in Global Health

US withdrawal from the World Health Organization will have significant implications for global health. Lawrence Gostin, JD, JAMA Legal and Global Health Correspondent and Faculty Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss global health in an era of new uncertainty.










This is the personal website of Sandro Galea. All photos are taken by Sandro Galea.