“As time passes, we understand more and more that health is much more about the world around us than it is about medicine,” says epidemiologist and sought-after speaker Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, in the 2023 TEDMED Conversation “Creating a healthier future for all.”
Galea stresses during the discussion that health is made by many conditions: whether your home and workplace are safe, whether you have education that provides material comfort, whether the air you breathe is polluted, and whether the food you eat is nutritious or calorie dense but nutrient poor.
“We tend to think of doctors as generating health, and doctors do matter … but they are important to restore us to health if we are already sick,” he says. “To keep ourselves healthy, we fundamentally want to live in environments that generate health.”
Washington University recently announced that Galea — one of the world’s most influential public health leaders — will become inaugural dean of its planned School of Public Health, effective Jan. 1, 2025. In this critical role, Galea will help shape WashU’s first new school in 100 years. The school is part of “Here and Next,” WashU’s 10-year strategic plan to make both the university and St. Louis a global hub for solving society’s deepest challenges.
“Sandro Galea’s choice to come to WashU is an endorsement of the strengths, opportunities and potential offered by our university and St. Louis,” says Beverly Wendland, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “His insights into the complex interplay between social, environmental and health factors will be crucial as we seek to usher in the next era of public health in partnership with our community.”