IPCH open house marks new opportunity for university-wide community health efforts
Case Western Reserve University’s Institute for Population and Community Health (IPCH) opened its doors to the community at an open house at the Warren E. Anderson Midtown Collaboration Center (MCC) on Oct. 22. The celebratory event included tours, networking opportunities and updates on the institute’s strategic priorities, as well as an acknowledgement of the appointments of Director Erika Trapl, PhD, and Medical Mutual Executive Director for Community Health Kirstin Craciun, MPP, MSW.
IPCH is a university-wide institute that engages faculty, staff, students and community partners to advance health outcomes and quality of life in Greater Cleveland by addressing social drivers of health through community-engaged research, education and outreach.
With a new strategic plan unveiled at the open house, IPCH seeks to be recognized as a trusted community partner by delivering efficient, high-quality and sustainable services. Through this work, the institute will initially focus on key health priorities identified by community and university stakeholders, including healthcare navigation, food access, behavioral health, cancer and infant mortality.
"This milestone is a testament to the dedication of everyone who supported the planning of the IPCH, and we are deeply grateful for the collective work that brought us here,” said Trapl, who is also the Philip and Mary Wenclaw Professor at the School of Medicine’s Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, director of the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods and associate director for community outreach and engagement at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. “We are incredibly excited for the future as we bring together broad representation from across the entire university alongside our vital community partners—and truly, we are just getting started."
Strategically placed within the MCC—which officially opened in May 2025 and serves as a bridge between downtown Cleveland and University Circle—IPCH is both an extension of Case Western Reserve’s campus and an integral part of the community. The institute’s presence there, alongside many other CWRU and community partners, enables collaboration and connection with Cleveland while broadening participation from across the university.
As the institute reinforces its efforts to engage CWRU as a whole, its potential for impact grows—offering greater opportunity to create solutions to community-identified needs that will move health forward in Northeast Ohio.
“IPCH was envisioned and built with colleagues across the medical school and university from the very beginning, and I am deeply proud of the collaboration that brought us to this moment,” School of Medicine Dean Stanton Gerson, MD, shared at the open house. “I’m pleased that we’re now building an institute for the entire university.”
In support of IPCH representing all of CWRU, a new internal executive committee has been established with members from each school:
- Bridget Hegarty, PhD, Case School of Engineering
- Anastasia Dimitropoulos, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences
- Mary Dolansky, PhD, RN, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
- Liliane Windsor, PhD, MSW, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
- Suchitra Nelson, PhD, School of Dental Medicine
- Laura McNally, JD, School of Law
- Darcy Freedman, PhD, MPH, School of Medicine
- Philip Cola, PhD, Weatherhead School of Management
The open house marked a continued commitment from CWRU to work in and alongside the community to advance health outcomes. With broader university representation and new leadership in place, IPCH is poised to serve as a hub for collaboration, innovation and action focused on improving lives across Greater Cleveland.
