Boston University School of Public Health
 
 

November 21, 2021

SPH THIS WEEK | SPECIAL ISSUE

SPH This Year.

As SPH's 45th anniversary comes to a close, we approach 2022 with optimism. In this special edition of SPH This Week, we highlight the new issue of our annual magazine SPH This Year, which captures our community’s role in shaping the future of public health after COVID-19. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Messages.

 
 
 

From the Dean

Gratitude, at a Difficult Moment

 
 
SPH Celebrates 45 Years of Research, Scholarship, and Practice
 
 
 
SPH at 45—From part-time program to top-ten school of public health. And still evolving.
 

Community Health Sciences:
Seeding the Grassroots.

Where and how we live greatly affects our health. It is imperative that public health challenges are addressed at the grassroots level.

 
 

Bridge the Chasm

A collaborative of clinicians, researchers, and advocates publish an agenda to tackle maternal mortality, postpartum chronic conditions, and racial disparities.

 

Spotlight On: Monica Wang

Narratives are one of the most powerful ways to translate research, says Monica Wang, associate professor of community health sciences and associate director of narrative for BU's Center for Antiracist Research.

 

‘How Babies Come into This World Matters’

Nashira Baril (SPH’06), project director of Boston's forthcoming Neighborhood Birth Center, aims to make birthing experiences more equitable, personalized, and liberating.

 

Spotlight On:
Ziming Xuan

The associate professor of community health sciences and social epidemiologist has studied and informed alcohol and firearm laws that aim to prevent gun violence and substance use among youth.

 
 

Gun Culture 3.0

For most gun owners in the US, owning firearms is about recreation or self-defense. But there is a third gun culture, and it sees any firearm violence prevention effort as the first step in a scheme to take away all rights.

 
 

Health Law, Policy & Management:
The Power of Policy.

Research, education, and advocacy can help drive policy decisions that create  more equitable health outcomes for all.

 
 

BU Medicaid Policy Lab Advances Research with a Health Equity Focus

Housed at SPH, the new lab engages researchers across BU to examine the impact of policy changes on health insurance coverage, access, quality, and eligibility for low-income populations.

 

Students Collaborate with Starbucks to Track COVID Policy Change

Through a partnership between the coffee company and SPH’s idea hub, students populated a database with regulations and public health guidelines that have impacted retail businesses during the pandemic.

 

Vote ‘Yes’ on Democracy

After 34 years of teaching, Wendy Mariner, professor emeritus and former Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights, retired from SPH to focus on advocating for voting rights.

 

Spotlight On: Austin Frakt

As the Editor in Chief of Health Services Research (HSR), Austin Frakt, research professor of health law, policy & management, is making space for in-depth scholarship on health equity and racial justice. 

 

‘We’re All Working Towards the Same Goals’

Rachel Mitrovich (SPH'19), director of global vaccines, public policy at Merck, says public health efforts to curb vaccine-preventable illnesses should emphasize equitable access to care.

 

Professor Receives $6 Million from NIH to Study Air Pollution, Noise, and Dementia Risk

Jennifer Weuve, associate professor of epidemiology, is leading the first-of-its-kind study to explore air pollution and community noise exposure as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

 
 
Will We Be Ready Next Time? The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that we have much work to do before the next crisis.
 

Environmental Health:
Focus on Solutions.

Founded in 1977, the Department of Environmental Health emphasizes the need to not just study public health problems, but to solve them.

 
 

Blood Test Could Identify Gulf War Illness

Central nervous system proteins in the blood could be the key to objectively diagnosing GWI, a debilitating illness among Gulf War veterans that is currently only diagnosed by self-reporting of symptoms. 

 

Heather McKenney (SPH’17) Is Lead Toxicologist at The Honest Company

As the head of the toxicology and product safety team at the consumer goods company, the SPH alum evaluates the company’s process for ingredient selection and clinical testing.

 

Who Feels the Heat?

Madeleine Scammell, associate professor of environmental health, studies unequal exposure to heat and its health consequences among vulnerable populations, from Central America to Chelsea, Mass.

 

Outdoor Dining, Ambient Noise, and Health

In their Field Methods in Exposure Science class, PhD students Laura Buckley and Stephanie Grady used a sound level meter mobile app to compare noise levels on streets open and closed to traffic in two cities during the pandemic.

 

Professor Studies Impact of Chemical Exposures on Child Brain Development

Birgit Claus Henn, associate professor of environmental health and director of the PhD program in environmental health, is working to understand the harmful effects of joint exposure to multiple chemicals.

 

COVID-19 Story Map Illustrates Vulnerable Populations in Massachusetts

Attorney General Maura Healey and Jonathan Levy presented a new environmental justice policy report based on the SPH mapping tool, which was created by a team of faculty, researchers, and students, led by Patricia Fabian.

 
 
 
 
Curing MEDICAID—Making it available to more people is critical.
 

Epidemiology:
More than COVID-19.

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is just one aspect of a field that runs the gamut from environmental hazards to health inequity.

 
 

SPH and Sharecare Release Community Well-Being Rankings

The Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC) led the analysis, and the development of an extensive data warehouse of well-being and social determinant measures.

 

Spotlight On: Eric Rubenstein

Personal and professional passions guide the assistant professor of epidemiology in his work improving the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

 

Researchers Awarded $26.56 Million Grant for Brain Aging Program

Principal investigators Lindsay Farrer and Rhoda Au will continue studying dementia in generations of Framingham Heart Study participants.

 

Professor Receives $6 Million from NIH to Study Air Pollution, Noise, and Dementia Risk

The first of its kind in the US study is led by Jennifer Weuve, associate professor of epidemiology, and explores air pollution and community noise exposure as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

 

Professor Studies Role of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Maternal and Child Health

Samantha Parker Kelleher, assistant professor of epidemiology, aims to understand maternal and reproductive health across the lifespan.  

 

Students Serve on COVID-19 Response Team in Winthrop, MA

MPH students Kerra Washington, Mia Haddad, and Meredith Daly have led vaccination clinics and provided data and policy analysis for the public health department in the Massachusetts town. 

 
 

Biostatistics:
The Intersection of Everything.

Advances in every field of public health—especially interdisciplinary collaborations—depend on the patterns biostatistics reveal.

 
 

Genes and Cardiovascular Health Both Affect Dementia Risk

Individuals with genetic risk factors for dementia can still reduce their risk by improving their cardiovascular health.

 

Professor Shares Love for Biostatistics with Students from High School to Grad School

Jacqueline Hicks, clinical associate professor of biostatistics, enjoys helping students overcome their 'math and statistics phobias' in her Quantitative Methods core course.

 

Flexing Her Math Muscles

Elizabeth Mulvey, an attorney and part-time MPH student, plans to use her biostatistics training to help prevent adverse medical outcomes.

 

Staff Member’s ‘Creativity and Problem-Solving Proved Invaluable’

Bradford Francis, director of administration for the Department of Biostatistics, has developed new financial systems and workflows since joining SPH in December 2019.

 

Sandeep Menon (SPH’03) Receives Inaugural Biostatistics Distinguished Alumni Award

The SPH alum, who is senior vice president and head of early clinical development at Pfizer, is the inaugural recipient of the award.

 

Atrial Fibrillation Less Deadly Than It Used to Be, But Still Cause for Concern

The increasingly common condition still takes an average of two years off of a person’s life, compared to three years back in the 1970s and early 1980s.

 
 

Global Health:
A World of Difference.

With public health collaborations from America to Zambia, the Department of Global Health makes a world of difference.

 
 

Total Deaths Due to COVID-19 Underestimated by 20% in US Counties

Deaths caused by indirect effects of the pandemic emphasize the need for policy changes that address widening health and racial inequities.

 

Spotlight On: Peter Rockers

The assistant professor of global health conducts research primarily focused on the design and evaluation of behavioral and health system interventions to improve early childhood development in low- and middle-income countries.

 

‘Basic Needs Are Still Missing for Many People’

Rupal Ramesh Shah (SPH’15) discusses her work as executive director of Konbit Sante, a Falmouth, Maine-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the healthcare system in Haiti.

 

COVID-19 in Africa Is Severely Underestimated, Zambia Deaths Show

Almost one in five recently deceased people arriving at Lusaka’s main morgue over the summer tested positive for the coronavirus, indicating that low reported numbers across the continent are due to lack of testing.

 
 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are Essential for a Globally Focused Department

Thomas Lee, Jr. (SPH’19) and Pawandeep Kaur (SPH’15) co-founded the Department of Global Health's Diversity & Inclusion Committee to help faculty and staff think critically about interactions with students, one another, and the communities they work with around the world.

 
 
 
 
 

SPH THIS WEEK | SPECIAL ISSUE

 

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Thank you for joining us as we continue our mission—with optimism—towards better health for all.

 
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