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May 17, 2026
SPH This Week.
Latest News, Research, and More
“
The history of public health is full of people who simply refused to look away, who charged toward the problem with courage. And now it’s your turn. Have the courage to go make history.
DR. ROBBIE GOLDSTEIN
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER AND 2026 CONVOCATION KEYNOTE SPEAKER
”
CONVOCATION
At the 2026 SPH Convocation—the first for Dean Adnan Hyder—keynote speaker Dr. Robbie Goldstein, Massachusetts Department of Public Health commissioner, urged graduates to stand firm in this moment and meet the current “crisis of trust” in science with courage. Read more.
TO THE CLASS OF 2026
In a note to the class of 2026, Dean Adnan Hyder celebrates new graduates’ accomplishments and encourages them to remember the core values of public health. Read more.
SPH SNAPSHOT
Scenes from the 2026 SPH Convocation, the SPH Awards and Honors Ceremony, and the Online MPH Meet & Greet. View the gallery.
HANTAVIRUS
While the current outbreak of the rare zoonotic virus will likely fizzle out, the termination of several global health partnerships and funding by the US means the nation has fewer tools to respond to the next pandemic or other international health crisis. David Hamer shares what we know about the virus and what actions should be taken in the coming days and weeks. Read more.
RESEARCHBetween 1999 and 2022, the US had substantially higher death rates than other wealthy nations, largely due to cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and drug and alcohol complications, according to a new study led by Jacob Bor and Andrew Stokes. Read more. |
PUBLIC HEALTH POSTDelays in care due to insufficient transportation increase mortality risk by 80% among people with diagnosed chronic health conditions, writes PHP fellow Priyanka Athalye. Read more. |
The Public Health Conversation Events
In conjunction with the World Health Assembly, this SPH50 event will convene public health leaders to discuss what public health should look like around the world in another 50 years. Moderated by SPH Dean Adnan Hyder, the conversation features Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, director of the Pan American Health Organization; Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and Francisco Songane, interim CEO of the Africa Public Health Foundation.
May 20, 2026
1–2 p.m. ET, 6–7 p.m. GMT
Online & In Person
Hotel President Wilson Geneva, Jupiter Room
PUBLIC HEALTH POST
Reading has many health benefits. But rates of reading for pleasure among U.S. adults have decreased by about three percent per year since 2004, writes PHP fellow Farah Nimeri. Read more.
Keep up with SPH on Instagram.
After creating dozens of reels about SPH research, news, and events, MarCOMM student content creators and newly minted graduates Jack Mellom and Carla Irizarry-Delgado earn the spotlight as they receive their MPH degrees at the 2026 Convocation ceremony on May 16.
In the Media.
NEW YORK TIMES
Mentions research by Brooke Nichols, associate professor of global health.
HEALTHDAY
Quotes Andrew Stokes, associate professor of global health, and mentions research by Stokes and Jacob Bor, associate professor of global health and epidemiology.
The mission of the Boston University School of Public Health is to improve the health and well-being of populations worldwide, particularly the underserved, through excellence and innovation in education, research, and practice.
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