Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, as well as a source of serious health disparities globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco kills seven million people each year and nearly 80 percent of smokers worldwide live in developing countries.

Although tobacco use among adults has declined in the past 40 years, the Department of Health and Human Services says nearly one in 17 high school seniors in the U.S. was a daily smoker in 2015. Their tobacco product of choice? Electronic cigarettes.

Many former and current students know Richard Gleason for his memorable teaching style. In one of his most popular presentations, he carries out a mini explosion in a 5-gallon water bottle to illustrate the hazards of a confined space.

A low-cost antibiotic used to treat and prevent infections, including in people living with HIV, may decrease the burden of malaria in vulnerable communities, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health. The study was a collaboration with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute and Maseno University.

People living near heavily trafficked roadways may be at higher risk of heart disease due to fine particles in the air that lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as “good” cholesterol, according to a new study from the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), medications widely used against malaria, are safe to administer to women in their first trimester of pregnancy, according to new research published in PLoS Medicine. ACTs had previously been recommended at that stage of pregnancy only in life-saving circumstances.

A low-cost antibiotic used to treat and prevent infections, including in people living with HIV, may decrease the burden of malaria in vulnerable communities, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health. The study was a collaboration with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute and Maseno University.

New book outlines problem-based learning techniques

As a master’s student in the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice (COPHP) program at the University of Washington School of Public Health, Genya Shimkin had an idea for a pocket-sized card that could help LGBTQ youth feel safer in health care settings.  

Researchers are using climate data to simulate mosquito populations and their interactions with humans in order to map current and future risk of dengue virus transmission in the United States, according to a new study published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives. The maps suggest that, as climate changes, several areas in the southeastern U.S. may see elevated risk of dengue virus transmission over time.

Public health students are making headlines in this year’s Husky 100. One student, from The Gambia, overcame discrimination, disability and homelessness to become an attorney and global health advocate. Another student, committed to social justice, wants to improve LGBT health care settings. Yet another captured true stories of resilience from the UW community that would have otherwise not been told.

The University of Washington School of Public Health has some of the best research programs in the world, according to a new global ranking of academic programs at top universities.

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) ranked the UW No. 5 globally for public, environmental and occupational health, No. 6 for health policy and services, and No. 8 for toxicology.

Some parents see fruit juice as a tasty way for kids to get their vitamins, while others think fruit juice may be as harmful to child health as soda. Researchers from the University of Washington School of Public Health looked at the link between fruit juice and weight gain in children, and discovered that there’s not much to worry about.

Older workers whose physical abilities do not meet the demands of their jobs are at high risk of occupational injury, according to a new study from the University of Washington School of Public Health.

As the population of older workers in the United States continues to grow – with more older adults employed than at any other time since the turn of the century – researchers suggest employers take steps to protect the aging workforce.

In 2014 and 2015, Ebola spread through West Africa like wildfire, affecting nearly 29,000 people and killing more than 11,000. During the course of the epidemic, researchers identified an experimental Ebola vaccine that provided 100 percent protection against the disease.

Certain groups of immigrants tend to be healthier than people born in the U.S., and some of that paradoxical health advantage might carry over to the infants of foreign-born women.  

A study from the University of Washington School of Public Health found that within certain racial and ethnic groups, women born outside the U.S. had a lower risk of having a low birth weight baby than their native-born counterparts, even after controlling for common pregnancy complications.

Two long-time SPH faculty members recently established a unique and timely endowed professorship.

The Bezruchka Family Endowed Professorship for the Public Understanding of Population Health seeks to fund a distinguished scholar focused on the study, teaching and dissemination of knowledge about population health. The aim is to expand a program to explore and share information about the social, economic and political determinants of health in the U.S. and in the wider context of global health.

How implementation science is improving health worldwide

Anemia. Weakness. Malaise. Intestinal discomfort. Interrupted cognitive and physical development.

For nearly two billion people across the planet, these symptoms are part of daily life. They’re part of living with soil-transmitted helminths — more commonly known as intestinal worms — inhabiting victims’ bellies, sapping their nutrients and stunting their physical and cognitive development.

What causes someone to live on the streets?

Consider a story about one man who was unable to work because he had severe arthritis in both hips. The man couldn’t pay rent and had nowhere to go. A hip replacement would have put him back to work, but the surgeon would only operate if the man had a place where he could recover.

Community is important to Gabriel Cortez. A member of the Navajo Nation, he has deep connections to his people, the reservation and his home state of New Mexico.

Raised in Aztec, a town 40 minutes away from the Navajo reservation, Cortez is the first of four siblings to finish college and go to graduate school.

A new partnership with Boeing aims to bolster the School’s academic programs and improve the company’s talent pipeline.

The partnership comes with a philanthropic gift and establishes the School’s first “focal,” a company leader who will serve as a formal conduit between Boeing’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) team and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.