SPH Stories Archive

Featured stories about SPH people, research and impact.

Read new stories on the SPH Blog 

Monday, March 12, 2012

SPH and two local non-profits will conduct a health impact assessment of Seattle's Lower Duwamish Waterway to ensure an EPA cleanup plan will have minimal impact on residents and fishermen.

The assessment will focus on key health issues, including the consumption of contaminated seafood, air and soil pollution, as well as concerns such as construction noise, traffic safety, and access to goods and services in the neighborhoods surrounding the site during and after cleanup.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Professor Shirley A.A. Beresford (Epi, HServ) will deliver the Winter 2012 Distinguished Faculty Lecture on March 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Health Sciences Building Room T-733: Socioeconomic Status: Mediator, Moderator, or Cause?

Beresford, a professor of epidemiology and adjunct professor of health services, will provide one perspective on some of her key findings over more than 40 years of research in public health. She began her career as a mathematical statistician in the UK and earned a PhD in epidemiology at the University of London before moving to the United States.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

How healthy are we as a nation and state by state? The United Health Foundation recently released its health rankings for 2011. Among its findings:

- Obesity has increased 137%, from 11.6% of the adult population in 1990 to 27.5% in 2011, meaning that more than one in four Americans is now considered obese.

Friday, December 9, 2011

December 8 saw the launch of the UW's Global Center for Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents and Children (Global WACh). Instead of viewing women, teens, and children as separate populations, Global WACh will look at them as an "interconnected system" linked by common issues: nutrition, disease prevention, education, and reproductive health topics such as family planning.

Thursday, December 1, 2011
Professor Sverre Vedal (DEOHS) will deliver the Fall 2011 Distinguished Faculty Lecture on December 12 at 3:30 in T-625: Air Pollution--Can It Really Be That Bad For Us? Catherine Shen spent some time with Sverre to learn about his research.
Monday, November 28, 2011

Sophie Godley (MPH, HServ, '99) has won the 2011 ASPH/Pfizer Early Career in Public Health Teaching Award, which recognizes a faculty member who is early in his or her career and notable for teaching excellence.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The SPH Department of Biostatistics and the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) at Johns Hopkins have joined forces to provide critical support for the interpretation of genetic data.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Two UW Public Health Researchers Win NIH Early Independence Awards

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Motivating a depressed older adult to work on solving her or his problems is no easy task. However, the UW Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) researchers and community partners who developed the Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives for Seniors (PEARLS) have been successful in doing just that.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Q&A: Andy Stergachis

Pharmacovigilance: a tongue-twister of a word that means keeping tabs on the quality and safety of medicines and vaccines. In the US, this public health work is primarily done by the FDA, academic groups, and pharmaceutical companies. But what happens when a country doesn't have the resources to watch over the medicines given to its citizens? Or when a country gets medicines from foreign pharmaceutical companies that don't commit resources to monitoring their own products?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The friends, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the UW School of Public Health extend their condolences to Bob Day, dean of the School from 1972-1982, and his family on the passing of his wife, CJ Taylor, founder of the Puget Sound affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. CJ was a dedicated champion of breast cancer research and efforts, a great supporter of the School of Public Health, and a graduate of our MHA program.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Life expectancy in most US counties falls behind world's healthiest nations

The most current county-level analysis finds large disparities nationwide. Women fare worse than men, and people in Appalachia, the Deep South, and Northern Texas live the shortest lives.

Friday, March 4, 2011

The School of Public Health and the Student Public Health Association are seeking nominations for the 5th Annual Service Award for Community Partners, to be presented at our All-School Awards Ceremony on May 19, 2011. Nominations are due by 11:59 pm, April 12, 2011. (At left, student Tegan Callahan presents last year's award to Gerry Pollet of Heart of America Northwest.)

Monday, November 22, 2010

Dean Howard Frumkin has issued the following statement concerning the inclement weather of Monday, November 22, 2010:

Monday, November 8, 2010

The Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) has an exciting new exhibit that celebrates 100 African American healthcare professionals in the Pacific Northwest, raises awareness about health issues that disproportionately affect African Americans, and provides tips and recommendations for better health.

Three of the featured healthcare professionals are SPH faculty:

Monday, August 2, 2010

Imagine two people: one is completely blind, and the other suffers from intense back pain. Which person would you describe as "healthier"?

A landmark survey launched this summer aims to measure the impact of different diseases, injuries, and risk factors on people's health worldwide, and we welcome your participation.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Provost Phyllis Wise has named Dr. Howard Frumkin as the new Dean of the School of Public Health, effective September 27, 2010. Frumkin will succeed Patricia Wahl, who is stepping down after 11 years as Dean.

Frumkin was previously at the Centers for Disease Control, where he served as Director of the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He holds a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of Public Health from Harvard University.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Christopher J. Elias, MD, the University of Washington School of Public Health's 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award, spoke at the School Graduation Celebration while receiving his award. Dr. Elias is the president and chief executive officer of PATH, a Seattle-based international nonprofit organization working in more than 70 countries and dedicated to improving the health of people around the world by advancing technologies, strengthening systems, and encouraging healthy behaviors.
Thursday, May 13, 2010

At the School's annual MPH Practicum Reception on May 6, 2010, Dean Pat Wahl presented the fourth annual Service Award for Community Partners to Gerry Pollet, executive director of Heart of America Northwest, a public interest organization that works for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

On May 13, 2010, Professor Michelle Williams will deliver the Spring 2010 Distinguished Faculty Lecture: Biomedical, Social, and Environmental Determinants of Reproductive Health: A Changing Landscape. The lecture will be presented at 3:30 pm in Room T-747 in the Health Sciences Building.