Read about SPH people, research and impact.
SPH Blog
Bonnie Duran has been well aware that indigenous people smoke more, often drink too much, and have higher rates of obesity than other groups. Find out how she's "decolonizing research" to improve the health of these communities.
Saloni Parikh combines a passion for public health with a talent for computer programming. As an undergraduate, Parikh participated in a global health study in Kenya, helping develop a mobile application that allowed healthcare workers to track pregnant mothers with HIV.
Myo Myint Aung followed in his father's footsteps to become a medical doctor in Myanmar, the long-isolated Southeast Asian nation now opening up after decades of military dictatorship. His experience providing care to survivors of a devastating cyclone led him to pursue a career in public health. Now he's in his second year of the Master's in Health Administration program, and plans to return to Myanmar to help improve access to health care.
Preparation and opportunity sometimes come together. Lorelei Walker was "forged in stress," the daughter of performing artists who lived paycheck to paycheck. She decided early to follow stability and become a scientist. Now, Walker studies how stress can affect the health of future generations. She's part of an emerging field known as epigenetics.
Transmission of HIV from mothers to children has dropped dramatically, thanks to researchers such as Grace John-Stewart. Find out how success in Kenya led John-Stewart to create a UW center that integrates public health approaches for women, children and adolescents.
Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett was in born in Tasmania and grew up in Salt Lake City, the son of a physician and pioneering engineer of the artificial heart. After working in pediatrics and Public Health – Seattle & King County, and volunteering in a clinic on the Thai-Burma border, he recently became director of the School of Public Health's Northwest Center for Public Health Practice.
Fred Rivara and Arthur Kellermann conducted groundbreaking gun violence research in the 1980s and '90s. They found, among other things, that keeping guns in the house raised the risk of homicide and suicide among family members and friends. How did Congress respond? By essentially banning further studies into gun violence.
Countless lives were saved through Mary Selecky's public health efforts. During her 14 years as Washington State Secretary of Health, adult smoking rates dropped nearly a third. More children are vaccinated against disease, while the state is better prepared for earthquakes, floods and epidemics. Selecky also promoted patient safety and better partnerships with Canada. "Bugs know no borders," she says.
Glen Duncan found his passion in exercise – the perfect medicine, he says, to prevent a range of health woes. He teaches Physical Activity in Health and Disease, the only course on campus of its kind. And he's conducting potentially groundbreaking research on the links between exercise, the built environment and chronic disease.
Beti Thompson set out to teach at a small liberal arts college, but ended up doing cancer prevention work with underserved communities. Her projects – from eastern Washington's Yakima Valley to New Mexico and Chile – have raised awareness about cancer while inspiring young scientists to go into public health work. Her innovative projects include a "colossal colon" and home-health parties.
Chris Johnson leads the School's Master of Health Administration program, preparing future healthcare leaders for a rapidly changing world. An associate professor of Health Services, Johnson joined SPH in July 2012 from the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M.
Evan Gallagher tried a variety jobs after college, including playing guitar for touring rock bands. Then he found a niche in environmental toxicology – studying the effects of environmental chemicals. Now, he has become an expert on cells in the tiny noses of salmon, trying to understand how chemicals affect the ability of salmon to locate predators, prey and migrate home.
While working at Microsoft as a postdoctoral fellow, Abraham Flaxman learned that he loved analyzing big sets of data. Now he uses that passion at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), where he works to fill in the huge holes missing from global health data. His innovations – including the creation of a computer model estimating the prevalence of more than 200 diseases – earned him one of MIT Technology Review's "35 Innovators Under 35" awards.
Seconds count during a heart attack. But many people don't recognize the symptoms or they wait too long to call 911. Even cultural issues can get in the way. Hendrika Meischke and her colleagues at the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice have been working with dispatchers, emergency responders and the public to change that, and save more lives.
Lurdes Inoue's grandparents left Japan to seek a better life in Brazil. She grew up with a mix of cultures, and pursued an early love of math. Now she uses her skills to answer pressing questions about some of the world's most common cancers.