Read about SPH people, research and impact.
SPH Blog
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.
Scott Davis has been chairman of the Department of Epidemiology since 2000, overseeing 78 regular faculty and up to 180 graduate students. He splits his time between the school and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Michael Gale Jr. will never forget the sound his ‘68 Mustang made when its engine roared back to life in 1993. The car was given to him in 1977 by his father. When it was finally ready for the road, he had it painted its original Highland Green color, channeling Steve McQueen in Bullitt.
What brought you to the Snohomish Health District?
I really wanted to have an opportunity to put my own stamp on the practice of public health.
Peter Rabinowitz grew up loving wildlife and nature. Today he fuses his passion for animals, the environment and human health in a unique project that looks at the health risks we share from interacting in an increasingly crowded world.
Heroin use is on the rise across Washington state, with the most dramatic increase among 18- to 29-year-olds. Caleb Banta-Green tracks these trends and more. Find out what he has to say about heroin, marijuana and the need to change the dialogue around medication use.
Black Lives Matter, hashtag activism, the Oscars, Babel and the legacy of Henrietta Lacks. We talk about all this and more in a new Q&A with Clarence Spigner. Raised in poverty and segregation in South Carolina, Spigner, a Vietnam veteran and three-time U.C. Berkeley alum, draws on real life experiences and popular culture to connect with students in unique courses on race and health.
What motivates you about public health and health services?
These fields can systematically improve the health of our diverse communities. There is a great need for culturally-humble health care leaders to develop a more equitable care system that better serves us all.