SPH Snapshot: Fall 2024.

Photo: Megan Jones
SPH Snapshot: Fall 2024
This time of year brings a renewed sense of purpose, as the SPH community engages in lively discussions about public health challenges and innovations, all while enjoying the beauty of autumn in the heart of Boston.

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Megan Jones

Photo: Megan Jones

Photo: Megan Jones

Photo: Megan Jones

Photo: Megan Jones
A Vote for Health: Reproductive Rights
This expansive discussion was part of the school’s fall election series, which invites leading thinkers to reflect on key issues for health in the 2024 election. “A Vote for Health: Reproductive Rights” was a moderated panel that examined the intersection of the 2024 election and reproductive rights, including access to abortion and the health of populations.
This event was cohosted with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the BU Program on Reproductive Justice.

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Mike Saunders
Health Data Science Poster Session, New Center Debuts
The annual Health Data Science Poster Session convened health data science scholars, trainees, and industry leaders from various disciplines across BU and beyond. The session featured a diverse range of posters showcasing innovative health data science research.
The School of Public Health recently announced the launch of a new Center for Health Data Science to advance scholarship in one of the most dynamic and promising areas of public health research. Debbie Cheng, professor of biostatistics, will be the inaugural executive director of the new Center for Health Data Science, which will combine and build on the innovative interdisciplinary work of the Population Health Data Science (PHDS) Program and the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC).

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Mike Saunders

Debbie Cheng, left, with former SPH faculty member Anita Raj, featured presenter for October session of the Health Data Science Distinguished Speaker Series.
Photo: Mike Saunders
Center for Climate and Health Student Showcase
Kerri Sands, Anna Staddon, and John Lambert delivered brief presentations on their summer practicum experiences, which were supported by the Center for Climate and Health. The students’ projects demonstrated alignment with the center’s goal of fostering a diverse and vibrant community of researchers passionate about informing and minimizing the impacts of climate change on the health of people and communities.

Photo: Mike Saunders
Certificate Fairs
Our annual certificate fairs enable SPH students interested in specific areas to connect with certificate directors or allied instructors. After completing the required core courses as part of the on-campus MPH, SPH students pursue a functional certificate that reflects both their interests and the interdisciplinary needs of today’s public health workforce. The fairs also allow students to consider which additional functional certificate might work for their studies, or whether to choose a context-related certificate or additional electives.

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Mike Saunders
Careers in Government Panel, Sustainability Festival
Public health professionals from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and local health departments were featured in a panel discussion and networking session that gave students insights into careers in governmental public health. The event was co-sponsored by BUSPH, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Massachusetts Health Officers Association
The annual Sustainability Festival on Talbot Green was a chance for students to discover ways of helping achieve a more sustainable future, and to connect with student groups and BU community members taking an active role in sustainability.

Photo: Mike Saunders

Photo: Mike Saunders
World Mental Health Day
For World Mental Health Day on October 10, the Center for Trauma and Mental Health hosted a series of lightning talks focusing on trauma and mental health research, with most presentations conducted by early-career faculty and post-doctoral investigators.


Jaimie Gradus, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Trauma and Mental Health
2024 Epistorm Rt-Estimate Collabathon
SPH researchers are part of Epistorm, a national consortium of academic research centers, government laboratories, and private for-profit partners participating in a national network for outbreak and disease modeling established in 2023 by the CDC’s Center for Forecasting & Outbreak Analytics.
The 2024 Epistorm Rt-Estimate Collabathon was a three-day collaboration that assembled researchers, students, and public health investigators to work on strategies to improve the understanding of disease transmission, with a focus on estimating the reproduction number (Rt). The event, held at consortium member Northeastern University, focused on enhancing tools for calculating Rt, which is crucial for epidemic forecasting and developing real-time estimation of epidemic growth rates.

SPH Professor Laura White, at right, listens to a presentation at the “collabathon.” Photo: Epistorm
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