alumni news

SPH at APHA 2025

The 2025 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo will take place in Washington, D.C. November 2 – 5. Here is a rundown of SPH’s participation in the conference, including oral presentations, roundtables, and panels; a maternal health award for BU alum and adjunct assistant professor, Carol Sakala; an exhibit hall booth; and an Alumni & Friends reception.

More than 12,000 public health experts are expected to attend the Annual American Public Health Association Conference November 2 – 5. Members of the School of Public Health community will reconvene with public health colleagues from around the globe. Highlights include:

• Carol Sakala (UNI’93), adjunct assistant professor of community health sciences and maternal health consultant at the National Partnership for Women & Families, will receive the 2025 Martha May Eliot Award for decades of service furthering the health of women in the U.S. and abroad.
• Abstracts and presentations from SPH faculty, staff, students, and alumni (complete schedule below).
• An engaging exhibit hall booth.
• A reception for Alumni & Friends at the National Press Club on Monday, November 3.

Visit the BUSPH Booth

APHA Place Exhibit Hours

Sunday, Nov. 2, 12:30 – 6:00 PM
Monday, Nov. 3, 9 AM – 4 PM
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 9 AM – 4 PM

Located at booth #325, the SPH booth will have special giveaways for all attendees and alums. Stop by to get public health-themed stickers and pins.

Are you a prospective student? Meet SPH faculty and leadership at the booth at the following times:

Adnan Hyder, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST
Monday, Nov. 3, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, Chair of Community Health Sciences
Sunday, Nov. 2, 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM EST

Associate Dean for Education, Lisa Sullivan, PhD
Sunday, Nov. 2, 4:00 – 6:00 PM EST

Julia Lanham, Assistant Dean for Careers and Practicum
Monday, Nov. 3, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST

Allegra Gordon, Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences
Monday, Nov. 3, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST

Kimberly Nelson, Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences
Monday, Nov. 3, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

PhuongThao Le, Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST

Alumni and Friends Reception

Monday, November 3

6:30 – 8:30 PM

National Press Club
First Amendment Room
529 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20045

Register to attend

SPH Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni Abstracts and Presentations

Sunday, Nov. 2

1 PM

Past Healthcare Experiences and Their Impact on HIV PrEP Awareness and Acceptability Among Black Women in the Southern United States
Session: Eliminated HIV Related Disparities
SPH presenter: Sylvia Shangani, assistant professor of community health sciences

2:30 PM

Developing a student toolkit for decolonization and antiracism in public health: A framework for transformative education
Session: Decolonizing Global Health
SPH presenter: Anshita Tandon

Monday, Nov. 3

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Severe Maternal Morbidity in the United States, 2012-2019: a Comparison of US and Canadian Algorithms for the Identification of Morbidity events among Delivery Hospitalizations
Session: Epidemiology Section: Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology
SPH presenter: Collette Ncube, assistant professor of epidemiology

10:42 AM – 10:54 AM

Minor consent for mental health treatment in the United States: A longitudinal analysis of state law (1900-2024)
Session: Current Public Health Law Issues in Substance Use and Behavioral and Mental Health
SPH co-authors: Jaimie Gradus, professor of epidemiology, and Kimberly Nelson, associate professor of community health sciences

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Martha May Eliot Luncheon
To celebrate the accomplishments of the annual Martha May Eliot award winner and of the recipients of MCH Section awards.
SPH award recipient: Carol Sakala (UNI’93), adjunct assistant professor of community health sciences

12:30 PM

Systems engagement amongst high-risk Massachusetts youth in a mental health advocacy program
Session: Public Health Policy on the Mind: Confronting Current Health Challenges Associated with Mental Wellbeing
SPH Presenter: Isabel Redman, MPH

2:48 PM – 3:06 PM

New Challenges to Public Health Education
SPH presenter: Michael Stein, chair and professor of health law, policy and management

Tuesday, Nov. 4

9:30 AM

“I can’t just go to any place… and feel the same level of protection or care”: Young adults’ perceptions of state LGBTQ policies’ influence on their mental health and wellbeing
Session: LGBTQ+ adolescent and young adult health
SPH presenter: Allegra Gordon, assistant professor of community health sciences

12:30 PM

Intersectional stigma modifies risk pathways to unhealthy alcohol use among Black women at risk for HIV infection in the U.S. South
Session: Intersectional approaches to health equity: Empowering women and gender-diverse communities through research and advocacy
SPH presenter: Sylvia Shangani, assistant professor of community health sciences

2:30 PM

Family voices: client experiences from the Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids
Session: Children with Special Health Care Needs Poster Session
SPH presenter: Isabel Redman, MPH

Strengthening Global Health Research through Fairer Partnerships in Agenda Setting, Capacity Building and Dissemination
Session: Determinants of Health and Mental Health Poster Session
Presenter: Mai Hussein

Wednesday, Nov. 5

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

Can prospective ascertainment of age at initiation of sexual activities improve data accuracy?
Session: Innovations and Insights in Sexual and Reproductive Health
SPH presenter: Kimberly Nelson, associate professor of community health sciences
SPH co-author: Julia Bond, assistant professor of epidemiology (appointment pending)

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM

Health outcomes related to indoor chemical exposures from building materials and finishes
Session: Healthy buildings: materials, justice, and net positive outcomes
SPH presenter: Kathryn Rodgers, Ph.D. student in the Department of Environmental Health

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Minor consent law knowledge and STI/HIV testing among adolescents across the United States
Session: Addressing Law and Policy Gaps to Prevent Disease and Injury and Protect the Public’s Health
SPH presenter: Kimberly Nelson, associate professor of community health sciences
SPH co-authors: Samantha Haiken, research fellow in community health sciences

10:30 AM

Barriers to Timely Prenatal Care Among AI/AN Women: Insights From PRAMS
Session: The Social and Health Care Needs of Perinatal Women
SPH presenter: Rowena Lindsay