About Us: Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health

Welcome to the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health (GEOH)!

GEOH is dedicated to promoting and protecting human health in communities across Maryland, the nation and the world through discovery, education, and innovative application of knowledge in the fields of global, environmental, and occupational health.

Our faculty, students and staff engage in applied interdisciplinary research, scholarship and practice in the following areas:

• Airborne infectious disease transmission
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Climate and health
• Cumulative environmental health risks
• Dietary toxins linked to cancer, immune suppression and early life growth retardation
• Drinking water and recreational water quality
• Environmental justice
• Food and waterborne disease
• Food-energy-water-climate-health nexus
• Global health (including digital health and community-driven interventions)
• One Health
• Pandemic preparedness
• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
• Water reuse (agricultural, potable and non-potable reuse)

Our projects and programs involve collaborative partnerships with researchers and partners here on campus, in our local communities and around the world. 

GEOH is home to two undergraduate programs: a multidisciplinary BS in Global Health and, in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Environmental Justice concentration of the Environmental Science and Policy major. The students in these programs have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning at home and abroad.

Through our graduate degree programs in Environmental Health Sciences, students delve into the intricacies of environmental exposure assessment, risk assessment, environmental health policy, toxicology, environmental epidemiology and much more, while working directly with faculty on their research and practice projects. Our post-baccalaureate certificate in Global Health provides public health professionals with skills and a network to expand their toolbox.

As you consider possible opportunities for undergraduate or graduate study in global, environmental, or occupational health, please reach out to our faculty and students for more information. We look forward to you joining our vibrant community!

Amy R. Sapkota, PhD, MPH
MPower Professor and Chair, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health