News from the School of Public Health

This year has been a trying one for us all. From having an infectious disease thrown at us, to grappling with numerous sociopolitical unrests that have shaken this country to vast proportions, needless to say, many of us have wondered if this was indeed “the end of days.”

When it comes to health officials and experts evaluating environmental health risks among populations, what has been the norm isn’t enough, and a shift is needed to better protect children and other vulnerable groups, according to Devon Payne-Sturges, an assistant professor of Applied Environmental Health in the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

The School of Public Health (SPH) Alumni Network awarded its newest honor, the Public Health Emerging and Engaging Leaders (PHEEL) Award, to five outstanding recent graduates in March 2021. Each honoree was selected for their excellence in their career progression, service and leadership.

The honorees include Martin Gesheff ‘10, Ayana L. Langston ‘13, Mariano Kanamori, PhD ‘13, Rebecca Rehr, MPH ‘12 and Maya Walker ‘13.

The PHEEL Award recognizes outstanding graduates who have received any degree from SPH within the last 10 years. 

Congratulations to two University of Maryland School of Public Health students who are among the finalists for this year’s virtual Do Good Challenge: Sara Hatfield, a double major in behavioral and community health and family science, and Veeraj Shah, who is pursuing dual degrees in biological sciences and individual studies majoring in health policy and technology. 

Over 24 hours on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, the University of Maryland School of Public Health community came together virtually to support our research initiatives, scholarships and educational programs. 278 donors—alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students—gave a total of $220,724, an increase of more than 137 percent from the previous year. That placed the School of Public Health at #2 on the leaderboard after Athletics for most funds raised during Giving Day.

Dr. Jie Chen, a professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, received $2.3 million in funding from the NIH-National Institute on Aging for her R01 project focused on improving care coordination practices for racial and ethnic minorities who are at high risk for or have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias.