News from the School of Public Health

Zeina Mohamad Alkhalaf didn’t plan to go into public health, at least not at first. She received a degree in communications and public relations and conducted humanitarian work through a non-profit. But at the age of 23, Zeina was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects around 200,000 individuals in the US every year and can lead to infertility, diabetes and even cancer.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave nearly 700,000 people a lump of coal in their empty grocery basket.

Six years ago, the University of Maryland enacted a campus-wide smoking ban, but the policy wasn’t quite 100% smoke and tobacco-free. 

The 2013 ban allowed four designated smoking areas on campus and the policy did not include language that explicitly restricts the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (known often as vapes, vape pens and e-cigarettes), which have recently surged in popularity with teens and young adults. 

A recent article in The Diamondback profiled a new group at the School of Public Health for LGBTQ+ students and allies. The group’s draft mission statement is to promote LGBTQ+ health equity and social justice by engaging in research, advocacy, education and leadership projects and initiatives at UMD and beyond. 

Victory Plaine (Tori), a community health major, was chosen as the student commencement speaker for the December 2019 graduating class. She has excelled in all of her courses and remained on the Dean’s List while maintaining a full-time work schedule as a clinical consultant at Clinique. Tori hopes to further her career in community health by working to decrease incidence rates of STD/STIs throughout the state.

We’re running out of water to grow food. Climate change, population growth and increasing demands on freshwater systems are straining agricultural water supplies.