News from the School of Public Health

While she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in public health science on May 23, 2023, Taliah Hodges has had little time to rest. That’s because she’s gearing up for the final year of her accelerated BS+MPH program and preparing to become a teaching assistant for a foundational public health course.

Nine years after his journey to earn a doctoral degree began, Junaed Siddiqui crossed the stage at the Xfinity Center on May 23, 2023 to officially graduate from the School of Public Health. While the average public health doctoral student at UMD completes their Ph.D. within five years, Siddiqui is far from average.

During the worldwide pandemic when school became a virtual endeavor across the United States, Principal Lecturer Dr. Kerry Tripp from the Department of Family Science identified a critical, missing element: internships. In response, she started a Virtual Global Internship Program so that UMD students who hadn’t yet satisfied this important program requirement could graduate on time. More broadly, she visualized it as a way for students to get global education experience during a time when all study abroad opportunities were shut down.

Published this month in the Journal for Alzheimer’s Disease Reports, the study examined the brains and story recollection abilities of older adults with normal brain function and those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which is a slight decline in mental abilities like memory, reasoning and judgment and a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

The Gamma Zeta chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health is pleased to announce its 2023 inductees. Inducted are 12 students, five faculty members, two alumni and one community partner.

Fourteen members of the SPH community received awards, which recognized outstanding teaching, public health practice, service, mentoring and commitment to the school’s success.