News from the School of Public Health

Karen Mackey, a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics retiree, has been gardening since high school with her mother. She loves the beautiful blooms, vivid colors and seasonal fruits of her home garden, which she has been cultivating for 25 years since first buying their home. 

For many people, seeking mental health treatment can be a challenging process; for LGBTQ+ individuals, many of these struggles are exacerbated by experiences of oppression and/or insensitivity by people they encounter in the health care system. Dr. Richard Shin (he/him), an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, is focused specifically on these issues, with a commitment to advocating for social justice within psychology and other mental health professions.

New parents may soon have a reliable and easy way to find information to guide them through the uncertainty of caring for a new baby—a chatbot named Rosie. 

Clark J. Lee '14, a current PhD candidate in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health (SPH), was appointed to a four-year term as vice-chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) on July 1, 2021. Clark has served as a member of the MDH IRB since 2007 and looks forward to using his graduate training at SPH to inform his continuing work on the IRB. 

Two years ago on National Coming Out Day, the UMD School of Public Health celebrated the launch of our Prevention Research Center’s new focus on supporting LGBTQ+ mental health, made possible with new support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

October is Health Literacy Month! Our Horowitz Center for Health Literacy is holding its fourth annual Health Literacy in Action conference October 14-15, 2021.