"Using Google Street View Images to Examine Links Between the Built Environment and Health" was delivered by Quynh Nguyen, assistant professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, as the first lecture in the 2020 National Library of Medicine (NLM) Informatics and Data Science Lecture Series.

Anti-vaccination discourse on Facebook increased in volume over the last decade, coalescing around the argument that refusing to vaccinate is a civil right, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Public Health.

In this year of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions—like every other segment of society—have been forced to make critical decisions about when to reopen that could have significant health and financial implications. And because of the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, these decisions are being made with limited information, constrained resources and no reliable road map.

As we enter Pride month, we feel anguish, grief, and anger at the slaying of Black lives and the police brutality against them. We condemn these racially-motivated acts of violence, the systems that allow violence to persist with impunity and the ongoing legacy of racial injustice in America. Perpetrators of anti-Black violence must be held accountable and justice must be served. 

Washington, DC is full of talented and ambitious young people, and the organization DC Inno recognizes a select group through their annual list of top innovators in the Washington region who are all under 25 years old. DC Inno, which calls itself, “your source for local innovation,” features local news about innovation in technology, startups, higher education and more.

Two faculty members from the School of Public Health, Shannon Jette and Elizabeth Aparicio, received Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year awards from the University of Maryland Graduate School. 

Associate Professor Typhanye Dyer and Assistant Research Professor Rodman Turpin conducted two studies on the role of syndemics—combinations of adverse social, structural and individual factors—on health outcomes among Black sexual minority men and transgender women in the US. 

The Center for Health Literacy is asking African American and Hispanic adults to test a smartphone health app for personalized health information.

The app can help find information to prevent or manage common health conditions.

Here's how to participate:

• OWN an ANDROID phone
• Willing to download the app
• Use the app at least 15 minutes a week
• Attend 1 virtual orientation session

Participants will get:

At a time when the pandemic is reshaping life in unpredictable ways and solid information is more vital than ever, University of Maryland students—or the bots they’ve created and deployed—are working to send accurate, easily understandable answers to your COVID-19 questions right to your phone.

South Korea has limited the introduction of the pandemic better than any other country. How have they done that? Have they been able to keep the economy going during the pandemic?