Despite recent progress in U.S. COVID-19 vaccination, some populations, including the LGBTQ+ community, are lagging in vaccination rates. Vaccine confidence and access, often decreased in these communities because of systemic marginalization, are both important to protecting health equity. As Dr.

On July 1, 2021, Craig Fryer, associate professor, became interim chair of the

We're all confused about what we should be doing about masks—and with good reason. We are receiving conflicting information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) on whether we should wear masks and continue to follow social distancing practices. And every day, the promise of a mask-free summer is called into question as we learn more about the Delta variant—a more contagious mutation of COVID-19. To clear up the confusion, Bem Faris, communications and media manager for the SPH sat down with Dr. Donald Milton, professor of applied environmental health at the University of Maryland and a leading expert on how viruses spread through the air.

Giving everyone a seat at the science table is the intention behind the term “citizen science,” which was coined in the 1990s. However, does it achieve inclusivity? 

Adults who were better informed during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been less stressed and better able to manage the uncertainties and changes, but more knowledge may not have had the same impact on children. 

Youths experiencing homelessness (YEH) become pregnant at five times the general population rate, according to a recently published review led by Dr. Elizabeth Aparicio, assistant professor of behavioral and community health. 

Right now, two pandemics are happening simultaneously: COVID-19 and systemic racism. These issues have driven a conversation across several divisions in society, including the environmental health sciences (EHS) research community, according to an article published in May 2021. 

The negro health problem is one of the “white man's burdens,” and it is by no means the least of those burdens. […] It is undoubtedly true that the negro race has deteriorated physically and morally since slavery times. In some ways, he is perhaps more intelligent, but freedom has not benefited his health, nor improved his morals. There is more sickness and inefficiency and crime among them now than before the war.

Did you know? Bisphenol A (BPA), a high-volume industrial chemical, is routinely used in plastic food, water containers and even the lining of food and drink cans. 

On June 2, 2021, President Biden announced the formation of a White House-backed partnership between the University of Maryland’s Maryland Center for Health Equity, the Black Coalition Against COVID and the beauty and personal care brand SheaMoisture to recruit 1,000 Black-owned barber