Behavioral and Community Health PhD candidate and UMD-PRC Investigator John Salerno (he/him) is incredibly active in research and advocacy. An exemplar of the PRC’s mission, Salerno centers some of the most vulnerable LGBTQ+ communities in his work, including immigrants and Latina/o/x persons.

In the first in a series of articles on Healthy People 2030, Dushanka Kleinman, Nico Pronk and colleagues introduce the foundational principle that "the health and well-being of all people and communities are essential to a thriving, equitable society." The article Promoting Health and Well-being in Healthy People 2030, published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, describes how Healthy People 2030 continues the Healthy People initiative’s tradition of serving as a catalyst for action by expanding the focus of health promotion to promoting health and well-being.

While a COVID-19 vaccine could be available in a matter of weeks, offering much-needed hope at the end of a grim and challenging year, a University of Maryland expert urges public health leaders and other authorities to begin communicating about the approval process and the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness right away.

Over four weeks this fall, the School of Public Health’s Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEJH) lab hosted the sixth annual Environmental Justice and Health Disparities Symposium. The free event was virtual this year due to Covid-19. 

There were nearly 1,000 registrants from at least 45 states and six countries. 

The event spanned four Saturdays and included speakers from community organizations, environmental justice advocacy groups, researchers, scholars, legal professionals, elected officials and more. 

The University of Maryland Emerita/Emeritus Association (UMEEA) Steering Committee recently elected Dr. Elaine A. Anderson to serve a three-year term. UMEEA is a membership organization open to all retired faculty with emeritus or like Dr. Anderson, emerita status.

Where we live impacts our health in many ways, including how susceptible we are to contracting Covid-19. Quynh Nguyen, assistant professor of epidemiology, uses big data techniques to analyze massive volumes of visual information about our neighborhood environments and their relationship to population health. 

Associate Professor of Family Science Mia Smith-Bynum (she/her) identifies as a scholar-activist, harnessing her personal experience as a Black woman and vast research expertise to dismantle racism and improve African American mental health. As the director of the Black Families Research Group, an affiliate of the Center for Health Equity and an investigator with the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center (UMD-PRC), Dr. Smith-Bynum has quickly emerged as a necessary and leading figure in psychology and family science. 

The School of Public Health would like to recognize and welcome the following faculty and staff to our community. Some are already part of our community and are being recognized for new roles/titles, while others are joining us this academic year. Welcome and congratulations to all!

Exercise could be useful in recovery from COVID-19, Sushant M. Ranadive, associate professor of kinesiology, and his fellow researchers theorized in a recent publication. COVID-19 progression has been suggested to have a metabolic origin given that elevated glucose and lipid levels are risk factors, the authors explain. And, Fenofibrate, a promising medication, has positive effects on inflammation and endothelial function. The authors compare Fenofibrate to exercise and hypothesize that exercise could be a possible therapeutic strategy to bolster resilience against (and help manage recovery from) COVID-19.

Environmental injustices abound in Maryland. From industrial pollution in Baltimore to unsafe worker conditions on the Eastern Shore, disadvantaged communities often bear the brunt of environmental harms. 

In a letter to Governor Larry Hogan and his administration, Associate Professor Sacoby Wilson-- along with the executive director of the Assateague Coastal Trust and seven other community health, environmental justice and civil rights leaders-- stated that Maryland is not doing enough to combat these injustices.