The American Public Health Association (APHA) presented Sacoby Wilson, professor of applied environmental health in the School of Public Health, with the David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health during its annual meeting today in Boston. The award, given to Wilson by APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, recognizes Wilson’s dedication to community-based environmental justice and science-based advocacy to influence policy change.

The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower) has appointed Amy R. Sapkota, professor of environmental health science with the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, as an MPower Professor.

A $9.4 million gift to the University of Maryland will help fund a daring research initiative aimed at creating the next great public health revolution—innovative and affordable systems that provide clean, safe indoor air and prevent the spread of respiratory infections.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences recently awarded Devon Payne-Sturges a $3.7 million grant (R01) to study structural racism and health among Black and LatinX migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The grant will support her team’s efforts to better understand health disparities facing these essential but marginalized workers.

On September 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced creation of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, a new national office charged with advancing environmental justice and civil rights. SPH's Dr. Sacoby Wilson shares the significance of the event and the impact the office will have on local EJ initiatives.

The Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEJH) in the University of Maryland School of Public Health(UMD SPH) has developed a new Environmental Justice Agency Scorecard

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!

By Sala Levin ’10

Growing up in quiet Ellicott City, Md., Sophia D’Alonzo ’24 didn’t give much thought to the possibility of an environmental catastrophe in her hometown. But in 2016 and 2018, Ellicott City’s historic main street was ravaged by tremendous flooding–meteorologists termed both incidents “1,000-year floods,” and they killed three people.

WHAT: 

The eighth University of Maryland Symposium on Environmental Justice & Health Disparities will take place virtually on August 11th and 12th, 2022, and in-person on Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at the University of Ma

Research shows that prenatal exposure to air pollution can result in adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight. Studies have concluded that there are significant racial and ethnic disparities in who is most affected by this, but previous research has mostly focused on how maternal characteristics (e.g., race, education, income) amplify the effects of air pollution on birth outcomes.