The American Public Health Association's Public Health Newswire recently featured FMSC PhD student Kecia Ellick in their review of 2016 annual meeting poster presentations. Ellick's poster, “Mothers' Attachment Style and Child Behavioral Outcomes for Teen Parent Families” summarized her study of adolescent mothers over a two-year period.

We all know that we can quickly lose cardiovascular endurance if we stop exercising for a few weeks, but what impact does the cessation of exercise have on our brains? New research led by University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers examined cerebral blood flow in healthy, physically fit older adults (ages 50-80 years) before an after a 10-day period during which they stopped all exercise.

Following their release of a state-commissioned study on the potential public health impacts of fracking in Western Maryland, University of Maryland researchers are helping to inform the conversation about the potential risks associated with unconventional natural gas development and production.

Older adults that improved their fitness through a moderate intensity exercise program increased the thickness of their brain’s cortex, the outer layer of the brain that typically atrophies with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. These effects were found in both healthy older adults and those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

School of Public Health graduate students took home many awards for their posters at Graduate Research Interaction Day on April 8, 2015, with Department of Behavioral and Community Health students winning the most awards of any department at the university. Graduate Research Interaction Day (GRID) at the University of Maryland is a campus event where graduate students can share their research, receive faculty and peer feedback, and practice their conference presentation skills.

A School of Public Health report on the potential public health impacts if fracking is allowed in Maryland, released in August, has been the focus of a series of recent forums to discuss the implications of its findings and to inform state decision-makers.

A study of older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease shows that moderate physical activity may protect brain health and stave off shrinkage of the hippocampus – the brain region responsible for memory and spatial orientation that is attacked first in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology researcher in the University of Maryland School of Public Health who conducted the study, says that while all of us will lose some brain volume as we age, those with an increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease typically show greater hippocampal atrophy over time. The findings are published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

New research out of the University of Maryland School of Public Health shows that exercise may improve cognitive function in those at risk for Alzheimer’s by improving the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory. Memory loss leading to Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest fears among older Americans. While some memory loss is normal and to be expected as we age, a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, signals more substantial memory loss and a greater risk for Alzheimer’s, for which there currently is no cure.

Moderate exercise may help people cope with anxiety and stress for an extended period of time post-workout, according to a study by kinesiology researchers in the University of Maryland School of Public Health published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

A special report released today by the University of Maryland School of Public Health will inform the design of an innovative new system to improve health and health care in Prince George's County. Transforming Health in Prince George's County, Maryland: A Public Health Impact Study is the result of a unique group of studies that concurrently gathered information from residents and policymakers, examined the county's health care workforce and public health programs, and documented best practices from comparable health care systems.