The University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the School of Public Health announced today the awardees of their inaugural Healthy Places Seed Grants - a funding program designed to spark innovative research around the challenges of building healthy, equitable communities. Eight projects received grants through the program.

The President's Commission on Women's Issues recently honored Professor Amy R. Sapkota, interim director of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, and Sahra Ibrahimi, a family science doctoral student, with its Women of Influence Awards, recognizing their efforts to work Fearlessly Forward with and for women on campus and in the community.

The study, published March 16 in Obstetrics & Gynecology, found pregnancy-related deaths climbed to 45.5 per 100,000 live births in 2021, up from rates of 36.7 in 2020 and 29 pre-pandemic. The deaths include people who died while pregnant or within one year of the end of their pregnancy due to a condition related to or aggravated by the pregnancy.

A new study shows Maryland and Delaware women increasingly view abortion as safe and acceptable—an attitude that correlates with their knowing someone who has undergone the procedure.

Faculty from the School of Public Health will receive unprecedented funding to tackle some of society's biggest challenges, including a $3M grant to create an international alliance focused on alleviating food, energy and water insecurity, protecting environmental and global public health and bolstering community resilience in a changing climate.

As universities across the country look for ways to support students' mental health, Inside Higher Ed turned to Amy Morgan, assistant professor in the Department of Family Science, to learn more about her new one-credit class that teaches students basic emotional regulation skills.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts have taken a disproportionate toll on American mothers who were pregnant or just gave birth. Maternal mortality (i.e., deaths during pregnancy or in the early postpartum period) increased by 18% in 2020, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, exceeding the ~16% increase in overall US mortality in 2020.

Since its creation, the importance of a strong family unit has been the foundation of the Jeanette Spier Beavers Endowed Memorial Scholarship. Established by Lois Spier Gray to memorialize her sister Jeanette Spier Beavers, the funds used to establish the scholarship were initially meant to support Lois herself. Jeanette had set the money aside to help Lois and her husband, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease. 

The University of Maryland School of Public Health has joined CommuniVax, a new research coalition funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to strengthen the community’s role and involvement in an equitable vaccination campaign. 

The TOGETHER Program, which offers services that help local families develop healthy relationships and achieve financial stability, will continue its work for another five years with a $5 million grant renewal from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.