University of Maryland Professor Emeritus Robin Sawyer died on Jan. 21 in Charleston, S.C., following a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. The UMD community will celebrate his life and legacy at a memorial service Friday, Feb. 1 at 1 pm in the Memorial Chapel on the College Park campus.

Dr. Sawyer, who taught tens of thousands of students in his popular human sexuality course over the years, was known for his quick wit and compassion. UMD alumni from several generations recognize him as one of their most important mentors and favorite professors.

Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are at a disproportionately high risk for HIV infection.

Engagement in transactional sex may contribute to this increased HIV prevalence according to a new report published by UNAIDS with STRIVE, a research partner consortium, which addresses the Structural Drivers of HIV/AIDS.

A group of six University of Maryland students, accompanied by Behavioral and Community Health Research Professor Dina Borzekowski and UMD affiliate and master educator Tina Lipscomb, traveled to Sierra Leone in June to continue the work that the UMD Public Health Without Borders group began back in 2014. The ten-day trip was the fourth visit of UMD students to Calaba Town, a community on the Western coast near the country’s capital of Freetown.

The Spring 2018 SPH faculty and staff assembly included plenty of great news about school and department-level accomplishments, and laughter and good cheer during the faculty and staff awards.

Dean Boris Lushniak spoke warmly about this being the culmination of the SPH ten-year anniversary celebration, highlighting the various celebrations that happened over the course of the academic year. He noted that the SPH commencement ceremony, happening this Saturday, May 19th, will mark the end of our anniversary year and the start of our second decade. 

The Gamma Zeta chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health is pleased to announce its 2018 inductees. At the induction ceremony and awards reception on May 14, 2018, Dean Boris Lushniak and Principal Associate Dean Dushanka Kleinman inducted 16 students, seven faculty members, five alumni and one honorary member, Mr. Mark Luckner. The ceremony also recognized student research poster winners from each department of the school.

"Why are cookies unhealthy?” A common question asked by kindergartners wondering why their favorite snack is bad for them. On a recent trip to Edward M. Felegy Elementary School in Hyattsville, MD, members from Schools for Smiles educated children in pre-K and kindergarten on oral hygiene through fun activities and demonstrations.

Research has found that educational media can positively impact young children, but few studies have been conducted in developing countries. Newly published research led by University of Maryland School of Public Health Research Professor Dina Borzekowski (Department of Behavioral and Community Health) in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology helps to address this with a study involving a locally-produced Tanzanian children’s show called Akili and Me.

Kecia Ellick and Joanne D’Silva, doctoral students in the School of Public Health were two of 28 students selected nationwide to present research at the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health poster session, which was held at the American Public Health Association annual meeting and exposition held in Atlanta from Nov. 4-8, 2017.

As a part of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) hosted the annual Graduate Research Appreciation Day (GRAD) on April 5, 2017. Graduate students from all programs and disciplines across campus presented their research and work. Below are the GRAD 2017 winners from the School of Public Health, who were selected as the best presentations from their respective subject-themed oral, poster, and elevator-speech presentation sessions.

During the fall 2014 semester, Diana Wang, Sama El Baz, Megan Keane, and Sarah Younan teamed up in HLTH 371: Communicating Safety and Health to design a health communication campaign for what they thought was just going to be another class project. Based on personal experiences abroad in Thailand, where children living in poverty were required to brush their teeth in school, Ms. El Baz and Ms. Wang suggested they craft their project around oral health.