Keeping the 'Public' in Public Health |
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Featured Research & Reports |
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A Rutgers study gives new insight into the experiences and perspectives of Black and Latinx people working in supportive health care roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, the research was the first to focus on the experience of support health care workers from underserved communities during the pandemic. Learn more
Exposure to phthalates—a group of chemicals found in everything from plastics to personal care products to electronics—may disrupt an important hormone needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy, according to a new Rutgers study lead by Emily S. Barrett, an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Learn more
While most people living with HIV have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, younger and Black individuals are hesitant to get vaccinated and have lower vaccination rates, according to a new study by the school’s Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies. The study is among the first to examine COVID-19 vaccination efforts based on people living with HIV in the United States. Learn more
The effect of climate on nutrition outcomes should be assessed using a systems approach that goes beyond simply considering food production, according to new research co-authored by Shauna Downs, assistant professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health. The researchers describe the gaps in our current understanding of the pathways through which climate can influence nutrition across food systems as well as the need for sustained investment in capacity-building to better equip public health practitioners with the skills to incorporate climate resilience into nutrition programs. Climate information services can provide much needed data, analyses, and forecasts to ensure nutrition programs target their interventions where and when they are most needed. Learn more
*This section highlights select research and reports from the
Rutgers School of Public Health. This is not a complete list.*
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Student Research & Reports |
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Infographic Credit: New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center |
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Doctoral student, John Palatucci, along with Alan Monheit, professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, examined the impact of increasing community-directed state mental health agency expenditures on violent crime in his latest research. They found that consistent with previously published findings, states with greater secondary school completion rates and those with background checks for firearms that included a scan of state mental health records had predicted lower rates of violent crime committed with a firearm. Learn more
Master of Public Health students, Madelyn Owens and Sarah Malarkey, along with Pamela Valera, assistant professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health, found that queer people are experiencing heightened stress and anxiety and using cigarette smoking and vaping to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers say that evidence that elevates the voice of people with lived experience navigating intersecting oppressions is required to help equip public health experts to make equitable, just, and informed decisions regarding how to respond to the current pandemic and prevent future ones. Learn more
*This section highlights select research and reports from the
Rutgers School of Public Health. This is not a complete list.*
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Rutgers School of Public Health alums Claire Brown, MPH'19, and Héctor Maldonado-Reis, MPH'16, have been named 12 Under 40 by Rutgers Magazine for their lasting contributions to their professions. |
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Contact-Tracing Campaigner: Claire Brown, MPH'19 |
In early 2020, as the pandemic began spreading throughout New Jersey, Claire Brown was hard at work creating what would become the Garden State’s community contact-tracing corps. As assistant director of Student Support Services at the Rutgers School of Public Health, Brown SPH’19 coordinated placing student volunteers with health departments across the state. Collaborating with her colleague and mentor Sarah Kelly DC’04, SPH’09, she continued to shape contact-tracing efforts through the fall of that year.
Brown remains focused on providing wellness-minded career resources to train a new generation of the public health workforce. “Be Well to Do Good,” a concise skills-training course that she designed, helps emerging professionals align their values and actions with public health and social justice career goals. Brown has presented the project at national conferences and continues to refine it for widespread use in the field.
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Data for the Greater Good: Héctor Maldonado-Reis, MPH'16 |
After earning a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s degree in public health from Rutgers, Héctor Maldonado-Reis went on to gain an additional master’s in population health studies from Harvard. Maldonado-Reis ENG’15, SPH’16 has leveraged that world-class education to embark on a career in data science that emphasizes innovation and social change.
As director of research, development, and analytics at the Data Innovation Lab at Tech Impact, Maldonado-Reis helps further the nonprofit’s mission of addressing population-level challenges while driving equity in industries and communities. The lab recently joined forces with Tech Impact to strengthen networks and relationships with state agencies, nonprofits, and foundations across the United States.
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Leslie Kantor, chair of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health has been selected to serve on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Advisory Council to Promote Health Equity. The council will guide and advise Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey grantmaking team to more effectively center equity and build power across the state. The advisory group will elicit the perspectives of a variety of people, including those with lived experiences, community partners, advocates, academics, and policymakers and will help the foundation focus on advancing health and wellbeing in New Jersey communities that have historically lacked opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.
Council members were selected because of their experience in key issue areas that align with the foundation’s goals, such as maternal and infant health, equitable housing, and public health infrastructure. The members reflect the culture, character, and lived experiences of New Jersey's diverse populations. They have demonstrated a commitment to advancing health equity and they have deep connections to important communities and populations across the state.
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Merlene Fredricks MBBS, MPH
Associate Professor
Department of Urban-Global Public Health
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Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa, MD, MPH
Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Public Health
Associate Professor,
Department of Urban-Global Public Health
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Andrea Villanti, PhD, MPH
Deputy Director, Center for Tobacco Studies
Associate Professor,
Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy
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Cui Yang PhD, MA
Associate Professor
Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy
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Image Credit: Adobe Stock Photos |
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Marquiah H. Geiger
Executive Assistant to the Dean
Office of the Dean
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Mary Kneuer
CLEP Family Outreach Staff
Center for Public Health Workforce Development
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Maria Schiavello
CLEP Family Outreach Staff
Center for Public Health Workforce Development
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Laura Werne, MFA
Communications Specialist
Center for Public Health Workforce Development
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NEW: Fully Online MPH Degree in Global Public Health |
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Image Credit: Adobe Stock Photos |
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The Rutgers degree program, offered by New Jersey’s only nationally accredited school of public health, will increase opportunities for students to access a high-quality and affordable education from one of the nation’s leading schools in the discipline. Students enrolled in the online degree program will have the opportunity to engage with widely recognized leaders in the field and interact with their peers through robust digital learning technology.
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The pandemic is far from over says Henry Raymond, associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. While caseloads are declining in New Jersey and the Omicron variant has probably peaked, he warns that there is a “wild card” in all of this that defies modeling and the patterns of previous pandemics: whether there will be another variant. Read NJ.com
According to Kristen D. Krause, instructor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health and deputy director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies, the current blood donation policies for men who have sex with men are outdated. "The policy continues to stigmatize gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. In particular, this policy highlights a major structural inequity in the US and should be abolished even if there is not currently a blood shortage," she says. "Other countries in the world including Italy, Spain, and Argentina have lifted any rules that may have historically prevented gay men from donating blood and it's well beyond time for the US to catch up." Read VeryWell
“The problem we’re really facing right now is not just about COVID, it’s about all of the other critical functions that can’t go on because everybody’s getting infected at the same time,” says Leslie Kantor, chair of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health when discussing the CDC’s updated pandemic guidance. Watch NJ Spotlight News
"LGBTQ+ employment loss critically impacts the overall health and wellbeing of these individuals who commonly experience marginalization and discrimination," says Perry N. Halkitis, dean, when discussing his latest research on how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted employment for minority populations resulting in healthcare concerns. "The intersection between financial stability, standard of living, and health is an integral balance. Job loss brings about additional mental and physical burdens, that can further lead to a public health crisis because these individuals do not have the housing, financial, or health stability required for proper care," he adds. Read Phys.org
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During the second week of February, join the Office of Career Services for skills-based workshops and resources to help you achieve financial literacy and stability, explore scholarship and fellowship options, and negotiate for financial success. Monday through Thursday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST.
Future semester themes include:
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Marching into Post-Grad: Get ready for graduation with resume, cover letter, job search, and interview prep, career panels, and the Office of Career Services spring break Instagram takeover
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Alumni April: Gain practical career advice, networking connections, and job leads from Rutgers SPH alumni across all areas of public health
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21PHirst Signature Series Webinars |
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Upcoming 21PHirst Signature Series Webinar |
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Join the Rutgers School of Public Health for a 21PHirst Signature Series Webinar by Dr. Jacquelyn Taylor, Helen F. Petit Professor of Nursing and Founder and Executive Director, Center for Research on People of Color at the Columbia University School of Nursing on
January 27, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. EST.
Dr. Jacquelyn Taylor will discuss an unconventional research trajectory in hypertension genomics. She will highlight how mentorship, pilot funding, and interdisciplinary contributions to advancing science can lead to a career that helps determine important impacts and contributions to reducing health disparities.
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Future 21PHirst Signature Series Webinars |
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Barbara Rimer, DrPH
Dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor, Gillings School of Global Public Health
February 15, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. EST
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Mark Wade, MD
Director
Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness
March 1, 2022 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. EST
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Laura Magaña, PhD
President and CEO, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
April 19, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. EST
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Past 21PHirst Signature Series Webinars |
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Oxiris Barbot, MD
Senior Fellow for Public Health and Social Justice, The JPB Foundation
Former Commissioner of Health, New York City
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Pamela Fessler
Former NPR News Correspondent
Author, Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice
Past speaker…
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Paschal Nwako PhD, MPH, REHS, CHES, DAAS
Health Officer and Public Health Coordinator, Camden County
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André Sayegh
Mayor of the City of Paterson
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The 21PHirst Signature Series is an annual webinar, seminar, and talk initiative that virtually connects various thought leaders from New Jersey, across the United States, and around the world with the Rutgers School of Public Health community. The theme of this year’s 21PHirst Signature Series is Racism is a Public Health Crisis: A Call to Action. Through Rutgers School of Public Health community nominations, this year’s 21PHirst Signature Series highlights leading innovators and change agents dedicated to addressing this public health crisis. |
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Image Credit: Raymond Clinkscale |
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Virtual information Session
February 15, 2022
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM EST
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Articulated BS/BA - MPH Degree Information Session
(Current Rutgers/NJIT Undergraduate Students)
February 16, 2022
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST
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Department of Health Behavior, Society, & Policy Information Session
March 3, 2022
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
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Upcoming Application Deadlines
Looking to apply to the School of Public Health? Fall 2022 applications are available now! Keep in mind, the upcoming Fall 2022 MPH and MS final deadline is May 1, 2022. The online MPH in global health has a deadline of April 15, 2022.
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Image Credit: Adobe Stock Photos |
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Check out the Rutgers School of Public Health's event calendar to learn about and/or join various events hosted, co-hosted, or supported by the School. |
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Rutgers School of Public Health |
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683 Hoes Lane West
Piscataway, NJ 08854
732-235-9700
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One Riverfront Plaza, Suite 1020
Newark, NJ 07102
973-972-7212
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