UTHealth Houston has been awarded more than $2.9 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue and expand a five?year initiative focused on increasing colorectal cancer screening, follow?up, and treatment across Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Texas.
Since May 2025, second-year student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Yesmeena Shmaitelly, has played a pivotal role in advancing the Harris Health Food is Medicine (FIM) study, a multi-phased project providing fresh produce and nutrition education to at-risk pregnant mothers in the Greater Houston region.
The Swaddle Study, led by Serwaa S. Omowale, PhD, LMSW, MPH, assistant professor in Management, Policy, and Community Health and Center for Health Equity (CHE) faculty, is a federally supported, groundbreaking community-based research project designed to address long-standing racial inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes among Black families in the U.S..
As we look forward to the year ahead, I invite and encourage you to renew your commitment and passion for the field of public health, and to not lose sight of the importance of our work.
July 12, 2023
“We are delighted to partner with MD Anderson Cancer Center on this important work to improve obesity-prevention behaviors for cancer prevention among Acres Homes residents in Houston, Texas,” said Sharma.
July 12, 2023
Houston nonprofit and CHPPR partner ProSalud has spent more than 20 years providing health education and healthcare access to Hispanic Immigrant communities in Houston, Texas. ProSalud trains Community Health Workers (CHWs) to serve as a bridge between these communities and the health care system by improving health awareness and access to local resources using print materials, presentations, health screenings, community events and other venues.
July 6, 2023
GRASSROOTS HEALTH is funded by a three-year, nearly $2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) that was awarded last year to Vanessa Schick, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, and Jack Tsai, PhD, professor and regional dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in San Antonio.
July 5, 2023
CHPPR has partnered with the Columbus Community Hospital and Wellness Center, an acute care medical and surgical facility in Columbus, Texas, to establish a National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP). Columbus Community Hospital adds the NDPP lifestyle change program to an array of services they offer to their rural community through their Wellness Center.
June 30, 2023
Alan Tita, MD, PhD, who received his PhD in public health with a focus on epidemiology from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in 2007, led the groundbreaking Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial, which was recently awarded the prestigious David Sackett Trial of the Year Award from the Society for Clinical Trials.
June 29, 2023
Each student brings their education, background, and experience to aid in discovering and addressing the patient and/or population’s health. We congratulate our dual-degree graduates who will continue to advocate and represent the school’s mission in their respective journeys as they enter their residencies.
June 29, 2023
Ariana Garza, MPH, a current PhD student at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Brownsville brings a unique perspective to the public health field. Her diverse background as a Hispanic mother and member of the LGBTQ+ community allows her to bring a new lens into understanding health issues, challenges, and disparities affecting underrepresented populations.
June 26, 2023
CHPPR investigators, in collaboration with the Houston Health Department and external research institutions, have initiated a pilot project to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a blockchain-based platform to facilitate easier access to PrEP care. This community-based, interdisciplinary project uses an implementation science framework to explore future development and implementation of the PrEPLINKer system, which will assist users in overcoming barriers to PrEP access and comprehensive HIV prevention, education, and wrap-up services as well as secure management of HIV testing (TestLinker system) and risk assessment information.
June 21, 2023
Since 2014, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health researchers have conducted the annual UTHealth PRIDE Survey to assess tobacco use and nicotine addiction among LGBTQ+ identified individuals. Originally centered on Houston residents, the research initiative has been extended to encompass the entire state of Texas since the COVID Pandemic.
June 15, 2023
The Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox is an online resource with tools, templates, and guidance to help tribal educators plan, implement and grow culturally-relevant and age-appropriate adolescent health programs for American Indian & Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth.
