Welcome to Ask the Expert, a UTHealth Houston news series in which leading experts examine pressing health challenges. In this edition, we address National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day.
For alumna Taylor Downs, MPH ‘26, her journey to studying at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health began with her love of fitness, a parental connection to healthcare, and a new perspective on what it means to prioritize health.
Risk factors for cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic disease, a health condition made up of heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity, can be identified in children as young as 8, UTHealth Houston researchers discovered.
Recent graduate Jennifer L. Thompson, PhD, MPH, has completed the epidemiology doctoral program at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and is taking the next step in a career dedicated to research, teaching, and improving public health.
August 16, 2021
Lisa Mitchell-Bennett’s journey took her around the globe and landed her in the Rio Grande Valley, which she now considers her home. Born in Mexico, she grew up in California, with stints living and working in South and Central America, Europe, Asia and across the US. She arrived at the US-Mexico border after graduate school to work with refugees, planning to stay for a year.
August 12, 2021
Dr. David Gimeno Ruiz de Porras, PhD, and Dr. George L. Delclos, PhD, of the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) at UTHealth School of Public Health co-authored an article published Aug. 9 by the American Journal of Public Health. The article, “Monitoring Self-Perceived Occupational Health Inequities in Central America, 2011-2018”, analyzes changes in occupational health inequity between 2011 and 2018 among a representative sample of over 20,000 workers in Central America.
August 3, 2021
A new study developed by investigators at the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research (CHPPR) will determine the efficacy of the Sustainable Culturally Adapted Nutritious Diet Program (SCAN).
August 3, 2021
The Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research (CHPPR) recently received $500,000 from the CDC to investigate solutions that will increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and ultimately increase uptake.
August 3, 2021
Amier Haidar, MD/MPH student with McGovern Medical School, is the recipient of the 2021 United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award.
July 20, 2021
Dr. Jorma Rantanen has been confirmed as a featured speaker at Ex4OSH 2021, set for Dec. 9-11 in Houston. Professor Rantanen has served for 30 years as the Director General of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FIOH. He has published numerous research and practice articles, books and guidelines on occupational health, occupational medicine, radiation biology, and toxicology, prevention of occupational cancer, risk assessment, good occupational health and safety practices, basic occupational health services, and implementation of new legislation on OSH. Dr. Rantanen was awarded the NIOSH Lifetime Achievement Award in Occupational Safety and Health.
July 19, 2021
Jackson Suplita, a second year healthcare management MPH student, will serve on the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health’s (ASPPH) This Is Public Health (TIPH) 2021-2022 Ambassador Cohort. Members of this cohort are nominated by the institutions they attend and serve to raise awareness about the field of public health through various campaigns.
July 19, 2021
Elizabeth Asonye earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Health Promotion and Behavioral Science (HPBS) through the bachelor’s/master’s 4+1 program*, which allows students from partnering undergraduate institutions to earn a master’s degree in public health in as little as one-year post bachelor’s degree. She completed two remote practicum experiences during the Spring 2021 semester, and shares her bridge public health, community health, and clinical medicine with her undergraduate interests in social medicine and the social sciences.
July 12, 2021
When they returned to the United States in 2001 after several years abroad, Joseph B. McCormick, MD, and his wife, Susan Fisher-Hoch, MD, could have written their own ticket.
“We thought a lot about it and decided, ‘Instead of going back to a big university, let’s think about going to a community where we can really make a difference,’” McCormick remembers.
July 4, 2021
William Lyons, LCSW-S, serves as the Manager of Programs, Social Determinants of Health at Legacy Community Health in Houston, Texas. Legacy, a Federally Qualified Health Center, identifies unmet needs and gaps in health-related services and develops client-centered programs to address these needs. William has served as a preceptor to several School of Public Health students.
