Events

Climate Change & Health: Understanding and Reducing Impacts

Continued climate change threatens nearly every aspect of the way we live, move, work, and play. Across the Boston University campus, researchers are working to better understand how climate hazards such as air pollution, heat, hurricanes, and wildfires are affecting our health. Our collective goal is to develop the evidence needed to foster communities that are healthier and more sustainable, equitable, and resilient in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

At this Research on Tap, attendees heard from BU experts across a range of disciplines working to understand and reduce the threat of climate change to human health.

Featuring: Greg Wellenius (host) | Dennis Carlberg | Patricia Fabian | Peter Garik | Joshua Goodman | Lucy Hutyra | Jon Jay | Arunima Krishna | Amruta Nori-Sarma | Pam Templer | Amelia Wesselink | Ian Sue Wing

Think. Teach. Do. Showcase

The Think. Teach. Do. Showcase highlights innovative public health research by SPH faculty and students. These idea hub pilot projects and industry partnerships accelerate improvements in population health, for the health of all.

• Dr. Craig Ross, Executive Director of idea hub, examines the importance of public health on today’s economy
• Dr. Jaimie Gradus: Advancing public health approaches to the spectrum of stress
• Dr. Gregory Wellenius: Promoting healthy, equitable, & climate resilient communities
• Dr. Prasad Patil: The importance of replicable research in genomics
• Maria Tjilos: Amplifying young voices to transform the role of social media in public health messaging
• Dr. Megan Healey: Applications of molecular epidemiology for breast cancer screening
• Dr. Monica L. Wang: Academic-media collaborations to target pediatric diabetes in the clinical setting
• Dr. Paul Shafer: Mapping Social Determinants of Health in medical records
• Dr. Peter Rockers: The science of pharmaceutical industry-led access programs

This event was co-hosted by idea hub and the Dean’s Office.

Coming Back Better: Building Healthy, Sustainable, and Resilient Cities post-COVID-19.

By 2050, 66 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. This panel will explore how cities can be structured to support health and what we have learned about the future of urban living from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antiracism as Health Policy: Race, COVID-19, and Policy Reform.

This series examines the racial disparities in health brought vividly to public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Part 1 explores the importance of collecting and utilizing data on race to better understand the impact of the pandemic.
• Part 2 focuses on linking research to policy.
• Part 3 examines antiracist policy solutions that are informed by data.

Tackling Climate Change: Mitigation or Adaptation?

3/17/21

The global climate has changed profoundly over the last century and now threatens the health and wellbeing of families and communities around the world. With continued climate change we can expect to see more severe and more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, and floods. The global community must move quickly to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, but there are multiple ways to do so with no clear “one size fits all” solution. This program will ask, should future efforts focus on facilitating large scale mitigation efforts, helping communities and individuals adapt to a changing climate, or do we simply need more research? This year’s Bicknell Lecture will highlight the threats to human health posed by climate change and host a vibrant dialogue with leading experts on how to most productively move forward to address this global challenge.

Speakers:

• Rachel Kyte, Dean, Fletcher School at Tufts University
• Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Georgia
• Anne Simpson, Managing Investment Director, Board Governance & Sustainability, CalPERS
• Madeleine Thomson, Director, Our Planet, Our Health program at Wellcome Trust
• Gregory Wellenius, Professor, Boston University School of Public Health

COVID-19 and Frontline Workers: Nurses, Doctors, and Essential Personnel

March 9, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how our world operates. Stores closed, employees set up make-shift home offices, and ‘Zoom’ entered our common daily vocabulary. While many of us worked from home, frontline workers remained at work and faced extraordinary workloads, aiming to protect our health. This program  discussed the role of frontline workers in a crisis, and how we can were able to best support and sustain essential personnel during challenging times.

Cohosted with the idea hub and Lifelong Learning, including SHIELD, PHX, NEPHTC, and LPHI.

Epidemiology and Race: Why and How We Study Racial Health Disparities - in 3 Parts

February 25 & 26, 2021

Part 1: Why and how do we study race?

This series of panels examine how race and racial health disparities are studied in epidemiology. The first panel in our series explores the history of census data, how data on race are collected and studied, and the implications of how this data are used in population health science.

Featuring:

• Wayne Giles, Dean and Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Chanelle Howe, Associate Professor, Brown University
• Sherman James, Susan B. King Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy
• Jennifer Manly, Professor, Columbia University
• Jay Kaufman, President, Society for Epidemiologic Research

Part 2: Has epidemiology made a difference in race-related health disparities?

This panel asks if epidemiology has made a difference in race-related health disparities.

Featuring:

• Amani Allen, Professor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health
• Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
• Macarius Donneyong, Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University
• Joseph Graves, Professor, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering
• Pat O’Campo, Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Part 3: What are the big unanswered questions with respect to race?

This panel asks what are the big unanswered questions for epidemiology with respect to race and how this can guide the future of the field.

Featured:

• Anjum Hajat, Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Public Health
• John Jackson, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Arjumand Siddiqi, Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
• John Rich, Professor, Drexel University Dorsnife School of Public Health
• Martha Werler, Professor and Chair of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health

Cohosted with the Society for Epidemiologic Research.

$629 Band-Aids and $20,243 Bike Crashes: The High Prices of America’s Emergency Rooms.

February 10, 2021

Americans make more than 140 million trips to the emergency room each year, but usually don’t know the price until a bill shows up in the mail. New York Times journalist Sarah Kliff spent 18 months collecting thousands of emergency room bills, and made public the prices that hospitals try to keep secret. From $629 Band Aids to $5,571 charges for just sitting in a waiting room, Ms. Kliff will discuss what her reporting found, what it tells us about the American health care system, and the policy solutions Congress could use to fix it.

Featuring:

Sarah Kliff, Investigative Reporter, the New York Times
Wendy Mariner, Emeritus Professor, Boston University School of Public Health

Housing, Homelessness, and COVID-19 in Massachusetts

December 14, 2020

Safe, stable, and affordable housing is essential to health. Yet, since Governor Baker’s eviction and foreclosure moratorium expired in October 2020, individuals and families across Massachusetts are now facing the added threat of unstable housing and homelessness during the height of the pandemic. People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of COVID-19, and many U.S. health and shelter systems are not equipped to meet their needs. A panel of housing and homelessness experts address the intersection of housing, racial justice, and health, and discuss ways to address inequities, including opportunities for health and human service organizations, policy, and activism.

Public Health, Medicine, and Poverty

December 10, 2020

Poverty poses a serious threat to the health of the public, as those living in poverty are less likely to be able to access the conditions that promote health. These authors will discuss the intersections of health, medicine, and poverty, and how addressing the social factors that create health can lead to greater health for all.

Taking Action for Health Equity: A Post-Election Analysis

November 22, 2020

In this post-election discussion, Rebekah Gewirtz, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers – MA Chapter, and Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, will discuss their organizations’ priorities, policy agendas, and strategies, and provide analysis on how practitioners and leaders in social work and public health can identify opportunities and work toward positive change during the next administration. Hosted by the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at Boston University’s School of Social Work. Paul Farmer moderates.

Arts in Public Health: Pedagogy, Practice, Research, and Policy

November 12, 2020

Sandro Galea, Dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, Jill Sonke, director for the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine, and thought and program innovators from across the country in a mini-symposium to explore how the arts can be leveraged in public health practice to improve lives, and present programs at the cutting edge.

The symposium was be moderated by Ty Furman, Managing Director, BU Arts Initiative, and Jennifer Beard, Clinical Associate Professor, Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health.

Women in Science. What is Still in the Way

November 2, 2020

In celebration of the publication of BUSPH Professor, Lisa Sullivan’s book, Biostatistics for Population Health, we hosted a conversation among distinguished women scientists, discussing their work, their first-hand experiences, and their challenges and accomplishments. The panelists offered guidance on the importance of mentoring, networking, and building professional relationships to support your career and other women in the field.

Mental & Behavioral Health. Now is the time.

October 29th, 2020

Stress. Anxiety. Concern for the future.

The collective trauma of 2020 is affecting the mental health of millions of individuals. The faculty at BUSPH are conducting groundbreaking research to help us understand the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 moment, and how we can help.

We heard from our experts on three public health problems—suicide, substance use, and the mental health consequences of COVID-19—followed by Q&A and open discussion among panelists, alumni & friends.

Marching Toward Coverage: How Women Can Lead the Fight for Universal Healthcare

October 21, 2020

Author Rosemarie Day discusses her new book Marching Toward Coverage: How Women Can Lead the Fight for Universal Healthcare (Beacon Press, 2020). With 28 million Americans uninsured, and millions more who cannot afford their coverage, Day asks the fundamental question: Can we, as a nation, do better? Day believes we can and will—once women begin to engage collectively around this topic. This conversation, hosted by Professor Sarah Gordon, will focus on galvanizing women to take action to make healthcare a right in the US.

Strategic Communications: Engaging with Science Media

October 20, 2020

Interested in learning to communicate your expertise to journalists and other audiences? Join this interactive workshop facilitated by Meredith Drosback from SciLine, a program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science connecting US journalists to scientific experts for print, broadcast, and digital stories about science-related issues. Attendees will learn about SciLine and how to leverage its free service, techniques for conveying research in compelling ways, media interview best practices, and more. Please contact pr@bu.edu with questions.

COVID-19 State of the Science

September 15, 2020

The seminar brought together experts to discuss the causes and consequences of this global pandemic, exploring what we know now, and what we still need to learn.