MEGAN KAVANAUGH (BCHS ’08) became a principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute in 2017. Her research portfolio has focused on contraceptive use and service delivery, unintended pregnancy and abortion. In her most recent studies, she has been tracking national trends in contraceptive use, examining the consequences of unintended pregnancy and understanding the impact of travel on women seeking abortions.
COLLETTE NCUBE (BCHS ’14) is a future faculty fellow in the Department of Health Sciences and the Institute of Urban Health Research and Practice at Northeastern University. Ncube’s research focuses on determinants of racial/ethnic disparities in adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes and later life cardiovascular/metabolic disorders, with particular focus on lifecourse and intergenerational factors.
CHONGYI WEI (BCHS '09) recently moved from the University of California, San Francisco to join the faculty at the Rutgers School of Public Health. His primary research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Asia and in the U.S. He is interested in creating innovative strategies to increase HIV testing uptake among MSM and improve access to care and treatment among HIV-infected MSM.
CHRISTINA WILDS (BCHS '06) serves as senior program officer of the Highmark Foundation. Prior to joining Highmark, Wilds served as program evaluator in Highmark Inc.'s division of community affairs, where she was responsible for all phases of program evaluation. Before joining Highmark, she worked for a world-class medical center where she served in various fundraising positions.
PITTSBURGH JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY LAW & POLICY - HPM's Tina Batra Hershey and Dean Burke discuss the early pioneering work of researchers in the legal field who developed the "Pittsburgh System" a precursor to the computerized legal research tools ubiquitous today.
ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - DNA determines what we look like, including our facial features. But first, researchers need to figure out which genes in our DNA are responsible for specific characteristics of our face. HUGEN’s SETH WEINBERG says, “In the past, scientists selected specific features, including the distance between the eyes or the width of the mouth. They would then look for a connection between this feature and many genes.” HUGEN's JOHN SH...
Kent State College of Public Health faculty member, TINA BHARGAVA (BCHS, '12) is the coordinator for the Prevention and Control of Diseases course, which is taught online. She is interested in improving online teaching methods. Her research interests include health behavior change and the cognitive limitations that may affect success with behavior change. Her current work focuses on re-envisioning the standard for student success.
HPM's NATHAN HERSHEY played an integral role in founding the modern-day field of health law, which regulates what is now the nation's largest industry. Hershey coauthored the Hospital Law Manual, which for more than 40 years has been the definitive guide to the legal responsibilities and liabilities of health care providers. "We were absolutely in awe—our teacher was the guy who created the health law field," said Mike Evans (HPM '80).
PITT PUBLIC HEALTH MAGAZINE - “The phrase ‘If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,’ certainly applies to me,” says Brooklyn, N.Y., native BILL SOLLECITO. However, it was his formative years spent in Pittsburgh at Pitt Public Health that made him—both personally and professionally—who he is today.
“From a very young age I knew I wanted to pursue a career in service and helping others, says Molly Shiflet. “The field of public health seemed like a perfect fit.” When the
time came to look at graduate schools, Shiflet says she immediately was drawn to Pitt Public Health for its strong national reputation and “seemingly endless” opportunities for students.
Manasa Pallapolu discovered she had an interest in health care administration while on the pre-med path at Drexel University. After graduation, the Fairfax, Va., native worked as the head of medical billing at a psychiatric office, where she was exposed to “a completely different side of health care.” She decided to return to school to pursue a Master of Health Administration (MHA) degree.
JOHANNA BELLON (HPM '15) is the Senior Director of Quality Analytics and Performance at the UPMC Wolff Center. UPMC is a 40+ hospital integrated finance and delivery system with over 3,500 providers and a multitude of clinical sites.
MID POD – Episode 18 of this podcast covering midterm elections across the country features DEAN BURKE discussing the impact of the opioid epidemic in our region, specifically the 18th Congressional District. “Here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, our overdose death rates are about double what they are average in the country.” “Eight years from now we’ll have twice as many deaths as we did this year.”
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE – Health department officials like ERIC HULSEY (BCHS '08) are diving deep into the data in order to predict where and when an opioid overdose is going to occur. The trick will be getting the information, and its implications, out to the broader community. “This is not just the responsibility of the government,” says BCHS’ KAREN HACKER, director, Allegheny County Health Department. “We can hopefully influence the health ca...
Honoring an individual who has a clearly articulated and enacted vision for advancing the scientific and business prowess of Pennsylvania, HUGEN's DIETRICH STEPHAN was honored with the 2017 award.
During this annual event, Pitt's Office of Health Sciences Diversity invites graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and first professional students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences to present relevant work while expanding their scientific skill set.
The term “disparities” applies to differences in health status in any studied
population compared to the comparable majority (or more commonly studied)
population. Showcased is work...
TRIB LIVE - "Inaction is no longer tolerable," says BCHS Chair STEVEN ALBERT of New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich's recent call for the repeal of the Dickey Amendment, which forbids the use of the CDC's injury prevention and control funds to lobby, or promote gun control.
Elizabeth Felter joined the faculty as assistant professor in 2010. She has been a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) since 2001 and leads the department’s health communication/health risk communication curriculum. Her teaching portfolio has expanded to include development of infographics, preparation of public service announcements, and use of video for public health communication.
Didier Chalhoub is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Aging Interdisciplinary Studies Aging Section. His areas of research include aging, osteoporosis, and sarcopenia, concentrating on osteoporosis and body composition with a special interest in understanding the effect of muscle-bone interaction on outcomes such as fractures.
While completing her MPH and PhD degrees, Buchanich worked full time for the Department of Biostatistics at Pitt Public Health and was appointed research assistant professor and deputy director of the Center for Occupational Biostatistics and Epidemiology in 2008. She has served as principal investigator or coinvestigator on many studies in occupational health epidemiology, vital status systems and tracing, and other topic areas.