ALBANY, N.Y. (August 5, 2020) - Center for Collaborative HIV Research in Practice and Policy researchers recently published three articles in a special issue of Public Health Reports, highlighting the center’s work toward its mission to establish thought leadership on groundbreaking efforts to “end the epidemic” (ETE) of HIV in New York.
Albany, N.Y. (August 3, 2020) – Through her internship, MPH student Leanna Komoroske is applying her education in creative ways to help improve maternal and child health in the capital region during the coronavirus pandemic— including through cooking demonstration videos on YouTube.
ALBANY, N.Y. (August 2, 2020) – Two School of Public Health students have received awards from Initiatives for Women (IFW) to help support their public health careers.
A team led by Assistant Professors Beth Feingold and Xiaobo X. Romeiko of the School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences was awarded $99,987 from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to study how COVID-19 is impacting food access in New York’s Capital Region.
Feingold and Romeiko are studying how the fresh produce recovery and redistribution arm of the Capital Region food system is absorbing the shock caused by the pandemic. The team anticipates that their findings will reveal the benefits and tradeoffs associated with policy and program interventions in response to COVID-19.
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 15, 2020) – While many School of Public Health students typically participate in international programs during the summer session, this year looks a little different due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, right from their homes, students are able to continue their globally-focused learning with innovative programming such as the SUNY COIL Global Commons Program.
Environmental Health Sciences PhD candidate Celeste Butts was first author on an academic paper that found that higher seafood consumption is associated with higher exposure to toxic metals for women undergoing in vitro fertilization.
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 6, 2020) – The School of Public Health’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program has received a five-year training grant of nearly $450,000 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is the second consecutive 5-year MCH Public Health Catalyst Program award from HRSA to the MCH Program.
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 6, 2020) – The new Center for Collaborative HIV Research in Practice and Policy (CCHRPP), located at the University at Albany School of Public Health, addresses the public health and social justice challenges of persons placed at risk for, or living with, HIV and related diseases.
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 1, 2020) – Results from a new COVID-19 epidemiological study have been released from the University at Albany in partnership with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH); the findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal, Annals of Epidemiology.
UAlbany Assisted NYSDOH with Study Focused on Patients’ Demographics, Underlying Conditions, Symptoms, and Health Outcomes
Study Links Syndrome to Covid-19
The New York State Department of Health today announced that the Department has led a study on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with Covid-19, which was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Department collaborated with the University at Albany School of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to complete the study.
The study describes 99 cases of MIS-C and concludes the emergence of the condition in New York State followed widespread Covid-19 transmission and often is associated with cardiac dysfunction.
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 25, 2020) – The University at Albany School of Public Health has received a Bronze Telly Award for its Public Health Live! webcast, “Raising Community Voices to Reduce Maternal Mortality.” The Telly Awards, judged by leaders from video platforms, television and production companies, honors excellence in video and television.
Faculty and students from UAlbany's Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program were tapped for their leadership to help conduct a focused literature review on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant people. The review considered literature published through April 22, 2020.
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 17, 2020) - Recent work from the University at Albany School of Public Health and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) shows that over 2 million adults in New York were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, through late March 2020. Moreover, cumulative incidence (the number of people infected since the beginning of the pandemic) was higher among Latinx, Black and Asian adults than White adults.
Dr. Eli Rosenberg, associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, was featured in Gov. Cuomo’s press briefing on Friday as an expert advising New York State during the COVID-19 crisis.
The research team, including UAlbany's Dr. Jennifer Manganello, sought to contribute to a rational and consistent global response to infectious disease by determining how face mask guidelines differ across nations and regions.
Janine M. Jurkowski is a professor in social behavior and community health and the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice. She is passionate about improving health inequities and the diversity of the public health workforce.
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 26, 2020) - Results from an observational study of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were released from the University at Albany and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) in early May; the findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
ALBANY, NY (May 14, 2020) - With $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), faculty from the University at Albany and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University are collaborating with Partnership for Research and Action for Health, a Georgian non-governmental organization, to deliver a 5-year strategic training initiative to help combat the AIDS epidemic in the country of Georgia.
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 11, 2020) – Results from an observational study of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have been released from the University at Albany and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH); the findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study aimed to answer three main questions:
1. To what degree are physicians prescribing hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and/or chloroquine for COVID-19 hospitalized patients?
The State University of New York has awarded School of Public Health faculty SUNY research seed grants for their research proposals.
UAlbany's School of Public Health winning Seed Grant Funding projects are:
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 9, 2020) – The University at Albany School of Public Health and the New York State Department of Health have developed a detailed report of the emergence of COVID-19 in New York State (outside of New York City). It is the first comprehensive epidemiological report on the emergence of COVID-19 from a U.S. state in a peer-reviewed publication.
Dr. Guthrie (Gus) S. Birkhead, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Director of the Center for Collaborative HIV Research in Practice and Policy, was recently featured on the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management's policy podcast, The Wonk, which examines policy issues of today discussed by expert practitioners, researchers, and academics.
Featured on Episode 11, Dr. Birkhead discusses public health policy and COVID-19.
View the podcast here.
The School of Public Health's annual Student Poster Day draws more than 250 attendees from our community, including graduate students, faculty, staff, mentors, parents, and friends of the university.
Albany, N.Y. (April 21, 2020) – School of Public Health students are already putting their education to good use this semester to help with the COVID-19 crisis. More than two dozen undergraduate and graduate students have adapted their spring plans to help with the current public health crisis, and many acknowledge the educational value of watching a global public health crisis of this magnitude unfold right before their eyes:
Dr. Tomoko Udo and colleagues at Yale University recently studied disparities in eating disorder diagnoses, finding that sexual minorities had higher prevalence rates than heterosexual respondents for all eating disorders.
ALBANY, N.Y. (April 16, 2020) – A study conducted by the University at Albany, the National Institutes of Health and New York University School of Medicine found that a mother who is overweight may increase her child’s risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center (HWTAC) at the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies has developed a resource dedicated to sharing data and information on efforts to develop, deploy, and replenish the health workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The material is drawn from a variety of sources. Three key areas of focus are:
MPH student Monroe Marshall is volunteering at the Albany County Department of Health to help address the COVID-19 outbreak and was interviewed about this process by WAMC.
ALBANY, N.Y. (April 2, 2020) – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the world and our own communities, students, faculty and staff from across the University are lending their expertise in many ways – including on potentially groundbreaking studies aimed at treating the virus.
The School of Public Health has been tapped to help with two state-led studies examining potential drug treatments for COVID-19 – a randomized controlled trial and an observational study. UAlbany will be NYSDOH’s lead academic partner on the observational study, while another leading university will be the academic partner on the randomized trial.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition in women of reproductive age and is often associated with infertility. One potential criteria of having PCOS is hirsutism, which refers to the presence of excess body hair. Studies have suggested that maternal PCOS and hirsutism may be associated with developmental delays and autism in children. However, rigorous research has not been done to look at associations with children’s behavioral problems and mental disorders.
Dr. Rachel de Long is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior at the School of Public Health.
Dr. Nicole S. MacFarland is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior and a Clinical Assistant Professor with the School of Social Welfare. She is also the Executive Director at Senior Hope Counseling in Albany, New York. For many years, Dr. MacFarland has worked tirelessly to help address the opioid epidemic across the life-cycle, which is devastating countless numbers of families and communities. She notes that the opioid epidemic is “one of our nation’s greatest public health crises to date.”
Your furry friend is more than just a great companion: according to research out of UAlbany’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, pets may provide protective health benefits against the effects of environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
Working as a part of an international team, UAlbany researchers conducted two studies examining pet ownership and health.
MPH student Jessica Tanguay was selected as a 2020 Women in Public Policy Fellow by the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy— and for the next 6 months, she will complete her policy field placement at the Office of Mental Health within the New York State Department of Health.
“I was honored to be selected as a fellow,” Tanguay says. “As a part of the 2020 cohort, I am surrounded by a dynamic, driven, and diverse group of women who desire to be agents of change at various levels of policy within New York, the U.S., and around the world.”
Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCIs) are commonly performed procedures that open up narrowed blood vessels of the heart to help treat coronary artery disease.
After studies reported that as the number of PCIs performed by a hospital or an operator increased, the number of adverse outcomes for PCI patients decreased, leading professional organizations recommended a minimum volume of PCIs for hospitals and operators.
Fruit preservation helps eliminate food waste and provide nutritional, healthy food options. It is a growing industry that consumes significant amounts of energy and water and is associated with an array of environmental impacts - ranging from burgeoning greenhouse gas emissions to water quality degradation.
But how do different production lines for preservation affect environmental sustainability?
A School of Public Health team worked with colleagues around the globe on two separate studies to determine the effects that green spaces have on our health – finding that the greener our surroundings, the better.
Published in Environmental Pollution and Science of the Total Environment, the team looked at whether green space around schools, such as an area of grass or trees, was associated with lower blood pressure in children and if there was a link between community green space and obesity in adults living in urban areas, respectively.
Ricky Leung, an associate professor in the School of Public Health, will participate in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Innovation Corps program this winter.
Leung will join 20-30 teams from across the country to speak with potential customers, business partners and competitors to help prepare his venture for the next stage of the commercialization process.
Children born to first-time mothers or in home-based daycare spend the most time in front of screens
A study conducted by the University at Albany, the National Institutes of Health and New York University Langone Medical Center uncovered several new findings about the amount of time children spend watching television or using a computer or mobile device.
ALBANY, N.Y. (Dec. 5, 2019) – The SUNY Board of Trustees has appointed David Holtgrave, Dean of the School of Public Health, to the rank of distinguished professor, the highest faculty achievement in the SUNY System.
Holtgrave, who joined UAlbany as dean March 2018, is an internationally recognized leader in HIV prevention, policy and services. He has produced more than 300 publications and has served in dozens of appointed roles, including as vice-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during President Obama's Administration.
The University at Albany School of Public Health was thrilled to attend the 2019 American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting and Expo, where public health practitioners come together to meet face-to-face with thousands of influential decision makers and professionals. In addition to a booth showcasing the University at Albany, our community was involved in the following:
UAlbany is the new home of an applied modeling center designed to aid the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health organizations in developing, implementing and altering public health initiatives.
The School of Public Health and the New York State Department of Health announced a joint grant of $1 million to fund the first year of a five-year project from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry to support a health study of exposures of residents living in communities with drinking water contaminated with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
A School of Public Health professor has been extensively researching eating disorders in the United States and has found trends that warrant increased screening for the disorders, she explains.
Muslims in America today encounter stigmas that literally hit home. This is revealed in newly published research by two University at Albany faculty members, who delved into the unexplored area of residential attainment.
Using Philadelphia, Pa., as their case study, lead author Samantha Friedman of Sociology and co-author Recai Yucel, chair and professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, found that the city’s Muslims are experiencing greater residential disadvantages than non-Muslims. “Moreover,” said Friedman, “black Muslims face a double disadvantage due to race and religion, relative to black non-Muslims.”
ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 13, 2019) – A School of Public Health professor is assisting a second local community with its police-led program to help those struggling with addiction receive treatment.
Tomoko Udo, associate professor of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, is working with the Schenectady Police Department on its “Schenectady Cares” program. Launched in July, the concept is straightforward but powerful: Anyone struggling with substance use disorder (SUD) can enter the police department and simply ask for help. An officer will then call a community partner who will respond to the police station and help the person find the resources they need to achieve recovery.
The dental profession is undergoing demographic changes, especially in gender distribution, according to a recent research study by the Oral Health Workforce Research Center (OHWRC) at the School of Public Health’s Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS).
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 25, 2019) - The number of women who die during childbirth is on the rise across the country, and a School of Public Health (SPH) team has joined the many forces working to help change that course in New York.
The SPH-based Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program, led by Christine Bozlak and Rachel de Long, was awarded $150,000 from the New York State Legislature this past year to fund research and statewide education on maternal mortality.
UAlbany Faculty Members Receive National Spotlight on the NPR-Affiliated Station
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 30, 2019) – Hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research out of the School of Public Health is making waves — and national headlines — in the public health community.
Hepatitis C and HIV are distinct diseases with some commonalities. Both are bloodborne viruses with long latency periods in which a person can be infected and transmit it to others without realizing it. Both are more prevalent among people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men.
YMCAs throughout New York are developing programs to combat childhood obesity and improve resources for breastfeeding mothers, thanks to an ongoing partnership with a School of Public Health professor.
Since 2012, Christine Bozlak, associate professor of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, has collaborated with the Alliance of New York State YMCAs, a nonprofit organization that represents and advocates on behalf of the 38 individually incorporated YMCAs in New York. Each project built upon the one prior, and Bozlak is now the recipient of a $20,000 grant to take the work another step further.
A School of Public Health professor and her postdoctoral fellow are making national headlines for their research finding that climate change could increase the number of U.S. infants born with congenital heart defects.
A new recommendation from the American Public Health Association (APHA) could save children across the globe, thanks in part to the work of a School of Public Health doctoral student.