Commencement Information 2008

HSPH Commencement will be held in the afternoon of June 5 in the Kresge Courtyard. Harvey V. Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine and former Dean of HSPH, will be the School's Commencement speaker. There will be a live webcast.

Julian Atim: Working at Nexus of Human Rights and HIV/AIDS

Several years ago, when many people were fleeing Northern Uganda because of a long, armed conflict, Julian Atim headed straight for that part of her country. The region has nearly twice the HIV/AIDS rates as the rest of Uganda, according to a 2004 report from World Vision. And Atim, who at the time was a medical student, wanted to volunteer in hospitals near the conflict. She hoped to give back to the country that had helped fund her education by improving the health and well-being of her fellow Ugandans. Now, she is graduating from HSPH after earning an MPH in International Health.

Bethany Hedt: Using Math to Improve Disease Monitoring in Developing Countries

Bethany Hedt is a graduating student at HSPH with a PhD in biostatistics. She has won the 2008 Fang Ching Sun Memorial Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduating student who has demonstrated a commitment to promoting the health of underprivileged people. And she has chosen to make the people and region of southern Africa the focus of her life's work.

Health Without Boundaries: Agendas for Action

A retrospective of the past decade at HSPH.

The last decade has witnessed profound and novel threats to the public's health: the emergence of deadly new infections such as SARS and the H5N1 influenza virus; 9/11 and the specter of bioterrorism; the spread of drug-resistant pathogens; a steep rise in obesity, diabetes and related chronic afflictions; widening disparities between rich and poor. All these trends represent health and social problems compounded by the forces of globalization. Against this backdrop have unfolded revolutions in technology, genetics/genomics and communications — an explosion of knowledge that, when properly harnessed, could turn back many of the scourges of our time.

Milestones at HSPH from Past Decade

HPH NOW reviews some of the major milestones at the School from 1999 to 2008. 

Tuberculosis Event Convened to Highlight Research and to Honor Dean Bloom 

HSPH Dean Barry R. Bloom was honored by colleagues at a special symposium, "Tuberculosis — Past Challenges and Promise," on Monday, May 5, 2008, in Snyder Auditorium. Dyann Wirth, chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, welcomed attendees.

"It took a catalyst like Barry to get the field to where it should be," said Eric Rubin, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases at HSPH. Rubin credited Dean Bloom's advocacy and research two decades ago, at a time of rising U.S. and global TB incidence, as a major force for the sharp increase in U.S. funding for TB research around 1990.

Genes and Environment Initiative Launched at School

HSPH has funded three pilot projects as part of its flourishing Genes and Environment Initiative, designed to bring together several areas of traditional excellence at the School — environmental health research, population science, quantitative methods, and basic science — to contribute to understanding the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors on human health.