Welcome to the Mississippi Delta Partnership in Public Health at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. The program seeks to advance health and well being in the Mississippi Delta through community engagement, collaborative research, and leadership development.

The Partnership includes an inaugural Delta Scholars Program in Public Health (DIPH). The DIPH is designed to provide a well-structured, high-quality combined research training and service learning experience for undergraduate and graduate students from the Mississippi Delta region. The DIPH program complements existing work with the Mississippi Delta Program at the Harvard Law School, University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. The core curriculum consists of didactic and highly interactive classroom instruction as well as one-on-one, in the field, experiential learning. Scholars will receive sustained mentoring throughout their academic career. The overall goal of the program is to prepare talented students from the Mississippi Delta region to pursue careers in public health. Scholars will be provided with opportunities to obtain the necessary intellectual qualifications and experiences needed to become leaders in public health.

The specific aims of the DIPH program will be:

  1. to encourage students from the Mississippi Delta region to pursue careers in public health research by providing applied research training;
  2. to stimulate and support public health research and research collaborations between Harvard Chan School faculty and researchers in the Mississippi Delta region; and
  3. to assess environmental, economic, social, and political determinants of health disparities in the Delta region so that innovative strategies for closing health disparities gaps may be developed, implemented and evaluated.

Public Health in Mississippi

Mississippi has historically seen poor health outcomes for much of its population, and the Mississippi Delta Region often bears a greater burden than the rest of the state for many health indicators. The Mississippi Delta Partnership in Public Health seeks to change that.
Mississippi Indicators - County Health Profiles

Delta Scholars in Public Health

The Delta Scholars Program is a two-part academic and community engagement program for talented and socially conscious college students interested in moving Mississippi and the Delta region towards a brighter, more just tomorrow.
Delta Scholars Program

Winokur Fellows in Public Health

The Herbert S. Winokur, Jr. Fellowship in Public Health for the Mississippi Delta is awarded to graduate students at Harvard Chan to support community-engaged projects that address the health and wellbeing of Mississippians.
Winokur Fellows in Public Health