Wellness for Life
Dear Pitt Public Health colleagues,
This issue is dedicated to showing that our mission to promote healthful aging is more than a vision at the School of Public Health—it's an active, ongoing commitment. Through a robust portfolio of research, education and community engagement, Pitt Public Health is tackling the multifaceted challenges of aging from every angle.
Indeed, focused research on what it takes to stay healthy across the lifespan is perhaps the single most substantial area of study at the school, both today and for decades in the past.
In these pages, you'll see that at Pitt Public Health, these studies range from the laboratory bench to population-level research and community service programs that find ways to adapt homes to older adults' changing needs.
Our studies have informed important advancements in the clinical treatment of chronic illnesses and the degenerative conditions of aging, as well as policy decisions crucial to a better understanding of Medicare and Medicaid—federally supported health insurance that covers older adults, those with disabilities and lower-income populations.
The central feature of this issue provides a snapshot of what we are doing today and why the research we do, the education of future researchers and public health leaders in which we take pride, and the service provided by our faculty, staff and students continues to benefit our neighbors of all ages in Pittsburgh and beyond.
Our faculty have taken part in clinical studies leading to today's most-used treatments for osteoporosis, a disease that increases with age, weakens bones and leads to life-threatening fractures, and played key roles in the Women's Health Initiative, the largest longitudinal study of women from midlife onward. >>Skeleton Keys
Our alumni have also been able to build successful careers in aging care. >>Career in Balance And last, but by far not least, we are grateful for the support of health professionals whose grounding in the importance of public health remains a deep influence on their leadership in the community and at our school >>Leadership Lessons
I invite you to take a deeper look at all that we've accomplished and the directions in which we continue to strive.
Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, Dean
Jonas Salk Professor in Population Health
Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
Photo by John Altdorfer
