Our department is leading research and prevention activities that impact public health by training students to evaluate and respond to important public health issues in aging and chronic disease prevention, reproductive health, environmental health, and infectious diseases.
News
A resistance gene that defeats most available antibiotics Is turning up in more American hospitals
Unlike most hospital outbreaks, the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) gene can spread between different bacteria on mobile DNA called plasmids, making it particularly difficult to contain. "The gene is inherently mobile," said recent epidemiology doctoral graduate Nathan Raabe. Alex Sundermann, assistant professor of epidemiology, added that bacteria readily acquire the gene because it enhances their ability to survive, contributing to the spread of highly drug-resistant infections.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed over 1,000 people
University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health's Jean Nachega, associate professor of epidemiology, who is advising African health authorities, says he does not expect the Ebola outbreak in the Congo to reach the CDC’s worst-case scenario but cautioned that the challenges remain “huge.”
Nachega recognized among 10 leaders driving global health research and innovation in Africa
Jean B. Nachega, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health, has been recognized by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership as one of 10 distinguished leaders highlighted in 2026 for their contributions to advancing global health research and innovation in Africa.