Led by Tamara Dubowitz and Christina Mair, NEST launched in 2025 with a mission to enhance research, collaboration, and action around social determinants of health at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Our emphasis is on upstream determinants of health with a particular interest in policy, systems, and environments. We aim to push, innovate, and expand methods within the School of Public Health and across the University.
NEST Brown Bags
NEST brown bags for the 2026-2027 school year take place on select Mondays from 12-1pm in SPH 1146 (the Surma Boardroom on the first floor). A Zoom option is also available - email Kate Walrath for info.
Date | Presenter | Title | Presenter’s Affiliation |
September 14, 2026 | Graham DiGuiseppi | Basic Needs Insecurity and College Student Mental Health
| Associate Behavioral Scientist at RAND |
October 12, 2026 | Bob Gradeck | Getting to know the University Center for Social and Urban Research (and how it can help you) | Director of Strageic Partnerships at the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) |
November 9, 2026 | Travis Moore | Supporting Evidence-Informed Decision-Making in Community Coalitions: The FICAS Study | Assistant Professor in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health
Topic area is implementation science, systems science, and community-engaged approaches to policy, systems, and environmental change |
December 7, 2026 (first Monday) | Lauren Zalla | Residential Mobility and Health among People with HIV | Assistant Professor in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health |
January 11, 2027 | Gavin Rienne | TBD | Postdoctoral Fellow in Center of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health |
February 8, 2027 | Abby Shell | NEST Small Grant Awardee | Doctoral Student in Clinical-Health Psychology |
March 15, 2027 | Chrystal Spencer | TBD | Post Doctoral Scholar in Cardiovascular Epidemiology T32 program |
April 12, 2027 | Paloma Rojas-Saunero | TBD | Post Doctoral Fellow in Department of Epidemiology at UCLA and soon to be Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Pitt’s School of Public Health |
Student Small Grants Funding Program
We continue to invite applications for our Student Small Grants Funding Program on a rolling basis. The purpose of this program is to support Pitt graduate student projects and build collaborations that align with NEST's mission. For more information, see our funding announcement and application materials linked.
Social Epidemiology Curriculum
We launched a new course in the Fall of 2026, EPIDEM 2130 Foundations in Social Epidemiology, taught by Tamara Dubowitz. We are also in the process of developing a social epidemiology methods course with an estimated launch date of Spring 2028.
What's to Come
We hope to expand our work into these areas:
- Pre/postdoctoral positions
- Pilot grant applications
- Research collaborations across disciplines
- Additional coursework and training
- Recent press, publications, policy briefs
- Methods trainings, workshops, support
- Translation of findings, development of relationships with policymakers and local advocacy groups
