News
New data shows vaccinations uneven at Allegheny County’s public and parochial schools
The Allegheny County Health Department is currently working with the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health to create a strategic plan that will draw on the immunization data provided in a recent school immunization report. The report shows that nearly a third of schools in the county have vaccination rates below the county’s 95% target threshold.
Deakings graduates from ADVANCER program
Jason Deakings, PhD, MSPH, assistant professor of behavioral and community health sciences, recently graduated from the Institute for Clinical Research Education's ADVANCER Program, a yearlong career development program for early-career faculty and researchers.
Across disciplines and borders, Pitt researchers tackle questions of data, power and health
A conversation about shared research interests sparked a new collaboration between public health researcher Zoe Mistrale Hendrickson, PhD, and anthropologist Sanghamitra Das, PhD. Working with partners in Nepal and India, the researchers are examining the ethical, legal and social dimensions of reproductive health data governance.
Far less than one drink a day could raise your cancer risk, study finds
Having just 0.35 ounces of alcohol per day has been linked to a higher risk of cancers of the pharynx, colon, rectum, esophagus, breast, liver, pancreas and prostate. “If you do the math, the results of this study suggest that it’s not safe to drink even one standard drink every day,” says Natacha DeGenna, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, clinical and translational science, and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Pitt Public Health students, faculty present at American College of Sports Medicine Annual meeting
Students and faculty in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health attended the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting held May 25-29 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they presented research on aging, physical activity and maternal health.
After Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, more young women opted for sterilization
A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health found that sterilization procedures increased immediately after Dobbs, especially among women ages 18–30. The increase has persisted, suggesting demand for permanent contraception remains high, according to lead author Jacqueline Ellison, assistant professor of health policy and management.
Tick season is here. Why your backyard may be at risk
It's tick season in Allegheny County, and public health officials say the risk may be closer to home than many residents realize. Danielle Tufts, assistant professor in Pitt Public Health’s Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, and her team have tracked these ticks across western Pennsylvania for years.
Cheering for Pitt: How David Dyjack is shaping the future of public health
School of Public Health Partner Advisory Board Member David Dyjack started his career focusing on asbestos and lead. “My job is divided into many different challenges; every day is different," Dyjack said. "That is why I love public health so much—it is dynamic and evergreen."
Swapping a desk for a week of service
Safe, stable housing is often considered a cornerstone of public health, a metaphor that resonates with Pitt Public Health research administrator Scott Szypulski. Each spring, he trades his desk for a Habitat for Humanity housing site, spending a week with Pitt students and alumni helping construct the walls, frames and foundations that give families a secure place to live.
Da Silva Castanha receives NIH award to study emerging Oropouche virus
Priscila Da Silva Castanha, PhD, assistant professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) award to study Oropouche virus, a growing infectious disease threat.
The overdose decline and the limits of single-cause explanations
In a forthcoming commentary in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Pitt Public Health Dean Emeritus Donald Burke and co-author Hawre Jalal propose that the recent decline in overdose deaths should be understood in the broader context of the overdose epidemic’s long-term trajectory. In their view, overdose deaths during the COVID era were a temporary departure from that trajectory, driven by social disruption, changes in treatment access, labor-market volatility, income shocks and other pandemic-related factors.
Salk's vaccine among 250 most impactful moments in American history
Peter Salk, adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, speaks about what drove his father to develop the first successful polio vaccine. (Segment begins at 23:25.)
Understanding the many drivers of severe asthma
Sally Wenzel, chair of environmental and occupational health, discusses how a more holistic approach could enhance personalization and improve care for patients with severe asthma.
How precision medicine is transforming asthma care
Advances in precision medicine are transforming severe asthma care by identifying distinct patient phenotypes and using biomarkers to guide targeted treatment. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Chair Sally Wenzel explores how matching the right biologic therapy to the right patient can lead to more effective—and even life-changing—outcomes.