News
What ‘The Office’ and other TV shows get wrong about CPR
“...one thing we saw a lot was compressions that are not deep enough on TV,” said Ore Fawole, an author of the paper and a research coordinator for a lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. “We really want to push back against this fear that people have, and it’s a reasonable fear, but unless you’re an Olympic bodybuilder, there’s probably no way for you to do CPR too hard.” (Subscription may be required.)
Faculty named to list of highly cited researchers
Three School of Public Health faculty are among 16 from Pitt who have been named to this year’s Highly Cited Researchers list, an annual compilation of researchers whose work has made a significant impact across a broad range of disciplines.
Kiyanda awarded prestigious fellowship
Alexis Kiyanda, MS, a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, has been selected to join the All of Us Data Fellows Program, a competitive national training initiative supported by the All of Us Research Program through the University of Arizona and Banner Health.
Meet Calvin_412
Calvin Dziewulski (Jeh-voo-LSKI) works weekdays at Pitt’s School of Public Health as executive assistant to Biostatistics and Health Data Science Chair Yan Ma. A Greensburg native and Pitt alum, he also reaches more than 60,000 Instagram followers as Calvin_412, spending evenings and weekends exploring the city’s streets, alleys and overlooked buildings, showing its history and character through his photography.
Kuchipudi lab takes aim at bird flu, emerging diseases
Funding totaling $4.1 million will fuel four novel studies focused on diseases that spread between animals and humans, including highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses, which have been found in more than 120 bird and mammalian species, including cattle, cats, and dogs. H5N1 has also spread to people in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry—causing at least one human death—since 2024.
Students launch resource locker to support Pitt Public Health community
When Grace Osborne, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, noticed peers struggling to access basic necessities, she decided to act. Through her involvement with Pitt’s Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Osborne was initially interested in supplying Narcan to the school. As she explored that idea further, the conversation expanded to include other ways to support students’ day-to-day needs.
Storytelling meets science
Pitt double-major Ore Fawole has long been passionate about film, an interest she shared closely with her dad and one that shaped how she thinks about storytelling and its influence. When he received a kidney and liver transplant during her junior year of high school, that connection between narrative and health took on new meaning, eventually inspiring her first scientific publication as a lead author, guided by BCHS faculty member Beth Hoffman.
Interprofessional experience at the Hub
For students like Nathan Raabe, a PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health and researcher in the Department of Medicine, Pitt's Vaccination and Health Connection Hub represents a practical application of decades worth of scientific research from many professional backgrounds, or what he calls "translational medicine."
As Seen on TV: Bystander CPR way behind the times
"We know that TV depictions of health topics can influence viewers," said Beth Hoffman, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of behavioral and community health sciences. "We've also seen news stories about people saving lives because of the CPR they learned from watching it on screen. Considering the sheer number of people who watch TV, it's important to think of how to leverage this to improve the likelihood that people will perform CPR and save lives."
People put off giving CPR by unrealistic TV depictions, researchers say
“People are watching thousands and thousands and thousands of hours of television every single year, but people go to see their primary care physician once a year. So a lot of people are gaining most of their health content from the stuff that they watch on TV, the stuff that they experience on TV,” said lead author Ore Fawole, a student at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Public Health and Medicine.
State of denial: How insurance companies impact health care today
Millions of Americans are struggling to access medical care—unable to afford high premiums, burdened by steep deductibles, or denied coverage for necessary tests and treatment by health insurance companies—according to a report by Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours on CBS Sunday Morning. “All of us are vulnerable to being denied, and not all of us can weather the storm as easily when it comes to appealing and overcoming barriers,” said HPM Assistant Professor Miranda Yaver, who was interviewed for the piece.
BSPH Spotlight: Kaylah Fleming
BSPH student Kaylah Fleming is studying how genetic conditions affect African American communities and how research can better serve them. “I like the science,” she says, “but I always come back to the person behind the data, the person who’s suffering.”
Pitt PUnCh funding expands arts-based mental health initiative
A team of faculty and students affiliated with Pitt Public Health’s Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences (BCHS) has received new funding through the Pitt Un-Challenge (PUnCh) grant to expand an innovative, arts-based mental health initiative that connects students to community arts experiences as a pathway to healing and resilience.
Parents who delay baby's first vaccines also likely to skip measles shots
“Measles is sort of the canary in the coal mine, the smoke alarm,” said Dr. Lee Harrison, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. “When you start to see declines in coverage rates, then you start to see outbreaks," Harrison said. “And that’s what we’re seeing.”