Dr. Xinhua Yu appeared on Fox 13 news: Dr. Xinhua Yu appeared on Fox 13 news recently to encourage the public to take the flu vaccine.

Dr. Chunrong Jia to Present at EPA Community Meeting: Representatives from the EPA came to Memphis to learn what's happening locally with the Clean Air Act. Meetings will be held Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Renaissance Center, 555 Beale St., and 6 to 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper. Researchers from the UofM School of Public Health and Shelby County Health Department are collaborating on air quality studies, including the project "Characterizing Community Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a Tri-State Area." Dr. Chunrong Jia, associate professor of Environmental Health, is principal investigator for the study and presented the findings at these community meetings.

MPH Online Program Ranked 15th in the Nation: The University of Memphis online MPH Program has been ranked #15 nationally in the Master's Programs Guide's published ranking of the top 50 institutions for online Master of Public Health degree programs of 2018. Schools and programs were evaluated based on publicly available information about affordability, reputation, flexibility, and accreditation. A complete listing of the 50 best online MPH programs for 2018 can be found 50 Best Online Master of Public Health Degree Programs 2018!

MPH Students Join Nursing Students in Poverty Simulation: MPH students participated in a poverty simulation exercise hosted by the Loewenberg College of Nursing. The poverty simulation was a one-hour exercise simulating one month in the life of a family living near or below the poverty line. Teams of public health and nursing graduate students addressed public health problems related to several social determinants: poverty, transportation issues, secure and adequate housing, access to healthy food, and education.

Public Health Practitioners Meet with MPH Students: A panel of Public Health Practitioners provided insight on career options to MPH students in the Foundations of Public Health class. Sharing their expertise with students were: Matthew McDaniel, MPH Tri-county Health Director in West Tennessee; Renea Satterwhite, MPH, Health Educator in West Tennessee; David Sweat, MPH, Chief of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Shelby County Health Department; and Tyler Zerwekh, DrPH, REHS, Administrator, Environmental Health Services Bureau, Shelby County Health Department.

Dr. Marian Levy Receives Award from the Tennessee Public Health Association: Marian Levy, DrPH, Interim Associate Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis, was awarded the Doris Spain Award for Distinguished Service at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Public Health Association (TPHA). Formerly known as the Distinguished Service Award, the award was renamed in honor of Doris Spain upon her retirement as executive director of the association for many years. The Doris Spain Award for Distinguished Service is selected by the TPHA Board of Directors and is presented to a member of the Tennessee Public Health Association member who has made outstanding contributions to the Association over a period of several years. On receiving this award, Dr. Levy noted, "I am honored and humbled at this recognition, especially in light of the contributions Doris Spain has made to improve public health throughout her career." Dr. Levy served as president of the Tennessee Public Health Association in 2012. During her presidency, TPHA received the Outstanding Affiliate Award from the American Public Health Association. She has served on the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association (APHA) since 2011 and was elected to the APHA Executive Board Nominations Committee in 2016. As an affiliate member of the American Public Health Association, the Tennessee Public Health Association is the official professional organization for those engaged or interested in public health services and is endorsed by the administration of the Tennessee Department of Health.

MHA Student Wins National Award: Morgan McClendon, a student in the MHA program, has been awarded the 2017 Bugbee-Falk Book Award by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). See Bugbee-Falk Book Award

Professor Relyea Receives University's Career Milestone Award: George Relyea , Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, was presented with a Career Milestone Award on behalf of Dr. Rudd and the University of Memphis for 35 years of service. A valued faculty member of the School of Public Health, students appreciate his teaching and mentorship.

SPH Faculty Collaborate on Cancer Research: SPH faculty visited the American Cancer Society (ACS) in collaboration with Ahmedin Jemal and his team on several lung cancer projects. Pictured from left to right: Anna Lin (ACS), Meredith Ray (UM), Nick Faris (Baptist Cancer Center), Raymond Osarogiagbon (Baptist Cancer Center, UM adjunct), Matthew Smeltzer (UM), Fedoria Rugless (Baptist Cancer Center), Helmneh Sineshaw (ACS), and Ahmedin Jemal (ACS).

University of Memphis Designated a White House Healthy Campus: The School of Public Health collaborated with Church Health, and other on-campus groups, in a White House challenge to become a designated "White House Healthy Campus." The challenge offered weekly in-person information and enrollment counseling for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. For more information about this achievement, please visit UofM Designated a White House Healthy Campus

Dr. Kenneth Ward Named the 2017 American Academy of Health Behavior Research Laureate: Congratulations to Dr. Kenneth D. Ward as he is named the 2017 American Academy of Health Behavior Research Laureate. Dr. Ward will be honored on Sunday, March 19, 2017 during the Welcome Address at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. For more information about the Research Laureate, visit 2017 Research Laureate - Kenneth D. Ward, PhD.

SPH Named Among the Best Online Master's Degrees: The University of Memphis School of Public Health was named among the Best Online Master's Degrees in Public Health for 2016. Our National Rank in Affordable Colleges online was 21st.

Dr. Erik Carlton Featured in Public Health Minute: Dr. Erik Carlton, Assistant Professor of Health Systems Management and Policy, and Director of the MHA program, was featured in a Public Health Minute that will be aired nationally on NPR in December and January. The mp3 of the program can be found here.

Dr. Marian Levy Elected to American Public Health Association Executive Board: Marian Levy, DrPH, RD, FAND, Interim Associate Dean, was recently elected to the American Public Health Association's executive board as a member of the Nominations Committee at this year's 144th Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. She will serve a four-year term of office (2016-2020).

Dr. Wilfried Karmaus Receives NIH R01 Grant to Study Early Prevention of Lung Disease: Wilfried Karmaus, MD, Dr.med., MPH, has been awarded $3.2 million by the National Institutes of Health to study the improvement of early prevention of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; please visit UofM Researcher Receives $3.2 Million Grant To Study Early Prevention of Lung Disease for details about this important research.

Five Public Health Community Scholars Named: The School of Public Health at the University of Memphis is pleased to announce the third of five cohorts of Public Health Community Scholars. The following five first-year MPH students were named 2017 Public Health Community Scholars: Jessica Bell, Morgan Bromley, Andrea Jacobo, Brittany Julius, and Aisha Morafa. These scholarships were made possible by a $500,000 gift from a generous, anonymous donor.

Memphis Area Breastfeeding Symposium: The Shelby County Breastfeeding Coalition welcomed area FPs, Pediatricians, OBGYNs, Neonatologists, Nurses, Hospital Administrators, Peer Counselors, Nutritionists and community leaders on June 14, 2017.

Public Health Summer Institute 2017 (Aug. 7-18): The University of Memphis School of Public Health hosted the 2017 Summer Institute. One and two-day workshops were held on the following topics: "R" for beginners, data analysis and programming in STATA, modeling and techniques in causal inference, data analysis and presentation using Excel, SAS for beginners, intermediate/advanced SAS, and SPSS and basic analytics.

Health Impact Assessment Workshop Hosted by SPH: The Health Impact Assessment (HIA) workshop was hosted by the University of Memphis School of Public Health in affiliation with the Tennessee Department of Health and the Pew Charitable Trust on Wednesday, Aug. 2 in the University Center.

Patient-Centered Training Sessions: The UNITE for Better Health Outcomes group is dedicated to improving cancer disparities in Memphis and beyond. Our team partners cancer patients and family caregivers with people who work in health care and people who are involved in quality improvement and health services research. We are holding four partnering sessions in September and invite you to attend. Please also feel free to share this information with family and friends who don't work in health care, but are cancer survivors or family caregivers. 

Memphis Breast Cancer Consortium Hosted at the University of Memphis: The Memphis Breast Cancer Consortium was held in the University Center on Tuesday October 24th, from 4:30pm-6:30pm.

SPH Clothing Drive for Homeless Shelby County School Students: The School of Public Health teamed up with Webbmark Health Solutions, Whole Foods, and Christian Brothers University to collect hats, socks, gloves, and scarves for homeless youth of Shelby County Schools through Dec. 4th.