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School of Public Health News

The School of Public Health is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. Our departments, programs, and research units work to provide a diverse education, practical training experience, and numerous community involvement opportunities to prepare students to become leaders and professionals in the field of public health.

Current Public Health News

woman wearing black UNLV hoodie and glasses
People |

The 30-member team under the direction of Abby Wood took special care after Dec. 6 to repair damage to the Student Union.

students in spring
Campus News |

News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.

cropped photo of smiling woman with dark hair
People |

Public Health professor Erika Marquez receives 2024 Community Engagement Award for her work breaking down barriers to reach marginalized communities.

young female student carrying football across field
Campus News |

Partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders uses sports to boost body image and mental well-being of teenage girls.

collage of four community engagement award winners and photo of UNLV and the Strip
People |

The award administered by UNLV's Office of Government and Community Engagement recognize individuals who are advancing UNLV's Top Tier goals to serve our region.

Spring Flowers (Becca Schwartz)
Campus News |

A roundup of the top news stories featuring UNLV students and faculty.

Public Health In The News

San Francisco Bay Times

Judy Bowenwiener is an 80-year-old self-proclaimed “Equality-For-All activist” who has dedicated her life to advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community and driving change for the inclusion of transgender people. She has a rich history of involvement in various LGBTQIA+ organizations, advocacy, and initiatives.

Indica News

Most of us are familiar with the deep, golden-orange spice, turmeric, used for adding color, flavor, and nutrition to foods. The use of turmeric (Curcuma longa) can be traced back thousands of years and is still a key ingredient in foods particularly Indian and other Asian cuisines. Ayurveda has attributed numerous therapeutic applications to turmeric for treating a wide variety of diseases such as those of the skin, pulmonary system, gastrointestinal system, depression, hepatic disorders, aches, pains, wounds, and sprains which modern science is rediscovering.

The Daily Guardian

Passion is an emotion that to some extent is considered to be essential for success. The problem with passion occurs when it becomes strong and uncontrollable. It takes the form of a strong drive to attain worldly pleasures and possessions. There is no end to one’s quest to attain success. A person spends a substantial part of one’s life to achieve an Olympic gold medal but is still not contented with it and wants to return after four years to achieve another gold medal and keeps on trying until such time that the body fails to deliver. Then what is the point in establishing one’s temporary superiority over others?

The Daily Guardian

The Sanskrit word sthariyam (unswerving self or steadfastness) is a spiritual quality mentioned in Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 13, Verse 8). The word steadfast can also be traced to the Old English word “stedefaest,” in which stede, means “place,” and faest, means “to be firmly fixed.” It is good to be steadfast or firmly fixed in one’s beliefs that are positive, self-uplifting, and geared toward accomplishing one’s goals. Steadfastness is a behavior as well as a personality trait. If we practice this behavior of steadfastness in our everyday dealings it can become part of our personality. Such steadfastness shows a sense of commitment that leads to dependability, trustworthiness, and integrity in character.

India Currents

Arjun (name changed on request), a 45-year old businessman who has been living in the Bay area for the past 20 years has been struggling with the problem of excessive anger in his life. He gets into uncontrolled rage and is unable to snap out of it. Arjun has been married for the past 15 years, and his spouse, Neerja, is an accountant.

KNPR News

There’s a new UNLV program that’s using sports to help middle school-aged girls cope with mental health and body image issues. Started in January, it’s called RUSH. The R stands for Raiders, because UNLV’s partner in the program are the Las Vegas Raiders. And it’s taking advantage of the increased popularity of flag football among young women as a recruitment tool.

Public Health Experts

An expert in infectious disease outbreaks and surveillance, including COVID-19 and monkeypox.  
An expert on parasites, as well as the biology and control of ticks, mites, and other insects. 
An expert in health disparities, children's health, and culturally responsive health communication.
An expert on health disparities and LGBTQ aging adults with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
An expert on issues regarding healthcare policy and strategic management.
An expert in health disparities.

Recent Public Health Accomplishments

Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article within the GBD 2021 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators team titled, “Global incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 371 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article within the GBD 2021 Forecasting Collaborators team titled, “Burden of Disease Scenarios for 204 Countries and Territories, 2022-2050: A Forecasting Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021” in the journal, Lancet (Impact factor 168.9). The article…
Amruta Godbole and Ann Vuong (both Epidemiology and Biostatistics) along with a colleague published an article on "Associations between neonicotinoids and liver function measures in US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2016" in the journal Environmental Epidemiology. Godbole is a doctoral student. Toxicological…
Priyambda Kumra (Public Health) submitted a Letter to the Editor on "Immunization funding is vital" in the Las Vegas Sun. In the letter, she writes about the importance of funding immunization programs to battle infectious diseases, and encourages everyone to contact their congressional representatives to remind them on the importance of funding…
Amanda Leverett (Public Health) presented at the general meeting for the Southern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition. The title was Feeding Your Baby-Resources to Support Complementary Feeding. Leverett created a series of three handouts under NACCHO funding that address topics supporting the critical stage of introducing solid foods to infants.…
Aastha Poudel, Asma Awan, and Manoj Sharma (all Social and Behavioral Health) virtually presented a paper titled, “South Asian Immigrants’ Mental Health Issues: A Narrative Review" at the 8th International Congress on Scientific Research, held in Konya, Turkey, from May 17-19, 2024. Delegates from 45 countries participated in this…