unlv students walking on campus

Department of Social and Behavioral Health News

Housed in the UNLV School of Public Health, the Department of Social and Behavioral Health consists of faculty who engage in research and develop and evaluate community-based programs that promote health and disease prevention. Our students learn to identify high-risk behaviors or trends in specific populations, as well as propose solutions that aim to improve overall public health in communities.

Current Social and Behavioral Health News

Spring flowers
Campus News |

The students and faculty of UNLV are springing into headlines around the country.

Tim Grigsby sitting on a UNLV bench in the Academic Mall
People |

After an unexpected start in public health, this professor of social and behavioral health is uncovering the complexities of substance misuse and childhood trauma.

A UNLV student studies with the Strip in the distance.
Campus News |

Headlines and highlights featuring the students and faculty of UNLV.

unlv pumpkins
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories at UNLV, featuring the presidential election, gaming partnerships, and much more.

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News |

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

The Las Vegas skyline (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV’s dedication to community and research.

Social and Behavioral Health In The News

Indica News

Methylene blue is a chemical that is used in treating methemoglobinemia, a rare disease in which hemoglobin in red blood cells has a reduced capacity to carry oxygen to the various parts of the body. It is also used in treating malaria with Plasmodium falciparum, drug-induced encephalopathy (a brain inflammation due to taking ifosfamide, a cancer treatment drug), and for diagnostic purposes, such as in examining the lymph nodes near the breast and parathyroid glands during their removal. It is also used as an antidote for nitrite or aniline poisoning.

Indica News

Tattoos have become quite prevalent, especially in the younger generation. Tattoos include the administration of exogenous pigments into the deep layer of the skin (dermis) to create a permanent design. Tattoos have been administered for over 5000 years, and at present are a common cosmetic practice all over the world.

Truthdig

Late last month, Brooke L. Rollins, the Trump administration’s incoming secretary of agriculture, unveiled her plan to combat the growing threat of avian flu to animal and human populations. In a commentary published Feb. 27 in the Wall Street Journal, Rollins laid out a five-step strategy to fight the virus. But the title of the piece was not “How we will prevent a new pandemic” or “Five steps to prevent the avian flu virus from infecting millions of Americans.”

Indica News

The world celebrated World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, 2025, with the theme of “Yes, We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2023, approximately 10.8 million people were affected by TB globally, including 6.0 million males, 3.6 million women, and 1.3 million children. No country or age group has been spared by TB. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, 9,633 cases of TB were reported which was an increase of 15.6% over the previous year. It needs to be noted that TB is preventable and curable. Can we eradicate TB like we did smallpox?

IndiaCurrents

Dr. Manoj Sharma, Professor of Social and Behavioral Health and Internal Medicine, answers queries on the ‘empty nest syndrome’.

Indica News

One of the twentieth-century public health achievements that was touted was the prevention of dental caries through fluoridation of water. But the recent political climate has challenged this, and the debate is on. What are the pros and cons of fluoridation of public water?

Social and Behavioral Health Experts

An expert on drug misuse and addiction.
An expert on health disparities and LGBTQ aging adults with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
An expert on health behavior and coping with stress.
An expert on lactation, breastfeeding, and maternal and child health and nutrition.

Recent Social and Behavioral Health Accomplishments

Asma Awan (Social and Behavioral Health) and Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) presented a poster titled, “A qualitative interpretive approach to examine different aspects of experiential learning in public health students" at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Annual Conference held at Long Beach,…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) has been ranked 20th globally in Stress Management in his career in the database, Scholar GPS, which ranks over 29 million scientists. Sharma is known for the books, Practical Stress Management (8th ed.), Introspective Meditation for Complete Contentment (Santosha) (2nd ed.),…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article titled, “Exploring barriers to formal mental health help-seeking among Iranian adolescent girls: A qualitative study using the PRECEDE model,” in the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth (5-year Impact factor 3.8) with coauthors from Shiraz University of…
Manoj Sharma (Social & Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article association with coauthors from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences titled, “The effects of saffron supplementation on inflammatory factors and clinical outcomes in sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU): Study protocol for a double-blind…
Manoj Sharma (Social & Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article association with coauthors from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences titled, “The effects of concurrent alpha-linolenic acid, L-carnitine supplementation on clinical symptoms, mental health, and quality of life in women with migraine: A randomized, triple-…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article as a senior collaborator in the GBD 2021 Adolescent BMI Collaborators Group titled, “Global, regional, and national prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: A forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease…