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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 campus
Campus News |

Some of the most vibrant headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

Fall colors 2025
Campus News |

Some of the biggest news headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

First day of classes.
Campus News |

The top news stories starring university students and staff.

June campus horizon shot
Campus News |

The top headlines featuring UNLV’s staff and students.

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.

Social and Behavioral Health In The News

Indica News

Moringa oleifera is commonly known as the drumstick tree (referring to its long, slender seed pods used in curries) or the miracle tree (also known as Sahjan in Hindi). M. oleifera is a native tree of the sub-Himalayan regions of Northwest India, which is now indigenous to many regions around the world.

IndiaCurrents

Ageing is the primary risk factor for cataracts, with about two-thirds of people over 80 years affected.

New India Abroad

Among all the stressors identified, intergenerational conflict emerged as one of the most significant.

Indica Currents

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted to humans through a bite from black-legged (deer) ticks.

Indica News

Antidepressants are prescription medications primarily used to treat depression, anxiety, and several other long-term health conditions. According to a recent article (2026) published in BMJ Mental Health, 16.6% Americans were on antidepressants.

Indica News

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are dietary products usually containing multiple treated industrial ingredients, including substances extracted from foods (oils, fats, sugar, starch) and additives like artificial flavors, colors, or emulsifiers. They are designed to be greatly palatable, convenient, and shelf-stable, and are rapidly replacing fresh foods. Examples include sugary beverages, packaged snacks, ready-to-eat products, packaged breads and cereals, reconstituted meats, and so on. UPFs, including beverages, have now become the leading food consumption patterns around the world. Consumption of UPFs increases the risks for overweight/obesity, heart disease, metabolic disease, diabetes, and cancers.

Social and Behavioral Health Experts

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

Recent Social and Behavioral Health Accomplishments

Manoj Sharma (Social & Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article titled “Development and validation of the Persian childbearing intention questionnaire based on the Multi-Theory Model (MTM) among women with only one child” in the Journal of Research Development in Nursing and Midwifery (Impact factor 0.29) in association with…
Manoj Sharma (Social & Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article titled “Caregiver concerns about preschoolers’ overweight/obesity and undereating and their associations with feeding practices in China” in the journal Archives of Public Health (Impact factor 3.4) in association with coauthors from Chongqing Medical University…
Keith Shulman, Sharmistha Roy, and Manoj Sharma (all Social and Behavioral Health) presented three papers at the II. Çukurova International Congress on Social and Human Sciences held in Adana, Türkiye, between July 3-5, 2026, in co-authorship with Zain Akbar of Roseman University of Health Sciences and one in co-authorship with Daryl Traylor of…
Manoj Sharma (Social & Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine), as a senior collaborator with GBD 2023 TB HIV Collaborators, coauthored “Global, regional, and national burden of tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis by HIV status, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023” published in The Lancet.…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) coauthored an article titled “Perceived barriers for physical activity in overweight and obese youth: A scoping review” published in the journal Health Science Reports (Impact factor 2.9) with coauthors from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The study found that environmental and…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) conducted a featured virtual webinar titled "Scientific Kundalini Energy Yoga (SKEY): The Architecture of Integration: Bridging Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science" for the "Break ke Baad" group based in Livermore, California. The webinar covered a description of yoga from a scientific…