public health

The Activist Lab at the University of South Florida College of Public Health serves as a resource for students to develop skills and gain experience in advocacy, education, research, leadership, and service. For their 2021 Civic Engagement Microgrant project, the Activist Lab developed a new podcast series to highlight topics related to environmental health, climate change, and advocacy. Join us below to learn more about the Activist Lab and its graduate student leader, Rolando Trejos Saucedo. Please tell us about your microgrant project. Our microgrant project includes a new podcast series, Advocation-Change it Up , consisting of five episodes on environmental health, climate change, and...

This week, communities across the country are celebrating National Public Health Week (NPHW) led by the American Public Health Association (APHA). This annual observance recognizes the invaluable work of public health professionals in keeping our communities healthy and safe. As we lift up the contributions of our public health officials, we are also reminded of the importance of continuing to improve existing health systems and rebuild where there are shortcomings. This year, the NPHW theme, “Building Bridges to Better Health,” invites everyone to join in support of public health at a time when widespread recognition is greatly needed. The COVID-19 pandemic has both illuminated and...

Dear Research Advocate, On Tuesday, Research!America sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking him to clarify the decision to end NIH grant funding for an ongoing, EcoHealth Alliance research initiative focused on pandemic preparedness. We urge the Secretary to shed needed light on this significant (on many levels) decision. On Capitol Hill : House Democrats have released a draft emergency spending bill, the HEROES Act . This discussion draft includes $4 billion for the Office of the Director at NIH, of which “not less than $3 billion” would be set aside to help academic institutions absorb COVID-19 related shutdown and start-up costs. (This is $7 billion shy of the recovery costs NIH...

Being in the middle of a global pandemic feels unsettling and frightening. Part of that fear is rooted in the unknown, because we still have many unanswered questions: fundamental information researchers don’t know about the coronavirus and how viruses like it will act in the future. At the moment, we’re rightly focused on urgent issues such as securing personal protective equipment and ventilators. But we need more research, because to win the battle we need to understand our enemy so that better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention will become a reality. As I wrote recently in USA Today , “Rarely in recent memory has it been this difficult to see beyond the next day. ... But that is...