Rutgers School of Public Health

09/02/2025

👋 Happy first day of the Fall 2025 semester to all our students, faculty, staff, and partners! The start of a new academic year is a moment to reflect on the values that unite our community: courage, compassion, and justice.

Dean Perry N. Halkitis will formally accept the J. Michael McGinnis Leadership Excellence Award at next week’s IAPHS annual conference. In his upcoming speech, he calls on public health leaders to keep humanity at the center of their work.

💭 "At Rutgers School of Public Health, we will not cower. And we will not step away from commitments to: environmental justice, reproductive rights, maternal and child health, mental health, substance use, and violence prevention. Through science, education, and community engagement."

🔗 Read the full speech: https://sph.rutgers.edu/news/dean-deliver-remarks-national-conference-future-public-health-leadership

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University | Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science - IAPHS

At the Rutgers School of Public Health, we’re educating leaders, putting research into practice, and developing public health solutions rooted in our deep commitment to health equity, social justice, and advocacy.

08/31/2025

📰 The Fall 2025 edition of The Scarletter, ’s quarterly newsletter, has arrived!

🔗 Read The Scarletter: go.rutgers.edu/koepgft7

➡️ Inside, explore student and faculty achievements, SEAA Welcome Weeks events, new research, and expert commentary in national media. This issue highlights a faculty appointment to APHA’s Governing Council, the Dean receiving the IAPHS Leadership Excellence Award, Summer 2025 practicum capstone presentations, new faculty members, and updates on academic programs and career development opportunities. Hear from members of our community making an impact in public health and beyond.

🔗 Read The Scarletter: go.rutgers.edu/koepgft7
🔗 Prefer a PDF? Download here: go.rutgers.edu/tnt5jk4x

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University

08/30/2025

Derek Shendell, DEnv, MPH, professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health and RCEI Affiliate, is co-author of a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Health.

In this study, the authors translated an existing online course on climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice into Spanish. The course, created by the New Jersey Safe Schools Program, includes five modules that teach students about climate science, the role of human activities, and why environmental justice matters locally.

By offering this course in Spanish, the project helps include more students from immigrant and Spanish-speaking families in climate education. This can increase public awareness and empower young people to share knowledge in their communities, supporting efforts to address local climate challenges and health impacts.

Read more and find the full study at https://rcei.rutgers.edu/teaching-climate-change-in-spanish-helps-reach-more-students/

08/27/2025

The following message regarding today’s tragedy in Minneapolis is shared on behalf of the Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers.

Dear Rutgers School of Public Health Community,

Today’s shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis was indescribably tragic. Once again, we are faced with a story involving children dying from gunshot wounds in a place where safety should not even have to be on our minds.

At the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC), we are devoted to finding solutions to this problem, to preventing as many tragedies as possible, and helping as many people as we can when tragedies do occur. The science of gun violence prevention is under threat right now, just like so much of the other work done at the School of Public Health. However, we must remain committed to serving as data-driven voices of hope. Gun violence is preventable, but there is so much more work left to be done.

Tragedies like this should not be such a common story, but we are a community devoted to the values of public health, and the work that we do can bring change.

For those in need of support, the university offers services to School of Public Health faculty, staff, and students, recognizing the impact that community violence has on our physical, mental, and social health: go.rutgers.edu/14lbh4dr

Sincerely,

Michael Anestis, PhD
Executive Director, New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
Professor, Rutgers School of Public Health

08/27/2025

👋 Meet Lila Bazina, a PhD student in Environmental and Occupational Health at ! She presented her research at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting and ToxExpo earlier this year.

🏆 Lila has received multiple awards in recognition of her research, including the 2025 Research & Conference Travel Award from the School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers University, as well as the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Specialty Section’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award and the Arab Toxicologists Association’s Best Abstract Award at the SOT conference.

🔬 As a doctoral student and dedicated researcher, Lila's work combines nanotoxicology, molecular biology, and environmental health to address some of today’s most urgent public health challenges.

💭 “Winning these awards is an incredible honor and recognition of the hard work and dedication I have invested in my research. It motivates me to continue exploring critical environmental health issues and contributing to the advancement of toxicology and environmental health. I would like to sincerely thank my PI, Professor Philip Demokritou, for his ongoing support and guidance, as well as everyone at the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center.”

🔗 Learn More

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University | Rutgers Research | EOHSI (Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute)

Lila Bazina, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student in Environmental and Occupational Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health, attended and presented at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting and ToxExpo earlier this year. Bazina was awarded the 2025 Research & Conference Travel Award fr...

08/26/2025

👏 Congratulations to Derek Shendell, a professor in ’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice, on being named a Governing Councilor in the Environment Section with the American Public Health Association.

💭 “I am honored to be one of three elected Governing Councilors (GC) for the Environment Section of APHA. I have received this elected responsibility in the past [twice, 2006-08 & 2016-18]. The current Section leaders emphasized to me the importance of ensuring issues pertaining to environmental public health and safety have a voice in APHA. We as GC will stand by the science.”

🔗 Learn More

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University

Derek Shendell, a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health, has been named a Governing Councilor in the Environment Section with the American Public Health Association (APHA). His 2-year term will begin in November 2025.

08/18/2025

🌍 Study Abroad with in London, UK during Winter Break 2026! Open to upper-level undergrads and graduate students at Rutgers.

ℹ️ Learn more about the global course, Public Health Aspects of HIV Prevention and Care, during an upcoming info session on Wednesday, 8/20: https://global.rutgers.edu/program-search/details/winter-rutgers-public-health-aspects-hiv-prevention-and-care

to the 2024 global course, Public Health Aspects of HIV Prevention and Care, where students, faculty, and staff traveled to London to explore the HIV/AIDS epidemics in the U.S. and U.K. through a public health lens. Students engaged directly with AIDS service organizations, healthcare facilities, and guest speakers to better understand HIV prevention and care.

We're excited to bring this course back in 2026! Open to upper-level undergrads and graduate students at Rutgers. Spots are limited, so apply early! 👩‍💻

ℹ️ students may register for an info session via the SPH Student Connect Canvas page. Attend an upcoming session to learn more about the course and how to enroll:
- July 23, 2025
- August 20, 2025
- September 9, 2025

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University | Rutgers Global

08/07/2025

🌳🔍 Living near green spaces before and during pregnancy, as well as in early childhood, is associated with a reduced risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

💭 "These findings suggest that increasing green space access could be a potentially modifiable environmental strategy to reduce the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders among children, especially in vulnerable, low-income populations,” said Stefania Papatheodorou, an associate professor at and senior author of the study.

🔗 Learn More

Rutgers University | Rutgers Research

Living near green spaces before and during pregnancy as well as in early childhood is associated with a reduced risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

08/01/2025

👏 Dean Perry N. Halkitis received the J. Michael McGinnis Leadership Excellence Award from the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science - IAPHS.

🏆 The accolade honors a leader whose outstanding accomplishments, commitment, values and contributions advance population health through science, translational activities and academic service.

💭 "I accept this award with humility and pride, on behalf of the Rutgers School of Public Health and all those who have joined me in this mission. My one request in receiving the award in this very tenuous moment is for all leaders in public health and administrators in higher education to continue to be brave, upholding our ethics and our commitments to science, teaching and community engagement.”

🔗 Learn More

Rutgers Health | Rutgers University

Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, received the J. Michael McGinnis Leadership Excellence Award from the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science.

07/28/2025

07/24/2025

📰 The Summer 2025 edition of The Scarletter, ’s quarterly newsletter, has arrived with updates and stories that celebrate achievements and initiatives that propel our community forward.

🔗 Read The Scarletter: go.rutgers.edu/vc6xnt8w

➡️ Inside, explore global learning in Colombia, student and faculty achievements, and impactful research. This issue also includes reflections on Earth Day and Juneteenth, the naming of our inaugural Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair for Advancing LGBTQ+ Public Health, the appointment of our new Vice Dean, updates on academic programs, career development opportunities, and more!

🔗 Prefer a PDF? Download here: go.rutgers.edu/uelqexhe

Rutgers University | Rutgers Health