Boston University School of Public Health

06/04/2026

How does an emergency physician at Boston Medical Center (BMC) wind up leading biotechnology systems at a national security research and development powerhouse?

Dr. Kathryn Brinsfield discusses her public health journey from the BMC ED to the White House Situation Room to Draper’s Cambridge headquarters.

Read more ➡️ http://spr.ly/6182B8Utdq

06/02/2026

A new study led by an SPH researcher estimates that pediatric appointments for anxiety-related issues rose from 1.7 percent of visits in 2014 to 6.1 percent in 2023—a 300 percent increase.

“Our findings may reflect both the underlying increasing prevalence of pediatric mental health needs, alongside primary care physicians having greater capacity to screen for and address them,” says study lead and corresponding author Kerrin Gallagher, who recently received her PhD in health services and policy research at SPH and was a doctoral student at the time of the study.

“Primary care providers should continue to build up training and staffing to both screen for and treat mental health conditions, and integrating behavioral health is one strategy to achieve this goal.”

Learn more ➡️

A new study found that children’s visits to the doctor for all mental health conditions increased from 2014 to 2023 in the commonwealth. Visits related to anxiety represented the largest increase, and ADHD was the most common condition addressed during these visits.

06/01/2026

SPH is going to the World Cup!

Widely hailed the largest event in sport's history, five MPH students will be on the frontlines of a first-of-its-kind disease surveillance operation helping to ensure everyone’s safety: MacClement Guthrie, Melissa Mezieche, Alma Nieto, Deirdre Otoo, and Julianna Reyes.

The students have been selected for an SPH-sponsored summer practicum with Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID) to support CEID’s Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON) program, a revolutionary reporting operation launched in April 2025 to track global infectious disease threats in real time.

Beginning June 1—10 days before kick off in Mexico City—the SPH practicum students will review signals of possible infectious disease events near FIFA venues using BEACON and other resources, conduct verification of signals deemed report-worthy in collaboration with CEID leadership, and assist with compiling daily disease surveillance status reports to send to public health departments across North America throughout the five-and-a-half week period of the tournament.

The work is highly specialized, requiring that all students have prior coursework in epidemiology and biostatistics and several to have Spanish language expertise.

Learn more ➡️ http://spr.ly/6185B8iEMd

05/28/2026

Have you been considering pursuing your Master's of Public Health? There's still time to apply!

Learn more about our program offerings here ➡️ http://spr.ly/6184B8ZzIG

05/27/2026

Congratulations to SPH's Patricia Fabian on receiving a Resilient Boston Award!

Fabian was honored for her multiple collaborations with the City of Boston at the 2026 Boston Climate Leader Awards, an annual initiative hosted by Mayor Michelle Wu and the city’s Environment Department to recognize organizations and individuals advancing Boston’s climate goals.

Her collaborations with the City of Boston have included the B-COOL pilot project, which evaluated whether Boston’s heat emergency system adequately reflects risks in neighborhoods experiencing extreme temperatures. Fabian has also contributed to regional climate resilience efforts through partnerships with community organizations and researchers studying environmental justice and urban heat islands.

Learn more ➡️ http://spr.ly/6185B8X19U

05/26/2026

Senator John Keenan and his staff enlisted SPH students in Jacey Greece’s communications strategies course to devise interventions to draw attention to the health risks of sports betting in the commonwealth.

In January 2026, Sen. Keenan introduced Bill S.302 An Act addressing economic, health and social harms caused by sports betting, commonly known as the Bettor Health Act. The bill would place guardrails on the industry: bans on particularly risky bets, limits on betting ads during televised games, affordability checks on people making large wagers, higher taxes on online operators, and increased required contributions to the state Public Health Trust Fund.

Over the course of the 14-week semester, Sen. Keenan and his staff collaborated with two groups of SB806 students to devise strategic communications campaigns to better educate the public and other legislators on the risks of sports betting and to garner support for the Bettor Health Act. The students presented their final proposals to their Beacon Hill clients during the last session of the course in early May 2026.

Learn more about their proposals ➡️

Senator John Keenan of the Massachusetts state legislature and his staff enlisted the help of students in Jacey Greece’s communications strategies course to devise interventions to draw attention to the health risks of sports betting the commonwealth.

05/22/2026

A new study found that adolescents who were aware of their state’s minor consent laws were more likely to seek and receive testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that teens’ accurate knowledge of their legal capacity to consent to healthcare services may be more important than the laws providing this right.

Learn more ➡️

A new study found that adolescents who were aware of their state’s minor consent laws were more likely to seek and receive testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that teens’ accurate knowledge of their legal capacity to consent to healthcare services may be more im...

05/20/2026

This event is part of our SPH50 programming, in celebration of 50 years of public health research, education, and practice at BUSPH. This year we’re hosting a series of bespoke programs that will ask local, national, and global leaders to share their goals for the future of public health.

For this event, taking place in conjunction with the World Health Assembly, we are asking a select group of global public health leaders to answer the questions: What do you hope for public health around the world and how will it look like 50 years from now? What actions can we take globally to achieve this vision?

For questions or accommodation requests, please contact [email protected].
This year’s program will focus on research and advocacy from the Stop Shackling Patients Coalition, which has changed the way incarcerated patients receive medical care in hospitals, leading hospitals to reject universal shackling policies and implement patient-centered, evidence-based individualized assessments.

05/20/2026

While the current outbreak of the rare zoonotic virus will likely fizzle out, the termination of several global health partnerships and funding by the US means the nation has fewer tools to respond to the next pandemic or other international health crisis.

David Hamer, infectious disease expert and professor of global health at BUSPH, weighs in. ➡️

While the current outbreak of the rare zoonotic virus will likely fizzle out, the termination of several global health partnerships and funding by the US means the nation has fewer tools to respond to the next pandemic or other international health crisis.

05/19/2026

BUSPH is at the World Health Assembly in Geneva this week! Please join us for another important Public Health Conversation tomorrow, May 20, either in-person in Geneva or online.

For this event, taking place in conjunction with the World Health Assembly, we are asking a select group of global public health leaders to answer the questions: What do you hope for public health around the world and how will it look like 50 years from now? What actions can we take globally to achieve this vision?

Learn more and register ➡️ http://spr.ly/6188BBALmw