Features

Head shots of Denise Brook-Williams, Richa Gupta and Bill Manns

Silver linings

Critical knowledge gained from COVID-19 pandemic proves invaluable to alumni

Across the country, the pandemic put stress on the health care system, revealing both its strengths—heroic providers and adaptability in the face of uncertainty—and areas where it must improve. Three Health Services Administration executive-level alumni share their COVID stories and the lessons they learned for the future.

Dean F. DuBois Bowman, University of Michigan School of Public Health

From the Dean: A New Era of Public Health

Dean F. DuBois Bowman

Current trends toward a future where disease outbreaks happen more often due to globalization, human migration, and climate damage can be slowed and even reversed when we ensure every public health intervention accounts for the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment.

Michelle Khurana,  Begum Zubeida Khurana, Laila, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Three Generations, One Passion: When Public Health Runs in the Family

Michelle Khurana, MPH ’96, and her mother, Begum Zubeida Khurana, MPH ’76, have served the Dearborn area for decades as physicians and advocates. Michelle’s daughter Laila is an undergraduate student at the School of Public health, and they are each full of insight and passion about public health.

Brittany McQueer, Rita and Rebecca Gelman, University of Michigan School of Public

Real-World Experiences for Adaptable Students

By David Pratt

Today’s public health students face a dynamic work environment and often rely on flexible forms of support to succeed in work-based experiences. When donor funds address the full range of needs, students can focus all their energy and creativity on their academic and professional development.

Joe Eisenberg in the Huron River observing the interplay of natural ecosystems and human-built environments. Eisenberg is professor of Epidemiology and Global Public Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan

One Health: Preventing and Solving Public Health Disasters

The One Health model encourages scientists from multiple disciplines to take a systemic view of the world’s pressing public health problems and adopt collaborative, integrated approaches to solving them. By pooling knowledge and resources, we can develop new measures to ensure better health for people, animals, and ecologies.