Education Happenings

DrPH in Women’s and Reproductive Health

Launched in 2022, the Women’s and Reproductive Health concentration of the School-wide Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program will welcome eight additional students this summer. Joining five students who matriculated last summer, the 13 students in the concentration are emerging leaders in public health practice. Continuing and incoming students live around the globe and work for government agencies, community-based organizations, and other institutions focused on programs, policy, and research aimed at improving public health and promoting health equity.

The concentration in Women's and Reproductive Health focuses on the general and reproductive health of women, health determinants and disparities, application of related gender equity frameworks, and preventive strategies and programs to address women’s life course health and that of their newborns and young children. In addition to taking concentration coursework in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, students in the DrPH program complete other foundational coursework in areas including data analysis, public health problem solving, and leadership. They also complete a practicum and thesis. The DrPH program, a part-time program with mainly online course options, is designed for working professional. Starting in Academic year 2023-2024, all WRH DrPH students will take part in a monthly seminar with concentration co-directors Sally Safi and Ian Salas to discuss existing research, share work-in-progress, and network with faculty in PFRH and BSPH.

MCH Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health

The BSPH Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence was well represented at the April 2023 grantee meeting focused on Human and Civil Rights.  We are especially proud of our recent graduates from the MSPH, PhD and postdoctoral programs! 

For the MCH Epi Doctoral Training Supplement, led by Dr. Alison Gemmill, we are pleased to have supported three PhD candidates during a portion of this past academic year—Michelle Martinez Baack, Kristin Bevilacqua, and Krista Woodward.

For the Academic Pipeline supplement, led by Dr. Terri Powell, we are thrilled to support Dr. Farah Qureshi and her pilot project examining associations between social adversity, telomere length at birth, and blood pressure trajectories from infancy to late adolescence.  Dr. Oliva Kachingwe completed her postdoctoral fellowship and joined the faculty at Yale School of Public Health as Assistant Professor.  In January, Dr. Noelene Jeffers also completed her postdoctoral fellowship and joined the faculty at the School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins as Assistant Professor.   We are excited to see what comes next and to continue to support each of you as your impactful careers unfold.

Finally, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Erin Hager as Associate Director of the Center of Excellence, beginning June, 2023.  An Associate Professor in PFRH, her work focuses on programs and policies to promote health and prevent obesity and food insecurity among children and families. More specifically, her scholarship focuses on food and physical activity systems in health promoting behaviors, wellness policy implementation in schools, and school-based child health obesity prevention interventions. Dr. Hager has a long track record of teaching excellence, mentorship, and leadership in equity, diversity and inclusion.

Website: The Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health