UTMB School of Public & Population Health

Eighteen Doctor of Medicine/Master of Public Health students from the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Public and Population Health matched into 11 specialties across seven states today. See where SPPH's MD/MPH graduates matched: utmb.us/ffx

From public health to space health, this is the kind of interdisciplinary training the future calls for. Proud to see @utmbhealth lead in this space! @UTMBPresident @UTMBProvost @utsystem

Three of our MPH students are representing SPPH this week at the ASPPH Innovation Lab! SwipeSmart has moved from problem mapping and prototyping to end-user interviews and pitch prep, developing an app to help young adults navigate online dating safety. Final pitch is Friday!

Dr. Alejandro Villasante-Tezanos, who leads the online Master of Public Health in Biostatistics track at UTMB SPPH, explains what students learn — and why translation is at the core of it. utmb.us/F63 @utmb_biostatds

Congratulations to UTMB medical student Daniel LeBlanc on publishing his Aerospace Medicine Scholarly Concentration project in npj Microgravity! The paper explores how spaceflight stressors may affect mitochondrial function and eye health. Read the paper: nature.com/articles/s4152…

New Get to Know Us video: Monique Pappadis, MEd, PhD, on how early work in rehab and trauma care led her to brain injury research, and how an institutional collaboration with Dr. Leila Wood launched her elder mistreatment work. Watch: utmb.us/exp

From military aviation to commercial spaceflight, the demand for aerospace medicine expertise has never been higher. 🚀🩺@utmbhealth, a historic leader in aerospace medicine, is responding to this global need with new pathways for education and research.

Another fourth-year aerospace medicine resident recently had the opportunity to ride along with our friends at Virgin Galactic in an aerobatic flight pulling 7 Gs! We value the operational and experiential training our residents receive at @virgingalactic.

A new pathway into aerospace medicine is now open. For the first time, UTMB is opening its Master of Science in Aerospace Medicine to interdisciplinary professionals worldwide including licensed clinicians, doctoral scientists, and military health experts. utmb.us/feb

Carmen Haynes's first peer-reviewed paper asks what happens when artificial womb technology meets a child welfare system with no safeguards to protect vulnerable mothers. Published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2025. utmb.us/fe4

Dlaczego w USA trwanie życia wygląda tak słabo? Diagram Lexisa pokazuje niżej zmianę procentową śmiertelności z powodu przyczyn zewnętrznych. Zielone obszary to względna poprawa, czarne - pogorszenie.

Dr. Amy Kreykes represented UTMB Aerospace Medicine at the @acgme Annual Educational Conference. She is pictured at center with leaders from the Army, Navy, and Air Force aerospace medicine residency programs.

Good to see UTMB highlight this work from Neil Mehta, inaugural chair of Epidemiology at UTMB SPPH! This is a strong example of how public health research helps explain long-term health trends with real relevance for the future.

Neil Mehta, inaugural chair of Epidemiology, associate dean for research, and director of H-COR, coauthored a new PNAS paper on why US life expectancy stalled. Link: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

Oscar David Almaraz, a ConTex fellow and MPH student at SPPH, presented at the recent National Student Research Forum at UTMB. David credited Hanaa Sallam, Wei-Chen Lee, and Hani Serag for mentorship that helped shape the experience.

In this first alumni edition of our excellence series, I am pleased to feature Amie Hufton, PhD, whose path from Hurricane Ike response work to doctoral study at UTMB led to research on disasters, aging, and long-term health. utmb.us/fdi

Today we launched Blue Zones Galveston—the largest Blue Zones initiative ever undertaken in partnership with an academic health system. What became clear immediately: Galveston is ready. The community showed up in full force, and the excitement was palpable. Together with Blue Zones, we will bring rigorous science, innovation, and community partnership to study what enables people to live longer, healthier lives. This effort is not only about improving health today—it is about advancing the science of longevity itself. I couldn’t be more proud of the people of @utmbhealth and the extraordinary community we serve in Galveston. Together, we will help transform lives—and perhaps redefine what the future of healthy communities can look like. @BlueZones #CommunityHealth #Longevity #PublicHealth

The Blue Zones Project officially launched in Galveston tonight at UTMB. A nine-month foundation phase begins now, focused on listening to residents and building a community-driven health blueprint. Public health at work.

This evening marked an exciting step forward for Galveston. Community leaders and residents came together for the Blue Zones Project event to learn how this initiative could help shape a healthier future for our city. We appreciated hearing from @BlueZones Dan Buettner Jr., Chief Development Officer and Lisle Wescott, SVP of Transformation along with a panel of leaders representing key pillars of our community. Their insight and commitment make this work even more meaningful. Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation. The energy in the room made it clear that Galveston is ready for what’s ahead.

Inspired and proud by UTMB’s community impact and public health mission. Grateful to be advancing my public health expertise through @utmb_spph.