UTMB School of Public & Population Health

SPPH rose 27 spots to No. 89 in U.S. News' 2026 Best Public Health Schools rankings, tied for the largest gain among current top-100 programs. utmb.us/fli

Public health approaches are strongest when they fit daily life. Our faculty focus on practical strategies that are simple, available, and built around what people value. Explore PHHD research: utmb.edu/spph/departmen…

Anh Truonghuynh's two UTMB MPH capstone projects — a Galveston community garden and a reproductive law research paper — both came back to one question: what happens when public health systems aren't built for the people they serve. utmb.us/fy3

Andrew Tijerina, MPH (Epidemiology), reflects on how his internship at the Texas DSHS Zoonosis Control Program shaped his view of public health. Andrew worked on vector-borne and zoonotic disease surveillance across about 10 Southeast Texas counties.

Izabella Galindo, MPH (Epidemiology), reflects on how her time at UTMB's School of Public and Population Health sharpened her research interests in aging and correctional health. Izabella served as Vice President of the SPPH Student Association this past year.

The UTMB School of Public and Population Health and United Way of Galveston hosted Galveston nonprofit partners last week. Mental health access, resource navigation, and early childhood were the top themes. utmb.us/fx2

The 2026 class of UTMB SPPH, in one frame. They leave as biostatisticians, aerospace medicine residents, epidemiologists, public health practitioners, bioethicists, future physicians, and population health scientists. Wherever this class is heading, the work is in good hands.

Congratulations to the @utmbgsbs and @utmb_spph Class of 2026! Graduates of both schools make an impact helping diagnose, treat, and prevent disease; advancing understanding of complex health challenges; and improving quality of life and longevity. We are proud of you all!

We join our @utmb_spph in celebrating a recent accolade for Dr. Cara Pennel! She has received the 2026 F. Marion Bishop Educator Award from @APTRupdate. Dr. Pennel is Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, and Associate Professor of @UTMBPopHealth. Congratulations!

Leslie Stalnaker, MPH, Director of Public Health Practice, received the 2026 SPPH Student Association Distinguished Teaching Award at Friday's commencement, presented by SPPH Student Association President Emily Edgar. The award is selected by a vote of the entire student body.

Congratulations to Griffin Baillargeon, who graduated Friday with his MS in Biostatistics and Data Science. Biostatisticians design and analyze the studies that drive biomedical discovery, including the clinical trials that move new treatments forward.

Congratulations to Daniel Cox, Michael Stephens, and Samuel Stephenson, our 2026 MS in Aerospace Medicine graduates. All three are also aerospace medicine residents in our program, training to care for patients in the most demanding environments human bodies enter.

Congratulations to Maryam Hussain, who graduated Friday with her PhD in Population Health Sciences! The PhD prepares scholars to design and conduct research that informs how society addresses health at scale.

Congratulations to Hannah Carpenter and Georgia Loutrianakis, our 2026 PhD in Bioethics and Health Humanities graduates! Their dissertations took up reproductive autonomy in different registers, examining clinical practice, research trials, trust, and gender norms in legislation.

Congratulations to Klarisa Lopez, who graduated Friday with her MPH in Bioethics! The concentration takes up the moral, philosophical, and legal questions that medicine, research, and public health raise.

Congratulations to our 2026 MPH in Public Health Practice graduates from UTMB SPPH! Public health practice is the applied side of the field, translating evidence into programs, policies, and partnerships that reach people in real communities.

Congratulations to our 2026 MPH in Epidemiology graduates! Epidemiology is the study of how disease and other health outcomes move through populations and what shapes them, and this year's class took on aging, infectious disease, climate, and reproductive health.

Congratulations to our 2026 MD/MPH Dual Degree graduates! The MD/MPH prepares clinicians who think in both patients and populations, ready to practice medicine and shape how it gets delivered.

Congratulations to Rebecca Anumel-Ackah, MPH, PharmD, a Population Health Sciences PhD student, who presented poster and podium research at the 2026 Geriatric Medication Safety Symposium! Her work examined cancer treatment disparities & pain treatment patterns among older adults.

Congratulations to Stephen Kunkel on completing UTMB's Aerospace Medicine Medical School Concentration and earning the Aerospace Medicine Scholar certificate alongside Concentration Director Dr. Amy Kreykes! utmb.edu/spph/aerospace…

Join us via livestream for today’s commencement ceremony! vimeo.com/1192647133