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Dear UCI Community,
By now, we’ve all settled into the new year. Topping most New Year’s resolution promises – year after year – is a commitment to improved diet, physical activity, and well-being. And yet most resolutions are abandoned by the end of January.
If there’s any health behavior that should continue throughout the year, it is the power of nutrition and the prioritization of well-being. This is why, here at UCI Public Health, we are using 2024 to promote the theme of: Nourish Your Body, Elevate Your Wellbeing.
In our newsletters, social media, and other channels, we will highlight the work of UCI Public Health faculty and students who go beyond individual health and are collectively committed to health equity and preventative care. We will share information focused on:
- Community Engagement: Initiatives in the community that use nutrition and behavior modification to tackle social determinants of health that impact the burden of disease in marginalized communities.
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Expert Perspectives: Thought-provoking insights from public health experts dedicated to advancing the well-being of individuals and communities through unique channels.
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Health Communications Campaigns: Campaigns aimed at fostering inclusivity, knowledge transfer of public health information, and increasing awareness of opportunities for professional and personal growth.
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One such example of an expert perspective is the work of UCI Public Health faculty Matt Landry who made it to the big screen of Netflix. As a registered dietitian, Dr. Landry, served as the first author on a study that showed the profound positive impact of a vegan diet on cardiovascular health. After eight weeks, a plant-based diet resulted in lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and body weight compared to their omnivore counterparts.
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The other example of community-based research is how vital food pantries are to ensuring that rural communities can access nutritious food and other health-related resources. Our nutrition policy expert, Denise Payan, coauthored a study that calls for improved operations and outreach of food pantries in the San Joaquin Valley.
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I am looking forward to continuing this year-long conversations about nutrition and well-being as they are crucial to overall population health and to the field of public health. Here's to a year of shared wellness and community-driven health!
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First-of-its kind study to tackle Alzheimer’s disease disparities among California’s American Indian and Alaska Native communities
Luohua Jiang and team received a nearly $2 million grant to identify crucial intervention targets for preventing Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders among California’s American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
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Commentary: Data accessible for historically marginalized populations can be a powerful driver toward health equity
Dr. Brittany Morey acted as the first author of a commentary that recommends that data custodians improve the accessibility of timely, accurate, and robust data to drive health equity, especially among the Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) communities.
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Public Health welcomed Tetyana Vasylyeva, expert on the health of displaced populations
Dr. Vasylyeva brings to UCI Public Health the utilization of the ‘Big Events’ framework to determine how and when to apply public health interventions, including in her home country of Ukraine and treating those with HIV/AIDS.
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Bernadette Boden-Albala is honored for contributions to addressing stroke inequities by the American Heart Association
Dean Boden-Albala to receive the Association’s Ed Kenton Award at their annual stroke conference on Feb. 6. The award recognizes her lifetime achievement of contributions to the investigation, management, mentorship and community service in stroke inequities or related disciplines.
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UCOP grant supports study to examine structural racism surrounding sexual and gender-minoritized communities of color vulnerable to HIV-STI transmission
Sean Arayasirikul secured funding for innovative research addressing health disparities through a community-engaged, intersectional approach, and partners with the House and Ball Community to measure structural racism and other oppressions.
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In the book “Planetary health approaches to understand and control vector-borne diseases”, associate professor Daniel Parker and doctoral candidate Natasha India Glendening, co-authored the chapter on a conceptual framework for understanding extractive settlements and disease: demography, environment, and epidemiology.
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In a study published by the Environmental Health and Disease Laboratory, potential therapeutic targets were identified for mitigating toxin-associated inflammatory liver diseases. For those exposed to toxins like cyanobacteria found in algal blooms, their gut microbiome becomes inbalanced and wrecks havoc in the liver. Lab members include corresponding author, Saurabh Chatterjee, and co-authors and doctoral students Dipro Bose, Madhura More, Subhajit Roy, Punnag Saha, and Ayushi Trivedi.
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Nourishing a future in research between public health and nutrition
Doctoral candidate, Hemangi Mavadiya, received a full scholarship to complete the Academic Integrative Medicine Health & Wellness Coaching Certificate Program offered by the UCI Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, which complements her career goals.
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Viral Integration: Group Art Exhibition Addresses Health Sciences
Curated by Artist-in-Residence Elin O’Hara Slavick, the exhibit – housed in the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences – includes more than 100 works by 40 artists, listed below, from across the United States and Canada. All the work has a central theme of addressing health issues, from the individual human body and disease, treatment and survival to environmental factors and medical systems. Full list of artists and their work.
Viewing Hours: Open between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, through December 15, 2024.
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Code Blue, Second Attempt by Sally Ann McKinsey, (emergency department thermal blankets, hospital gowns, socks, operating room sheets)
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Canula, Sarana Mehra, (resin and paint)
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Approaches to Population Health – Locally & Globally
Wednesday, February 28 | 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. | Zoom RSVP Link
Join us for the Winter Quarter Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series, centering on Population Health—both locally and globally. The lecture will be moderated by Dean Bernadette Boden-Albala and features a distinguished panel, including Professor and Associate Director of the UCI Infectious Disease Science Initiative, Guiyun Yan; Associate Professor Daniel Parker; Assistant Professor Tetyana Vasylyeva; and School of Nursing Associate Professor and Director of the UCI Infectious Disease Science Initiative, Sanghyuk Shin.
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Serving a community close to home – the UCI community
Two-time Anteater alumna, Lira Islam, MPH, kick started her career at UCI Human Resources and can be credited with improving and expanding the UCI Lactation Support Program to promote a family-friendly work and learning environment for breastfeeding mothers.
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