From left to right: Kevin Anaya, Class of 2015; Saria Nassar, Class of 2024.; and Justina Bui, Class of 2025.
Currently home to two of UCI’s most popular majors, Wen Public Health has been building California’s future public health workforce for the past 20 years. While universities across the country brace for a sharp decline in college-bound students, the so-called “enrollment cliff,” Wen Public Health is defying the trend.
Undergraduate enrollment has increased by about 21% in the past six years while its Master of Public Health has jumped by more than 300%. Meet alumni like Kevin Anaya '15, and Saria Nassar '24, and soon-to-be alumna, Justina Bui, Class of 2025, who bring hard-earned insight, local perspective, and a strong sense of purpose—qualities the school welcomes and supports. READ MORE.
An analysis of 80+ studies shows that the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans are confusing and could cause unhealthy consumption of fruit juices and unhealthy sugars. The analysis and recommendations are published in the journal Nutrition Bulletin.
The team of researchers, led by professor Yunxia Lu and doctoral candidate Hemangi Mavadiya, are recommending that the next version of the guidelines, coming out at the end of 2025, be updated to better reflect the amount of whole fruit and 100% fruit juice adults and children should consume. READ MORE.
Denise Payán, associate professor and Tessa Pulido, doctoral student, contributed to a study that found numerous statements of misinformation made by residents during Riverside County Board of Supervisors meetings between 2020 and 2022. Accompanying such comments was much skepticism about research evidence and data presented by state and federal government agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anamara Ritt-Olson, for Parents.com, on the effects of PBS Funding Cuts
"These cuts will dramatically hinder PBS from doing the work that they do to support children’s learning and well-being. We need children’s programming for all to help build a foundation for success. Losing these quality programs hurts all of us eventually."
While Latine communities are among the most affected by disparities in healthcare access, labor conditions, and environmental health risks, their stories are too often absent from the data or improperly represented. Doctoral student, Juan Carlos Ruiz Malagon, is using his lived experiences as a Latine and first-generation scholar to reshape public health research and advocacy.
Ruiz Malagon's article is included in the journal, Latino Studies, and suggests a new framework of thinking: acompañamiento, or the grounding of research practice in sustained, family-like relationship processes that extend to broader forms of personal and social care for community partners in research. READ MORE.
Doctoral student, Kalani Phillips, is using her voice and public health training to advance campus safety initiatives across Calif. and that there are resources to respond to violence and harassment. Phillps argues that campus safety resources must be developed in trauma-informed, equity-driven, and community-engaged research. READ MORE.
