Dear Friends of the College,
The semester has ended! Congratulations to all our Spring 2023 graduates!

We are so proud of all our graduates and what they accomplished. They worked hard to earn their degrees and proved their resilience in the face of many hurdles caused by the COVID pandemic. Now, more than ever, the world needs the knowledge, skills, and passion that our graduates bring to solve the health challenges of today and tomorrow.

You can see photos and video from our Spring 2023 Convocation ceremony and reception on our Congratulations Graduates! webpage. You can also read short profiles about some of our outstanding recent graduates, including Karyn Bloxham, MPH; Paola Cuamea, BS; Rebia Khan, MD/MPH; Kimberly Lakocy, MPH; and Braydon Mathis, BS on our website.

We also welcomed two of our Dual Degree MPH graduates from Gulf Medical University in the United Arab Emirates who came to attend our Spring 2023 Convocation in person! I was delighted to meet Ethel Akolaa and Latifah Alsaad here on our Tucson campus and celebrate with them and their families at Convocation.

I was also proud to celebrate Amy Zuckerman who was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the University of Arizona by President Robbins at the university’s Commencement ceremony. And I want to thank Amy for sharing her remembrance of her father late father Mel Zuckerman and her congratulations to all our Spring 2023 graduates at the Convocation ceremony.

Recent Events
In addition to our Spring 2023 Convocation, the college continued to host events in May. In our newsletter last month, I mentioned the retirement celebration event for Dr. Robin Harris that was hosted by MEZCOPH, the UACC Skin Cancer Institute and other supporters. Dr. Harris is one of our original faculty members who started the MPH program back in the mid-90s.  She recently established the Harris Endowment for epidemiology research. Now we have a remembrance story about the event with many photos. Thank you again Robin for all you gave to the college and public health!

Also in May, some of our faculty and students attended the annual meetings of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and presented research posters. The WHI has been a unique research opportunity for our MEZCOPH students for many years. I want to thank Dr. Cyndi Thomson, Chair of the national WHI Steering Committee, who worked to organize the event, and congratulations to our students!

I also want to thank Dr. Mohan Tanniru for the Community Engagement to Address Population Health Workshop that he organized in May in collaboration with colleagues from Henry Ford Health, Oakland University, and Suffolk University Boston. An impressive group of presenters explored the role of technology and patient engagement in community-centered public health strategies.

Faculty, Staff, and Students: Honors, Profiles, and Awards
We are very proud of all that our students, staff, and faculty accomplish and appreciate the recognition that comes their way. Please join me in congratulating the following:

• Leslie Farland, ScD, MSc, is a co-investigator on a research grant titled Endometriosis Diagnosis and Subtypes, Reproductive History, and Cardiovascular Disease awarded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH from NHLBI, in collaboration with the University of Utah.

• Doctoral student in Epidemiology Shelby Ziller, MPH, won the 1st place finalist for the University of Arizona Student Showcase 2023 in the human healthy category as well as the Katheryne B. Willock Library Research Award. Her presentation was entitled: Body composition associations with incident colorectal cancer: A systematic review with the support of our HPS librarian, Jean McClelland.

Gratitude for Our Community
I thank all of you for your ongoing support of the College and our public health mission. We live in troubling times, and so often public health offers solutions to the widespread suffering in this world. 

As we move into summer, activity in the college will slow down, and I hope everyone has time to rest and connect with family and friends in the next few months. As always, I look forward to working with you to support our diverse communities, both locally and globally, with the best public health education, service, and research.

Best Wishes for your Health and Safety,
Iman

Do you really need a top sheet? We asked an expert to settle the debate

Kelly Reynolds, PhD, MSPH, comments in this story about how using top sheets on beds and washing them regularly can minimize your body's exposure to things like germs, bacteria and feces in bed.

How Obesity and Metabolic Health Can Impact Your Cancer Risk

Jennifer W. Bea, PhD, is the co-leader of the cancer prevention program in the UArizona Cancer Center and is quoted on new research that shows metabolically healthy and unhealthy forms of obesity are linked to a greater risk of developing obesity-related cancers

Clock Out of Losing Sleep: A Simple and Effective Solution to Manage Insomnia

Patricia Haynes, PhD, comments in this story about insomnia, watching the clock, and how a small change could help people sleep better. This story appeared in multiple media outlets.

Acute Cyclical Stress for Students: Where is the Research?

MPH students Jonah Vega-Reid, Kavina Kmkhan-Thee, Jack Picton, Ty Coen, and Anne Miller wrote this op-ed about the need for research on student stress cycles in higher education.

Fighting to Feed Families: The Reality of Food Insecurity in Arizona

MPH students Emily Albert, Jamie Young, Rebecca Sustayta, Sailor Hutton, Shawna Nelson, and Melissa Lugo wrote this op-ed about food insecurity in Arizona, and the struggles that many families face to access food.