School of Public Health at the University of Maryland

SPH Alum’s New Pickleball Apparel Brand Scores Points for Brain Health — with every purchase, company gives back to charity partners, offers tips to prevent cognitive decline

Read about it here! brnw.ch/21x0rXF

#pickleball #dementia #moorlow

SPH's Dr. Hassanatu Blake and colleagues at Black Global Health Thought Leadership Voices (BGTV) write oped in the Washington Informer on the dangerous exclusion of Black people from health tech development and use.

Find out more here: bit.ly/4rdwmqL

#HealthEquity

🚰 Testing the (drinking) waters in Maryland — UMD research team works with homeowners to provide clarity about contaminants in tap water

Study tests public drinking water + private wells across MD with a combo of citizen science, field-based research + lab analysis.

sph.umd.edu/news/testing...

#Potomac River #sewage spill: "Though our testing has shown lower levels of E. coli since we began sampling, we continue to see these disease-causing bacteria at levels unsafe for people and animals,” says UMD’s Dr. Goldstein, sharing new data from water sampling along the river
bit.ly/4asGpTJ

UMD team finds E. coli, MRSA contaminating Potomac River after one America's largest sewage spills.

Researchers continue to test water and call for investment to address strains on aging sewer infrastructure

Find out more here: brnw.ch/21wZHl0

#MRSA #PotomacRiver #sewage #waterquality

UMD scientists keep trying — and failing — to give people the flu Dr. Donald K. Milton has been trying to give people the flu for years.

How flu spreads -- Read @thebaltimorebanner.com on Dr. @donmilton.bsky.social's efforts to understand how flu spreads naturally between humans, which could be "critical to devising far more specific and effective means of preventing miserable and often dangerous infections."
🦠 #flu
bit.ly/4qg53ve

Social media is no longer social | GUEST COMMENTARY Guest commentary: I used to argue on behalf of social media. Here’s why I no longer do.

Social media is not social -- Dr. Dina Borzekowski in @baltimoresun.bsky.social:

"Now driving our eyeballs to the screen are very smart media companies, whose long-term business goal is to know us better, cultivate our desires, and feed us links encouraging us to buy more stuff.”

bit.ly/4c7yyfg

Public health is becoming a system of haves and have-nots | GUEST COMMENTARY “The nation’s public health infrastructure is being torn apart,” writes Boris D. Lushniak and Tim E. Leshan.

In @baltimoresun.bsky.social SPH Dean Boris Lushniak + @aspph.bsky.social Tim Leshan: "a balkanized approach to #publichealth is accelerating a dangerous divide between communities: those that can protect their health and those that cannot."
Read more here www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/28/p...

Massive sewage spill hits Potomac River Alarming bacteria levels found in the Potomac after a major sewage spill.

UMD Water Emergency Team were out on the snow this week taking more water samples from the Potomac river. Dr. Rachel Goldstein told @wusa9.com.web.brid.gy initial results from samples taken a week ago are "alarming," raising serious public health concerns.

WATCH here www.wusa9.com/article/news...

Read Dr. @sarahpeitzmeier.bsky.social in this invited commentary on the extent of violence trans people face, as evidenced in a rigorous research review:
"The rapidly growing literature only adds to the weight of evidence that transgender people deserve more protections against violence, not fewer."

How long will it take to stop the sewage overflow at Clara Barton Parkway to stop going into Potomac? Crews are still working to contain the bubbling geyser of raw sewage at the Clara Barton Parkway. Here's how long it'll take to stop it.

As millions of gallons of sewage spill into Montgomery County, SPH's Dr. Rachel Goldstein shares the public health implications w #NBCWashington

Goldstein leads UMD's Water Emergency Team, a community-driven rapid response to sewer overflows and backups.

www.nbcwashington.com/video/news/l...

STUDY: Risk of maternal death during pregnancy greatly exceeds risk of death from abortion

Commonly cited data on the mortality risk of pregnancy when compared to abortion in the U.S. is a vast undercount, says UMD study in JAMA Network Open.

Find out more here: sph.umd.edu/news/study-r...

Study: How can we stop the spread of flu? 😷

“Our data suggests coughing is a major factor as well as air movement and ventilation."

Researcher @donmilton.bsky.social says masking is still the best defense when up close with others in enclosed spaces this #fluseason

Read more here brnw.ch/21wYVz2

📣 What you need to know about ACA subsidies: “It affects everyone”

SPH Drs Francesca Weaks and Mika Hamer say the impact will be broad and will likely see everyone’s health care costs rising.

Learn morehow it could affect you:
sph.umd.edu/news/what-yo...

#ACAsubsidies #healthinsurance #ACA

This study shows that "water quality cannot be separated from broader environmental and public health systems." -- SPH's Dr. Leena Malayil talks to International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health about her #water quality study in #Nepal

www.mdpi.com/journal/ijer...
#waterquality

FALL '25 Research Roundup -- find the latest research, grants and awards from SPH Faculty!
📣 📣 📣
brnw.ch/21wYrDL

SPOTLIGHT: Taha Nasir

A 2025 online Masters of Health Administration grad, Nasir now oversees 70 employees, 26 providers, 1,200 monthly patients and a $16m budget, leading oncology services at GW Medical Faculty Associates.

Read about this remarkable student here: sph.umd.edu/news/spotlig...

List of mask mandates in US for December 2025 As various illnesses have been surging nationwide, a number of states have issued mask mandates to try to reduce the rate of transmission.

@donmilton.bsky.social shares expertise with @newsweek.com on #fluseason and masks:

"Masks, especially when worn by people who have an infection as well as those who don't, work well. They suppress transmission. The tighter fitting the better."

More from Milton here: brnw.ch/21wYnCn

Experts: Ending Affordable Care Act subsidies affects everyone's healthcare

WATCH SPH Professors Mika Hamer and Francesca Weaks share their expertise on WJLA-TV
brnw.ch/21wYnBo
#ACA #healthinsurancesubsidies

Global Perspectives on Mental Health and Healing from Gender-Based Violence: Lessons from India 🇮🇳 🌏

Course dates July 2 - 16, 2026

APPLY by February 17 2026
myea.umd.edu/index.cfm

#globalhealth #mentalhealth #studyabroad #india
#MarylandGlobal

Meet Susan Topping one of SPH extraordinary online masters students -- she works on nutrition and health at Capital Area Food Bank and wanted "a deeper understanding of the field of public health."

Read her story here!
sph.umd.edu/news/spotlig...
#onlineMPH #behavioralhealth #onlinemasters

Making #cannabis use safer in Maryland --

Read about how SPH online student Micaiah Wheeler, together with the health department and local barbers, is overcoming stigma to share tools, educate on cannabis safety in this MD community.

brnw.ch/21wYdsX
#cannabissafety

Scientists warn schools will needlessly boost flu cases this winter A study found close contact between children in classrooms alongside indoor air quality may contribute to the spread of respiratory viruses.

SPH prof @donmilton.bsky.social in @newsweek.com
on ways to prevent spread of flu in classrooms this winter:

"In the absence of mechanical ventilation at adequate levels, portable air cleaners (filters) can help. Another option is to use germicidal ultraviolet."

www.newsweek.com/scientists-w...

NEW STUDY by SPH researchers: #Incarceration, #Arrests Casts Long Shadow Over Health

Going to prison or even just getting arrested negatively affects a person’s health long after the experience, worsening age-related health problems such as chronic pain, sleep quality and memory.

brnw.ch/21wYbxV

Dr. Amy Morgan's Be Well class builds mental health resilience -- students gain lifelong coping skills in a popular class that might see its final cohort this spring

Find out more here: sph.umd.edu/news
#familyscience #mentalhealth

From Cold Call to Global Classroom | Maryland Global What can one phone call do? For University of Maryland Professor Kerry W. Tripp, it launched a partnership that has now connected hundreds of students, spanned two continents and reshaped how faculty ...

What can one phone call do?

For SPH professor Kerry Tripp, it launched a partnership that has now connected hundreds of students, across two continents, reshaping how faculty think about international collaboration.

Read more: marylandglobal.umd.edu/about/news/c...
#globalhealth #globalclassroom

🌍 🇬🇭 Ella Sanvee, MPH ‘26, wins #CEESP fellowship to study breast cancer in Ghana

Sanvee spent the summer at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital KATH in Kumasi Ghana: “It’s always been a passion of mine to make healthcare more accessible."

Read her story here: brnw.ch/21wY1d2

To improve health, build community resilience | University of Maryland | School of Public Health “It takes a village” isn’t just a saying – it’s a foundation backed by research.

#NIA awardee, Dr. Jie Chen of @publichealthumd.bsky.social , finds that improving health requires building community resilience. In US counties with lower community resilience, there's association with greater odds of cognitive disability, depression, and morbidity. #geronsky

Our Global FEWture: Cultivating Food-Energy-Water Solutions

new #Coursera for farmers, organizers, public health and agricultural scientists, environmental engineers and beyond --

Enroll in 1st module for free!

www.coursera.org/learn/our-global-fewture-cultivating-food-energy-water-solutions/

Study Finds Dangerous Bacteria in Homes Plagued by… | Maryland Today UMD Research Changes Lives: Team Studying Connections Between Failing Infrastructure, Health Problems

UMD's Water Emergency Team finds dangerous bacteria in homes plagued by sewage backups in #Maryland

SPH prof Dr Rachel Goldstein + Dr Marccus Hendricks from UMD engineering show links between failing infrastructure and health problems

today.umd.edu/umd-study-fi...

#wateremergency #waterquality