Warmest wishes for happiness and good health this holiday season from the Brown University School of Public Health.
2020 has been a year of unprecedented public health challenges for Rhode Island, our nation, and the world. The School is meeting this moment with collaboration, education, and initiatives to improve health systems and health equity. As we welcome a brighter year ahead — with hope and determination in our hearts — we invite you to look back with us at our 2020 Year in Review.
Top 20 of 2020
A chronological list of some of the most popular School of Public Health stories of the year.
Conversations on COVID: Breaking the anxiety cycle
March 25: Dr. Jud Brewer, director of research and innovation at Brown’s Mindfulness Center, explains how practicing mindfulness can curb the spread of coronavirus anxiety in individuals’ personal lives and social circles.
Peter Monti Honored with Brown University Distinguished Research Achievement Award
April 8: Brown University has awarded Research Achievement Awards to seven faculty members in its annual program to honor exceptional scholars across a wide variety of disciplines.
Researchers use 21st century genomics to estimate Samoan population dynamics over 3,000 years
April 14: A new study estimating the size of the Samoan population using contemporary genomic data found that the founding population remained low for the first 1,500 years of human settlement, contributing to understanding the evolutionary context of the recent rise in obesity and related diseases.
School of Public Health takes Research Day online
April 30: In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the on-campus event, originally scheduled for early April to coincide with National Public Health Week, was canceled. But the school was determined to move forward with sharing the research posters created for the event.
Public Health Doctoral Dissertation Defenses Go Virtual
May 19: For doctoral students, the dissertation defense is the culmination of at least four years of study and research. A major academic and career milestone presented before a live audience, a successful defense is usually celebrated with colleagues, friends, and family, and plenty of champagne. For PhD students in the School of Public Health, the dissertation experience has become much different.
Past stressful experiences do not create resilience to future trauma, new study finds
June 11: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, new research finds that past stressors and traumatic events increase vulnerability to mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).
Providence theater group finds a new stage online
June 22: Epidemiologist Professor Brandon Marshall works with the Wilbury Theatre Group to reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
$6.2 million grant renews Alcohol Research Center on HIV funding for five years
July 22: The grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism will fund the center, based at Brown’s School of Public Health, as researchers work to reduce the impact of alcohol misuse on the HIV epidemic.
Expanded access to treatment in prisons and jails can reduce opioid overdose deaths by 31.6%, study finds
July 22: Using a microsimulation model, researchers at Brown predicted the number of opioid-related overdose deaths related to three different treatment options over the course of 8 years.
Inconsistent EPA regulations increase lead poisoning risk to kids, study finds
August 6: As new lead protection rules from the Environmental Protection Agency move toward finalization, research shows that tens of thousands of children are at increased risk under the current set of inconsistent standards.
Stay-at-home orders significantly associated with reduced spread of COVID-19, study finds
August 12: As COVID-19 swept across the nation, most states went into lockdown — new research and state-by-state data suggests that stay-at-home orders helped slow the pandemic significantly.
Actions to Confront Anti-Black Racism
September 23: As we examine our efforts as individuals and as institutions to confront racism, one thing is clear: We must do more. The School of Public Health has developed a set of actions to promote a diverse and inclusive School that build on the School's Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and upon the foundational changes the School has made since the launch of its Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Firearm injuries cost a health insurer $8.2 to $41.2 million to treat, study finds
September 28: Using insurance claim data from five states, a team of researchers led by Brown University physician-scholar Megan Ranney found that health care costs skyrocket in the six months after a firearm injury.
Dr. Ashish Jha: For public health leaders, ‘expertise plus humanity’ is key to success
October 1:A prominent global voice on COVID-19 and the new dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Jha weighs in on lessons from the pandemic and how educators can best train future leaders in health and medicine.
Tuned lighting helps nursing home residents get better sleep, study finds
October 6: A study led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health found that using tuned LED lighting cut in half the number of sleep disturbances among older residents in long-term care.
Early-career biostatistics scholar from Brown wins prestigious Packard fellowship
October 15: Brown School of Public Health faculty member Lorin Crawford will receive $875,000 over five years to pursue research in statistics, genomics and applied mathematics.
Amid pandemic, U.S. must reduce incarceration to protect public safety, report finds
October 22: Dr. Josiah “Jody” Rich, a Brown professor of medicine and epidemiology, joined a panel of experts assembled by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to explore ways to combat coronavirus behind bars.
Study delves into emotional wellness in the human brain
November 6: A new study is the first to reveal specific brain compounds that signal emotional wellness in healthy people.
Pod e-cigarettes less harmful than regular cigarettes, new study finds
November 18: In the first-ever clinical trial of fourth-generation electronic cigarettes, researchers found that adults who switched to e-cigarettes had lower levels of a major carcinogen compared to smokers who continued using combustible cigarettes.
With COVID-19 vaccine near, Brown researchers to track adverse impacts in nursing home residents
December 2: A new federal grant will enable a Brown research team and Genesis HealthCare to identify and track health impacts after elderly residents in long-term care facilities receive vaccinations.