Dean's Message - September 2025
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Happy beginning of Fall! The cool nights and warm days signal that the semester is off and running. It is great to have our students back on campus and actively engaged in all the activities UMass and SPHHS has to offer.
These days, given all the news coverage and social media stories, it is hard not to encounter questions about public health and medicine: What foods should we eat, which medicine should we take, what vaccines schedules should we follow? As the dean of public health and health sciences, and a researcher in the field of maternal and child health as well as nutrition, it is important for me to stay grounded in the totality of the evidence on any given topic. It’s also important to recognize the success stories of our field that have resulted in improved population health.
For example, I have worked on large cohort studies that examined the association between periconceptional folic acid intake and birth defects such as cleft lip and pallet, spina bifida, and anencephaly. The evidence was strong and sufficient to mandate the fortification of flour in this country with folic acid, and to recommend folic acid supplement use among women during the preconception and early pregnancy period. These efforts led to the reduced risk of these outcomes, not only in the US, but globally, since they were adapted widely.
Public health research also helped to identify the link between smoking and negative health outcomes such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, leading to the development of numerous interventions and policies designed to reduce usage and mitigate the harms of smoking, such as smoke free work zones and dining areas.
Finally, vaccines have led to the eradication – or near eradication – of several childhood diseases including polio, smallpox, and measles. Before the measles vaccine was licensed, approximately 90% of children prior to the age of 15 became infected, but by 2000 the country had eliminated endemic measles. Guess how many cases there have been just in 2025?
My advice here for all of us is to remember how far we have come in public health and medical sciences. I encourage you to seek sound public health and medical information and advice from reputable sources.
In other news, we are excited that the UMass Food Pantry is now open, and we encourage all to visit and provide support to this wonderful resource located at 472 North Pleasant Street on campus (open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm – 7pm; Fridays from 12pm – 4pm; and Saturdays from 10am – 4pm). This effort is a direct result of the advocacy of our students, faculty, staff, and community partners that recognized the need to combat food insecurity on campus and to better serve the UMass community.
On September 12th, Dean Michael Fox from the College of Natural Sciences and I hosted a Food Science and Nutrition Symposium between UMass Amherst and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The symposium was designed to inspire and motivate collaboration in four thematic areas: food for precision nutrition; novel foods; redesigning foods and systems; and the intersection of food science and food is medicine. We had over 60 attendees from both institutions engaged in the event, listening to flash talks and generating new ideas aligned with our themes. Thanks to funding provided by Chancellor Reyes and President Kumar from Tufts, attendees have an opportunity to apply for one of three $50k pilot seed grants. Our hope is that these grants will lead to new interdisciplinary research projects to address gaps identified in the Office of Nutrition Research Strategic Plan and the USDA mission.
October is full of many exciting events on campus, including Homecoming, and our first Dean’s seminar of the academic year. Health Policy Advocacy in Today’s Climate: Expert Experiences & Guidance will be held on Oct. 3rd from 12-1 pm in the IALS Conference Room. This seminar brings together leaders in healthcare policy and administration for a panel discussion on how the campus community can actively seek support at the state and national level for public health research and initiatives at this critical juncture in our country. Please join us.
Other October events will include a Graduate School Prep Night, a Virtual Graduate School and Post-Baccalaureate Fair, our Majors Fair, the Kinesiology department’s Open Lab night, Fall Visit Days, and so much more. We’ll conclude the month with the Philip W. Johnston Massachusetts Health Policy Forum on the “Impacts of Impending Medicaid Cuts on Western Massachusetts” being held on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at the Fine Arts Center. This timely event, co-sponsored by SPHHS, will provide important context for how new federal legislation will affect the healthcare system throughout the region. A detailed agenda and registration link are coming soon.