Dessert shouldn’t have to be a tradeoff between unhealthy ingredients and flavor, according to Walter Willett of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Willett, chair of the School’s Department of Nutrition and Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, is on a mission to reimagine dessert around what he calls the Three Pleasures:…

“Being Mortal,” the PBS documentary based on the 2014 book of the same name by surgeon, writer, and public health researcher Atul Gawande, has been nominated for an Emmy award. The documentary, which first aired on PBS’s “Frontline” program in February 2015, explores how doctors struggle to care for their dying patients. “Being Mortal” is…

Collegiate gymnasts may have been exposed to flame retardant chemicals from polyurethane foam safety equipment, such as pit cubes and landing mats, according to a small pilot study led by a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher. Flame retardants are associated with neurological and reproductive toxicity and cancer. The study was published online…

Australia-Harvard Fellowships are offered by the Harvard Club of Australia Foundation supporting learned exchange between Harvard University and Australia. These fellowships are aimed at creative scientists normally based at Harvard who have a persuasive plan for collaborative work in Australia with Australia’s best bioscience researchers and educators. The award also supports Australian researchers who wish to…

Induction of labor appears not to be associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorders in children in a large new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The new finding suggests that concern about autism risk should not factor into clinical decisions about whether or not to induce labor. The study…

As new vaccines are introduced—some of them quite costly—accurate information on the cost and financing of national immunization programs can be lacking. Research and a new website developed at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are designed to help governments worldwide manage their immunization programs and…

The nation’s pediatricians are launching new efforts to help their young patients avoid being traumatized by gun violence and racism. In July 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued recommendations to shield children from media violence, and called on policymakers and the entertainment industry to address the proven link between virtual and real violence.…

Facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon David Shaye, an MPH student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, spends three months every year as a volunteer surgeon and instructor in Rwanda. Shaye, who practices at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and teaches at Harvard Medical School, wrote about his experiences in a WBUR CommonHealth blog posted July…

Health economist Katherine Baicker of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health was interviewed on the July 13 episode of Politico’s “Pulse Check” podcast about her pioneering work with the Oregon health insurance experiment, what she thinks of Obamacare’s cost controls, and how her research helps inform health policies. Baicker, C. Boyden Gray Professor of…

The Eighth New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC), presented under the auspices of The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation of New York, has crowned the winners of the competition. Harvard College student Aristo Sham ’18 claimed the Joyce B. Cowin First Prize, along with a $10,000 cash award and concert and recital appearances presented by the…

Being overweight or obese is associated with a higher risk of dying prematurely than being normal weight—and the risk increases with additional pounds, according to a large international collaborative study led by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of Cambridge, UK. The findings contradict recent reports that suggest…

Michelle Williams, new Dean of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Paula Johnson, new president of Wellesley College and a professor in Harvard Chan School’s Department of Epidemiology, talked about their milestone achievements and education in Boston in a Q&A in the July 2016 issue of Boston Magazine. Both women represent historic firsts.…

Black men, compared to white men, were at a five to 19 times greater risk of a law enforcement-related death over the past 50 years, according to a study led by Nancy Krieger, professor of social epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She recently spoke to Voice of America about a report…

Disbelief from last month’s vote for Brexit lingers. Proponents of Britain’s continued EU membership want to revisit the decision. Some hope the British parliament will vote against implementing the referendum, or that the next prime minister will decide not to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. Others suggest Scotland could refuse to consent…

Solar-powered bike paths that can melt snow and ice; pollution-eating vacuum towers near bicycle paths; bicycle parking stations with lockers, rest rooms, and showers; and bicycle wheels with rechargeable batteries that help propel riders up hills are just a few of the 70 innovations—some already in place, others still on the drawing board—outlined in a…

Challenges faced by Brazil to reduce pollution and upgrade the slums of Rio de Janeiro prior to the August 2016 Summer Olympics illustrates the struggles faced when trying to protect the respiratory health of approximately a billion people living in slums globally, Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard T.H. Chan School…

Consuming higher amounts of unsaturated fats was associated with lower mortality, according to a study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In a large study population followed for more than three decades, researchers found that higher consumption of saturated and trans fats was linked with higher mortality compared with the same number of…

Harvard Law School and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University are pleased to announce that Michael R. Klein, LL.M. ’67 has made a generous gift of $15 million to the Berkman Center. In recognition, the Center will now be known as the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. “This gift…

As we age, every stumble or fall comes with a risk—a risk that is even greater for those 10 million people in the U.S. who have osteoporosis, a skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass, poor bone quality, and fractures. Each year, 1.5 million bone fractures are attributed to osteoporosis, including 350,000 hip fractures. But hip…

Albert Hofman has been named the Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology  at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, effective July 1. Hofman comes to Harvard from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he was Professor of Epidemiology and Chair of…

John Jackson, S.D. ’13, and Sonja Swanson, S.D. ’14, are the winners of the 2016 Kenneth Rothman Epidemiology Prize. The award is given annually for the best paper published in Epidemiology in the preceding year, and was announced in the journal’s July 2016 issue. It was presented June 23 at the Epidemiology Congress of the…

Women who attend religious services at least once a week may have a lower risk of suicide than those who never attend services, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published online June 29, 2016 in JAMA Psychiatry. Tyler VanderWeele, professor of epidemiology,…

The trillions of microbes that transfer from people to surfaces could provide an early warning system for the emergence of public health threats such as a flu outbreak or a rise in antibiotic resistance, according to a study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers took to the Boston subway system to find…

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently welcomed 10 new fellows into the Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) program. MIRT is a national program aimed at encouraging students who are members of underrepresented minority groups to pursue careers in biomedical and behavioral science research and it provides placement and funding for summer international field…