Nearly two-thirds of transgender Massachusetts residents have experienced discrimination in places open to the public such as hotels, restaurants, stores, parks, public transportation, theaters, health care centers, and bathrooms, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. And these discriminatory experiences are linked with adverse health outcomes. The study was…

People who are a low weight at birth and have unhealthy habits as adults, such as eating nutritionally poor diets or smoking, may have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people born at an average weight who live similar lifestyles, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan…

More than 70% of pollen and honey samples collected from foraging bees in Massachusetts contain at least one neonicotinoid, a class of pesticide that has been implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which adult bees abandon their hives during winter, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The…

Harvard Business School has named Jodi Gernon (MBA ’91) as the new director of its Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Gernon assumes her leadership role at the center after more than 25 years of marketing and leadership experience and expertise in areas such as consumer healthcare, e-commerce, and mobile. She has been involved with a number…

People who are a low weight at birth and have unhealthy habits as adults, such as eating nutritionally poor diets or smoking, may have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people born at an average weight who live similar lifestyles, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan…

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is excited to announce a writing competition to identify innovative multistakeholder governance groups and help us understand the conditions under which they are most effective. We are seeking original papers (8 to 12 pages, single spaced) that help us better understand innovative, globally diverse governance groups. The deadline…

In recognition of a career distinguished by meticulously researched investigations, intrepid questioning, and reporting that has challenged both conventional wisdom and mainstream media, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard will present journalist Robert Parry with the 2015 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence during a ceremony on Oct. 22, 2015. Parry established the website…

Alumna’s instructional videos transform frontline health care globally In rural South Sudan, the population barely tops four people per square mile. Vehicles are a rarity. And when night falls, a limitless silence descends. Despite this isolation, Deborah Van Dyke, M.P.H. ’93, was rattled awake late one evening by a woman pounding urgently on her door.…

Training for the fall season of school programs at the Arnold Arboretum begins Aug. 27. We are looking for outgoing and mature adults who can commit to two years of volunteering. You do not need to know about plants, but experience working with children is preferred. If you are interested, please contact the manager of…

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ 2013 renovation of one of the Museum of Comparative Zoology’s research spaces recently received LEED platinum certification – the highest rating possible – from the U.S. Green Building Council. “These new sustainable and energy-efficient facilities will not only allow our faculty, students, and staff to conduct better research, but…

A study of former child soldiers and other youth impacted by the civil war in Sierra Leone shows that treating the youngsters’ depression and anxiety can have long-lasting payoffs. “We were surprised to see the large role that targeting symptoms of hopelessness and depression played across many years of observing war-affected youth,” said lead author…

Pregnant women who have epilepsy appear to be at greater risk of dying during childbirth than women without the condition, even though the risk is small, according to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study. “Specifically, there were 80 deaths per 100,000 women with epilepsy versus six deaths per 100,000 in women without…

Lots of heat waves and cold snaps can increase mortality rates, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Previous studies have shown that more people die when it gets very hot or very cold. But those studies looked only at short-term death rates, so don’t shed light on the…

Men exposed to high levels of formaldehyde on the job—mostly funeral directors—may have triple the death risk from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, as men with lower levels of exposure, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published in the July…

A new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers has found that it would be cost-effective to treat 48-67% of all adults aged 40-75 in the U.S. with cholesterol-lowering statins. By expanding the current recommended treatment guidelines and boosting the percentage of adults taking statins, an additional 161,560 cardiovascular-related events could be…

A panel reviewing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa says WHO “must re-establish its pre-eminence as the guardian of global public health.” The epidemic began in December 2013, resulting in more than 11,000 deaths. Dean Julio Frenk is one of six members on the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel—a group…

Up to 2,100 Air Force reservists who may have been exposed to harmful levels of Agent Orange on contaminated cargo planes are now eligible for disability benefits from the Veterans Administration (VA). The VA announced its decision on June 18, 2015 after a VA-ordered report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), issued in January, concluded…

Internationally acclaimed Cuban musician, composer, saxophonist, percussionist, bandleader, and educator Yosvany Terry has been appointed director of Jazz Ensembles and visiting senior lecturer on music at Harvard University for the 2015-16 academic year. In this new joint position of the Department of Music and the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA), Terry will oversee…

As we celebrate our nation’s birth this July Fourth with parades, fireworks, and BBQs, we revisit the year 1776 to ask about the reasons for the American Revolution. What inspired thousands of ordinary Americans to risk their lives and fight against the British, the most powerful empire in the world? At least part of the…

Longer secondary schooling substantially reduces the risk of HIV infection—especially for girls—and could be a very cost-effective way to halt the spread of the virus, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In a study in Botswana, researchers found that, for each additional year of secondary school, students lowered their risk…

Women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft to treat menopausal symptoms are up to 76% more likely to break a bone, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. SSRIs, most often used to treat depression, are also frequently prescribed for hot…

Women with elevated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) consistent with the clinical threshold for the disorder had 60% higher rates of having a heart attack or stroke compared with women who never experienced trauma, according to scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.…

Insomnia, sleep apnea, snoring, and other sleep difficulties common among older adults are more common among blacks, Chinese, and Hispanics in America than in whites and may contribute to health disparities, according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School (HMS). The study was published in the…

The journal Health and Human Rights, based at the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, highlights bioethics and the right to health in its June 2015 issue. It also includes papers on child trafficking in the U.S., sex workers’ right to health in Cambodia and the U.S.,…

John McDonough, professor of public health practice, was a senior adviser on health reform in the Senate from 2008 to 2010, where he worked on the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act. He weighs in on the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutionality of federal tax subsidies to help lower-income people buy health…

Since at least 1983, when a Harvard Law student wrote a third-year paper exploring a human rights argument for same-sex marriage, HLS has participated in anticipating, shaping, critiquing, analyzing and guiding the long path toward marriage equality. In the 1980s, Harvard Law students wrote papers and student notes  debating the pros and cons of a constitutional right to…

Xiao-Li Meng, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics, today announced Allen Aloise has been appointed the dean for administration and finance for GSAS effective July 15, 2015. In this leadership role, Aloise will serve as chief administrator, strengthening and sustaining the overall planning,…

Students, faculty, and staff of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health gathered on June 24 at a vigil in memory and honor of the nine victims of the June 17 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. The racially motivated killings at the historic black church shocked the nation…

A new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that a malaria parasite protein called calcineurin is essential for parasite invasion into red blood cells. Human calcineurin is already a proven target for drugs treating other illnesses including adult rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and the new findings suggest that…

For Ashish Jha, teaching a massive open online course (MOOC) through the digital platform HarvardX was an opportunity to try a new model for learning. Rather than attempt to replicate the classroom experience, Jha, K.T. Li Professor of International Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health…