National Public Health Week

National Public Health Week is April 6 - 12, 2026. It is an annual week of events, conferences and lectures highlighting the importance of public health in our lives.

Breadcrumb

Research showcase celebrates the innovation and ideas of Brown public health students

National Public Health Week offered students at Brown’s School of Public Health the opportunity to discuss the impact of their research projects and learn about the work of others.

National Public Health Week

National Public Health Week is April 6 - 12, 2026. It is an annual week of events, conferences and lectures highlighting the importance of public health in our lives.

Organized by the American Public Health Association (APHA) since 1995, National Public Health Week takes place during the first full week of April every year. Brown celebrates by hosting multiple special events, including a student research conference, Public Health Research Day.

2026 Theme: Ready. Set. Action!

This theme recognizes how public health has improved our daily lives, safeguarded our families, expanded our life spans and strengthened our communities. This week is also a chance to honor the public health workers who show up for us every day — and to advocate for policies and practices that promote good health for all.

Featured Event

The 2026 Barnes Lecture with Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi

Thursday April 9 at 4:00 p.m., 225 Dyer Street
Conversation and Q&A followed by a reception

Nishtar

Please join us for a special National Public Health Week conversation with Sania Nishtar, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Nishtar is also a member of the SPH Board of Governors.

Find out more and register

Other events

Trust in Data/Research Panel - What Threatens, Makes, and Maintains It

Monday April 6 at 5:00 p.m.
Andrews House Room 106

Join the Data Science Institute and Cogut Institute for a panel with experts on what threatens, makes, and maintains trust in data and research. 

Find out more and register

2026 Emerging Areas of Science IDeA Symposium

AI in Research - Promises and Perils
Tuesday April 7 at 8 a.m.

The annual Emerging Areas of Science RI IDeA Symposium is an opportunity for investigators to come together to network and share their ongoing research. This year’s topic is “AI in Research: Promises and Perils.”

Find out more and register

Jenny Luray ’82: Even the Lab Rats Are Male (Mostly)

Research and Gender Equity
Tuesday April 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
Pembroke Hall Room 305

Luray

In this lunchtime conversation with Jenny Luray ’82, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Public Engagement at Research America, we will explore how changes in the demographic make-up of Congress and in fields like science, medicine, engineering, and finance, have led to advances in women’s health research and continue to have an impact on all Americans.

Find out more and register

Public Health Research Day

Tuesday, April 7, 2026 from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Alumnae Hall, 194 Meeting Street, Providence

Research Day

The School of Public Health's annual conference highlighting the research accomplishments of Brown's students, trainees, and partners. All members of the Brown community are welcome to visit the poster session to learn more about Brown students’ high-impact public health work.

Find out more about Public Health Research Day

Sharad Goel: Data Matters Seminar

Tuesday April 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Data Science Institute, 164 Angell Street

Goel

Featuring Sharad Goel, professor of public policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Find out more and register

SPH Common Grounds | Research Week Edition

Wednesday April 8, 2026 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
121 South Main Street room 361

Start your day with coffee, pastry and a chat with fellow SPH colleagues at this Common Grounds coffee hour. All SPH students, faculty and staff are welcome.

Resiliency After: Finding Joy & Meaning

Wednesday April 8 at 11:00 a.m.
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Zoom only

Tykra

Focused on rebuilding strength and purpose following life’s challenges, this session will be led by Audrey R. Tyrka, M.D., Ph.D.

Find out more and register

Seeing Through Epidemiologic Fallacies

How statistics safeguards scientific communication in a polarized era
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at noon
Jeffrey S Morris, Ph.D.

Jolly

Observational data underpin many biomedical and public-health decisions, yet they are easy to misread, sometimes inadvertently, sometimes deliberately, especially in fast-moving, polarized environments during and after the pandemic. This talk uses concrete COVID-19 and vaccine-safety case studies to highlight foundational pitfalls: base-rate fallacy, Simpson’s paradox, post-hoc/time confounding, mismatched risk windows, differential follow-up, and biases driven by surveillance and health-care utilization.

Find out more and register

Alvaro Bedoya: How Corporate Power Creates Pharmacy Deserts

Wednesday April 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Petteruti Lounge (room 201) in Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center

Bedoya

Former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya will be speaking about his time on the Federal Trade Commission, meeting people in urban and rural communities across the country and seeing first hand how monopolies impact independent pharmacies and create pharmacy deserts.

This event is part of the People, Place and Health Collective’s seminar series: The 1st. This series (named after the First Amendment) brings together speakers from across the United States to talk about issues in public health in a time when there is unprecedented attacks on science and academic freedom.

Find out more and register

Rhode Island’s Health Landscape: An Introductory Overview

Wednesday April 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Swearer Center

This Swearer Center workshop is part one in a two-part series exploring the health and community engagement landscape in Rhode Island.

Find out more and Register

After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People

Thursday April 9 at noon
Mencoff Hall room 205

Spears

Dean Spears will discuss what depopulation would mean for the climate, for living standards, for equity, for progress, for freedom, and for humanity’s general welfare.

Find out more and register

Co-Designing the Future of Global Health

Building Community-Centered AI and Digital Tools
Thursday April 9 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Washington Hilton, Fairchild Room (Washington D.C.)

Explore the various categories of AI and machine learning, the differences between types of models and how to shape AI effectively for communities worldwide.

Find out more and register

Community-Engaged Health Partners Panel

Thursday April 9 at 4:00 p.m.
Sciences Library room 720

This Swearer Center workshop is part two in a two-part series exploring the health and community engagement landscape in Rhode Island.

Find out more and register

CAAS Rounds: Barbara Andraka-Christou

Friday April 10 at noon
121 South Main Street, Room 245

Jolly

Barbara Andraka-Christou, Ph.D., J.D., is an associate professor in the School of Global Health Management and Informatics with a joint secondary appointment in the College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida. 

Find out more about this event

Explore SPH offerings

Public Health Research Day

The School of Public Health’s annual poster conference showcases the public health research of Brown students at all levels, along with our trainees and partners.
Visit Page

Research showcase celebrates the innovation and ideas of Brown public health students

National Public Health Week offered students at Brown’s School of Public Health the opportunity to discuss the impact of their research projects and learn about the work of others.