Epidemiology

With the United States facing its largest single measles outbreak in 25 years, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for the disease, including vitamins, according to an H.H.S. spokesman. The decision is the latest in a series of actions by the nation’s top health official that experts fear will undermine public confidence in vaccines as an essential public health tool.

Disease trackers say cases are likely not connected, but definitive answers may prove elusive....“Without additional information, no conclusion can be reached: if it is due to chance, or some potential work-related exposure,” said Tongzhang Zheng, an epidemiology professor in the Brown School of Public Health, who is not involved in the Newton-Wellesley investigation.

Research out of Brown University is making its way to the national spotlight. It concerns the overdose prevention center in Providence.

Aggressive deportation tactics have terrorized farmworkers at the center of the nation’s bird flu strategy, public health workers say, including Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University.

There’s a theory of cancer causation that I’ve been thinking about recently called the two-hit hypothesis. It proposes that cancer begins with two mutations: one that can be inherited and one that is influenced by environmental or other factors. Public health seems to be in the midst of experiencing two hits. The result could be deadly.

What are the biggest threats to the health security of the American people? There are some strong candidates. Avian influenza is spreading in birds, cattle, and 50 mammalian species. Measles cases are surging at home and abroad. COVID-19 is still spreading and could mutate into a more deadly strain. Farther afield, Uganda continues to respond to an Ebola outbreak and Mpox has been seen in 127 countries. But perhaps the biggest threat to America’s health could be self-inflicted.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals are everywhere—in our homes, our clothing, the personal care products we use and in our bodies. Postdoctoral researcher Amber Hall explains the dangers PFAS pose, especially to developing humans, and offers suggestions for avoiding them.

The question of whether harm reduction efforts are failing remains complex. To delve deeper into this evolving issue, Newsweek has reached out to medical experts for further insights.

Over the past three decades, routine immunizations have prevented 1.1 million deaths and saved the United States $540 billion, the C.D.C. estimated.

Brown University researchers take a deep dive into the barriers that are disincentivizing health insurers from covering the mindfulness–based health program.

When I began my Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary environmental studies program, students further along in the program warned it was going to be particularly hard for us to get academic jobs. They pointed out that among the brilliant and productive faculty who enthusiastically taught our program, none had in fact received training like ours— they all had Ph.D.s in clearly defined fields.

After Joe Silva graduates from Brown’s School of Public Health, he will begin a two year role as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the U.S. Government.

Brown researchers examined hundreds of thousands of veterans’ health records to determine if exposure to burn pits on military bases correlates with elevated risk for respiratory and cardiac health conditions.

Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, U.S. health officials announced Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its longstanding guidance, saying that people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it’s been a day since they’ve had a fever.

In mid-February, a measles outbreak started at the Manatee Bay Elementary School in Broward County in South Florida. There are now at least nine cases in the county and one additional one in Polk County in Central Florida.

An analysis of health care claims data, conducted in partnership with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, finds billions in excess health care spending following COVID-19 infection, and has important implications for pandemic preparedness.

Dr. Francesca Beaudoin was the first physician in the nation to serve patients in a mobile drug recovery unit. The van, an innovative public health intervention on wheels, delivers services to individuals suffering from substance use disorder in Rhode Island’s underserved communities.

The CDC says we should isolate for five days after testing positive. Other public health officials disagree. Who is right?

Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, visits Brown to share perspective on public health response in New York — from the Omicron wave to today.

PFAS can be found in just about everything, but there are a few things you can do to reduce your exposure.

Over the coming months, more than 100,000 Americans will likely die, mostly unnecessarily, from respiratory infections. Yes, that is the reality we are now facing this fall and winter—and likely every fall and winter for the foreseeable future. Unless we act.

WBUR reached out to Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, to understand the coming virus season, and how vaccines could help to reduce the risk of illness.

COVID cases are on the rise and this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that anyone who is six months or older get the new COVID-19 vaccines. Health reporter Lynn Arditi talked about the new vaccines with Doctor Ashish Jha, former White House COVID advisor and current dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.

Noise pollution is a physical and mental stressor with real health impacts, Professor Erica Walker tells NPR. "It's going to the emergency room for a panic attack, it's 'I can't sleep,' 'I can't hear my children.' It's all of those things," she says.

Given the late summer wave of COVID infections, you might have questions about how best to protect yourself and others. In The Boston Globe, Professor Jennifer Nuzzo tackles one of the most pressing issues: When should you get your next shot?

Professor Tongzhang Zheng digs deeper into disease etiology.

Professor of epidemiology Erica Walker weighed in for this comprehensive article for the New York Times.

Professor of epidemiology Joe Braun discusses his study about the low birth rate effects of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals.”

The Pandemic Center, the School of Public Health’s newest research center, was launched last fall with the mission of using positive disruption to stop pandemics and other biological emergencies before they can gain momentum and upend our lives and livelihoods.

Standardizing reporting of abnormalities could minimize mortality, healthcare costs and unnecessary medical interventions.

Dr. Francesca Beaudoin, associate professor of epidemiology and of emergency medicine, has been appointed chair of the Department of Epidemiology.

A new study from epidemiologists at Brown examines the efficiency of different naloxone distribution methods to reduce health inequities and save lives.

In tackling monkeypox head on, Brown faculty members bypass the ivory tower in favor of the streets.

New research supported by the National Institute on Aging will study the effects of multiple medications on older adults with the aim of reducing harms and improving efficiency.

In this opinion piece, Professor of Epidemiology Jennifer Nuzzo weighed in on some of the questions New York Times readers have on how to navigate this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health effects of chemical pollutants called “forever chemicals” are becoming indisputable, says epidemiologist Joseph Braun.

“Although the reported number of cases in the U.S. is now over 100,000 per day, the real number is clearly orders of magnitude higher,” Brown University School of Public Health epidemiologist Mark Lurie told The Journal. “We are clearly experiencing the next wave; who among us doesn't know multiple people who have been infected during this wave?”

Epidemiologist Erica Walker returns home to study the environmental quality of Jackson, Mississippi.

The founder of the Community Noise Lab will partner with the Piney Woods School on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study of the air, noise, and water quality of the Jackson, Mississippi Metro area.

Exposure to PFAS has been linked to cardiometabolic disease risk factors like obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension.