2013-2014 Recaps

Taking Action to Address the U.S. Health Gap

Building on two critical reports published by the National Academy of Sciences, this year's speakers focused on the United States' declining health standing among peer nations—and the directions public health leaders must take to change this course.

The series was organized by Dean Linda P. Fried, Bruce Link, PhD, professor of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences (in Psychiatry), and Ronald Bayer, PhD, professor of Sociomedical Sciences.

	April 30, 2014 What Is To Be Done? School-wide discussion moderated by Ronald Bayer and Bruce Link Presenters Dubois Bowman, PhD, Chair and Professor of Biostatistics Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Chair and Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor of Epidemiology Lisa R. Metsch, PhD, Chair and Stephen Smith Professor of Sociomedical Sciences John Santelli, MD, MPH, Chair and Harriet and Robert H. Heilbrunn Professor of Population and Family Health Michael Sparer, PhD, JD, Chair and Professor of Health Policy and Management
	21st Annual Sewell Distinguished Lecture When Our Environment Acts Like Medicine... Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, ATS [BIO] Director of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program Birnbaum explored how chemicals in the environment affect our bodies much like medicines—but often with unwanted results. The discussion posed several questions, including: How do chemicals affect the endocrine and other physiological systems? How are they associated with the staggering increase in the rates of asthma and other diseases? And what actions can address these risk factors and improve health?
	February 26, 2014 7th Annual Isidore Benrubi Lecture Beyond Wages and Wealth How inequality harms our political institutions, our social fabric, and our well-being Joseph Stiglitz, PhD, FBS [BIO] Nobel Laureate University Professor at Columbia University
	February 5, 2014 Neighborhood Inequality, Well-Being, and the New Social Transformation of the American City Robert J. Sampson, PhD [BIO] Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences at Harvard University Director of the Boston Area Research Initiative at Radcliffe Institute
	December 11, 2013 U.S. Health Disadvantage Among the Poor Creating the Public Will for Policy Change Renee Wilson-Simmons, DrPH Director of the National Center for Children in Poverty Mailman School of Public Health Bruce Link, PhD Professor of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public Health
	November 13, 2013 Strategies for Domestic Health Transformation Ginny Ehrlich, EdD, MPH, MS [BIO] CEO of Clinton Health Matters Initiative
	October 9, 2013 Beyond Reform and Rebound Frontiers for Rethinking and Redirecting Health System Performance Bobby Milstein, PhD, MPH [BIO] Director of ReThink Health and Visiting Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management View the Facebook photo album
	September 18, 2013 The U.S. Health Disadvantage What is the Next Step for Public Health? Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH Director of Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health Editor of U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health, National Academies Press View the Facebook photo album