1. Michigan Minds Podcast: Purpose and mattering, featuring John Piette, professor at the U-M School of Public Health

    Purpose and mattering. They’re essential to happiness and healthiness, researchers say. But those feelings can be hard to attain, especially for individuals who may be more prone to feeling purposeless. Professor John Piette, director of the U-M Center for Managing Chronic Disease, discusses V-SPEAK, his latest project with U.S. veterans.

  2. Kris Sarri: Combating climate change with a policy pen

    A thriving environment depends on engaging people in its stewardship, says Kris Sarri, MPH ’97. She has spent two decades in Washington, D.C., where her commitment to public health weaves together environmental protection and community development.

  3. History saved lives in this pandemic. Will society listen next time?

    Medical historian Howard Markel, MD/PhD, reflects on what the past three years of COVID-19 have taught us. ‘It’s not a matter of if we will have another pandemic, it’s a matter of when,’ he says.

  4. New guidelines on child obesity advise less watch and wait, more early intervention

    More than 14.4 million U.S. children and teens are at risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and behavioral health issues, if untreated, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  5. WHO director-general to receive Thomas Francis Jr. Medal

    In 2005, then-President Mary Sue Coleman inaugurated the Francis medal to honor public health pioneers. It debuted on the 50th anniversary of the historic announcement that U-M’s polio vaccine trials proved Jonas Salk’s vaccine to be “safe, effective, and potent.”

  6. Calling Dr. Brilliant

    When this seasoned epidemiologist launched his unconventional career in 1969, he fit the bill as the ‘hippie doctor’ with a penchant for Ram Dass and Wavy Gravy. Since then, this aptly named frontline worker has won public health victories over smallpox, blindness, Ebola, and COVID-19. Next? Monkeypox.

  7. Firearms are now the top cause of death among U.S. youth

    Firearms have surpassed motor vehicles as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States, according to new federal data analyzed by researchers at the University of Michigan.

  8. Nominations: Thomas Francis Jr. Medal in Global Public Health

    One of U-M’s highest honors is named for the U-M physician, virologist, and infectious disease researcher who proved the efficacy of the polio vaccine, developed by his student Jonas Salk. Submit your nominations through April.

  9. Good science changes: That’s a good thing

    Throughout history, the process of discovery has always involved correcting mistakes, clarifying our understanding, and adding deeper shades of nuance. These changes in our knowledge are features of science, not bugs.