UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences

09/04/2026

As we welcome students back to campus this week, three of them tell us how they thrived in their summer internships with support from the SPHHS Office of Career Planning through Summer '26 Unpaid Internship and Unpaid Practicum Scholarships. Members from each group received $2,000 as a financial boost while they focused on an internship or practicum related to their career area of interest, major, or life goals.

Among the students the OCP awarded scholarships were MPH student Kayanna Franklin, rising senior Shakira Cadet, and rising junior Ella McTasney. Learn more about their experiences at the link.

Students had the opportunity to focus primarily on their unpaid internships with a boost from a scholarship from the Office of Career Planning.

09/03/2026

A recent review led by Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and published by the non-profit Cochrane has found e-cigarettes containing ni****ne are more effective in helping people quit smoking than other ni****ne replacement therapies, such as gum or patches. The analysis, part of an ongoing living systematic review that is updated as new evidence becomes available, examined 80 randomized controlled trials involving 29,861 participants, nine of which were new to this update.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, resulting in more than seven million deaths per year, including 1.6 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke, according to the World Health Organization.

“We have very strong evidence that regulated ni****ne e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than smoking,” Hartmann-Boyce, said. “Based on the consistency of the findings here, it’s clear that they are a proven and viable option for people wishing to quit traditional cigarettes.”

A new review of research has found e-cigarettes containing ni****ne are more effective in helping people quit smoking than other ni****ne replacement therapies.

09/02/2026

Interested in building your professional skills? Our one-credit skill-building seminar series offers opportunities for current and future professionals to develop new competencies and hone their expertise in subject areas designed for today's workforce.

Learn how to enroll in our one-credit seminar series this fall >> https://www.umass.edu/registrar/non-degree-enrollment

Contact us for more information: Office of Professional Programs UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences: [email protected]

09/01/2026

The School of Public Health and Health Sciences has announced the appointment of Professor Elizabeth Evans as Chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Policy effective September 1, 2026. Evans previously served in an interim capacity and as associate chair for the past year. She takes over the position from Sarah Goff.

Evans joined the department in 2017. During this time, she’s been awarded multiple federally-funded grants, including multi-million-dollar awards through NIH’s Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) initiative.

Read more >> https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/news/evans-appointed-chair-health-promotion-and-policy

09/01/2026

In her August message, Dean Anna Maria Siega-Riz welcomes new faculty and staff and honors their promotions, highlights September events, and discuses the new art installations exhibited in the SPHHS Hub, including a Photovoice project from recent graduate Mira Weil '26PhD and a painting donated by artist Saleem Nasrullah and her son, kinesiology alumnus Imran Nasrullah '87.

"More artwork is coming in September as part of our NeuroArts campaign to make connections between the arts and wellbeing," she writes. "Take time to enjoy these exhibits."

Read her monthly message >> https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/news/deans-message-august-2026

08/28/2026

Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Alicia Timme-Laragy is the recipient of two new NIH grants totaling nearly $6M to further her work examining the impact of environmental contaminants on human health using the zebrafish model. The first award will allow Timme-Laragy, along with collaborators Craig Albertson, Gerald Downs and Rolf Karlstrom from the College of Natural Sciences, and Erik Learned-Miller from the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, to enhance equipment across four independently run zebrafish laboratories on campus. The second study will examine whether early exposure to PFAS chemicals causes pancreatic malformations, which can lead to obesity, pancreatitis and diabetes.

https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/news/timme-laragy-zebrafish-research-projects

08/26/2026

Congratulations to SPHHS faculty members Leontine Alkema, Michal Horný, Joshua Liddy, and Krishna Poudel! They are among the UMass Amherst researchers awarded Faculty Research/Healey Endowment Grants by the Office of Research Development. The grant program supports projects with high potential for future publication and funding from outside of the university, or recognition of excellence. In total, 12 projects received funding for the 2026 cycle.

Leontine Alkema, Michal H***y, Joshua Liddy, and Krishna Poudel are among the UMass Amherst researchers awarded Faculty Research/Healey Endowment Grants.

08/20/2026

Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Carrie Nobles and her team of doctoral candidates, Gabrielle Johnson and Kaniz Rabeya, had a successful summer sharing their research at the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research Annual Conferences. 🔬

Visit https://www.umass.edu/public-health-sciences/news/nobles-lab-members-unveil-findings to learn all about their findings, the talks the trio led, and the posters they presented!

08/18/2026

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce has co-authored an article appearing in The Conversation examining teen smoking and va**ng rates. Both are in decline among middle school and high school students, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2025 National Youth To***co Survey, released in July 2026. The survey found that smoking – the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. and worldwide – is at a historic low among U.S. youth, at just 1.4%. Meanwhile, the use of ni****ne vapes, or e-cigarettes, fell to 5.2% in 2025, the lowest it’s been since its peak in 2019.

"Just because to***co and ni****ne use is declining among young people in the U.S. and in some other populations, it doesn’t mean that these substances are no longer a public health problem," the authors write. "Adult usage is holding steady, and there’s no guarantee that young people will continue abstaining."

A new FDA survey finds some positive trends among young people in the US, though new forms of ni****ne use like pouches have become a bit more popular.

08/14/2026

Earlier this summer, Professor of Epidemiology Katherine Reeves traveled to Lyon, France, to join a working group for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization. The team looked at studies on the carcinogenicity of three chemicals: butyl benzyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, substances common in everyday items ranging from PVC and cable coatings to dust and personal care products.

Reeves was a member of the working group of 23 scientists from 13 countries who met to finalize their evaluation for the latest IARC Monograph. Their findings, reported in The Lancet, indicated that these chemicals are “possibly carcinogenic,” based on “strong” mechanistic evidence in experimental systems, but more research is needed regarding their impact on humans.

“There is definitely support from these laboratory studies and these animal studies that these agents can act in ways that we know can be carcinogenic,” Reeves said. “However, the study in humans is insufficient. And so, there's an opportunity for future research to hopefully give more information within humans as to whether or not these agents are carcinogens.”

Katherine Reeves traveled to France in June to join a working group for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the WHO's specialized cancer agency.