Dear Friends of the College,
July has arrived with very hot days here in Tucson! We eagerly await the arrival of our monsoon rains that will help to cool us down.

I hope everyone had a good Independence Day celebration. Activity in the college slows down during this time of year, so my Newsletter message will be shorter this month. I hope that our faculty and staff have the opportunity to enjoy vacation with family and friends during these summer weeks. Looking ahead, we prepare for our Fall 2023 semester that begins in August.

I want to start by congratulating Dr. Paloma Beamer and her team who were awarded a $10 million grant for the Western Environmental Science Technical Assistance Center for Environmental Justice (WEST EJ Center) to advance and promote environmental and energy justice programs in underserved communities in four western states. Thanks to all our faculty and staff who helped with this grant, it is a big win for public health!

One Health research is often entwined with environmental justice issues, and I encourage everyone to learn about the many connections between One Health and access to clean water in the recap story about our Spring 2023 One Health Symposium. The theme for this recent symposium was ‘Water is Life’ and researchers from many fields shared their insights on this vital topic. You can see videos of the symposium presentations as part of the story.

Global Health News
I recently returned from a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia with many of our Arizona International colleagues to visit the University of Arizona micro-campus there and review our many global partnerships. I’m pleased to report that my presentation about our Global Health Institute and our many international partnerships was very well received.

We were  very pleased to announce the award of Global Flu View (GFV) to the college. A digital platform for tracking the spread of infectious disease worldwide, GFV was developed by Ending Pandemics and now, as one of our international programs, the platform will provide unique educational opportunities for our students and additional research opportunities for both faculty and students.

To advance education in global health research and practice, we recently announced our new Online MPH in Global Health that will train working professionals and remote students to solve emerging global public health challenges, and to implement health programs in communities and countries around the world.

Several of our students are participating in global programs this summer through our Global Health Institute Scholars program, and I look forward to hearing about their experiences. We continue to grow our partnerships and programs internationally.

One of our outstanding Global Health Institute Scholars from last summer, doctoral student Priyanka Ravi, leads an innovative occupational health research study with tobacco workers in Mysore, India this summer that will help to improve working conditions. Congratulations Priyanka!

Finally, we hosted a delegation of scientists and leaders from Africa to build partnerships working towards Climate Resiliency and Health Security. The visit was organized by Dr. Kacey Ernst and Dr. Gaby Valdez who leads our Global Health Institute, with collaboration from the Arizona Institute for Resilience.

Gratitude for Our Community
I thank all of you for your ongoing support of the College and our public health mission. We live in troubling times, and so often public health offers solutions to the widespread suffering in this world. 

This summer I hope everyone has time to rest from a very busy spring, connect with family and friends, and prepare for our Fall 2023 semester. As always, I look forward to working with you to support our diverse communities, both locally and globally, with the best public health education, service, and research.

Best Wishes for your Health and Safety,
Iman

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Frank von Hippel, PhD, teamed with other researchers for an environmental monitoring project on Amaknak Island in Alaska's Aleutian chain. The group worked with the Qawalangin tribe to identify contamination sources dating to World War II, such as oil tanks and chemicals, that pollute streams and soils and impact traditional subsistence foods.

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Daniel Derksen, MD, is quoted in this story about how the Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) have partnered with the Center for Excellence in Rural Education (CERE)  to better serve rural counties in Arizona.