Newswise — BOSTON (Thursday, December 5, 2013) — Tufts University School of Medicine announced today the opening of the new Tufts Center for Global Public Health dedicated to addressing current and future global health challenges. Based in the School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, the center is focused on research, policy development and program implementation in the areas of infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health.
The Tufts Center for Global Public Health will examine diverse health issues through interdisciplinary research and the development of initiatives designed to address inequities and high burdens of disease. Center faculty have extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research, as well as capacity-building in global settings with limited resources. Partnering with local collaborators and communities, the center will work to make sustainable improvements in health outcomes in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and the United States. Research areas include infectious disease (including HIV/AIDS and diarrheal diseases); nutrition; food security; water sanitation and hygiene; maternal health; child health and development; and mobile health approaches.
“The work of the new Tufts Center for Global Public Health reflects our commitment to improving the human condition through education and discovery,” said Harris A. Berman, M.D., dean of Tufts University School of Medicine and professor of public health and community medicine. “As the world undergoes demographic, socio-cultural, economic and epidemiological transitions, research at the Tufts Center for Global Public Health seeks to stay ahead of the curve.”
Mkaya Mwamburi, M.D., Ph.D., director of the new center and associate professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, added, “We are deeply committed to understanding the diverse factors that lead to inequities between and within populations and high burdens of disease in certain regions with the goal of formulating practical, cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Our approach is based on getting directly involved with local stakeholders and engaging in capacity building.”
The Tufts Center for Global Public Health and its faculty are invested in a “OneHealth” approach that recognizes the importance of developing partnerships across disciplines. While based at Tufts University School of Medicine, the new center is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty will partner with colleagues at schools across Tufts University, including the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering.
For more information about the Tufts Center for Global Public Health, please visit the Center’s website.
About Tufts University School of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in innovative medical and population health education and advanced research. Tufts University School of Medicine emphasizes rigorous fundamentals in a dynamic learning environment to educate physicians, scientists, and public health professionals to become leaders in their fields. The School of Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in education in general medicine, the biomedical sciences, and public health, as well as for innovative research at the cellular, molecular, and population health level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and more than 30 health care facilities. Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School undertake research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation for its effect on the advancement of medical and prevention science.