Welcome to the Department of Public Health

As you take the time to explore our website and learn more about our Department, I invite you also to look at our 2003-2006 Department Report. Over the years, our Department has experienced sizable growth and progress as we pursue our goal of healthcare excellence through the union of the public health and bio-medical sciences.

We are committed to advancing scholarly research through the public health disciplines, strengthening medical education, and improving healthcare to the community, while helping to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our medical system. Our faculty are tackling some of the top issues in public health, from disease prevention to the rising cost and variable quality of healthcare to important public health problems including drug addiction, HIV/AIDS and bioterrorism – and our work reflects the growing need for attention to these matters.

Our Department occupies a special place as an integral part of an academic medical center. This allows us access to the Hospital and healthcare system as “laboratories.” We collaborate with fellow faculty and clinical investigators on biomedical and public health research of shared interest, and assist the Hospital on the delivery, quality and cost of care, as well as community outreach. At the same time, we function as an educational component of the Medical College, sharing our expertise with students and shaping the school’s curriculum. Our teaching helps students to acquire new knowledge and skills enabling them to improve the health of their patients and the communities they serve.

The future holds many opportunities for us. For example, we are thrilled to have Dr. Madhu Mazumdar on board as Chief of our Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. This Division answers the need within our Department and throughout the Medical Center for experts in research methods. Colleagues in the Division will assist others with designing, implementing and analyzing data from their research projects, while pursuing their own research to improve the tools and techniques for clinical and public health research.

I hope you too will share in our excitement for the future as we continue to enhance academic medicine and promote healthcare excellence through public health research and education and through collaboration with our partners in healthcare delivery.

Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M.
Chairman