The Bridge: Hofstra MPH Newsletter

American Public Health Association Advocacy Bootcamp During the summer of 2019, three Master of Public Health Students from Hofstra University had the opportunity to travel to the nation's capital to attend an advocacy bootcamp hosted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) where they trained in all things advocacy. Before they embarked on their advocacy journey as future public health practitioners, they had a briefing session with Senator Hanon, Dean Holly, and MPH faculty. This session addressed various advocacy barriers and how to navigate the tough terrain of health care advocacy. While each year the bootcamp has a different emphasis, this year focused on climate change, and they took away from the experience that climate change is a threat to public health. The students were able to learn how climate change is a community health crisis and how it affects them in their own communities.  These Hofstra students were immersed with students from all ...

Welcome message from the Director Welcome to the Hofstra University Master of Public Health (MPH) and Advance Certificate program! Your timing could not be better to decide to begin or continue your education in field public health. We are professionals who contribute a unique perspective to health by focusing on disease prevention, health promotion and policy. Public health professionals also bring a wide range of skills that we actively engage in our work. We conduct research. We partner with communities. We communicate and educate. Our strength comes from our interdisciplinary design and turning data to action.  The faculty in the public health programs at Hofstra are focused on your success. During your time as students, you will partner with us to learn the core functions and competencies that are required for active participation as a publi...

National Public Health Week Keynote: Dr. Homer Venters Courtney File Hofstra University’s National Public Health Week allows for students and faculty to gain knowledge from distinguished guests. This year’s keynote speaker Dr. Homer Venters, a physician, epidemiologist and well-known leader in health and human rights issues did not disappoint. Dr. Venters presented new, strategies which he hopes will drastically, reduce health related problems in prisons. His new book, Life and Death in Rikers Island , outlines health risks in jails and prisons. Dr. Venters stresses, “it is embarrassing how little we know about how and why people die behind bars.” Dr. Venters discussed severe punishments and their impact on mental health issues. For example, Solitary Confinement, the “practice of putting someone in a cell by themselves for 20-23 hours per day,” is one such punishment with adverse psychological effects. One outcome is suicidal tendencies. Dr. Venter pointed out, “Suicide...

Janine Logan, the Public Health Community’s Voice By Courtney File                Janine Logan, is a well-known name in the Long Island Public Health community. With multiple positions such as, Senior Director of Communications and Population Health on the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council and Director of the Long Island Population Health Program and the Long Island Health Collaborative, her impressive resume speaks for itself. Hofstra University Public Health students had the privilege of attending a professional development seminar taught by Ms. Logan. During this discussion, Logan argued how important awareness of Public Health is. She even stated, “it never fails, awareness is the problem.” Communication is of the upmost importance in Public Health, “appropriately delivering a message to different audiences is crucial,” Logan emphatically stated. The Long Island Health collaborative, which is made up of 22 different ho...

Greetings from the MPH Director Dr. Isma H. Chaudhry, MD., MPH Welcome to the 2018-19 academic year edition (Volume 9) of the Hofstra MPH newsletter, The Bridge. We are excited to welcome all our MPH and Advanced Certificate students to the Fall and Spring Semesters. The MPH at Hofstra offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to Public Health through an enriched academic curriculum. We are a highly respected accredited MPH program on Long Island, and we are proud of our alumni who have successfully made their mark as accomplished academics and successful Public Health Practitioners. Our new 12sh Advanced Certificate in Foundations of Public Health is intended for professionals working in a public health agency or organization, or professionals in a related health or human services field who wish to gain a specific set of skills and evidence-based approaches used in the profession of public health. We had another successful year, and are excited to share some of the ...

Dr. Chanapong Rojanaworarit is joining Hofstra University’s MPH program as an assistant professor in the Department of Health Professions, School of Health Professions and Human Services. Dr. Rojanaworarit is a doctor of dental surgery with an MPH in health system development and a PhD in Public health. He also completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in the department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. He has worked as a dentist since 2007. He has also taught epidemiology since 2013 as a lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Thailand.   He has experience in teaching several courses at master and doctoral levels including principles of epidemiology, statistical methods in epidemiology, public health research methodology, oral epidemiology, and dental public health. He also served as a member of executive committee for Master of Public Health Prog...

The commencement ceremony is a da of pride in every student’s life. Achieving your goal and being rewarded for the efforts are the sweet treats of a person’s life in college. The Spring 2018 Commencement Day at Hofstra University was celebrated on May 20 th , 2018. This day marked the graduation of many young talents I their respective fields. Over a hundred students celebrated their big day in the campus of the University. The ceremony began with a few worthy words from the guest of honor followed by the distribution of the graduation degrees to the students of the Master program and the PhD program from different departments, awarding the professors with the excellence awards and ended with several smiling faces of new professionals. The guest of honor for the Spring 2018 Commencement ceremony was Alan Krueger , PhD, Princeton University professor of economics and public affairs and former chairman of President Barack Obama’s White House Council of Economic Advisers. He serve...

Public Health Alumni Association: Hofstra University's Public Health Alumni Association (PHAA) has been established to build and strengthen personal and professional relationships among public health alumni and current Hofstra MPH students, faculty, public health professionals, and the community.   In addition to regularly scheduled meetings, PHAA works actively to establish an engaged, connected alumni network. It is PHAA's goal to promote the professional development of alumni, organize networking and mentorship programs, and plan social networking events – all in connection with the mission and vision of both Hofstra's MPH program and its graduate student organization, Society of Public Health Advocates.  2017-2018 PHAA ·          Newsletters featuring Hofstra MPH Alumni Spotlights, Upcoming Events, Career Opportunities, and more! ·          Spring 2017, Career Panel Event duri...