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University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Office of the Dean 130 DeSoto Street Pittsburgh, PA 15261 412-624-5200 publichealth.pitt.edu HOW CAN WE CREATE A HEALTHIER WORLD? The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. Founded 60 years ago in response to the needs of industrial Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) is recognized for its contributions to public health on local, national, and international fronts. Our integrated programs in education, research, and service prepare public health practitioners and help create the evidence-based knowledge that drives effective public health practices and improves the management of health systems. GSPH stands as a partner with elected officials, policy makers, and those in the field of public health practices as they create and manage public health infrastructures. GSPH is one of the nation’s leading schools of public health and has seven outstanding departments, each boasting a diverse faculty that is rich in backgrounds, disciplinary approaches, and research interests. GSPH has collaborative relationships with all of the University’s health science schools, community organizations, and the local and state health departments. GSPH is situated in the heart of Western Pennsylvania’s health care corridor, affording easy access to biotechnology firms as well as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)—one of the country’s premier health care systems. This unique environment provides students and faculty with unparalleled opportunities for education, research, and service. While public health has dramatically advanced during the 20th century, much remains to be done to ensure continued improvements in health worldwide. GSPH is committed to meeting new challenges by preparing the next generation of public health leaders and by working together with our partners who plan, fund, and operate public health systems. In these ways, GSPH continues to build a healthier world. Donald S. Burke, MD Dean, Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh 2 HOW DO WE MAKE LIFE HEALTHIER FOR EVERYONE? This is the question that scientists at the University of Pittsburgh A QUICK STUDY OF GSPH: Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) face every day. Here, • GSPH consistently ranked “everyone” is a large and diverse group of people. GSPH studies among the top five public health involve children, women, and men. Minorities, ethnic groups, and the schools in the United States, elderly. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals (LGBT). measured by National Institutes City dwellers and rural inhabitants. of Health (NIH) funding. • It attracted $1 billion in NIH We study lifestyles, occupations, environments, genetics, and the funding to the Pittsburgh region effects of activities such as Marcellus Shale drilling. We research major over the past decade. diseases from asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and HIV/AIDS to diabetes, • GSPH educated more than breast cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. We have taken on 5,000 public health practitioners. crippling diseases, such as polio, and, more recently, autism. • The school had a 32 percent increase in student enrollment At GSPH, we look at how hospitals and other providers deliver care— over the past five years, reaching and the fairness of the American health care system. We study the the full capacity of nearly effects of health laws, Medicare, and Medicaid. And we advise the 700 students. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. government, • Since 2008, 30 percent of on those issues. students have been minorities. • This research powerhouse As a leading national public health research center and school, GSPH supports more than 2,500 jobs addresses all major public health concerns. Our tradition of translating in the Pittsburgh region. important findings into groundbreaking public health advances has done more than nearly any other entity to improve the lives of people living in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Our influence on public health CONTENTS extends across the country and around the globe. 2 Letter from the Dean In this book, you’ll see a small sample of our contributions. Since our 3 About GSPH beginning more than 60 years ago, we have performed thousands of studies that have impacted millions of lives. We have been fortunate 6 Environmental Health to attract and cultivate renowned scientists. And we are proud to continue our strong tradition of making a difference through excellence 9 Women’s Health in research and public health education. 12 Healthy Aging 15 HIV/AIDS 18 Cancer/Cardiovascular 20 Diabetes 21 Public Health Research 24 Public Policy 28 GSPH 3 IMPROVING THE WORLD. 4 In 1948, Andrew Mellon was concerned about the health implications of an industrialized Pittsburgh. With a gift of $13.6 million, he endowed the Graduate School of Public Health. Since that time, what kind of people have graced our halls and passed through our doors? People with a passion for helping others, the intelligence to ask the right questions, and the persistence to diligently search for answers. Many of the people who have worked at GSPH have made life-changing contributions here and around the world. A ROLE IN THE BEGINNING OF BLUE CROSS The first dean of GSPH tapped 25-year-old Walt McNerney to start the Health and Policy Management Department. McNerney embraced the responsibility. What he learned here helped him go on to have a major impact on health care in our nation, including a leading role in establishing Blue Cross/Blue Shield and shaping Medicare/Medicaid. “The grounding I got in epidemiology, biostatistics, occupational health, etc., was of tremendous value to me,” McNerney recalled in an oral history. “I went into the field initially as a person with a community point of view. The School of Public Health reinforced that point of view and AREAS OF EXCELLENCE: gave me some of the tools to deal with it, and some of the rationale for • Monitoring the quality of our air it. I have drawn upon those disciplines a great deal since.” and drinking water • Advancing policies to improve industrial hygiene and work safety A ROLE IN HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT) • Providing expert testimony to “Anytime you have a widely used drug, you’d better be damned sure that it works.” policy makers with respect to That was a comment made in regard to HRT by Lewis Kuller, MD, DrPH, distinguished public health issues university professor emeritus of public health at GSPH. For 20 years, physicians had been • Addressing health disparities prescribing HRT to treat menopause symptoms, as well as to prevent heart disease and among our minority populations osteoporosis in women. Key studies performed by Kuller and associates as part of • Providing scientific information GSPH’s Women’s Health Initiative revealed quite the opposite: HRT could actually related to the potential health increase risks of heart disease, breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots in the lungs. These impact of Marcellus Shale gas extraction to policy makers, findings have changed the way HRT is prescribed and have translated into lives saved. industry, and environmental groups • Lowering the incidence of illness in our schools A ROLE IN THE AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT • Improving the ability of our seniors Thomas Priselac, president and chief executive officer of Cedars-Sinai Health System, to live longer and more safely in got his foundation in public health at GSPH. Now a key player in national health care and their own homes a past president of the American Hospital Association, Priselac was invited to advise • Limiting and reducing the spread President Obama on the health care overhaul that led to the Affordable Health Care Act. of HIV/AIDS in our community • Improving standards of care in our nursing homes A ROLE IN EDUCATING PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AROUND THE WORLD • Educating trustees of area health GSPH is home to Supercourse, an Internet-based program of more than 5,000 lectures care providers on governance covering a full array of global health topics. Supercourse provides trustworthy, unbiased best practices information to people who can translate it into action to improve the health of people • Providing practical and effective guidance to our families and everywhere. For example, public health professionals relied on Supercourse during the schools to combat childhood and recent disastrous earthquakes in Japan and Haiti. Accessed for discrete information or to adult obesity create programs for emerging public health practitioners, Supercourse has been identified • Reporting through national media by Science magazine as one of the top Web sites, and it has been rated as one of the top outlets with respect to research 100 Web sites by PC Magazine. on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast and other cancers, Hosted on the University of Pittsburgh’s server with support from the World Health behaviors affecting health such as seat belt usage and child abuse, Organization (WHO) and the Library of Alexandria, Supercourse has access to some of Medicare/Medicaid policies, the world’s largest networks and is poised to build the new field of global mobile health, human genetics, various infectious disseminating health information and prompting positive behaviors through the diseases, osteoporosis, burgeoning use of mobile phones, especially in developing countries. menopause, depression, and a wide array of other health issues 5 WHAT RISKS SURROUND US? 6 Since our inception during Pittsburgh’s industrial era, GSPH has been a leader in environmental health. Today, we are deep into studies that may have groundbreaking implications for communities, industries, economies, and the health of people around the world. HOW CAN WE PROTECT THE LUNGS OF CHILDREN? Children breathe more air in proportion to their weight than adults do, so toxins in the air have a greater effect on their growing lungs. Recent studies have shown that students in schools near industrial plants are at higher risk for asthma and poor lung development, which could lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life.

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