News & Events

Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, PhD, Research on Mental Illness and Substance-Related Disorders

Spotlight on Research at COPH – Across the United States, two million persons with serious mental illnesses are booked into jails each year. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, about 40% of state prison and local jail inmates have substance use disorders, and 25% have substance use disorders with mental illness. There is a substantial overlap between the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. Dr. Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway and her research team worked with the Behavioral Health Division of… Continue Reading

New Developments in the Fight to End HIV Infection

Public Health in the National News – The Food and Drug Administration approval of a pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is an exciting development in the fight to end HIV infection. The public health community working to prevent new infections now has another in a wide array of tools with which to prevent HIV transmission. Clinical studies have shown those who start a PrEP regimen do not engage in behaviors that transmit HIV with any greater frequency than before using the drug. Despite this, some public… Continue Reading

Tricia D. Levan, PhD

Faculty Highlight – Dr. Tricia LeVan is the course coordinator and instructor for the Master of Public Health core course in epidemiology, “Epidemiology in Public Health.” The course encompasses several teaching paradigms, including traditional lectures and exams; in class exercises and discussion; small group current event topics using news, videos, magazine articles, and state-of-the-art peer-reviewed manuscripts; and a final PowerPoint video presentation on descriptive epidemiology. The course is always evolving to include fresh new teaching ideas. In addition to in-class teaching, she serves as mentor… Continue Reading

Douglas Perin

Student Highlight – Douglas Marcel Puricelli Perin (Doug) grew up in the metropolis of Porto Alegre, Brazil. While obtaining a law degree from one of Brazil’s most prestigious universities, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), he worked for a non-governmental organization helping poor and underprivileged communities regularize their housing conditions. His professional experience with social work would prove beneficial later in his life. After graduating from college, his passion for culture, history, and nature prompted him to travel extensively throughout Latin America. For… Continue Reading

Online Education and the College of Public Health

Public Health in the National News – The College of Public Health announces the launch of new online programs at the University of Nebraska. These programs will address a growing workforce demand for more public health professionals. A master of science in emergency preparedness and professional certificates in public health and emergency preparedness can now be obtained fully online through the University of Nebraska’s Online Worldwide website. All are graduate-level programs offered by the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The programs aim to strengthen the… Continue Reading

Patrik Johansson, MD, MPH

Faculty Highlight – Dr. Patrik Johansson joined the College of Public Health 2009. Prior to 2009, he was an assistant professor at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, deputy chief medical officer for Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Washington, DC, and account executive for Hill and Knowlton Japan in Tokyo. He earned his bachelor of arts in international relations from Brown University and his MD from the UNMC College of Medicine. He did his residency in primary care/internal medicine at… Continue Reading

Niccolette Ramsey

Student Highlight – Nicci Ramsey is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, but was raised in Omaha. She is a student in the UNMC COPH MPH Program, with a concentration in Public Health Administration.  Nicci’s path to the field of public health began with her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in peace studies from Chapman University in Orange, California. She continued to pursue her education goals by earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology with a focus on substance abuse and… Continue Reading