News & Events

Reported Cases of West Nile Virus Up from Previous Years

Public Health in the National News – Mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance. They are a real public health hazard, carrying a number of infectious diseases, most notably in the United States West Nile disease. Already this year, 1,118 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) have been reported in the United States, more than has been reported for a number of years. The outbreak has affected 37 states thus far in 2012, with Texas reporting the most number of cases. In Nebraska, recent… Continue Reading

August 29, 2012 – Building Community-Academic Research Collaboratives Through “The Plaza.”

College of Public Health Grand Rounds:  Building Community-Academic Research Collaboratives Through “The Plaza” presented by Christopher Fisher, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health, College of Public Health. Dr. Fisher will be describing the Plaza Partnership, demonstrating the successes from Plaza Partnership, and providing opportunities for faculty to engage in the Plaza Partnership.  

Shawn Gibbs, PhD

Faculty Highlight –  Dr. Shawn Gibbs serves as the College of Public Health’s associate dean for student affairs. He previously served as the College of Public Health’s director of master’s programs and chair of the Curriculum Committee.   Dr. Gibbs currently teaches Foundations of Public Health, a required core course for all students in the College of Public Health. He also provides guest lectures on environmental health, water treatment, and waste management to several other courses. Dr. Gibbs serves as the academic adviser for many… Continue Reading

Sheetal Sawant

Student Highlight – Sheetal Sawant is a second-year MPH student in biostatistics. She was born in Mumbai (still known as Bombay to many), the biggest city in India, and went to school in a scenic suburb on the outskirts of Mumbai. Her journey in the field of health care began when her sister joined the School of Medicine to pursue bachelor’s degrees in Ayurvedic medicine and surgery. Four years later Sheetal followed her sister into the world of medicine and health care and joined the… Continue Reading

The Health Challenges of Community Gardening (part 2 of 2)

Public Health Community Advisory – Although community gardening is a wonderful way to promote healthy eating, exercise, nutrition education, and social capital, there are challenges we in public health should recognize. Most urban gardening takes place on lots that have had prior uses that may have contaminated the soil. Possible contaminants include lead, mercury, arsenic, pesticides, and hormonally active breakdown products of plastics. For the most part, vegetables absorb very little of these chemicals. But roots and leaves may be coated with dirt containing these…. Continue Reading

Nizar K. Wehbi, MD, MPH, MBA

Faculty Highlight – Dr. Nizar Wehbi joined the faculty of the College of Public Health in January 2011. He began his career in clinical medicine, taking care of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings. His love for research took him to cancer research where, with other researchers, he sought to identify biomarkers (proteins) that would predict prostate and bladder cancer at very early stages of disease. He then moved to hospital administration and worked for The Nebraska Medical Center in strategic planning and business… Continue Reading

Michele Kassmeier

Student Highlight – Michele Kassmeier grew up in the #5-ranked place on Money magazine’s 2011 list of America’s best small towns—Papillion, Nebraska. She is currently a student in the UNMC College of Public Health (COPH) Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, with a concentration in epidemiology. As treasurer of the COPH Student Association and MPH student representative on the Research and Development Committee, she is actively involved with several events in the COPH. She also serves as a graduate assistant for the Center for Preparedness… Continue Reading