Our thanks to Gabriella Stern, former director of communications for the World Health Organization, who visited @brown.edu this week to discuss the WHO, the challenges of public health communication & her reasons for optimism. https://sph.brown.edu/news/2025-11-20/pandemics-world-health-organization

Getting high for science: New research offers some of the strongest data yet suggesting that smoking weed does, at least in the short term, curb how much people drink.

A new study—by researchers from #BrownSPH, @harvardmed.bsky.social#BrownSPHand the RAND Corporation—provides the first nationally representative estimates of how often adolescents and young adults rely on generative AI, like ChatGPT, for help when they're feeling sad, angry or nervous.

We did it!❤️Thanks to the alumni, faculty, staff & friends of #BrownSPH who showed their love with a gift to the School on #IHeartBrown Day! 107 of you supported public health research & education, and helped us to meet our 100 donation goal. https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

Exciting news! A new reproductive health policy lab at @brown.edu will leverage the University's expertise in public health, medicine, law and social policy to protect women’s health and safety in our post-Dobbs world. Learn more about the AIM Lab: https://sph.brown.edu/aimlab

“Anytime someone is infected with a novel influenza virus, we want to...be sure the virus hasn’t gained the ability to more easily infect and spread between humans, which would trigger a pandemic,” says Professor @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social director of the @pandemiccenter.bsky.social.

"California sober"—ditching alcohol in favor of #cannabis—is gaining popularity.🍸 Follow the link for the findings of the first ever, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test whether smoking cannabis directly changes alcohol consumption⤵️ https://www.brown.edu/news/2025-11-19/cannabis-alcohol

On #IHeartBrown Day❤️join Professor Alexandria Macmadu '14, ScM '15, Ph.D.'22 and @brown.edu#IHeartBrownalumni around the globe by making a gift to the Brown Public Health Annual Fund! https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

We're half-way to our goal of 100 donations on #IHeartBrown Day! If we reach 100 gifts to the Brown Public Health Annual Fund on 11/18, we'll unlock a $20,000 donation to the School! Make your gift now! https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown/

On #IHeartBrown Day❤️join Professor Nithya Ramesh and make a gift to the Brown Public Health Annual Fund! "Brown felt like my home away from home," she says. "I was made to feel like I truly was cared for. I am now lucky to pay this forward." https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

On #IHeartBrown Day❤️join Professor Shira Dunsiger by donating to the Brown Public Health Annual Fund! "Brown represents everything hopeful," she says. "It encourages freedom. It values learning, growth and kindness above all else." Give now!⬇️ https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

From @cnn.com: The US may be heading for a severe flu season, driven by the new variant that caused a rough summer in Australia & is now surging in the UK, Canada, & Japan. Vaccine skepticism from leaders of the HHS has injected chaos into the whole vaccination system. — @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social

❤️#IHeartBrown challenge alert!! 100 donations made to Brown's Public Health Annual Fund today will unlock a $20,000 gift to the School of Public Health! Show your love with a gift to #BrownSPH today!⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

Happy #IHeartBrown Day Brunonians!!❤️ Show your love for #BrownSPH with a gift to the Brown Public Health Annual Fund today!⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://bbis.advancement.brown.edu/bbphenix/iheartbrown

“The reason all of those 383 trials were funded is because people believe they have novel solutions to important public health questions,” Professor Amy Nunn said of the studies cut by the Trump administration earlier this year. “The knowledge that we would have had...will be lost.”

1st ever human case case of H5N5 #birdflu reported in Washington State. @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social: Any human infection with a novel flu virus demands close attention to ensure it hasn’t gained the ability to spread easily between people. CDC still says the risk to the general public remains low ⤵️

Brunonians!! Tuesday, November 18th is #IHeartBrown Day 2025! Help #BrownSPH reach 100 donations to the Public Health Annual Fund with your gift. If we can reach our goal, we'll unlock a $20K donation to #BrownSPH! Learn more and save the date!❤️

Five ways our entire health care system has gone off the rails, by @kkjetelina.bsky.social and Senior Fellow @hayrook.bsky.social. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

📣 Attention Brown University Community! Join us in person next week @ 12PM for our next Public Health in Practice Seminar. Join @craigspencer.bsky.social & @gabbystern.bsky.social for a timely discussion on health communication as essential infrastructure for global health. More here ⤵️

In @statnews.com, @craigspencer.bsky.social reflects on attending a gathering that blended anti-vaccine rhetoric with powerful community-building and political ambition. Public health won’t win back trust by ignoring those who’ve lost it. We need learn what we're up against. Read here ⤵️

An often overlooked contributor to disparities in maternal mortality rates? Firearm-related homicide, says Professor Liz Tobin-Tyler, JD, MA.

A new study by #BrownSPH researchers reveals stark inequities in who lives long enough to collect the Medicare benefits they’ve helped to fund. The disparate outcomes they find vary not just by race, but by location.

Professor @craigspencer.bsky.social attended the Children’s Health Defense conference last weekend in Austin, Texas. Follow the link to read his sobering report on a movement he says is "exceptionally organized, disciplined, and determined."⤵️

A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it’s up against. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...

#thepublichealthinsight released a new pod interviewing @drsethberkley.bsky.social tracing his path through global health’s toughest challenges. 🎧 Listen Here podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

“It’s a deeply disheartening development," @pandemiccenter.bsky.social Director Professor @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social says of the loss of Canada's measles elimination status. "It’s a deeply worrisome development. And, frankly, it’s an embarrassing development.”

NEW EPISODE🎙️On Humans in Public Health we usually talk research results. But for our latest episode, Professor @rhubbbstat.bsky.social discusses how we get to those results, and how we know we can trust them. Listen now! https://humans-in-public-health.captivate.fm/episode/messy-data-real-answers

@apnews.com : Canada has lost its #measles elimination status and the US is likely next. “It’s a deeply disheartening development. It’s a deeply worrisome development. And, frankly, it’s an embarrassing development.” — @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social More here ⤵

Professor Ateev Mehrotra warns that keeping #telehealth tied to precarious funding bills leads to uncertainty. “Clinics may be so frustrated by the situation they give up on telemedicine fully,” he says.

Want to know more? Find details and recommendations from our NIMH supported research with colleagues from @rand.org @harvardmed.bsky.social @deptpopmed.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social @brownpublichealth.bsky.social here: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In an interview with @jonlambert.bsky.social of @npr.org , our Senior Adviser @drsethberkley.bsky.social reflects on today’s vaccine challenges: misinformation isn’t just foreign bots, it’s at home too, from the US Defense Department to RFK Jr. More here ⤵️

Happy #VeteransDay2025!! Thanks to its deep partnership with the VA Providence Healthcare System, researchers across #BrownSPH are working to improve the health and wellbeing of #Veterans everyday.

"Advances have made it possible to detect, treat, and stop the pathogens most likely to sweep across continents and cause widespread death," Senior Fellow @spsaki.bsky.social writes in @vox.com. "The question now is not whether we can prevent the next pandemic, but whether we will."

The Pan American Health Organization ( #PAHO ) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada ( #PHAC ) that Canada has lost its #measles elimination status after a year of sustained transmission. The US could face the same risk if it's cases continue through January. More here ⤵️

The shift away from independent doctors' offices to large corporations, including hospitals, private-equity firms & health-insurance companies, has changed how money moves through our health care system. And it may be helping some insurers boost their profits. New #BrownSPH research ⤵️

Our old laws are not keeping up with the new, more complicated financial deals and escalating consolidation of health companies. “The old laws,” Professor Erin Fuse Brown says, “are just not calibrated to the complexity and novel types of mergers.”

NEW RESEARCH | A growing number of Americans—especially Black Americans—die before they reach Medicare eligibility. “These are people who contribute to Medicare their entire lives yet never live long enough to use it,” says Prof Irene Papanicolas https://www.brown.edu/news/2025-11-07/dying-medicare

It's open enrollment season for #Medicare. You have questions, and Professor @djmeyers2.bsky.social#Medicarehas answers. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The US is losing sight of infectious disease threats. Critical CDC data streams are down, key staff cut, and the WHO link severed. As flu season starts you can stay updated on outbreaks with our #TrackingReport, subscribe and get our next issue sent to your inbox! mailchi.mp/brown/tracki...

Our Senior Adviser @drsethberkley.bsky.social joined @cfr.org in discussion on the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. With #Measles, #WhoopingCough, and other illnesses on the rise globally, experts discuss how to strengthen vaccine equity & improve public health globally. Watch here ⬇️

Attention Brown University Community Join us on 11/18 at 12PM for our next Public Health in Practice Seminar event @craigspencer.bsky.social will host @gabbystern.bsky.social for a conversation on health communication as essential infrastructure for global health. events.brown.edu/event/public...

TODAY BSHS doctoral student @patrickjakelly.bsky.social presents CAAS Rounds!

WATCH NOW What does Professor Amy Nunn think it would take to truly make Americans healthier? @oceanstatemedia.bsky.social sat down with her to discuss.

With sharp increases expected in health insurance costs, CAHPR health policy experts weigh in telling @newsweek.com that "policymakers have focused on ensuring access to health insurance, but have unfortunately largely ignored what makes health care in the U.S. so expensive."

With recent outbreaks in at least 42 states, the US may lose our #measles elimination status. Read our Q&A with Professor @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social about the disease, public health communications & the @pandemiccenter.bsky.social#measlesTracking Report below, or in the Fall/Winter issue of Continuum.📖

Last week, the Watson School and @brownpublichealth.bsky.social hosted @davidcicilline.bsky.social ’83 for a conversation on “Civic Health,” moderated by Dean John Friedman and Francesca Boudoin as part of the Resilience in Public Health Series. Learn more: ow.ly/y30E50XlabF

As flu season gets underway, the CDC's public flu and COVID-19 trackers have not been updated since before the shutdown. Efforts—like those by Walgreens to expand monitoring & by the @pandemiccenter.bsky.social to track outbreaks—Professor @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social says, cannot replace the CDC.

From @axios.com: Commercial & academic tools help with local tracking, but @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social highlights they're no substitute for a functioning #CDC. www.axios.com/2025/11/04/w...

Brown researchers will conduct an ambitious 5-year study to better understand trends in drug use & barriers to health care services. The team will focus in on how people who use drugs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Vermont are impacted by new state programs to prevent HIV, hepatitis C & overdose.

While no one can say with certainty that UnitedHealth is gaming the medical loss ratio without looking into their books, researchers feel confident that’s what’s happening. https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/unitedhealth-pays-its-optum-physicians-17-percent-more/