Dean's Message

AS I PREPARE MY FINAL DEAN'S MESSAGE for our magazine and reflect on our school's incredible accomplishments over the nearly eight years I've served as dean, I am filled with gratitude and pride about all we have accomplished together. Through both research and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we have helped to improve lives, all while utilizing our degree programs to educate future public health leaders — individuals who have, and will go on to join, the legions of FSPH alums making a difference locally, nationally, and around the world. Of course, although I have decided to return to my faculty work full time, our school's impactful activities will only gain steam. As the cover of our magazine depicts, the theme for this issue is "protecting tomorrow today." On the pages that follow, you will read about some of the myriad ways UCLA Fielding is taking actions now that will ensure a healthier future.

That future is being secured, in part, by our school’s investment in new, highly talented faculty — rising stars who have brought in new energy while expanding UCLA Fielding’s expertise in the most pressing public health topics of the day. During the last eight years, we have recruited 41 new full-time equivalent faculty members across our five academic departments, some of whom are featured in this issue. You can also read, starting on page 37, about how we are protecting tomorrow today through our school’s tremendously popular new undergraduate public health degree program, which equips the next generation with public health principles that they can apply, in powerful ways, to any profession they ultimately choose.

Beginning on page 10, we present four-page sections in which faculty pairs from each of our academic departments engage in conversations about the steps needed to build a healthier future in their area of focus, alongside students in their department describing the paths that led them to public health and how they intend to use their FSPH education to make a difference. In this issue, you can explore some of the many ways UCLA Fielding faculty, students, and staff mobilized to assist communities affected by the 2025 L.A. County wildfires, then joined with other institutions on an unprecedented collaborative scientific effort to better understand the short- and long-term health impacts of such events — which, unfortunately, are sure to become more common with the changing climate (page 30). We also highlight our 2026 Research, Innovation & Impact Day, which celebrated the ongoing research and practice successes of our faculty, students, and staff (page 42); and we describe the continuing impact, locally and globally, of the FSPH graduates recently inducted into the UCLA Fielding Hall of Fame (page 46).

We face many challenges in the current public health landscape, but as my tenure as dean draws to a close, I am nothing but optimistic. When I think of the history of public health in successfully overcoming seemingly intractable problems, I know our field will continue to find solutions that will build healthier communities. And when I consider the amazing work of our FSPH faculty, staff, alums, and students, I have no doubt our school will remain at the forefront of public health research, education, policy, and practice.

Having the privilege of leading the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has been the honor of a lifetime. The article starting on page 4 chronicles some of our shared accomplishments that have set the stage for a successful future. I return to my faculty role at our school with a full heart, and comfort in knowing that our school’s best days lie ahead.