Protecting Tomorrow Today
When it’s most effective, public health can go unnoticed. When we aren’t getting sick or injured, we’re unlikely to credit infectious disease surveillance, food-safety regulations, occupational safety measures, or vaccination programs. When our air and water are clean and the conditions in our communities are conducive to a healthy lifestyle, we don’t necessarily connect the dots to the public health research, advocacy, and policies that made it possible.
Much of public health is about reducing risk, preventing illness, and promoting the long-term well-being of populations. It’s about investing in a healthier future for communities by addressing the social determinants — including education, employment, income, transportation, housing, and access to nutritious foods — that are major drivers of health status and outcomes.
At a fraught moment for the field, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health faculty, staff, students, and graduates have remained steadfast in their commitment to the often-unheralded work of addressing concerns upstream, building more resilient systems, and shaping policies and programs that will foster better health for generations to come. Read on to learn about some of the many ways the school is protecting tomorrow today.
DEAN
MAGAZINE STAFF
Carla Denly
Executive Editor & Associate Dean for Marketing and Communications
Dan Gordon
Editor & Writer
Rent Control Creative
Design Direction
Brad Smith
Contributing Writer & Editor
Sharon Han
Photography Coordinator
UCLA Public Health magazine is published by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health for the graduates, faculty, students, staff, and friends of the school. Copyright 2026 by The Regents of the University of California. Permission to reprint any portion must be obtained from the school. Please send requests to marcomm@ph.ucla.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Thomas R. Belin, PhD Professor, Biostatistics; Pamina Gorbach, DrPH Professor, Epidemiology; Moira Inkelas, PhD Professor, Health Policy and Management; Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, PhD, MN Professor Emeritus, Community Health Sciences; Cathy Lang, PhD Assistant Dean for Research; Adjunct Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences; James Macinko, PhD Associate Dean for Research; Professor, Community Health Sciences and Health Policy and Management; Michael Prelip, DPA Professor, Community Health Sciences; Beate Ritz, PhD Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences; May C. Wang, DrPH Professor, Community Health Sciences; Zuo-Feng Zhang, MD, PhD Professor and Chair, Epidemiology; Yifang Zhu, PhD Professor, Environmental Health Sciences; Frederick Zimmerman, PhD Professor, Health Policy and Management
PHOTOGRAPHY & ILLUSTRATION
Francesco Zorzi: front cover. Jane Houle Photography: Dean’s Message. Unsplash/Jeremy Bishop: p. 1. Alexandra Foley Photography: TOC: photos for Thriving Through Turbulent Times, Faculty Conversation, Student Perspectives, Major Impact, Powering Progress, and Tops of the Class; pp. 4, 5, 6: Zhu, Wallace, and Brookmeyer; Fielding and Brookmeyer; 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 36, 37, 41, 43-47, 48: Lyons-Jones; 49, 51: Guindani and Senturk; 52: Zhang and Zhu; 60, inside back cover. Brad Smith: TOC: photo for Our Future Under Fire; pp 32-33: soil testing photos; p. 34. Carla Denly: p. 6: Commencement photo. Unsplash/Jessica Christian: pp. 30-31, 33: red clouds and palm tree. Unsplash/Venti Views: p. 32: structure fire. Adobe Stock: p. 35, back cover. David Esquivel: p. 51: Frenk. ©Elsevier: Reproductive Hazards of Occupational and Environmental Exposures in Women and Health, 3rd Edition, p. 53: book cover for Von Ehrenstein chapter; Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Ninth Edition: p. 53: book cover for Rimoin contribution; ©McGraw Hill: Rudolph’s Pediatrics, 24th Edition: p. 53: book cover for Halfon and Schickedanz chapter; ©NYUPress: Gluten Free for Life: Celiac Disease, Medical Recognition, and the Food Industry: p. 53: Abel book cover; ©Oxford University Press: Investing in Children’s Mental Health: p. 53: Eisenberg book cover; Psychosocial Occupational Health. An Interdisciplinary Textbook, 1st Edition: p. 53: Li book cover; The Principles and Practice of Disease Eradication: p. 53: book cover for Rimoin chapter and Halbrook, Hoff, and Rimoin chapter; ©Sage: The Sage Handbook of Social Network Analysis: p. 53: book cover for De la Haye contribution; ©Taylor & Francis: Hierarchical Modeling and Analysis for Spatial Data, 3rd Edition: p. 53: Banerjee book cover; Power and Sample Size in R: p. 53: Crespi book cover; Underground Ventilation: p. 53: book cover for Tsai chapter. COURTESY OF: The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health: TOC: School Work photo; p. 50: Nadeau. Brenda Osagie: p. 38. Matthew Vu: p. 39. Sierra Benayon Abraham: p. 40. Na He: p. 47. Onyebuchi Arah: p. 52: Arah.
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