EVENTS
The Admissions Team is busy this week! After trick-or-treating, the Team is travelling to Texas for further Public Health pedantry & enlightenment!
Join us and 11,000 public health professionals, leaders, and global partners at The American Public Health Association 2026 Annual Meeting and Expo!
The event takes place November 1–4, 2026, at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The theme of the week is, "Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan."
For the second year in a row, a SUNY Downstate student has won an award at APHA, (above). Mohammed Adnan Sheerazi, an MPH-HPMG student at Downstate, was awarded the Student Achievement Award and a registration scholarship from APHA's Health Administration Section. Last year this same section awarded another one of our students the Research to Practice Award.
November 6th: Food is Medicine for Healthy Longevity Conference
SUNY Downstate will be hosting a conference on Friday, November 6th in Alumni Auditorium: Food is Medicine for Healthy Longevity. This conference will showcase cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art approaches for using nutrition to support healthy aging.
The keynote will be Dr. Wayne Dysinger, the Chief Medical Officer of Blue Zones Health. Dr. Dysinger will be speaking on the dietary and behavioral factors that support the longest-lived communities in the world, the so-called "Blue Zones", and what we can do to help create new "Blue Zones" in our own communities.
The day will feature dedicated sessions on nutrition's role in maintaining and enhancing strength and mobility, supporting cognitive vitality and mental health, and food-is-medicine approaches to GLP-1s and precision nutrition. We will also highlight policy- and community-engaged approaches to ensure equity in access to healthy food and food-is-medicine prescriptions. Attendees can look forward to a culinary medicine demonstration where we will showcase chef-educators preparing healthy versions of holiday favorites, with tastings!
The conference will include a delicious plant-based breakfast and lunch.
The conference is open to anyone interested in learning how to support health as we grow older - for ourselves, our family members, and our patients and clients. Students, faculty, clinicians, researchers, and community members are welcome to attend.
SPH students are welcome to attend the conference free of charge. For complimentary registration, use the code NutriSPH26 on Eventbrite. Please note that you will be required to show your student ID at check-in.
We have begun our regularly scheduled Virtual Information Sessions.
Our next two sessions:
Who Makes the Policies That Affect Our Health?
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Reserve here
From Public Health Practitioner to Change Leader: Is a DrPH Your Next Step? Tuesday November 17, 2026 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Reserve here
Congratulations to these members of our Public Health Faculty who spoke at The UN General Assembly!
How can countries prepare for the next pandemic while making sure communities are protected? Five Downstate School of Public Health faculty members joined that conversation at the launch of the NUS–Lancet PRIME Commission report, held during United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week here in New York.
Congratulations to Aimee Afable, Ph.D., Joanne Constantin, Ph.D., Laura Geer, Ph.D., Elizabeth Helzner, Ph.D., and Sergios Kolokotronis, Ph.D., who participated in the event focused on addressing the inequities exposed by past global health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, Transforming Pandemic Readiness for Equity, calls on countries to look beyond emergency plans, laboratories, and stockpiles to consider whether those resources will protect people when a crisis arrives. That means addressing everyday barriers, including unstable housing, difficulty accessing health care, and distrust of institutions, that can become even more consequential during a pandemic.
The discussion emphasized involving communities in decisions that affect their health, building trust before emergencies occur, and strengthening health and social systems to ensure support reaches those who need it. Its central message connects closely with Downstate’s work in Brooklyn: effective public health begins with understanding people’s circumstances and working alongside them.
Thank you to our School of Public Health colleagues for participating in this international exchange and for their continued commitment to healthier, more equitable communities.
(taken from The President's newsletter)
Monday, November 2, 2026, 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
1 Centre Street, North Mezzanine, New York, NY (North Mezzanine)
THINK. ANALYZE. INNOVATE.
What if you could use data, technology, and science to shape the future of public health?
At the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health, discover how AI, biostatistics, and epidemiology are transforming the way we understand health and make decisions.
Explore how you can:
Use AI to uncover insights and advance research
Analyze data to identify trends and health disparities
Apply epidemiology to investigate and track disease
Strengthen surveillance to respond to emerging health threats
Turn evidence into action that informs health decisions
From research and data analysis to real-world public health challenges, you’ll develop the skills to think critically, analyze confidently, and innovate boldly.
The future of public health is data-driven. Are you ready?
👉 Register and discover where your public health career can take you.
VIRTUAL SESSION: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2026 AT 5:30 PM
REGISTRATION LINK: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/TMyi_TZbTUqnuPhEOrsPFA
SUNY Downstate On the Road
The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)’s This is Public Health® (TIPH) Graduate School Fair is headed to Austin,Texas in November!
The Graduate School Fair is a pivotal event for those considering a future in public health, a field at the forefront of safeguarding communities and promoting well-being on a global scale. Scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM CT in Austin, TX, this event offers a unique opportunity to explore graduate education in public health. The SUNY Downstate SPH Admissions Team, as well as representatives from other top schools of public health will be there to connect with you, and answer your questions.
At the beginning of 2018, The Atlantic announced that the healthcare industry became
the US's largest employer, surpassing both manufacturing and retail, and establishing
that "[healthcare] services are the new steel" when it comes to driving the American
economy
The Atlantic goes on to explain that as the population ages, the demand for healthcare
increases, and with this comes the need for healthcare managers to oversee, organize,
manage, and lead a rapidly expanding field. To put it into perspective, healthcare
will soon account for one-third of all new employment.