VCU School of Public Health

Introducing our 2026 Bolashak Scholars: Laura Daurenbayeva, M.D., Ainash Khisamitova, M.D., and Aiganym Zhalgassova, R.N., M.P.H. They're here to train with #VCUPublicHealth and Medicine faculty before returning to Kazakhstan to advance their health care system.
healthpolicy.vcu.edu/bolashak/

Happy International Women’s Day! 🚺️

Scroll for snapshots of the unstoppable woman at the VCU School of Public Health, committed to the health, well-being and longevity of all!

#InternationalWomensDay #IWD2026

Twenty-three VCU health sciences schools and departments rank in top 50 for NIH research funding among public institutions Eleven units ranked in the top 25 among public institutions in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research’s 2025 rankings.

For the second year in a row, #VCUPublicHealth ranks in the top 40 for National Institutes of Health research funding among public institutions!

news.vcu.edu/article/twen...

VCU among the top 250 universities worldwide in new ranking by Time Student outcomes and an institution’s academic performance, innovation and global engagement are among the factors in the ranking, which places VCU second in the state.

VCU has been ranked No. 211 in the world — and second in Virginia — in Time’s new World’s Top Universities of 2026. Plus, VCU earned the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, highlighting its commitment to community‑engaged teaching, research and service.
news.vcu.edu/article/vcu-...

Earlier this year, we honored seven VCU-Bolashak scholars as they completed their program. Their dedication made a lasting impact, and we wish them success as they return to Kazakhstan. #VCUPublicHealth #GlobalHealth #VCUBolashak

Neighborhood factors related to financial stress are linked to worse breast cancer outcomes; interventions could improve survivorship Research & Innovation

VCU Massey research shows neighborhood factors related to financial stress are linked to worse breast cancer outcomes. These findings highlight how community conditions shape survivorship and where interventions can improve equity. www.masseycancercenter.org/news/2026/ne...

Big news! #VCUPublicHealth Virginia Commonwealth University has been accepted as an Institutional Member of the @cughnews.bsky.social, unlocking new opportunities and resources for our students, faculty & staff. #globalhealth

Seminar lineup for next week:
Ph.D. students Aninda Sen, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., & Aibike Artykbaeva, M.D., M.P.H., present on 3/3. Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/8387708486...

Sameer Deshpande, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presents on 3/6. us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

We're proud to share Guleer Shahab, Ph.D., M.P.H., successfully defended her dissertation this week. 🙌
Special thanks to Andrew Barnes, Ph.D. and Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., who co-chaired her dissertation committee.

Hydration Heroes: How clinical expertise and research rigor are transforming student health When a Virginia school district needed to turn a hydration policy into real-world habits, they partnered with VCU Wright Center lead Melanie Bean, Ph.D.. This wasn't a top-down approach; a Community…

New from @vcucctr.bsky.social: Roy Sabo, Ph.D., Jessica LaRose, Ph.D., Sonya Hung, Ph.D., and Ph.D. student Amanda Robinson are part of a team examining how hydration shapes student health and well‑being. Their work brings clinical and research expertise together.
blogs.vcu.edu/cctr/2026/02...

Public health students team up with VPHA for Legislative Advocacy Day Health Policy students in the VCU Public Health Student Association partnered with Virginia Public Health Association to support public health legislation.

PHSA students stepped into policy work during a Legislative Advocacy Day. As Sonia Riaz, M.D., M.P.H., noted, “Advocacy requires… strategic communication rooted in teamwork and consistency.” Our students showed exactly that.
#VCUPublicHealth #AdvocacyDay
blogs.vcu.edu/sph/2026/02/...

VCU Jobs: Chair of Health Policy Ready to join a workforce UNLIKE any other?

The VCU School of Public Health is recruiting a Chair of Health Policy to guide departmental leadership, support faculty and research, and help advance the School’s mission.
Details + application: vcujobs.com/jobs/chair-o...

Can social media help you reach your health goals? Cancer

New from @vcuhealth.bsky.social: Sunny Jung Kim, Ph.D. shares how social media, when guided by behavioral science, can help people set goals and build healthier habits.

Read more: www.vcuhealth.org/news/can-soc...

Celebrating Black History Month 2026 Drawn to math and real-world problem-solving, Anny-Claude Joseph earned a doctorate in biostatistics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Now, as a faculty member at Wellesley College, she mentors students inspired to pursue careers in public service.

We’re proud to celebrate Anny‑Claude Joseph, Ph.D., a VCU Biostatistics alum featured in the @amstatnews.bsky.social's Black History Month celebration. Her leadership and impact reflect the best of the VCU School of Public Health.
magazine.amstat.org/blog/2026/02...

The Epidemiology Seminars continue on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 12 p.m.

Ph.D. Candidate Jonathan Wells, M.H.S., will present "Leveraging Variant-Level Pleiotropy to Generate More Informative Polygenic Scores for MDD, AUD, and Comorbid MDD-AU."

Find us on Zoom:
us02web.zoom.us/j/8387708486...

Cholesterol Isn’t Just About Age or Diet, Hormones Matter Too For women, cholesterol levels spike at key hormonal moments from puberty to menopause. Here’s how to manage these peaks.

There's a real connection between women's cholesterol levels and their hormones, according to research by Samar El Khoudary, PH.D., M.P.H., professor & chair of the Department of Epidemiology and others featured in this article by Oprah Daily!
www.oprahdaily.com/life/health/...

VCU’s Wright Center Offers New Series to Help Researchers Communicate Their Impact If you don’t share your research, who will? Groundbreaking work only achieves its full potential when it is shared effectively, allowing it to live outside the lab and change the world. To help…

VCU CCTR offers a spring seminar series to help #researchers bridge the gap between academic study and real-world application.
Get started here: blogs.vcu.edu/cctr/2026/01...

Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., named to National Academies New Voices Program for Emerging Leaders 2026 Cohort Leadership

📢 Huge shout-out to Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., assistant professor of @sbs-vcu.bsky.social, for her selection to the New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2026 cohort!
www.masseycancercenter.org/news/2026/ka...

AI In Research Series New this academic year, the AI in Research series explores how generative AI is studied and used across VCU. The series is designed for faculty and advanced researchers.

Curious about how to use #AI in research safely and securely? VCU Libraries is offering a series this spring! The next session is Generative AI in Advertising Design on Feb. 11.

Get the details and register here: www.library.vcu.edu/about/events...

From discovery to treatment: Inside VCU’s clinical trials Cancer

🔬 Clinical trials are where science meets patient care. At VCU and VCU Health, nearly 700 active trials are advancing therapies—from gene therapies to new diagnostics—bringing innovation directly to patients. Learn how research translates into real-world impact.

www.vcuhealth.org/news/from-di...

The Biostatistics Research Seminar series continues with #VCUPublicHealth's Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., on Friday, Feb. 6.

Join us at 12 p.m. at OCS or on Zoom.
Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Chats with the Chairs: Samar R. El Khoudary, Department of Epidemiology The School of Public Health department chairs share their perspectives about the mission, focus and future of each department. VCU’s School of Public Health brings together the departments of…

Chats with the Chairs is back with our newest department chair, Samar El Khoudary, Ph.D.

Dr. El Khoudary joined our Department of Epidemiology last fall and has already made an impact building a culture of trust and belonging.

Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 3 for our next seminar hosted by the Department of Epidemiology.
Dr. Lu and three Ph.D. students will discuss Linking U.S. Public Health Databases - Opportunities, Methods and Applications.

It starts at 12 p.m. in person or on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/8387708486...

Virginia’s opioid crisis swept from the mountains to the cities. Hampton Roads sees both problems and progress. Virginia’s opioid crisis has carried a $5.2 billion price tag, with some of the highest per-resident costs now concentrated in cities like Portsmouth and across Hampton Roads.

Recent data from the VDH and VCU's Center on Society and Health illustrate how the #opioidcrisis impacts different communities across the Commonwealth.

@whropublicmedia.bsky.social highlight the areas of opportunity and progress, especially in Hampton Roads.
www.whro.org/health/2026-...

Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., named Massey Harrison Scholar A three-year, $150,000 fund will support Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., M.S.P.H., as she expands her research on how environmental factors influence health and cancer outcomes among populations served by…

Meghan Tipre, Dr.P.H., is as assistant professor of epidemiology, assistant director of the Catchment Area Data Analytics at @vcumassey.bsky.social and now...
a Massey Harrison Scholar!

Learn more about Tipre’s work and this remarkable achievement on our blog: blogs.vcu.edu/sph/2026/01/...

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, the VCU Public Health Student Association is partnering with VPHA for a joint Legislative Advocacy Day! We can't wait to see what they learn and accomplish!
#VCUPublicHealth #PHSA #publichealthinaction #advocacyday #VAgeneralassembly

Not to stress you out, but graduation is in 106 days! We'll have more details soon, but for now, save the date for our #VCUPublicHealth graduation at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens on May 8, 2026.

#vcu #graduation #spring

The Department of Biostatistics is hosting an engaging series of research seminars this semester. Take a look and follow our page for details as each approaches.

#VCUPublicHealth #Biostatistics #PublicHealthResearch

Dr. Chloé Jones selected for VCU IRACDA Chloé Jones, Ph.D., M.S. has been with the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences since 2024, when she began working as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jessica LaRose’s OPT for Health lab. During…

Congratulations to Post-Doctoral Fellow Chloé Jones, Ph.D., M.S., recipient of VCU’s Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award! #VCUPublicHealth @sbs-vcu.bsky.social
blogs.vcu.edu/sbs/2026/01/...

On Friday, Jan. 23, the Department of Biostatistics will host alum Frank W. Rockhold, Ph.D. for their first seminar of the spring semester.

Join us! us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...