The department of Population Health and Health Disparities (PHHD) is a multidisciplinary department comprised of 14 faculty and 32 adjunct faculty members. The department is led by the Inaugural Department Chair, Dr. Mandy Hill. Dr. Hill is supported by Vice Chair, Monique Pappadis, PhD and a support staff that includes program managers, research coordinators, and administrative coordinators.
The core of identity for the PHHD department is “improving the health of populations”. The department’s mission is to be positioned as the premier academic program leading research, scholarship, and education in population health in Texas with a national and global reach. The PHHD vision is to help each community member to achieve better health. Our faculty maintain significant productivity through highly active research portfolios in the areas of addressing non-medical drivers of health, real-world engagement, and study of the life course through varied contexts.
Although the PHHD faculty members maintain varied primary and second research niche areas within their individual research portfolios, there is significant alignment through our unified focus on preserving the health of aging adults (18 years and older) and improving the health of populations. Together, we leverage team science with varied collaborators and partners using interdisciplinary approaches to advance population health with a collective mission, alongside our SPPH colleagues, to invest in shaping a path for all people to achieve health.