Student Spotlight Celebrating our students’ achievements, impact, and excellence—inside the classroom and beyond.

Griffin Baillargeon poses in graduation regalia with Dr. John Prochaska after the UTMB School of Public and Population Health commencement ceremony.

Griffin Baillargeon Turns Data Into Knowledge

Griffin Baillargeon finishes his MS in Biostatistics and Data Science at UTMB with a capstone on incorporating external control data in clinical trials under Dr. Jang's mentorship, a poster award at the Annual Forum on Aging, and a data analyst role at UTMB Correctional Managed Care.
PhD student Zhiwei Hu in the Ashbel Smith building

Zhiwei Hu Named a Jeane B. Kempner Scholar

UTMB doctoral student Zhiwei Hu has been named a Jeane B. Kempner Scholar for 2026-27. The award funds a year of dissertation research on how the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit relates to depression recognition, advance care planning, and hospice use among older adults with dementia.
Five UTMB Aerospace Medicine Residency graduates stand together in formal attire in front of a spacecraft capsule exhibit at Space Center Houston’s Starship Gallery.

UTMB Aerospace Medicine Residency Class of 2026

UTMB's Aerospace Medicine Residency graduated five physicians June 11 at Space Center Houston. The Class of 2026 — Lam, Mavratsas, Rodriguez, Schwartz, and Stephens — earned a Master of Science and capstones spanning spaceflight forensics, decompression illness, and dive medicine.
Interactive map of Texas titled “Nursing Home Health Inspection and Staffing Ratings,” showing rural counties in orange and urban counties in purple, with green markers across the state representing nursing home rating locations.

Recent MD/MPH Graduate Publishes Analysis on Texas Nursing Homes

Helen-Margaret Onuorah, a recent UTMB MD/MPH graduate, published a Daily Yonder analysis comparing rural and urban nursing home staffing and health inspection ratings across Texas.
UTMB residents in aerospace medicine hold up the RAM Bowl in victory.

UTMB Aerospace Medicine Earns Honors Across Residents, Faculty, and Alumni in Denver

UTMB Aerospace Medicine had a standout week at the 2026 Aerospace Medical Association meeting in Denver. Residents, faculty, and alumni earned 10 awards, repeated as RAM Bowl champions, delivered the Reinartz Memorial Lecture, and took leadership roles across four of the field's societies.
Anh smiles for a portrait inside a UTMB building, standing near a railing with large windows in the background.

Listening Before Solving: An MPH Graduate's Approach to Public Health

A student spotlight on Anh Truonghuynh, MPH '25 in epidemiology, who connected a Galveston community garden practicum and ILE research on reproductive law to a single through-line — public health works best when it starts from where people actually are.

We are indescribably pleased to congratulate PH.D. student Hannah Carpenter on the successful oral defense of her dissertation!

Please join us in extending a huge and heartfelt congratulations to Hannah Carpenter for the successful oral defense of her dissertation. Her work, entitled: "Controlling Knowledge, Constricting Autonomy: A Bioethical and Legal Analysis of Reproductive Clinical Practice and Research Trials" is the result of four years of diligent and conscientious research. We’re also excited to share that Hannah will be starting a new position this fall at Baylor College of Medicine as a Clinical Ethics Postdoctoral Fellow. We wish her all the best as she takes this next step - there’s no doubt that she will continue to do amazing things! Congratulations, Dr. Carpenter! Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance have paid off, and this is a truly well-deserved achievement.
A presenter speaks with attendees in the hallway during the poster session at the UTMB Public Health Symposium.

Student Research at the 2026 Public Health Symposium

The poster session at UTMB's 2026 Public Health Symposium featured research from students across GSBS, SHP, SON, JSSOM, and SPPH alongside virtual presentations from Badya University in Egypt. Said Abdelrhman presented on sleep disturbances and late-life disability, Sinaan Momin on oral health gaps in Texas Medicaid, and Dr. Umair Shah delivered the keynote.
Speaker presents in a classroom-style event space during a keynote talk, with the presentation title displayed on large screens behind him.

Dr. Umair Shah on Trust, Technology, and the Relentless Pursuit of Health

Dr. Umair A. Shah, former Washington State Secretary of Health and current CMO of Jaan Health, keynoted UTMB's 2026 NPHW Symposium with a talk on why science alone cannot sustain public trust, how AI should serve real workflows, and why the field must build systems of excellence across political lines.
Projected slide from a Badya University student presentation shown on a large screen during the poster session, with the presenter visible in a small video window.

Badya University Students Present Research at UTMB Public Health Symposium 2026

Six second-year medical students from Badya University in Cairo presented original research on lifestyle factors and gastrointestinal health at UTMB's Public Health Symposium. UTMB faculty from multiple schools engaged with live Q&A, and the session was described as a milestone for medical education in Egypt.
Interior wall display reading “School of Public & Population Health” above a large blue abstract artwork

SPPH Climbs 27 Spots to Enter the Top 100 in U.S. News Public Health Rankings

SPPH rose from No. 116 to No. 89 in the 2026 U.S. News public health rankings, the largest gain among current top-100 programs. The post traces public health education at UTMB back to 1891 and includes faculty perspectives on what prospective students should prioritize when choosing a program.
A student in a patterned shirt holds folders while speaking with a partner during a standing conversation at the mixer.

Career Connections Mixer Shows Students Where Their Skills Fit

During National Public Health Week, SPPH's Career Connections Mixer brought 25+ organizations to campus, from oil and gas companies to government agencies to data consultancies. Students explored jobs, APE placements, and the CDC's PHAP fellowship while building connections across sectors.