On Nov.

Health outcomes are shaped by myriad intertwining factors that begin the moment a person is born. 

Mahrukh Naqvi is a fourth-year student specializing in environmental public health with a minor in neuroscience. After graduating in May, Naqvi plans to pursue a dual MD/MPH with the long-term goal of improving health for individuals and communities.

Aram Dobalian has been named the next chair of the College of Public Health’s Division of Health Services Management and Policy, effective Jan. 1. He will also serve in a new leadership position, associate dean of academic affairs, where he will help to develop and manage a portion of the college’s academic portfolio, including engaging in related accreditation assessment activities.

Dobalian comes to Ohio State from the University of Memphis, where he serves as professor and director of the Division of Health Systems Management and Policy in the School of Public Health. 

Engaged Scholars is a monthly series highlighting Ohio State faculty who have made an impact in our communities through their community-engaged research and teaching.

Darryl B. Hood, Ph.D.
Professor
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health
Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine

As the office associate for the college’s Office of Academic Programs and Student Services, Julia Farkas is often the first person students interact with when they need answers.

The Ohio State University College of Public Health was honored with a 2021 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for its commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion through initiatives, programs, student recruitment and retention, and hiring practices. It’s the first time the college has received the nationally recognized award.

Trevor Moffitt is a fifth-year doctoral student in health behavior and health promotion. After completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology and counseling, Moffitt spent three years as a mental health counselor, where he became interested in the power of public health to improve substance use treatment outcomes and community relationships.

Tobacco control expert Micah Berman, associate professor in the College of Public Health and Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, was honored with the American Public Health Association’s annual David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health for his commitment to science-based prevention of tobacco-related illness and death.

Monitoring and slowing the spread of COVID-19 within the Ohio State student community has been a complex and, at times, daunting task — one that the College of Public Health began in spring 2020 with university-wide contact tracing and leadership on data-driven health recommendations.