Department of Epidemiology

News & Events Page


May 10, 2023

Together, we are ready

Community trust and health infrastructure are necessary to prepare for future public health crises For years, Ahmed Ali, executive director of the Somali Health Board, has advocated for the health of Somali residents in King County, Washington. So, when COVID-19 hit, Ali asked public health leaders to bring mobile testing sites to Somali neighborhoods. Public…


Epidemiology doctoral student Anne Massey builds community trust in public health as 2022’s Miss Seafair

Anne Massey, Miss Seafair 2022 (Photo: Elizar Mercado) Last summer, Anne Massey was sitting aboard a U.S. Navy ship in Seattle when the tiara a top her head started to break.   Massey was 2022’s Miss Seafair and was participating in a final Seafair reception after a week of media interviews, parades and meeting the Blue…


May 8, 2023

Seattle’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Results in Improved Public Health Outcomes

different colors cans of soda stacked together

A new study has determined that Seattle’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) has had numerous positive impacts since going into effect in 2018. A team of researchers from Public Health—Seattle & King County, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute recently completed a multi-faceted evaluation of the tax’s effect on public health outcomes…


May 3, 2023

UW Epidemiology and School of Public Health Rank Among US News & World Report Top 10

The University of Washington School of Public Health (UW SPH) has been ranked No. 5 among public health graduate schools in the US News & World Report rankings for 2023–2024, up from last year’s position of No. 9. The UW Department of Epidemiology was ranked No. 9, in this year’s first-ever public health specialty rankings in epidemiology….


February 21, 2023

Study suggests dapivirine vaginal ring is safe to use as HIV prevention during breastfeeding

A monthly vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug dapivirine – an HIV-prevention method that has been approved in several African countries and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – appears to be safe when used during breastfeeding, suggest results of a Phase IIIb open-label study presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic…


January 31, 2023

How a series of questions helped Kenneth Mugwanya fight the HIV epidemic

Kenneth Mugwanya is a physician-epidemiologist at the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he works as an assistant professor of global health and epidemiology. (Photo credit: Elizar Mercado) Kenneth Mugwanya’s first job as a young physician in Uganda was working with HIV-infected children. This was around the height of the HIV epidemic, when…


November 16, 2022

More U.S. adults carrying loaded handguns daily, study finds

The number of U.S. adult handgun owners carrying a loaded handgun on their person doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to new research led by the University of Washington. Data come from the 2019 National Firearms Survey (NFS), an online survey of U.S. adults living in households with firearms, including nearly 2,400 handgun owners. Compared…


May 27, 2022

Epidemiology community members receive 2022 SPH Awards of Excellence

Congratulations to the University of Washington Department of Epidemiology (UW Epi) nominees who were honored at the 2022 UW School of Public Health (SPH) Awards of Excellence. The SPH Excellence Awards recognize exemplary staff, faculty, and students for their dedication, service, and contributions to the school. The SPH Excellence Awards ceremony was held in person…


March 1, 2022

More generous EITC payments benefit maternal health

A study suggests that economic support reduces alcohol misuse and depressive symptoms among low-income mothers.


October 14, 2021

New faculty spotlight: Mienah Z. Sharif

Public Health Critical Race Praxis provides a framework for health equity research which moves beyond documenting ‘race-based’ disparities toward explicitly recognizing how racism is driving health inequities as well as how racism operates within the population health field. For Dr. Mienah Z. Sharif, University of Washington Department of Epidemiology (UW Epi) Assistant Professor, this framework…



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