The MSU Division of Public Health focuses on population health from its home base – the College of Human Medicine’s Flint campus. Being embedded in the Flint community allows our faculty and researchers to understand the assets and needs of the community while studying Flint’s most pressing public health issues.

Spartans work side-by-side with community partners and healthcare providers in a community-identified and community-participatory public health focus model to:

Encourage healthy behaviors, mitigate chronic diseases, identify environmental health risks, and examine social factors that influence community health
Prepare graduate students to become competent public health professionals to meet the needs of communities across the globe
Engage agencies, professional organizations, and community-based partners on collaborative projects to improve health care delivery that will lead to reductions in health disparities in the community, the state of Michigan, and beyond.

Division of Public Health News

Black Health Matters: Grant Funds Cancer Screening Equity

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer type diagnosed in the United States in both men and women. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be nearly 150,000 new cases in 2021 and over 50,000 deaths. But CRC is preventable and very treatable if caught early. “Disparities in CRC screening have persisted in the African American community, but we have the tools to do something about it. If Black Lives Matter, then Black health should matter too,” Todd Lucas.

Accreditation Update from MPH Director

As part of the accreditation process, the Program has been engaged in a self-study of the MPH Program’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement related to the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation criteria, which has led to the development of a preliminary self-study report. This report was recently submitted to CEPH for review. We invite all students, alumni, faculty, staff, community partners, and members of the general public to provide feedback on the preliminary self-study report to CEPH by October 11, 2021.

Online Master of Public Health: Information Webinars

The MSU Master of Public Health (MPH) Virtual Information Webinar gives prospective students the opportunity to learn more about Michigan State University's online public health program. Prospective students can explore the benefits of joining over 650 Spartans in public health and the importance of becoming a part of public health in action.

The Obstacles that Shape Your Path

For an entire decade, Pavneet Banga, MD, contemplated going back to school. Everyday life, family, and multiple relocation opportunities stalled her studies. She kept thinking, “will that gap time be an obstacle to my success?” One conversation later, she was ready to pursue her public health interest in epidemics and pandemics.

“So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune."
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A Candid Conversation with Leading Coronavirus Vaccine Developer

Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Mark your calendars for a discussion, led by a panel of local Flint experts, with Kizzmekia S. Corbett, PhD, a National Institutes of Health scientist instrumental in groundbreaking research that directly led to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.