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

Public Health Physician: Abhishek Sharma

Bridging public health, clinical medicine, and Maternal and Child Health into a career, Abhishek Sharma is pursuing his Master of Public Health degree while in India. As a public health trained physician, he plans to serve as a health advocate and health educator in his community. Sharma believes addressing the upstream factors that affect an individual patient's decision to take ownership of their health is important.

A Personal Narrative on College + Covid

Difficult conversations are taking place across the country as young adults prepare the start of their college careers. Dr. Debra Furr-Holden shares her experience from home as an epidemiologist, public health expert, and Mom of three college students. "My youngest, Olivia, graduated high school this year. When her college informed us that they were receiving students on campus, I was sure she would make the ‘right choice.’ On decision day, she simply said, ‘I’m going.’ I was shocked."

Eternal Commitment to Global Health

Knowing more education increases life expectancy and influences healthy living, Claire Schertzing is transforming the academic journey for many low-income first-generation college students. Claire is at the top of her MPH class, earning a 4.0 GPA and an invitation to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She is interested in a career in global health with a particular interest in the prevention and control of infectious diseases like malaria.

Melody Marzjarani on Being Spartan

Meet Master of Public Health Student Melody Marzjarani. She is a triple threat, serving on the Student Advisory Board, working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and holding a bachelor's degree in Human Biology from MSU's Lyman Briggs College. For Melody, having a public health background will give her a broader perspective and allow her to provide optimal care to future patients.

Go Green!

COVID-19 Response: Alumni and Students

Like the far-reaching impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Spartans in Public Health have addressed the pandemic in unprecedented ways. Alumni and students rapidly applied their skills and their talents to actively address the evolving needs of the pandemic.

Where there is a need, there is a Spartan in Public Health.