Joint School of Public Health

How can data science save lives right here in Hampton Roads?

Dr. ADITYA CHAKRABORTY, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Environmental Health, leads research using AI and machine learning to transform how we detect and treat pancreatic cancer. Combining cutting-edge biomedical data with real-world community partnerships helps doctors catch cancer earlier and personalize treatments for every patient, often leading to significantly better outcomes for the patients.

Read more about the breakthrough research: https://www.odu.edu/monarch-magazine/article/how-ai-could-transform-pancreatic-cancer-detection-and-treatment

How AI Could Transform Pancreatic Cancer Detection and Treatment Aditya Chakraborty, Ph.D., strives to translate data into hope for people with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers, with a five-year relative survival rate of just 13%, according to the American Cancer Society. Early detection is difficult, becaus...

Meet our newest faculty member, Dr. Emily Owens Pickle!

Dr. Owens Pickle joined the Joint School of Public Health as an assistant professor in epidemiology. An infectious disease epidemiologist specializing in vector-borne diseases, her research tackles tick-borne illnesses like alpha-gal syndrome.

From jumping in with to protecting our communities, we sat down with Dr. Owens Pickle to discuss her research, career path, and top tick-prevention tips.

Learn more about Dr. Pickle at https://bit.ly/4xkNAWD, and help us welcome her to the !

Welcome Dr. Emily Owens Pickle to the Joint School of Public Health Meet our newest faculty member, Emily Owens Pickle, Ph.D.! Dr. Pickle joined the Joint School of Public Health as an assistant professor in epidemiology on July 25 as the newest member of our growing team! Dr. Owens Pickle holds a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of South Carolina and an M....

The Joint School of Public Health has officially earned accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)!

This achievement reflects the dedication of our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners who helped build a school committed to advancing health, equity and impact across Virginia and beyond.

accreditation is the gold standard for public health education, affirming that our programs meet rigorous national standards and prepare graduates to tackle today’s most pressing public health challenges.

As the first and only school of public health in Virginia operated jointly by two universities, Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, this milestone marks an exciting new chapter in our journey.

Thank you to all who made this accomplishment possible, including the Commonwealth of Virginia and Sentara Health. The future of public health is bright, and we’re just getting started.

Congratulations to first-year MPH student Rula Atwani on receiving the 2025 Roy M. Pitkin Award from the editors of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the official journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)! As a medical doctor and Research Associate in the Virginia Medical School Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Established in 1998, the Roy M. Pitkin Award recognizes excellence in obstetrics and gynecology research. Rula's award-winning study examined the relationship between county-level maternity care access and maternal and pregnancy-related mortality in the United States. Her research found that living in a maternity care desert is associated with significantly higher maternal and pregnancy-related mortality, highlighting geographic access to obstetric care as a critical structural determinant of maternal health.

These findings provide important evidence to help inform policies that strengthen maternity care infrastructure, improve workforce distribution, and reduce geographic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

Please join us in congratulating Rula on this well-deserved recognition and her commitment to advancing maternal health through impactful research!

Ticks had a good run. For millions of years, they’ve hitched rides on people and animals, spreading diseases and ruining hikes. But, Old Dominion University tick expert Holly Gaff, Ph.D., is changing the game. Her newest collaborative creation, the TickBot, has no skin, no blood and no deadline, making it the perfect robotic nemesis for a prehistoric pest.

Public health alumna, Darian Dean (M.P.H. ’25, B.A. ’22) is one of the members of Dr. Gaff's team working to fight the battle against hangry critters in Chesapeake with the TickBot. For more than a decade, Dr. Gaff, professor and chair of the biological sciences department, has been developing the TickBot — a tick prevention tool in the form of a robot on four wheels pulling along a permethrin-treated cloth that won’t harm the environment or beneficial insects.

Old Dominion University Alumni Association ODU College of Sciences

Meet the TickBot: ODU Researchers Pilot Tick Prevention Studies in Chesapeake Neighborhood Ticks had a good run. For millions of years, they’ve hitched rides on people and animals, spreading diseases and ruining hikes. But, Old Dominion University tick expert Holly Gaff, Ph.D., is changing the game. Her newest collaborative creation, the TickBot, has no skin, no blood and no deadline, m...

Happy Independence Day! As you gather with family and friends, we hope you have a safe, healthy, and fun holiday! Whether you're enjoying a backyard barbecue, watching fireworks or spending time at the beach, remember to stay hydrated, protect yourself from the sun, and look out for one another.

Please note that we are closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of the holiday. We will reopen on Monday.

From advancing reproductive medicine to pioneering distance learning and artificial intelligence innovation, ODU's legacy is built on expanding opportunity, advancing knowledge and creating lasting impact. Old Dominion University is featured in a new timeline created by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), which highlights defining achievements and transformative contributions public universities have made to the nation ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.

National Timeline Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary Features Old Dominion University In 1981, a groundbreaking medical achievement in Norfolk, Virginia helped change reproductive medicine in the United States forever. More than four decades later, that historic moment continues to receive national recognition. Old Dominion University is featured in a new timeline created by the Asso...

Still thinking about an MPH? Join Dr. Brett Sierra, director of the ODU MPH, for an open house to learn all about the Master of Public Health and how it could benefit your future. Register online at https://explorehealth.odu.edu/20252026mphvirtualsessions/inquiryform

Writing-intensive projects can be daunting in any major. But, a revamped public health class is using AI to help students blend technology with learning.

“We wanted to improve two things: self-confidence in writing and the overall course pass rate,” said Elizabeth Brown, Ph.D., M.P.A., assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Policy, and Management and program director for the Bachelor of Science in Public Health.

Read more about the change, and how it's upped the pass rate of the course, at https://bit.ly/3QdIZ8K