Rollins School of Public Health Ranks No. 2 in 2026 U.S. News & World Report

For the second year in a row, the Rollins School of Public Health ranks No. 2 in the nation among all accredited schools and programs of public health in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Public Health Schools list. Rankings are based on reputational surveys completed by peer institutions.

“I’m humbled to see our school so highly regarded among our outstanding peers, who I respect so deeply,” says Daniele Fallin, PhD, dean of the Rollins School of Public Health. “This is a momentous time for our nation’s health. Our country’s schools and programs of public health are doing critical work every day and are ready to meet this need. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this collective effort.” 

Rollins has been ranked in the top 10 for more than 20 years. In addition to its school-wide ranking, Rollins received top five rankings for each of the programs individually ranked this year:

• Biostatistics
• Environmental Health Sciences
• Epidemiology
• Health Policy and Management
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Rollins offers academic degrees across six academic departments in areas that include global health; epidemiology; biostatistics and bioinformatics; health policy and management; environmental health; and behavioral, social, and health education sciences. Recently launched programs include a fully online Doctor of Public Health in Applied AI and Data Translation, a Master of Science in Public Health in Data Science, a Master of Health Administration, and a Science Communication Certificate program. 

View a full list of academic programs with Rollins’ program finder. 

“As advancements in AI, technology, and data continue to evolve, we are excited to offer programs that meet the needs of our public health workforce and those we serve,” says Fallin. “We need trained public health professionals ready to serve our country and to advance public health research through our commitment to excellence in discovery, education, and supporting our practice partners.”

Capstone Presentations, Department of Epidemiology

• What: You are invited to attend final presentations by current 2^nd year EPI and GLEPI Capstone students on their work completed in collaboration with Care community partners. 
• When: Tuesday, April 21^st 9am-12pm
• Attn: first-years still deciding between thesis and capstone: this is an excellent opportunity to better understand the Capstone ILE option!

Atlanta VA Joint Research Symposium, Atlanta VA Healthcare System

The Atlanta VA Healthcare System presents the Atlanta VA Joint Research Symposium in Partnership with Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine

DATE:
Thursday, August 6, 2026

TIME:
8:30 AM 

LOCATION:
Emory School of Medicine

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Join us for an exciting day of cutting-edge research and collaboration as we bring together investigators and trainees from the Atlanta VA Healthcare System, Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine. This symposium aims to highlight advancements in veteran healthcare, foster interdisciplinary research partnerships, and explore innovative solutions to some of the most pressing medical challenges.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

William Shafer, PhD is a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Director of the Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery Training Program and Co-Director of the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center.

His research group has examined Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Staphylococcus aureus for their ability to resist both classical antibiotics and host-derived antimicrobials (principally, cationic antimicrobial peptides). A major finding that drives current work deals with the role of drug efflux pumps that contribute to the resistance of N. gonorrhoeae to both antibiotics and host antimicrobials.

Luis Villacorta, PhD is an Associate Professor in the department of physiology and the Associate Director of Biomedical Research in the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Villacorta’s research focuses on the interplay between inflammatory responses and energy metabolism, with special emphasis on vascular, liver and adipose tissues. In particular, Dr. Villacorta studies the role of bioactive nitrated fatty acids in the pathophysiology of obesity, diabetes and aligned-cardiovascular and -liver diseases geared towards the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Nitrated fatty acids have emerged as potent anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic signaling mediators. These lipids are generated during inflammation and digestion through non-enzymatic reactions of unsaturated fatty acids with nitrogen dioxide, yielding an array of electrophilic nitro-fatty acids with unique biochemical and signaling properties. Furthermore, their safety and pharmacokinetics have been clinically examined in phase I trials and its therapeutic potential currently evaluated in phase II clinical trials.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Amy Justice, MD, PhD, is a General Internist and Clinical Epidemiologist, and was a pioneer in the development of a national observational study based on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data. The Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) is an ongoing, longitudinal study encompassing over 60,000 people with HIV and over 6 million people without HIV continuously funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1996. In addition to EMR data, VACS is supplemented with outside data sources, patient completed surveys, DNA and tissue, and stored pathology samples. Dr. Justice also serves as the Scientific Liaison for a federal collaboration between the VA and the Department of Energy focused on applying artificial intelligence and high-performance computing to EMR data to address critical questions in medicine. In 2022, she received the highest honor awarded annually by the Department of Veterans Affairs recognizing outstanding contribution in biomedical and behavioral research relevant to veteran’s healthcare, the William S. Middleton Award. In 2025, she received The John M. Eisenberg National Award for Career Achievement in Research from the Society of General Internal Medicine for conducting innovative research that has changed how we care for patients. She is currently leading an international commission on Ageing and HIV for The Lancet HIV.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

• Career Development Program
• Acquiring VA Funding

RSVP & REGISTRATION: Attendance is free, but registration is required. Please RSVP by June 7, 2026 – Registration Link 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:

Researchers, trainees, and students are encouraged to submit abstracts for poster sessions. Please submit by June 7, 2026 – Abstract Submission Link

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Dr. Delena Jones: Delena [dot] Jones [at] va [dot] gov or 404-321-6111

DATA 521: Database Development for Public Health, Rollins School of Public Health

If you are interested in the course description for DATA 521, please reach out to your ADAP.

Course Description: In this course, you’ll learn about the basic structure of relational databases and how to read and write simple and complex SQL statements and advanced data manipulation techniques. By the end of this course, you’ll have a solid working knowledge of structured query language. You’ll feel confident in your ability to write SQL queries to create tables; retrieve data from single or multiple tables; delete, insert, and update data in a database; and gather significant statistics from data stored in a database. This course will teach key concepts of Structured Query Language (SQL) and gain a solid working knowledge of this powerful and universal database programming language. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the language of relational databases: Structured Query Language (SQL). Topics covered include Entity-Relationship modeling, the Relational Model, the SQL language: data retrieval statements, data manipulation.

Class Hours and Location: Friday 8-9.50am, Room: TBA (and 1hour asynchronous lab)

Impacts and Changes to Federal Loans Webinar, Emory University

All students are invited to learn about the impacts and changes to federal loans and borrowing as a result from the One Big Beautiful Bill via a webinar that the Office of Student Affairs will be hosting on Monday, April 6 from 6:00 – 7:00PM ET.

Domestic students and permanent residents who have NOT taken a graduate direct loan in the 2025-2026 year and who are continuing at Rollins are especially encouraged to attend as new regulations will impact them if they do not take steps now.

Students can register here to attend

“County Level Predictability of Measles Outbreaks Worldwide” Seminar, CIDMATH

Lunch is provided for meeting attendees. ​Click here for the meeting agenda.​

Option to join on zoom:

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Apr 1, 2026 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Registration required. Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/qdbgMcQ2SmO59T6sl0z2yg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

EH 561: Environmental Health-Omics, Rollins School of Public Health

Students registering for classes for fall 2026 are encouraged to review the course information for EH 561: Environmental Health-Omics (which has been newly re-numbered and will be offered this fall instead of in the spring).

Learn how to analyze, visualize, and interpret complex molecular data for public health research.

Hybrid course (2 credits) – we meet in-person every other week, students engage in guided data workshops and other online materials at their own pace during off-weeks.
Multimodal approaches to learning: Lectures from experts, discussion sessions, and R-guided workshops.
Course schedule: Wednesdays from 8:00 – 9:50am for in-person weeks (cofeee & tea are welcome… encouraged)
Assessments: participation in discussion sessions, data workshop assignments, and a final independent project.
Pre-Req: Completion of BIOS 544 or BIOS 545, or prior experience with R programming are encouraged.
Instructor: Todd Everson (Todd [dot] M [dot] Everson [at] Emory [dot] edu)

EPI 590R: Birth Defects and DevelopmentalDisabilities: Methods in Surveillance,Epidemiology, and Prevention, Rollins School of Public Health

Students registering for classes for Fall 2026 are encouraged to review the course information for EPI 590R: Birth Defects and DevelopmentalDisabilities: Methods in Surveillance,Epidemiology, and Prevention, Rollins School of Public Health.

Course Description

Birth defects are a leading cause of perinatal- and under-5 mortality and disability. Developmental disabilities contribute to impairment in physical, learning, language, and behaviors. Birth defects and developmental disabilities (BD-DD) are common, costly, and critical. This course emphasizes current knowledge on surveillance and epidemiological methods to study BDDD prevalence, risk factors, prevention, care, and health policy across lifespan. Current concepts in applied epidemiology, study methods, bias analysis, and effect modification will be taught through instructor- and guest speaker-led lectures. Students will receive a comprehensive understanding of birth defects and developmental disabilities epidemiology at the state, federal, and international level.

Prerequisites

EPI 530, EPI 540 or EPI 539, EPI 550

Meeting Times

Wednesdays, 3.00 PM – 4.50 PM ET (Online, Synchronous

Top 3 Reasons to Take this Course

• Provides a comprehensive overview and cutting-edge knowledge on
  public health aspects of birth defects and developmental disabilities.
• Provides an opportunity to learn from and interact with national and
  international experts on BD-DD epidemiology through guest lectures.
• Trains you to undertake surveillance and epidemiological studies,
  employment opportunities (CDC, State Health Departments, NGOs,
  WHO, and academic research centers nationally and internationally), or
  advanced educational pursuits (PhD or Post-Doctoral Fellowships)
  focused on birth defects and developmental disabilities nationally and
  internationally

From Consulting to C-Suite Lunch and Learn, American College of Healthcare Executives of Georgia

Emory ACHE will be hosting a Lunch & Learn this Tuesday, March 31st from 12–1 PM in CNR 1000. 

We’re excited to welcome Josh Roberts, COO of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, who will share insights on his journey from consulting to the C-suite, along with lessons on leadership growth and navigating complex healthcare systems.

Lunch will be provided! Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn and connect!

Please register on the Hub: https://thehub.emory.edu/rsvp?id=388230

Spring Townhall, Department of Epidemiology

What: Join department representatives for a townhall meeting!

When: March 25, 2026 from 12:00-1:00pm | RRR 100