Welcome to the Yale School of Public Health magazine, complete with a new name that reflects our newly independent school’s aspirations, strengths, and vision for the future.

We have leaned into this long-awaited moment with the release of our first-ever school-wide strategic plan. As you’ll read in our special in­dependence section, our bold five-year strategic plan articulates a fresh vision for the future: one in which YSPH links science and society, making pub­lic health foundational to communities everywhere. It builds on our excep­tional past and present to meet the health needs of the moment. I’m so grateful to all—staff, students, alumni, and faculty—who helped craft it.

The articles in this magazine highlight how we are already realizing YSPH’s new vision, priorities, and areas of scholarly focus. Our world-class scholars are working on topics ranging from protecting cities from the health effects of climate change to creating community-based solu­tions to gun violence, to identifying chemical additives replacing menthol in cigarettes, to defining the role of “forever chemicals” in cancer cell migration, and to presenting research about a new noninvasive test that could dramatically alter the global malaria testing landscape.

You’ll also read about how our community of friends and alumni are helping to ensure that this scholarship is translated into real-world impact. The generosity of the Yale community is essential as we work to support our researchers, students, and practitioners in doing this essential work.

Finally, you’ll learn how you can join us to celebrate our and others’ public health successes. In particular, I invite you to join us at an upcom­ing Leaders in Public Health Speaker Series conversation.

More than ever, the world needs thoughtful public health scientists, educators, and change-makers, who are committed to creating both high-quality knowledge and frameworks that move knowledge into systems-level change. Thank you for joining us in this essential work.

And I look forward to seeing you on campus!

Yours,

Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH
Dean, Yale School of Public Health
C.-E. A. Winslow Professor of Public Health