Excess Deaths: History of a Contested Concept
Join us on Wednesday, September 3 for the Epidemiology Seminar Series, featuring Dr. David Jones discussing Excess Deaths: History of a Contested Concept.
Abstract: The measure of “excess deaths” has become a familiar and important concept in epidemiology and health statistics, especially during crises when direct counts of mortality are complicated (e.g., COVID-19, heat waves and other natural disasters, etc.). While the measure is useful, and can be politically powerful, it is also problematic: methodological compromises inevitably expose the reported counts to contestation that often seeks to deny the seriousness of the health threat. I will explore the history of the concept of “excess deaths,” describing the challenges it hoped to solve, some of the competing measures (e.g., expected deaths), and the persistent debates. By understanding the history of the concept and the debates, it is possible to develop strategies for using the concept most effectively.
Bio: Trained in psychiatry and history of science, David Jones teaches history of medicine, medical ethics, and social medicine at Harvard University. His research has ranged from the history of epidemics to heart disease, cardiac therapeutics, race, air pollution, and the health effects of the climate crisis.
Speaker Information
David S. Jones, MD, PhD
Organizers
As birth rates decline in the U.S., policymakers are debating whether to encourage a baby boom—and if so, how. Ideas range from funding bank accounts for newborns to lowering the cost of in vitro fertilization to changing tax policy to encourage larger families. This panel brings together health and policy experts to explore the drivers of declining fertility, consider whether the U.S. needs more births, and discuss innovative strategies to improve the health of moms and babies.
Moderator
Veronica Adamson
About The Studio
Smart Solutions, Hidden Costs: Weighing AI’s Climate and Health Impact
The Department of Environmental Health and the Harvard Chan Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) hosted this live webinar as part of Harvard Climate Action Week.
Smart Solutions, Hidden Costs: Weighing AI’s Climate and Health Impact
The AI boom introduces new possibilities for identifying and implementing innovative climate solutions that can protect communities and improve health. At the same time, the water and energy resources — and resulting fossil fuel emissions — needed to cool and power AI’s data centers create new and growing threats to health. In this webinar, Harvard experts will address AI’s complex relationship with both climate and health outcomes, acknowledging both the transformative potential and the real costs involved.
Speaker Information
Organizers
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Celebration of Early Career Investigators in Cancer Research
Early career investigators are a unique reservoir of new ideas, innovation, and excellence in cancer research. To celebrate this, we welcome you to join the Annual DF/HCC Celebration of Early Investigators in Cancer Research. This symposium will showcase the talent of early career investigators at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) who work in several areas of population science, including epidemiology, biostatistics, outcomes, diversity, and survivorship. We invite all members of the public to attend the event. We also invite students, post-docs, residents, and clinical fellows to submit abstracts for consideration as oral or poster presentations. We look forward to an exciting afternoon of discussion, sharing new discoveries, and building new collaborations.
Humans of Harvard Chan: Storytelling Slam
What does belonging mean to you?
Join us for “Humans of Harvard Chan,” a storytelling slam that aims to explore what belonging means through the power of lived experience. Whether it’s a moment of connection, a struggle to fit in, or finding home in an unexpected place—this is your chance to share a 3–5 minute story about belonging.
All Harvard Chan community members—students, staff, faculty, and academic appointees—are invited to speak or simply come listen. Storytellers and story-listeners alike are essential.
Come for the stories. Stay for the connection. Everyone is welcome.
The event is an in-person event only in Kresge G4 Suite Lounge (Ground Floor).
Organizers
Hot Topics Seminar Series: Understanding Medicaid Work Requirements – Research Evidence and the Current Debate
Join us for a timely Hot Topics session with Dr. Benjamin Sommers. A leading voice in health policy and economics, Dr. Sommers will unpack the latest research and policy debates on Medicaid work requirements amid today’s shifting political landscape.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A session, and light lunch will be served. Harvard ID required to enter the venue.
Dr. Sommers is a health economist and a primary care physician whose research interests are health policy for marginalized populations, the uninsured, and the health care safety net. He is the Huntley Quelch Professor of Health Care Economics at Harvard Chan and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research has been published in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Health Affairs, and his work has been profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019. From 2021 to 2023, he served in the Biden Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Speaker Information
Benjamin Sommers
Organizers
Addressing the Impact of Extreme Heat on Young Children
Excessive heat can impact young children’s development and health both in the moment and across the lifespan. Implementing strategies to reduce exposure to extreme heat benefits children, caregivers, and communities.
Join us for a live conversation, Addressing the Impact of Extreme Heat on Young Children, on July 17 at 1 pm ET, as we explore how communities are working to reduce the effects of extreme heat on early childhood development.
The discussion will be led by Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, the Center’s Chief Science Officer and Founding Director of the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment (ECSCEE), which authored the 2024 working paper, Extreme Heat Affects Early Childhood Development and Health. Our panelists, Michelle Kang, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Jennifer Vanos, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Sustainability and the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University, will share innovative strategies to protect young children from extreme heat, support caregivers, and ensure healthy development of all children in our communities.
Moderator
Speaker Information
Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP
Michelle Kang
Jennifer Vanos, PhD
Organizers
Presented jointly with the Master in Health Care Management program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Drawing on research and real-world applications, this panel of physicians and health care executives will explore the transformative impact of AI on health care delivery, research, and policy—and address critical questions around data privacy and protection. Panelists will share their experiences integrating AI into workflows such as diagnostics, patient monitoring, and clinical decision-making, shedding light on both the promise and challenges of AI in health care.
Register for free to submit your questions.
Speakers
Moderator
About The Studio
Hot Topics Seminar Series: Reproductive health inequities among LGBTQ populations
Join us as we kick off the Hot Topics Seminar Series with Dr. Brittany Charlton, a leading scholar of sexual and gender minority health inequities. In her talk, Dr. Charlton will dive into her research on reproductive health inequities faced by LGBTQ communities—an urgent and often overlooked public health issue.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A session, and light lunch will be served.
Dr. Charlton is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is the Founding Director of the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence. Widely recognized for her work on health inequities, Dr. Carlton’s research centers on cancer and reproductive health among sexual and gender minority communities. She has published over 100 original research papers and leads several mentoring initiatives, particularly for underrepresented minorities.
Speaker Information
Brittany Charlton
Organizers
Nutrition and Infection Interventions to Promote Survival, Growth, and Development
Join the Department of Global Health and Population on Tuesday, July 22, for a seminar featuring Christopher R. Sudfeld, Associate Professor of Global Health and Nutrition in the Department of Global Health and Population. Christopher Sudfeld will present, “Nutrition and Infection Interventions to Promote Survival, Growth, and Development”.
This hybrid seminar will be held in Building 1, Room 1208 and via Zoom.
Please note, a Harvard ID is required for building access.
Speakers will share their own perspectives; they do not speak for Harvard