Wait Time Is Over for Eisner’s “Waiting-Room Willie”
More than 50 years ago, Will Eisner’s American Visuals Studio produced “The Sad Case of Waiting-Room Willie” for the Committee on Public Medical Health Education of the Baltimore Medical Society. This fascinating case of public health advocacy has long gone unexamined, particularly in the modern context of American healthcare.
The MCPHS University Center for Health Humanities and the Harvard Medical School’s Countway Library are bringing a team of local experts to honor Eisner’s legacy while also addressing some of our contemporary Graphic Medicine questions that plague Willie.
Panelists:
Martha Gardner – Associate Professor of History and Social Sciences, MCPHS University
A. David Lewis – Associate Professor of English and Health Humanities, MCPHS University
Dan Mazur – Artist, Publisher; “Will Eisner: A Comics Biography”
Tavon Mei – Graphic Medicine Club representative, Boston University
Matthew Noe – Lead Collection and Knowledge Management Librarian, Countway Library (Moderator)
Organizers
Research Addressing Cancer Disparities in New York City
Join us on Wednesday, April 8th for the Department of Epidemiology featuring Dr. Rulla Tamimi discussing Research Addressing Cancer Disparities in New York City.
Abstract: Dr. Tamimi will describe the catchment area of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center in New York City. New York City (NYC) is a region of extremes with some of the richest and poorest living in close proximity. These extremes have a profound impact on health, with major disparities in life expectancy, with cancer driving these differences as the number 1 and 2 causes of premature mortality and overall mortality, respectively. NYC is one of the most heterogeneous cities in the U.S. She will share her work as the Associate Director of Population Science at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, where she builds research programs that address the needs of the catchment area. She will also share research from the Center of Social Capital (SoCa) Promoting Multigenerational Health, a center she co-leads in response to the National Cancer Institute’s Persistent Poverty Initiative. The mission of the Center is to improve cancer risk and outcomes in persistent poverty census tracts throughout NYC by promoting multi-generational health. She will highlight recent work from the center.
Bio: Dr. Rulla Tamimi is the Chief of the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Associate Director of Population Science at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center. She is a cancer epidemiologist whose research has advanced our understanding of breast cancer risk and prognosis. Dr. Tamimi has led numerous NIH-funded studies and authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications, identifying key genetic, molecular, and lifestyle predictors of breast cancer. Her work includes studies of early-life and environmental exposures, molecular tumor characterization, and mammographic features as predictors of disease. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in developing collaborative research efforts, with a long-term commitment to improving cancer prevention and health equity.
Speaker Information
Organizers
Related Events
Negotiations Webinar Series: “On the Use of AI in Frontline Negotiation: Current Trends and Outlook for the Future”
Join us on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (10–11 a.m. ET) for the first session of our two-part Negotiations Webinar Series, hosted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
🎙 Webinar 1: “On the Use of AI in Frontline Negotiation: Current Trends and Outlook for the Future”
Featuring Claude Bruderlein, Esq., LL.M., Adjunct Lecturer and Senior Researcher, and Founder of Frontline Associates.
This session explores how emerging technologies are reshaping decision-making, risk management, and accountability at the negotiation table. Our faculty will discuss AI-enabled negotiation support and practical considerations for integrating AI responsibly into organizational practices.
🔗 Free and open to the public
📍 Join via Zoom: hsph.me/negotiations-webinar-feb-25
📲 Or scan the QR code in the event image
📅 Save the date for Webinar #2: “The Making of Negotiating Organizations” on March 25, 2026. Stay tuned for more details.
Please share with your networks and anyone who may be interested.
Questions? hhi@harvard.edu.
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Organizers
CCDD ID Epi Seminar Series – Curing More Than TB: Treating Bias in MDR/RR-TB Cohort Analyses
Presented by Molly Franke, Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Professor Franke is a global health researcher whose work brings the rigor of epidemiology to intractable infections, including tuberculosis, cholera, HIV. A primary objective of her work is to reduce suffering from infectious diseases by applying rigorous epidemiologic methods to address critical knowledge gaps related to interventions and treatment. Examples include the design of studies to assess the effectiveness of cholera interventions, including vaccination, and the use of causal inference-based approaches to study treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
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Book Launch and Fireside Chat: The Permanence of Anti-Roma Racism. (Un)uttered Sentences By Dr. Margareta Matache
Join us for a hybrid (in-person and Zoom) fireside chat to celebrate the launch of Dr. Margareta Matache’s new monograph, The Permanence of Anti-Roma Racism: (Un)uttered Sentences.
The event will explore the histories, structures, and daily practices that uphold anti-Roma racism across Europe and beyond. It will also examine the place and role of Romani Studies within broader global theories on racialization, racism, and systems of slavery. In conversation with Dr. Mary Bassett, Dr. Abadir Ibrahim, and Dr. Bram Wispelwey, Matache will reflect on howunuttered Roma sentences – erased histories, unhealed violence, and ignored internal knowledge – shape public health, policy, scholarship, and Roma lives.
Audience & Registration
This event is free and open to the public.
Due to space limitations and security requirements, please register at least one day in advance by emailing Claire Street at cstreet@hsph.harvard.edu.
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Organizers
Introduction to the General Records Schedule
Do you know how long you need to keep your office records, and what you should do when you no longer need them? In this workshop, we’ll help de-mystify records retention by showing you how to use and understand the Harvard University General Records Schedule (GRS).
Organizers
Film Screening: Poverty Inc. by Michael Matheson Miller
FXB Center is hosting a film screening of “Poverty Inc.” a documentary film by Michael Matheson Miller in the FXB Jonathan M Mann Conference Room. There will be refreshments provided, and this screening is open to the Harvard University Community.
Organizers
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Sarah Cowan, PhD, associate professor of sociology and director of undergraduate studies, New York University, will present (REMOTELY) “The effect of a Universal Cash Transfer on fertility and newborn health.”
The Social Demography Seminar (SDS) series at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies provides a lively forum for scholars from across the university to discuss in-progress social scientific and population research. Social demography includes work that uses demographic methods to describe and explain the distribution of social goods across populations. The hybrid series offers presentations on a wide variety of topics such as family, gender, race/ethnicity, population health—including mortality, morbidity, and functional health—inequality, immigration, fertility, and the institutional arrangements that shape and respond to population processes.
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Organizers
Examining Immigration Enforcement from Minnesota to Boston: A teach-in on impacts and community resources
Come join us for an engaging seminar on immigration enforcement and its impact. Participants will learn about the extent of immigration enforcement, consider its far-reaching effects on public health and mental health, and learn about concrete resources and support available at Harvard, in surrounding communities, and beyond. We will be joined by HSPH faculty, students, and other leaders in this field.
This seminar offers a welcoming space to learn, reflect, and connect.
This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Health Policy and Management and the Office for Community Belonging.
Speaker Information
David Williams
Maggie Sullivan
Evie Odden
Liz Gipson
TJ Moon
Organizers
This event is part of the Dr. Lawrence H. and Roberta Cohn Forum series.
This conversation pulls back the curtain on what really happens when Democrats and Republicans hammer out health legislation in Washington. Former HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation Melanie Egorin and former staff director for the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Brian Sutter will unpack how trust, timing, and technical work shape major laws. They will trace how ideas move from “policy on the shelf” to statute, even in hyper‑partisan moments. This discussion will paint a clear picture of the roles staff, agencies, and advocates play—and offer practical advice for building a career in bipartisan problem‑solving.
Register for free to submit your questions.
An on-demand video will be posted after the event.
Speakers
Melanie Egorin
Brian Sutter
