Dementia Risk and Prevention – Lessons from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Cohort
Join us on Wednesday, September 10 for the Epidemiology Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Josef Coresh discussing Dementia Risk and Prevention – Lessons from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Cohort.
Abstract: Dementia is one of the leading threats to the health of our aging population. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study contributed major insights by observing over 15,000 US adults since the late 1980s. We will discuss observations on the lifetime risk of dementia, the relationship of risk to vascular risk factors, insights into the to the biology of dementia by proteomics, brain imaging and blood brain biomarkers and their implications for prevention.
Bio: Dr. Coresh is the Founding Director of the Optimal Aging Institute and the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor of Population Health and Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The institute leverages epidemiologic cohorts to advance discovery, prevention and treatment of aging related diseases. Dr. Coresh continues to co-lead of the ARIC Neurocognitive Study (MPI: Coresh/Mosley. Chair: Gottesman) renewal (2023-2028) and CKD Prognosis Consortium (2023-2028; MPI: Coresh/grams) as well as start new initiatives. Dr. Coresh is an international expert in aging and vascular disease epidemiology of the brain, heart and kidney, using a range of epidemiology and data science methods. Dr. Coresh is among the most cited researcher having co-authored articles cited over 300,000 times according to Google Scholar. He received the top scientific and patient impact awards of the US National Kidney Foundation (Eknoyan and Hume awards) and American Society of Nephrology (Belding Scribner award). His devotion to mentorship was recognized by awards from Johns Hopkins University and the American Heart Association.
Speaker Information
Josef Coresh, MD, PhD
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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.
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David S. Jones, MD, PhD
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We Are One: Learnings from Community Engagement
In this session, Dr. Balsari shares key findings from the research that inspired an interdisciplinary team of graduate students from across campus to explore novel ways of knowledge dissemination. Engagement with these poor, disadvantaged, but extremely empowered women set in motion a series of projects where scientists and policy makers responded to research priorities set by the community. Hum Sab Ek (We Are One) is the rallying cry of the 3 million strong organization, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), comprising street vendors, home-based artisans, farmers, salt pan workers, ship breakers, and construction workers, amongst many others. It is also the name of the traveling exhibit that is now invited to the World Bank in DC and the ILO in Geneva.
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Dr. Satchit Balsari
Organizers
US Social Policies to Address Health Equity: Motivations, Impacts, and Challenges
Social policies have the potential to address health equity at the population level. This presentation describes the theoretical and practical motivations for studying the health impacts of social policies. It provides rigorous quasi-experimental evidence of the health impacts and implementation challenges of poverty alleviation and educational policies in particular. It additionally discusses the immediate policy implications of this research.
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Dr. Rita Hamad
Organizers
Complex Mixtures Working Group
Join the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center’s working group on complex mixtures, held the last Monday of each month in HSPH Kresge 202A!
This monthly working group meeting is held in person. Members discuss a wide range of issues related to analyzing health effects of complex mixtures of exposures in environmental health. During the 2025-2026 academic year, the group will also work through complex mixtures challenges faced by individual members.
Please email niehsctr@hsph.harvard.edu to RSVP!
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Complex Mixtures Working Group
Join the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center’s working group on complex mixtures, held in HSPH Kresge 202A! Note – the “October” meeting will be held one week later than usual, on November 3, 2025 at 1 pm.
This monthly working group meeting is held in person. Members discuss a wide range of issues related to analyzing health effects of complex mixtures of exposures in environmental health. During the 2025-2026 academic year, the group will also work through complex mixtures challenges faced by individual members.
Please email niehsctr@hsph.harvard.edu to RSVP!
Speaker Information
Organizers
Complex Mixtures Working Group
Join the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center’s working group on complex mixtures, held the last Monday of each month in HSPH Kresge 202A!
This monthly working group meeting is held in person. Members discuss a wide range of issues related to analyzing health effects of complex mixtures of exposures in environmental health. During the 2025-2026 academic year, the group will also work through complex mixtures challenges faced by individual members. The September meeting will focus on air pollution/climate variables as a mixture.
Please email niehsctr@hsph.harvard.edu to RSVP!
Speaker Information
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.
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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.