Presented jointly with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
As the number of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda climb, health infrastructure and resources are stretched thin. The outbreak response is complicated by conflict, remote terrain, and population movement. With no vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, surveillance, cross-border coordination, and community engagement is key. Join leaders from WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for a conversation that examines the challenges of the current response and what the fight against Ebola reveals about humanitarian aid and global health security.
Watch the premiere on June 30 at 10 a.m. ET on the Harvard Chan YouTube page.
An on-demand recording will be available following the premiere.
Speakers
Marie Roseline Belizaire
Petra Khoury
Moderator
About The Studio
For many people, consistent exercise feels daunting — an all-or-nothing proposition in which setbacks signal failure and advice overwhelms. This discussion reframes physical activity as something accessible and sustainable by challenging common myths about exercise and the amounts needed for health and well-being. Speakers will explore how different “doses” of activity, from light movement to more intense training, influence health — and how adapting routines can help people avoid burnout and keep exercising over a lifetime. A panel of specialists in epidemiology, sports cardiology, athletics, and health journalism will weigh in, drawing on both research and real-world experience.
Speaker Information
Moderator
Gretchen Reynolds
About The Studio
40 Years of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study
Overview
This year, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) celebrates 40 years of public health discoveries made possible by its participants. To mark this occasion, we invite you to join the HPFS 40th Anniversary Celebration livestream featuring:
- Scientific presentations on key findings from the study
- Brief testimonials from participants
- An opportunity to look back on four decades of this remarkable research community
Livestream Details
Thursday, September 10, 2026, 1:00 – 5:00 PM ET
A portion of the event will be dedicated to answering questions from participants and other viewers. Please submit your questions in advance. We’d love to hear from you!
Program
- 1:00-1:15 pm: Welcome and opening remarks about the 40th anniversary of the HPFS cohort – Walter Willett and Lorelei Mucci
- 1:15-1:35 pm Panel Discussion – What is the human influence in designing and running a scientific study: memories across 40 years of the HPFS – Eric Rimm (moderator), Betsy Frost-Hawes, Siobhan St. Surin, Ed Giovannucci, Clifford Scott
- 1:35-1:45 pm: Discoveries in neuroepidemiology from HPFS (prerecorded) – Alberto Ascherio
- 1:45-1:55 pm: The HPFS participant experience – Clifford Scott
- 1:55-2:00 pm: Testimonials of HPFS participants, Part I
- 2:00-2:25 pm: Panel Discussion – Meet the Experts in Cancer Research in HPFS – Ed Giovannucci, Mingyang Song, Stephanie Smith-Warner, Brenda Birmann, Konrad Stopsack, Lorelei Mucci (moderator)
- 2:25-2:35 pm: Optimizing kidney health – Gary Curhan
- 2:35-2:40 pm: Testimonials of HPFS participants, Part II
- 2:40-2:55 pm: BREAK
- 2:50-3:15 pm: Panel Discussion – Living well to age 90 and beyond –Yuan Ma, Heather Eliassen, Clifford Scott
- 3:15-3:25 pm: Discoveries in Cardiovascular Disease EPI in the HPFS – Eric Rimm
- 3:25-3:50 pm: Panel Discussion – What is an optimal healthy diet, and how has HPFS shaped this? – Meir Stampfer, Walter Willett, Frank Hu, Deedee Tobias
- 3:50-4:00 pm: Physical activity and health – Ed Giovannucci
- 4:00-4:10 pm: A look to the future and closing remarks – Walter Willett, Lorelei Mucci, Clifford Scott
HPFS Co-PIs
Please see above program for a full list of speakers and presenters.
FAQ
Yes, the livestream recording will be posted on the Department of Nutrition’s YouTube channel. Please allow for at least one week following the event while we caption and upload the recording.
Visit the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study website for an archive of past newsletters and publications that feature study results.
Please email hpfs40@hsph.harvard.edu with any inquiries about the event.
A world without lead exposure: Pursuing the path forward with Mary Jean Brown, ScD
Please join the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health and the Department of Environmental Health for a talk by Mary Jean Brown, ScD, Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Brown will discuss “A world without lead exposure: Pursuing the path forward.”
This event will be held in person (HSPH Bldg. 1, 1302) and via Zoom. Register here
Trainee meeting for students and postdocs immediately following the seminar, 2-2:30 pm, in 1306A! Come in-person to discuss research interests, career plans, and funding opportunities. RSVP here!
Abstract
A recent World Bank Report ‘A World Without Lead: Paving the Path to a Healthy Productive Future’ describes the global lead poisoning crisis, and its impacts on health, the environment, and human capital. The report offers a roadmap for eliminating exposure, comprising strategic investments, policy reforms and foundational public health practices like monitoring and surveillance that every country can use to address this crisis.
Removal of lead from gasoline reduced average blood lead levels globally but was not the only source of lead. Global lead consumption exceeded 12 million tons in 2022. Toxic emissions are routinely released from formal and informal lead mining, smelting and recycling and contaminate adjacent communities. Lead is found in a multitude of foodstuffs, remedies, low fire glazed pottery, jewelry, leaded residential paint and water pipes. One study estimated that 800 million children worldwide, most living in low-middle income countries, have blood lead levels known to affect learning, behavior and later adult health.
But good news: fugitive emissions from lead mining and smelting can be controlled, contaminated sites can be cleaned up, and old lead mines can be permanently closed. Lead contamination of foodstuffs and leaded paint have been successfully regulated. Population-level blood lead surveillance, together with studies of blood and environmental lead levels in areas with known lead contamination, help countries and communities identify risks and monitor progress to eliminate the danger. And, the costs of these interventions are far less than the costs of letting the exposure continue.
In this seminar, Dr. Brown will describe the current status of lead exposure with a focus on low and middle income countries, the expected costs/benefits of eliminating exposure globally, and the work that remains to be done.
About the speaker
Mary Jean Brown was on the faculty of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2003-2026, where she taught courses in public health practice. She retired as Chief of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch at CDC in 2006. Dr. Brown co-authored A World Without Lead: Paving the Path to a Healthy, Productive Future and works regularly with domestic and international public health agencies and non-governmental organizations such as the World Health Organization UNICEF, and Human Rights Watch on issues related to health and housing, including developing policies to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. She has published more than 150 peer reviewed scientific articles, commentaries, and policy documents and conducted epidemiological studies of housing interventions for lead, asthma, and injuries in the United States and internationally.
Dr. Brown received a Doctor of Science degree from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2000. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Boston College in 1982.
Speaker Information
Organizers
The original event has been rescheduled and will now premiere on the HSPH YouTube Channel on Tuesday, June 9 at 1pm ET.
Pressure Points is a webinar series co-hosted by The Studio and the Advanced Learning Academy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health bringing you inside the business of health care.
AI has already changed how health care organizations collect and analyze data. Now, it’s changing how they build. From large language models to AI agents and low-code development tools, it’s possible to create workflows, build applications, and generate prototypes, raising questions about what health care leaders should build, buy, and scale. This Pressure Points virtual event will analyze the recent acceleration of AI capabilities beyond vibe coding and explore the emerging best practices and organizational challenges that come with implementing agentic AI tools.
Register for free to submit your questions.
An on-demand video will be posted after the event.
Speakers
Moderator
About The Organizers
Fasting Mimicking Diet Cycles In Multi-System Regeneration and Disease Treatment
21st Annual Stare-Hegsted Lecture
Valter Longo, PhD, Edna Jones Professor in Biological Sciences and Gerontology at USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology will serve as the distinguished speaker for the 21st Annual Stare-Hegsted Lecture.
Lecture Overview: Based on the discovery by his laboratory of the role of the Tor-S6k pathway in accelerating aging and diseases, the Longo lab developed the Fasting mimicking Diet (FMD), a periodic intervention that activates stem cells, cellular reprogramming and autophagy to extend longevity and reverse diseases in rodents. In over 40 clinical trials, five-day FMD cycles resulted in the reduction of biological age and regression of multiple diseases.
This annual lecture honors Drs. Fredrick Stare and Mark Hegsted, who were the founders of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 1942, which was the first department of nutrition in any medical center or school of public health in the U.S.
Speaker Information
Organizers
Takemi Program Poster Presentations
Join us to hear from the Takemi Fellows as they present. Questions to follow from 11:15 – 12:15 am. See more on the Takemi Fellows here.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
Speaker Information
Organizers
Seminar with Professor Keizo Takemi
Dr. Keizo Takemi will speak on “My personal journey with global health and the Takemi Program.” Join in person or online.
Please email takemi@hsph.harvard.edu for questions or to access the Zoom link.
Speaker Information
Keizo Takemi
Organizers
Healthcare in the Crosshairs: US Foreign Policy and the Destruction of Public Health in Lebanon & Gaza
Join us on Thursday May 7 at 1 pm in FXB-G10 for a conversation with Professor Ziad Abu Rish and Professor Atalia Omer on the destruction of public health infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza while examining the role of US foreign policy in the ongoing attacks. Professor Walter Johnson will present opening remarks.
This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Health Policy and Management, Black Students Health Organization, and the Harvard Chan Student Committee for Health Equity and Justice in Palestine.
Speaker Information
Organizers
More Than a Job: How a Whole-Person Model Helps Young People Thrive
Young people facing homelessness, foster care involvement, court involvement, disconnection from school, and other systemic barriers need more than a program—they need real opportunity, meaningful support, and a path forward.
Join More Than Words for a conversation about how our youth-run social enterprise model works: combining paid job training, long-term coaching, and whole-person support to help young people build stability in housing, health, education, employment, and beyond. MTW staff and youth leaders will share how this model addresses the interconnected challenges young people face, why youth voice must be central to solutions, and what system change is needed to create better outcomes.
Speaker Information
Jodi Rosenbaum
Howard Koh
