BGU Announces New School of Public Health
BGU Announces New School of Public Health
October 9, 2017
Medical Research, Press Releases
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) recently announced the establishment of the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FOHS) in Beer-Sheva, Israel as well as the expansion of its partnership in collaborative research with the University of Michigan School of Public Health (UM-SPH) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Prof. Nadav Davidovitch
The new BGU School of Public Health aims to promote and enhance the quality of life in the Negev, Israel and around the world, and will focus on excellence in public health education, research and service.
The BGU-UM public health partnership was originally established in 2013 to bring two institutions with strong public health track records together to advance public health.
“Creating the school is one of the flagship projects of the Faculty of Health Sciences,” says Prof. Amos Katz, M.D., FOHS dean.
“The new school and expanded UM partnership will advance and empower the research activities in the public health field, strengthen ties internationally and advance public health teaching while attracting students from Israel and abroad.”
The BGU School of Public Health emerged from its departments and faculty with expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and management, gerontology, disaster management, and the sociology of health. Academic areas that will participate include the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging, Center for Environmental Epidemiology Research and the S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition.
Prof. Amos Katz has named Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, chair of BGU’s Department of Health Systems Management in the FOHS and Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, to head the school. Prof. Davidovitch is a physician specializing in epidemiology, public health and health policy. He is head of the Association of Public Health Doctors in the Israeli Medical Association and a member of the executive committee of the European Association of Public Health.
Prof. Davidovitch says, “Based in the Negev area of Israel, the school is deeply embedded in the local community, committed to the development of Israel’s southern periphery. The area’s diverse population — which includes kibbutz members, Bedouin villagers and city residents — presents a unique social fabric and an exciting opportunity to develop public health interventions with wide global applications.”
Prof. Natalya Bilenko, M.D., Ph.D, director of the graduate program in public health, will assist Davidovich in running the school.
Expanded BGU-UM Initiatives
As part of the expanded UM-BGU partnership, faculty members and graduate students from BGU and UM will participate in collaborative research on a wide range of public health topics that include: control of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases; health care delivery in poor communities; the effects of pollution on health; maternal and child health; and more. Other collaborative initiatives include international conferences on these and other public health issues, mentorship and exchange programs, merit scholarships and fellowships, and visiting scholar programs.
Watch this video about the UM-BGU partnership in public health>>
The partnership grew out of the efforts of UM-SPH’s then-dean, Prof. Martin Philbert, and Prof. Arnold Monto, M.D., UM director of the Israel Public Health Initiative, as part of UM-SPH’s goals to expand the school’s global reach in 2013. Since then, the UM-BGU relationship has funded joint research projects on HIV prevention, influenza vaccine efficacy in health care workers, issues with polio vaccinations, as well as student exchanges and other interdisciplinary initiatives.
According to UM-SPH Interim Dean Cathleen Connell, “Michigan Public Health has had a productive relationship with BGU. Our joint forum that took place in Ann Arbor this summer set the agenda for expanded training and research, which will benefit both institutions. With the formation of their new public health school, we look forward to an even stronger global health collaboration.”
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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