Learn more about the many people and communities who are making an impact in health around the world. Below is a selection of highlights. For a full list, view all stories.
A pair of "bat women" are battling rising rabies exposures in Illinois: Lab scientist Dusty Staake is testing for rabies-positive bats, and Senior Epidemiologist Chanée Massiah and her team are ensuring that community members exposed to the deadly disease are properly vaccinated.
Lorenza Beati, PhD, gave us instructions as we gathered on a nature trail in Statesboro, GA.
“Don’t believe the sock theory. Ticks can bite through socks, and they can go through the mesh of socks. Use the Deet available. And tape the bottom of your pants. We have duct tape.”
Just weeks ago, Lily Rivera saved a life. On the corner of Peace and Broad in Providence, Rhode Island, Lily works at an agency that organizes outreach teams and provides education to high-risk populations struggling with opioid addiction.
In today’s interconnected world, a health threat anywhere is a health threat everywhere. In addition to the rise of drug-resistant pathogens, environmental disasters and armed conflict represent some of the biggest ongoing threats to global health security in Haiti.
60 percent of the world’s maternal deaths and 45 percent of newborn deaths occur in areas affected by war, food insecurity or natural disasters. Unfortunately, countries in crisis often lack accurate data about maternal and newborn health. Learn how we're filling those gaps.
Deandra Smith, director of the AmeriCorps Climate R.E.A.D.Y. program at Wayne State University, and her team of 11 volunteers work in Detroit to help residents remedy flooding.
“Live to the Beat” is a national effort that aims to educate, equip and empower Black adults ages 34-54 with the heart-healthy information, tools, resources and messages needed to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.
Local organizations across the country are coming up with innovative programs that make a real difference. And using mini-grants from the CDC Foundation, they’re doing it with a modest amount of grant money and a rapid timeline.
A team assigned to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians are working to establish a public health department to offer public health services provided by tribal members for tribal members.
Cross-sector relationships are pivotal to ensuring the community is at the forefront of public health decisions. A systems change approach helps sustainably build these partnerships.
Connecticut, like many states, has varied demographics and different priorities across their 20 health districts. All the state’s communities have one overarching challenge, though: public health funding.
Through careers in journalism, public relations, nonprofit and executive search work, Kathy Bremer has combined her passions for public service, fostering connections and making a difference.
On August 7, 1998, just months after Dr. Louise Martin began work with Walt Dowdle on the Task Force Malaria Team, she was killed in the terrorist bombing of the American Embassy in Kenya. In her honor, Walt and his wife Mabel have established the Louise Martin Scholarship.
Throughout his career, Dr. Peter Drotman has been guided by his passion for global public health, leaving his own distinct mark on the field. As one of the last epidemiologists to see a case of smallpox, Drotman also became one of the first to see a case of HIV/AIDS.
“It’s a calling,” says Valerie Kokor about her long career in public health, “but you don’t always know your calling right away.” Valerie’s story is one of twists and turns, successes and failures, and an ongoing commitment to the field of public health—even in retirement today.
“Public health isn’t just about epidemiology; it’s about taking care of these people who volunteer to help vaccinate in places where there is the threat of true danger,” says the program manager for the Bob Keegan Polio Eradication Heroes Fund.
Dr. Stephen B. Thacker was extraordinarily dedicated to public health service. Now his family works to continue his legacy by supporting the public health leaders of tomorrow.
To assist health departments during COVID-19, the CDC Foundation, with support from CDC, created the Workforce/Vaccine Initiative, deploying professionals to fill critical roles in 95 jurisdictions around the country. Among the field employees were epidemiologists, communications specialists, data analysts, public health nurses, infection preventionists and others. In total through all of its staffing efforts, the CDC Foundation hired more than 4,000 staff during the pandemic utilizing both public and private support.
To better track the spread of COVID-19, scientists in the New York State Department of Health brought a new eye to a resource already at their fingertips. Scientists sought to determine if testing dried blood spots for antibodies gathered from newborn screening might be useful in tracking the introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 in New York.
For over three decades, the Center for Black Women's Wellness has been a tireless advocate for Black women and their families in Atlanta. They offer affordable health care and other services to support the physical, mental, emotional and financial health needs of the women they serve. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this unwavering support became a kind of lifeline of connection for many families.
Dogs are known for a sense of smell so acute they have the ability to detect cancer, monitor diabetes and screen for an array of infectious diseases. Recently, several groups around the world have demonstrated that dogs are also able screen individuals for COVID-19 infections.
Despite the heat in Houston, there was a large and joyous group of neighbors, friends and families dancing around the park’s outdoor stage as the University of Houston’s mariachi ensemble, the Mariachi Pumas, performed a tribute to the music of pop star Selena. Come Together Houston was a four-month long series of free public arts performances hosted by the University of Houston McGovern College of the Arts in collaboration with Houston Methodist Hospital.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC Foundation and partners launched the Severe Acute Respiratory Infections Preparedness (SARI-Prep) research consortium to create a network of leading scientists and researchers from varying fields of expertise.
