September 11, 2019

The 2019 Urban Health Symposium, held at the Dornsife School of Public Health, brought together more than 230 researchers, practitioners, students and policy makers to explore new methods of improving health in cities across the United States and around the world on September 5th and 6th. Speakers from leading public health institutions in Philadelphia, the U.S., Australia, and Spain, shared innovative approaches and insights into addressing today’s public health challenges.

Keynote Speaker Thomas Farley, MD, MPH, Health Commissioner, City of Philadelphia, urged attendees, “don’t just point at problems, propose specific solutions,” in a discussion about translating evidence into effective policy to improve population health.

In addition to the six sessions, 48 different research projects were showcased at a poster presentation. From environmental exposures to innovative data collection methodologies, three of the 48 researchers were awarded for their work during the event’s poster sessions:

• "Anything Could Happen" How Perceived HIV Risk Influences PrEP Initiation Among Women Who Inject Drugs in Philadelphia” by Eliza Ziegler, BA, Marisa Felsher, MPH, PhD(c), Jade McKnight, MPH, Alexis Roth, PhD, MPH

• “Improving Sampling Probability Definitions with Predictive Algorithms” by Matthew Jannetti, MSPPM, Amy Caroll-Scott, PhD, MPH, Erikka Gilliam, MS, MPH, Irene Headen, PhD, MS, Félice Lê-Scherban, PhD, MPH, Maggie Beverly, MPH, Samantha Joseph, MPH

• “Comparing Health and Social Outcomes Among US Peer Cities Using Cluster Analysis” Justin Feldman, ScD, Lorna Thorpe, PhD, Benjamin Spoer, PhD, Shoshanna Levine, DrPH, Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH

Dornsife’s upcoming Fall/Winter magazine will explore the Symposium in depth.