March 17, 2026

The Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health's annual Population Health Spotlight Series brings together researchers and practitioners to examine pressing public health challenges — locally, nationally, and globally — with an emphasis on health equity and population-level impact.

This academic year, the series began in November 2025 and concluded in March 2026. The theme was "The Next Public Health: Rethinking Health Communication for a Changing World” and featured four expert speakers:

• Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH, President and CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
• Jennifer Manganello, PhD, MPH, Professor at the University at Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences
• Tara Kirk Sell, PhD, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, Preventive Medicine Physician and Professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver

Thank you speakers for coming to Drexel's campus, connecting with members of the Dornsife community, and sharing your insights and expertise with faculty, staff, students, community members, and alumni.

A special thanks also to Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and External Relations Community Health and Prevention, for leading theme planning and speaker selection for the series.

Featured below are photos and live recordings from this year’s series. The videos include lecturer presentations as well as a Q+A with attendees.

Talk Title: "Science Explosion, Trust Implosion: Public Health at an Inflection Point"

Date: March 11, 2026
Speaker: Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding

Please note this video recording is not available.

Talk Title: "AI and Health Literacy: Challenges and Opportunities"

Date: January 21, 2026
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Manganello

Talk Title: "Managing Health-Related Rumors and Improving Trust in Public Health"

Date: December 10, 2025
Speaker: Dr. Tara Kirk Sell

Talk Title: "Exposing the Hidden Toll of Toxic Chemicals: The Case of Lead Poisoning"

Date: November 5, 2025
Speaker: Dr. Bruce Lanphear

Next academic year's series will focus on another timely topic in the field of public health and begin in fall 2026.

Have ideas for future topics or speakers? Let us know!

Check out the Population Health video archive