Difference-driven, O’Donnell School of Public Health students dive into studies
Founding Dean’s vision for UT Southwestern’s fourth school: Excellence for impact
The UT Southwestern community has embarked on a journey of impact and transformation with the recent addition of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health (OSPH).
As the fourth school launched by the Medical Center in the past half-century, the OSPH builds upon the institution’s foundation of evidence-based approaches to improving the health of populations and will prepare the next generation of public health professionals who are critically needed in North Texas and statewide.
The O’Donnell School of Public Health currently offers M.P.H. and M.D./M.P.H. degree programs and will begin a Ph.D. program in fall 2024.
Founding Dean of the OSPH, Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., joined UTSW on June 1, having formerly served as Director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. He is an internationally recognized epidemiologist and policy adviser whose work has positively changed communities globally. He summarizes his vision for the OSPH in one phrase: excellence for impact.
“Excellence draws from UTSW’s current tradition of emphasis on having the best and brightest work on questions related to biomedicine, and many of those are public health questions,” Dr. Omer said. “Public health is a decidedly consequentialist discipline, meaning that the value of our actions is judged by the outcomes and impact we have. Therefore, I want to make sure that we build effective systems, recruit high-impact faculty, teach our students using up-to-date pedagogical approaches, and do high-quality research.”
The OSPH will be a research-oriented school, he said, but high-quality investigations won’t end with grant awards and published work.
“We will do all of that because it is important. But our ultimate goal is to improve people’s health and well-being in communities in Texas, nationally, and, hopefully, around the world,” Dr. Omer said.
The Dean has ambitious plans for recruiting faculty who will contribute to the OSPH tripartite mission of education, discovery, and community service.
“We are not just transplanting productive faculty; we are building an institution by recruiting faculty scholars and scientists at all career levels who are committed to mentoring the next generation of students. We already have a strong existing core of starting faculty who were part of the former Department of Population and Data Sciences, and we will make sure this school remains hospitable and nurturing to those faculty,” he said.
“There is much interest from UTSW faculty currently working in clinical departments who would like to contribute on a part-time basis, and we are streamlining our adjunct and secondary appointments, some of which will come from our practice partners in public health departments and industry,” Dr. Omer added.
Educating future leaders
The DFW region is one of the most prosperous, vibrant, and incredibly diverse areas in the U.S., but it faces long-standing challenges to public health, making it a “learning laboratory” where students can thrive. OSPH currently offers M.P.H. and M.D./M.P.H. degree programs and will begin a Ph.D. program in fall 2024. The curriculum is designed to promote evidence-based decision-making in public health and is interdisciplinary, data driven, and innovative.
Courses are taught by expert faculty with experience at the vanguards of research and the practice of population sciences, so OSPH training in public health research will have wide applicability. Students learn in UTSW’s exceptional training facilities and have the unique opportunity to work with multiple community organizations, regional health systems, and universities, including Parkland Health, Children’s Health, Texas Health Resources, and UT Dallas.
Becca Henley, J.D., Assistant Professor and Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Operations for the OSPH, said she believes UT Southwestern is simply unmatched in its potential for educational opportunities.
“Our students have access to exceptional faculty mentors in classrooms and research laboratories across campus as well as our extensive network of community partners at government agencies like the Dallas County health department, our vast affiliated health systems, and connections to public health organizations globally. Our student service professionals will be available to students at every turn to offer academic and wellness support,” Associate Dean Henley said.
When Benjamin Ash toured UTSW during a campus visit to UT Southwestern Medical School, he learned of plans for the new O’Donnell School of Public Health and was impressed with the faculty and the overall mission of the school. He is currently an M.D./M.P.H. student in a dual degree program at the two schools.
“I truly am excited to see how I can gain a more holistic knowledge of population health and how I can incorporate this into medical practice,” Mr. Ash said. “I believe this can open our eyes to improve an individual’s health as well as continually improve the system in which we work. Medically, I have interests ranging from ophthalmology to infectious disease, and I’m excited to see where that leads. I am strongly interested in global medicine, and I am sure that the M.P.H. background will aid me in that journey. I was raised in a rural area, and I know the medical difficulties that these communities often face. I believe that a background in public health can help me serve those communities better in the future.”
Associate Dean Henley admires the passion of Mr. Ash and other OSPH students to make a difference in their communities and their enthusiasm to be part of building a new school.
“OSPH students will change the world through careers in health care or academic organizations, government agencies, companies, and nonprofit organizations,” she said.
Under the Founding Dean’s astute leadership, Associate Dean Henley is certain the school is in good hands.
“Dr. Omer is brilliant and energetic, and he has big goals and dreams for the O’Donnell School of Public Health. He is exactly what a new school needs in a leader – someone to keep us focused on growing and building while also looking ahead and moving forward,” she said.
Dr. Omer’s belief in the basic ethos that “all lives have equal value” helps guide his work domestically, internationally, and as the OSPH Dean. He was drawn to UTSW’s history of excellence and is energized by the “can-do” attitude of the leaders in higher education and at the state level, the philanthropic support from the Dallas community, and the spirit of OSPH’s first class of M.P.H. students.
“We had a tremendous student recruitment response. Our students come from varied backgrounds in both life and social sciences and are quality students as reflected not only by their academic preparation and background but also their broader experience. Some are straight out of college, and others have work experience. We recently welcomed our first M.P.H. class at a student orientation, and their energy was palpable and infectious,” Dr. Omer said, adding with a smile: “That’s the only kind of infection I like.”