The dedication and innovation from our students in public health practice and research are part of what makes our department great. This summer we recognize several students in our department who have been selected for awards at the University of Washington. We would like to celebrate two of our students – Brekken Selah and Tessa Concepcion – for receiving  School of Public health (SPH) Excellence Awards, and congratulate Grace Umutesi on the Runner Up and People’s Choice Awards for the 2025 UW Three Minute Thesis Competition. Congratulations! 

Graduation Photo Gallery | Graduation Recording | Digital Graduation Program 

On Friday, June 13, the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health (DGH) proudly celebrated the graduation of 58 students from over 15 countries.  

These 58 graduates represented three doctoral and one master’s program: 

In the Department of Global Health faculty are dedicated to improving health for all through their research, teaching, and service to the university and our partners around the world. In recognition of their exemplary work at the University of Washington and beyond, two Department of Global Health faculty members, Drs. Kenneth Mugwanya, associate professor, and Julianne Meisner, assistant professor, have been awarded endowed appointments which will support them in advancing innovative teaching, research, and community engagement in DGH and beyond.

Associate Professor of the UW Global Health Department, Jason Daniel-Ulloa, earns the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award, the UW’s highest teaching honor, among several other star faculty.

Every year, we take the time to recognize outstanding staff for their dedication and many contributions to our department. Criteria for selecting outstanding staff included superior service, resourcefulness, innovation, creativity, excellence, integrity, and a commitment to creating and sustaining a climate of equity, justice, and anti-racism. Congratulations to all nominees! 

DGH Outstanding Staff Award Recipient and SPH Anderson-O'Connell Award for Outstanding Staff Service

Lisa Nonzee
Senior HR Manager

Researchers of the Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network, a group of clinical experts and scientists including those from the University of Washington's Department of Global Health, investigated how often, when, and why young children in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia die when admitted to hospitals. 

Robert Jones, University of Washington's new President, now leads a school — and Seattle’s largest employer — that’s weathered several turbulent years of money problems, protests and a pandemic.

Kristie Ebi, Professor in the University of Washington's Department of Global Health and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, mentions how toxic smoke caused by these fires can be due to containing more harmful components than we might think. “It’s not just leaves and branches and trees” that are burned, she said. “It’s buildings. It’s gasoline stations. It’s old houses that have asbestos in them. It’s automobiles. There are lots of components of wildfire smoke.”

Kristie Ebi, a professor at the Center for Health and Global Environment at the University of Washington, told the Washington Post that "It is helpful to have more detailed analyses of temperature-morbidity relationships, to help identify interventions that could decrease hospitalizations during heat waves."

Kristie Ebi, a professor at the Center for Health and Global Environment at the University of Washington, explains that: “It remains problematic to trade off mortality and morbidity from hot versus cold temperature extremes. People are not fungible. The goal of public health is to prevent as much morbidity and mortality as possible.”