Child Health

An infant in a high-chair opens his mouth wide as he eats food.

To feed or not to feed? Food allergy prevention in infants

By Kaitlyn Palao

Food allergies are common, and can be life-threatening. When introducing new foods to infants, many believed that delaying the exposure of certain foods may protect infants from allergic reactions, but more recent research points to the opposite.

Water trickles out of the end of a rusty pipe

Lead exposure may alter the body's response to stress

Chris Giang and Olivia M. Halabicky, PhD, RN

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan garnered national attention, but there are thousands of cities in the US with even higher levels of lead poisoning. Despite knowing lead is harmful, we still don’t know how lead causes such harmful health outcomes. Identifying potential biological pathways is key for developing interventions to mitigate health risk.

Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation, alum of the University of Michigan School of Public Health

Resilient Leadership in a Dynamic World

Tonya Allen, BA '94, MPH/MSW '96

From rewriting rules to enabling others to succeed, Tonya Allen thinks leadership is not about an individual person doing a great thing but about an environment where everyone wins. In Detroit and now Minneapolis, Allen keeps putting herself out there so that entire communities can thrive.

Public health worker in Africa distributing vaccines

Is Africa Truly Free of Wild Polio?

Utibe Effiong, MPH ’14 and Uju Okeke

Without a case on the continent for several years, the World Health Organization declared Africa free of wild polio in 2020. But questions remain about the ability to reach remote areas for vaccination programs and for disease surveillance as well as questions around the security of infectious agents held in labs for research.