Learn more about the recent history of nuclear energy usage in the United States and how both national and state-level policies are shaping its future.
State and local agencies develop and implement public health policies, looking for ways to improve health outcomes at the population level. Public health spans medical, behavioral, mental, and developmental health, among others. States often set the underlying regulatory standards that health institutions must follow, and manage much of the licensing to enforce those regulations. However much of the decision-making for the implementation of public health policy is relegated to county governments, which focus on the needs of specific communities. During times of emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic, state governments can issue guidance and convene county health departments to enable better coordination of services and policies. State and local governments have recently attempted to ameliorate poor health policy and outdated public infrastructure to improve future government response to health crises, making them an even larger actor in subsequent health response efforts.
Learn more about the recent history of nuclear energy usage in the United States and how both national and state-level policies are shaping its future.
Biomedical engineering PhD student Casie Slaybaugh shares how she combined her science policy and personal passions as a fellow working with the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.
The debate around abortion is informed by science, medicine, and public health, as well as ethics. Many people with STEM backgrounds feel compelled to get involved. One way to do this is to have critical conversations with your friends, family, and other members of your community. We hope that the information in this post can serve as a guide for anyone looking to engage in this important policy discussion.
Information technology PhD student Xu Han recalls his experience building a data processing pipeline for analyzing data from the Office of Recovery Services at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and to better serve the people of Virginia.
Translational biology PhD candidate Frankie Edwards recalls his experience with analyzing data to find mobile service gaps in the Commonwealth of Virginia and how his work contributed to redesigning crisis services.
ECO City Farms is a non-profit training and learning urban farm in Maryland that aims to sustain the local environment as well as provide healthy food to the surrounding community. CEO Margaret Morgan-Hubbard embraces the tenets of agroecology to enhance food security and access to nutrition to locals of Prince George’s County. ESAL discussed the holistic training practices and positive impact provided by ECO City Farms with Morgan-Hubbard.
Sarah Hendricks is a biologist that works on zoonotic diseases as well as provides researchers with access to cutting edge genomics resources. Hendricks got her Ph.D. in bioinformatics and computational biology from the University of Idaho and has worked at the Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation as well as the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. ESAL spoke with Hendricks about how her interests in animals, humans, health, policy, and data have informed her career.
ESAL had the opportunity to speak with Meridith Perkins, current executive director of nonprofit Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, about canopy coverage in underserved communities and the importance of environmental education. Learn more about how Meridith brings empowers the local community with skills and opportunities to combat climate change in their own backyard.
Water quality field/lab technician Jan Paul and water resources planner Angie Reed discuss the importance of sharing data they collect and analyze from the Penobscot River with tribal, state, and federal audiences. Learn more about how the pair utilize its skills to improve public health outreach for Penobscot citizens.
