About Us
The concerns of public health do not get enough attention from the media. So we’ve taken matters into our own hands.
Public Health Post (PHP) informs and inflects the broader conversation on health. Every day we feature new articles about the state of the health of the population. We invite policymakers, journalists, academics, and practitioners to share their work in ways that can influence policy on a local, national, and global scale. Our editors, working with graduate student PHP Fellows, tell powerful population health stories in a way that combines data visualization of health statistics, traditional long-form journalism, interviews and debates, and video and curated content. We want to join and drive the national dialogue on public health issues.
For more information and to send us article ideas for Public Health Post fill out the Contact Us form.
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Jennifer Beard
Associate Editor
jenbeard@bu.edu
Jennifer Beard, PhD, MA, MPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health. She was a co-principal investigator for the multi-study Ghana Operations Research for Key Populations project. The nine qualitative studies focused on the HIV prevention and other needs of young female sex workers and their intimate partners, prisoners, men who have sex with men, post-secondary female students, women who work in bars, people who inject drugs, and people living with HIV at risk of dropping out of antiretroviral therapy.
Melissa Davenport
Managing Editor
davenpor@bu.edu
Melissa Davenport received a BFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design, and is completing an MLA in Legal Studies at the Harvard Extension School. Prior to her position at PHP, she was program manager at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard and operations manager at Fort Point Arts Community. Melissa is from Maine, the way life should be, and makes short nonfiction films about labor, craft, and landscape.
Sampada Nandyala
PHP Fellow
sampadan@bu.edu
Sampada is pursuing an MPH at Boston University School of Public Health, working towards certificates in Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Infectious Disease. She is particularly focused on applying research results to bridge communication gaps between health care professionals and the public, especially regarding women’s health in global communities. In addition to exploring her several and varied public health interests, Sampada loves browsing record stores, experimenting with her personal style, and petting dogs.
Chrissy Packtor
PHP Fellow
hpacktor@bu.edu
Chrissy is an MPH candidate at the Boston University School of Public Health completing certificates in Health Communication and Promotion and Sex, Sexuality, and Gender. She is interested in effective science and health policy communication, especially in the realm of reproductive and sexual health. During her undergraduate studies, she was involved with advocacy work, focusing on abortion and healthcare access in West Virginia, as well as programming with her university’s LGBTQ+ center. Outside of the classroom, Chrissy enjoys traveling, trying new coffee shops in Boston, and reading.
Erin Polka
PHP Fellow
polkaen@bu.edu
Erin is a candidate in the MPH program at Boston University’s school of Public Health, pursuing certificates in Biostatistics/Epidemiology and Sex, Sexuality, and Gender. Drawing on her experience in agriculture and health work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania, she hopes to continue to explore the intersections of social justice and environmental health, while focusing on routes and methods of communication. A passionate conservationist and conversationalist, in her free time Erin can be found outside either cycling, climbing, or hiking for the view.
Michael Stein
Executive Editor
Michael Stein is the chair of the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is a physician and health services researcher who is an international authority on the intersection of primary care, mental health and substance use disorders. He is author of nine books—six novels, two works of non-fiction, and a medical textbook. Long ago, he was a science policy reporter for NATURE magazine.
Former Associates
Gilbert Benavidez, PHP Fellow 2017
Gilbert Benavidez is a graduate of the Boston University School of Public Health, where he received his MPH and concentrated in health law, bioethics and human rights. His primary interest is combining data analytics with law and policy instruments to pursue human rights. Gilbert is currently a policy analyst for BUSPH, operating out of the Partnered Evidence-based Policy Resource Center (PEPReC) at the Boston VA. When he isn’t scouring Health Affairs, Gilbert loves to practice his Olympic weightlifting, play guitar, take pictures of his cats, and find new places to eat.
Madeline Bishop, PHP Fellow 2017
Madeline received her Masters of Public Health with certifications in Health Communications & Promotion and Maternal & Child Health. She is particularly drawn to adolescent mental health and development, as well as social enterprise as a tool to address health challenges around the globe. Apart from her seemingly endless list of interests in public health, Madeline enjoys talking to strangers, road-tripping, ocean views, and mountain adventures with her trusty canine companion.
Nicholas Diamond, PHP Fellow 2016
Nicholas Diamond holds a Bachelors degree in French and Cell & Molecular Biology from Albion College and a Masters in Public Health from the Boston University School of Public Health. He speaks French and Wolof and completed a graduate certificate in African Studies from the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. Within global health, Nicholas focuses on sex, sexuality, gender, and health and has testified as an expert witness at the U.S. Department of Justice to secure asylum for the Senegalese LGBT community. He has filled global public health communications, research, and program implementation roles in the United States, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Haiti, Uganda, India, Kenya, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Indonesia. Follow him @NickDiamondMPH.
Jonathan Gang, PHP Fellow 2016
Jonathan is an editorial researcher at The Conversation Media Group in Boston. He is a radio producer, writer, multimedia journalist and communications specialist. He graduated from Boston University with a master’s degree in Journalism, and received his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Colorado College in 2010. His work has appeared in print, on the air and online in publications such as the Boston Herald, Public Radio International, the Denver Post, Marquee Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, and the Colorado Springs Independent.
David K. Jones, Editor-in-Chief 2016-2017
David’s research examines the politics of health reform. His book Exchange Politics: Opposing Obamacare in Battleground States examines how states made decisions about what type of health insurance exchange to establish as part of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He has also written about Medicaid, CHIP, and health reform in Europe. His new project re-traces Robert Kennedy’s steps to examine the social determinants of health in the Mississippi Delta. He was awarded the Outstanding Dissertation Award by AcademyHealth for his Ph.D. thesis completed at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He also has a masters of arts in political science from the University of Michigan and a masters of science in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before graduate school he worked in the Idaho Legislature, the Canadian House of Commons, and Congressman Charles Rangel’s District Office in Harlem, NY. David is originally from New York City where he worked as a pretzel vendor at Yankee Stadium.
Jackie Rocheleau, PHP Reporting Fellow 2018
Jackie Rocheleau received her MS in Science Journalism from Boston University School of Communications, and her BA from Boston University in Neuroscience and Psychology. Jackie focuses on brain sciences and public health in her writing and hopes to support science literacy through her journalism. When she’s not writing, she’s probably either playing basketball, re-reading Harry Potter, or looking at pictures of dolphins.
Maggie Thomas, PHP Fellow 2016
Maggie is a PhD student at the Boston University School of Social Work. Her doctoral research is concentrated on public policy, with a focus on poverty and systemic oppression. Maggie is a part of the Social Policy Analysis Working Group at the School of Social Work, working on child welfare, economic instability, and child care subsidy projects. Prior to joining BU, Maggie practiced social work with LGBTQ youth and families and in the child welfare system. Maggie is an avid Chicago Cubs fan and loved J.R.R. Tolkien before it was cool.
Qing Wai Wong, PHP Fellow 2017
Qing Wai received her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health with certificates in Health Policy and Epidemiology. Her interests include policies that reduce health disparities and equal access to quality education as an important social determinant of health. When not pursuing her academic interests, Qing Wai can be found on the volleyball court, running, or volunteering for various youth development programs in the community.