Maternal and Child Health News

Fourth annual GillingsX talks draw record crowd

March 27, 2017 The fourth annual GillingsX event, hosted by the Student Global Health Committee on March 23, highlighted students' global health research experiences. The format is modeled after the TED talks, which aim to deliver an important idea in a short, interesting presentation.

Eight faculty members selected as 2017 ‘Celebrate Teaching!’ awardees

March 24, 2017 Eight faculty members were selected by their students to receive the 2017 “Celebrate Teaching!” Award. The annual award honors those “who have inspired students; enhanced student learning through creative, engaging and innovative teaching methods; and supported students’ academic success and professional development.”

Cilenti named interim health director for Orange County

March 2, 2017 Dr. Dorothy Cilenti has been named interim director of the Orange County health department, effective March 1. A clinical associate professor of maternal and child health at the Gillings School, Cilenti also directs the National Maternal Child Health Workforce Development Center.

Hookah smoking seen as emerging public health threat in Kurdish region of Iraq

February 23, 2017 Drs. Dilshad Jaff and Anant Kumar describe hookah smoking in the Kurdish region of Iraq as an emerging public health threat. The ongoing armed conflict, economic distress and easy availability of tobacco contribute to the problem.

Maternity waiting homes bring help to vulnerable women in Malawi

February 16, 2017 Dr. Kavita Singh led a study, published in the International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, showing that maternity waiting homes (MWHs) offer a promising strategy to reduce maternal mortality in Malawi and other low-income countries. MWHs allow women who live in rural areas or who have high-risk pregnancies to live closer to a health facility toward the end of their term.

Gillings School is top public health school at public university for NIH funding

February 16, 2017 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that the Gillings School was the top public health school at a public university in receiving NIH funding during fiscal year 2016. The School received 107 awards, for a total of $65,454,312 in funding.

Margolis honored with AMCHP leadership award

January 27, 2017
Dr. Lewis Margolis, associate professor of maternal and child health, has received the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs’ (AMCHP) Vince Hutchins Leadership Award. The award honors a recognized national leader with a long record of significant contributions to society and demonstrated accomplishments that advance the health of women, children, youth and families in the U.S., including those with special health-care needs.

Aaron Williams, RTI executive, former Peace Corps director, selected as Gillings School’s commencement speaker

January 25, 2017
Aaron Williams will present the Gillings School's commencement address on May 13 at 1 p.m. in the Carmichael Arena. Williams is executive vice president for government relations and corporate communications at RTI International and past director of the U.S. Peace Corps.

Faculty member says high school football is not worth health risk to young players

In an article in the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Lewis Margolis argues that high school football programs should be disbanded, given the risks to young players of the sport. Margolis is associate professor of maternal and child health at the Gillings School.

Lack of optimal breastfeeding may cause alarming disparities in infant deaths, study finds

Lack of optimal breastfeeding led to more than twice the number of deaths among African-American infants than white infants in computer models. This finding was published in a recent study co-authored by Dr. Alison Stuebe, Distinguished Scholar of Infant and Young Child Feeding in the Department of Maternal and Child Health.