Our mission is to improve the health of the most vulnerable populations in California and worldwide.

Experience Transformational Health Research

The determinants and consequences of global changes profoundly shape population health. Many of these changes have long been underway, including climate change, food systems transformations, infectious disease pandemics, and population changes such as migration, urbanization and aging.

A person holding a Macrobrachium river prawn

How fat prawns can save lives

Small-scale farming of freshwater prawns could be a win-win for communities where schistosomiasis is common.

Kicking China’s smoking habit

Extreme smog conditions in New Delhi, India

Combating air pollution

Our faculty and students conduct research that emphasizes the social determinants of health—how factors like socioeconomic status, race and place determine susceptibility to certain diseases and conditions—and how to use this knowledge to help communities implement changes that foster equality and social justice.

Cleaning up America’s Salad Bowl

What are the dangers of pesticides for families living near agricultural fields?

A large group of Coca-Cola red cans stacked in a supermarket

Do soda taxes work?

Historically redlined communities face higher asthma rates

Unlocking the truth behind infectious disease pandemics, social determinants of health, antibiotic resistance and other public health concerns often requires harnessing big data and technological innovation.