Spotlight: Nicole Errett implements an equity-focused approach to disaster research

Posted on July 12, 2022May 12, 2026

As the impacts of climate change, urbanization and globalization continue to manifest in every area of life, the increase in disasters around the world is a progressively important and relatively under researched effect of these challenges. Identifying and evaluating opportunities to reduce the health impacts of such disasters is the central focus for Dr. Nicole Errett (pictured), a researcher and assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Public Health. Errett leads a number of projects on disaster and…

Initiative awards chronic disease pilot grants to two digital biomarker-focused projects

Posted on July 6, 2022

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative and Engineering Innovation in Health program announced the award of two pilot grants to University of Washington research teams seeking to develop solutions for people experiencing chronic disease, specifically the testing of scalable ideas that seek to better understanding of the intersections of biology, data, digital tools, and behavior. These grants were made possible through a partnership with Novo Nordisk. Funded projects represent researchers from the UW College of Engineering and the School…

Initiative co-funds three Innovation Gap Fund projects with CoMotion

Posted on July 5, 2022November 3, 2023

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative has again partnered with CoMotion to co-fund three Innovation Gap Funds of $50,000 each. This $150,000 in funding will support projects that simultaneously support the UW’s vision for improving population health while also fulfilling the CoMotion Innovation Fund’s goal of enabling research that will achieve sustainable commercial or social impact. The first of the projects, pHastCam, led by Krystle Perez of the Department of Global Health, is a device (pHastCam) used to determine…

Awardees of 2021 pilot research grants report on project progress

Posted on June 30, 2022June 30, 2022

The Population Health Initiative awarded eight pilot research grants in March 2021 to faculty-led teams representing seven different University of Washington schools and colleges as well as external partners. These pilot research grants are intended to spur new, interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects addressing major population health challenges. Now at the project mid-point, investigators are reporting significant progress in their work, with work completed to date from the respective projects described in the following sections.

Panelists discuss relationship-driven approach to sustainability in coffee and tea industries

Posted on June 28, 2022

On May 18, 2022, panelists Jeannie Liu of Miro Tea, Brian James of Herkimer Coffee and Dr. Alissa Bilfield, assistant teaching professor in the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, gathered in the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health to address the importance of sustainability in the continually growing and changing coffee and tea industries. The event began with Bilfield, author of, “Brewing Sustainability in the Coffee and Tea Industries, From Producer to Consumer,” offering insights…

Awardees announced for 2021-22 undergraduate research travel funds

Posted on June 16, 2022September 4, 2025

The Population Health Initiative announced three awardees for the Undergraduate Research Travel Awards for the 2021-22 academic year. These awards were granted through a partnership with the Office of Undergraduate Research as part of its annual conference travel award program. The award application process was open to undergraduate students on all three UW campuses who had a population health-related paper, poster or scholarly creative work accepted for presentation at a professional conference. The following table details the three awardees, their…

Jody Early advances health equity through community-based research and teaching

Posted on June 14, 2022May 18, 2026

Dr. Jody Early’s teaching, service and research endeavors are centered on the intersections between education, health and human rights. She strives to help students think critically about the way systems of oppression impact in their own lives and population health challenges, carrying this framework into her many research endeavors and professional pursuits. “If we are truly striving for health equity, we have to tackle the forces that perpetuate oppression and exclusion,” said Early. Early is a professor in the School…

Resmaa Menakem joins UW Community Circle to explain somatic approach to healing

Posted on June 10, 2022

On May 3, 2022, the University of Washington Population Health Initiative, the School of Public Health, the Race & Equity Initiative and the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity hosted a virtual guided conversation with Resmaa Menakem (pictured), an educator of anti-racism whose multiple books and courses implement a somatic approach to healing racialized trauma. Over the past several months, a group of UW faculty and staff joined to create the UW Community Circle in which they read and discussed…

Initiative announces awardees of spring quarter 2022 Tier 3 pilot research grants

Posted on June 9, 2022June 9, 2022

The Population Health Initiative has announced the award of five Tier 3 pilot grants to close out its grant funding for the 2021-22 academic year. The total value of these five awards is approximately $1.19 million, which included roughly $900,000 in funding from the initiative plus additional matching funds from different schools, colleges, departments and external partners. The purpose of the Tier 3 pilot grant program is to support faculty and PI-eligible staff to create follow-on opportunities for impactful projects…