Progress reported by inaugural round of pilot research grant awards

Posted on April 24, 2018December 17, 2020

The Population Health Initiative pilot research grant encourages new interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects that address critical components of grand challenges the University of Washington seeks to address in population health. The initiative funded an inaugural round of five pilot research grants to faculty-led teams from 10 different UW schools and colleges in October 2017. Since that time, the five teams have made significant initial progress towards achieving their goals for their yearlong projects. Highlights of their work includes:

New UW training program to improve access to dental care for children

Posted on April 11, 2018January 28, 2025

The University of Washington is launching an interprofessional training program to improve access to dental care for children ranging in age from one to five. This new program, which is led by the UW School of Dentistry, is funded by a $1.5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Early Childhood Oral Health Training, or EchoTrain, will provide pediatric dental training directly to UW dental students, Shoreline Community College dental hygiene students, and students and trainees…

UW launches world’s first health metrics sciences department

Posted on April 5, 2018

The University of Washington will establish the world’s first academic department devoted to the science of health metrics on July 1, 2018. The new Department of Health Metrics Sciences, which will be part of the UW School of Medicine, will focus on using high-quality information to measure population health, its determinants and the performance of health systems. The department will take an interdisciplinary approach to measuring and understanding the elements that affect health here in the United States and worldwide, which will…

Developing holistic approaches to management of fisheries

Posted on March 27, 2018

New research from the University of Washington College of the Environment indicates that an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management offers a simple set of rules that can help avoid scenarios that might cause a worst-case outcome for fish and their surrounding environments. For example, factors such as predators, habitat, food sources or temperature can influence a species’ abundance and therefore impact the number of fish that can be caught sustainably. These findings provide a framework for managers to identify the…

International internship agreement signed with The Aga Khan University

Posted on March 15, 2018June 25, 2018

The University of Washington and The Aga Khan University announced the launch of a new international internship program that will provide population health-focused experiential and work opportunities for UW undergraduate and graduate students in East Africa, the Middle East and Central and South Asia. Under this five-year agreement, The Aga Khan University and other agencies of Aga Khan Development Network will offer opportunities to UW students in a range of fields including architecture, communications, disaster management, engineering, environment, finance, human…

Initiative announces award of 2018 pilot research grants

Posted on March 13, 2018December 17, 2020

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced the award of eight pilot research grants of $50,000 each to faculty-led teams from 11 different UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma schools and colleges. This $400,000 in funding was more than doubled by matches from additional school, college and departmental funds, bringing the total value of these awards to nearly $890,000. “Our judges were very impressed by the scope of these projects, the range of disciplines represented and the scale of matching…

Bridge funding awarded for new population health faculty hires

Posted on March 8, 2018December 17, 2020

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced the award of approximately $1.8 million in funding for three new faculty positions that will focus on developing innovative solutions to population health grand challenges identified by the Initiative. These awards, which are each a four-year “bridge” against future retirements, were selected through a competitive application process that required proposal of a joint hire between two or more academic departments. The three positions selected for funding are:

UW joins the new University Climate Change Coalition

Posted on February 28, 2018

The University of Washington joined 12 other top North American research universities in the new University Climate Change Coalition, a group that seeks to leverage its research and resources to accelerate local and regional climate action in partnership with businesses, cities and states. Each participating institution will convene a climate change forum in 2018 to bring together key local stakeholders. These forums will be tailored to meet local and regional objectives shared across sectors and will aim to speed the…

UW and Public Health – Seattle & King County create new academic health department

Posted on February 21, 2018

The University of Washington Schools of Public Health and of Nursing have executed an agreement with Public Health – Seattle & King County that is intended to encourage collaboration and resource sharing through a new academic health department. The goal of this three-year agreement is to provide mutual benefits to the UW and to King County in teaching, research and public health services. This includes offering field placements and internship opportunities for UW students with PHSKC, and working together to…