The Department of Health Metrics Sciences’ Associate Chair for Academic Programs, Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, spoke with Trevor Noah about some of the work that our faculty and our teams are undertaking at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Category: News
MS student a lead author for IHME diabetes projections
Lead authors Dr. Liane Ong and Lauryn Stafford, an MS student in the Department of Health Metrics Sciences, recently published new diabetes projections that have been making headlines. Among other findings, their research finds that diabetes cases will rise to 1.3 billion in 2050.
In this video interview, Dr. Ong and Lauryn discuss their article “Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050,” highlighting results along with future policy recommendations.
Congratulations, graduates!
HMS celebrated the accomplishments of 47 HMS-affiliated students from the MS in Health Metrics Sciences, MPH in Global Health (Health Metrics and Evaluation), and PhD in Global Health Metrics and Implementation Science programs on June 9, 2023. We look forward to seeing what’s next for this incredible group!
Professor Lalit Dandona awarded the G Parthasarathi Oration
Congratulations are in order for IHME Professor Lalit Dandona who on May 6 was awarded the G Parthasarathi Oration at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST). This prestigious award recognizes Professor Dandona’s academic and research excellence. It is given in memory of Shri Gopalaswami Parthasarathi, the multi-talented diplomat, journalist, and educationist who served as the first president of SCTIMST, and who Professor Dandona says was “a visionary who could connect the various dimension of humanity and existence to facilitate broad progress.”
Professor Dandona’s lecture was titled “What is the Ideal Framework for Knowledge Generation and its Utilization?” “This sounds like a mouthful,” he joked before connecting GBD India studies to existential questions about how we create and use knowledge today. First, Professor Dandona presented IHME’s Global Burden of Disease work on India to show how large-scale research collaborations can inform the development of health systems and policies in India. He then put those collaborations in a wider context, arguing for the importance of integrating the scientific approach inherited from the European Enlightenment with the wisdom of traditional cultures around the globe who view humanity as an integral part of all existence. “The most important thing which, I understand, makes us do what we do is a sense of belonging,” he said. “Humans need to belong and feel part of something. Which essentially means going beyond the self.”
IHME offers its sincere congratulations, Professor Dandona, for this exciting recognition of your work!
HMS PhD Student Dissertation Defense
Joey Frostad, Global Health and Health Metrics Sciences PhD student, will present his dissertation “Global Metrics, Local Estimation: Magnifying the health impact of environmental justice.” Congratulations, Joey!
HMS PhD Student Dissertation Defense
Erin Hulland Frame, Global Health and Health Metrics Sciences PhD student, will present her dissertation “Pandemic Preparedness and COVID-19: lessons learned from national and subnational response, what we can learn from existing preparedness metrics, and how to prepare for novel threat.” Congratulations, Erin!
Nine HMS faculty among top 1% most cited researchers
HMS is home to scholars dedicated to making a difference with data. Nine HMS faculty members and three affiliates ranked within the top 1% by citations in the field, earning them a spot on Clarivate’s highly cited researchers list in 2021. Learn more here.
Professor Heidi J Larson named to BBC’s 100 women of 2021 list
Dr. Heidi J. Larson, clinical professor at the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation (IHME), faculty member at the Department of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington, and professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was named to the BBC 100 Women List 2021, released on December 7. The list features influential women around the world who are “hitting reset” and recognizes Dr. Larson’s work surrounding global vaccine hesitancy and building public trust against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. One such project is IHME’s data visualization tool for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by US ZIP code and county.
Dr. Larson is the founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, which was launched in 2010 to understand gaps in acceptance of vaccines around the world. In July 2020, she authored the book “Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start—and Why They Don’t Go Away.” Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times and The New Yorker.
Professor Larson’s research focuses on risk and rumor management and the analysis of social and political factors affecting health interventions. She is the principal investigator of a worldwide study on vaccine acceptance during pregnancy, an EU-funded project focusing on an Ebola vaccine trial in Sierra Leone, and a global study on public sentiments and emotions around current and potential measures to contain and treat COVID-19.
Now in its ninth year, the BBC’s 100 Women list also includes philanthropist Melinda French Gates, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and 50 brave women from Afghanistan. Please join us in congratulating Professor Larson on this honor. –IHME, December 11, 2021
The University of Washington following an internal investigation has found that Dr. Alan Lopez, an Affiliate Professor within the Health Metric Sciences Department, violated university policies in regards to sexual harassment and retaliation. Dr. Lopez has resigned his affiliate faculty appointment and all collaborative efforts with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and University of Washington have ended.
IHME supports and upholds all university policies that prohibit sexual harassment and retaliation. This is consistent with our commitment to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and to continue illuminating the public health effects of disparities by sex, race, and ethnicity. The University of Washington is committed to preventing sexual assault, misconduct and harassment. Resources – including ways to get support and information on how to report sexual assault to law enforcement and/or the University – are available at uw.edu/sexualassault.
King 5 Interview: Professor Emmanuela Gakidou presents findings that no level of alcohol is safe
Despite previous claims that alcohol in moderation can provide health benefits, a recent study by the Global Burden of Disease finds that alcohol consumption provides no net life expectancy benefits, and is responsible for over 3 million deaths worldwide every year. Professor Emmanuela Gakidou of the Department of Health Metrics Sciences appeared on King 5 on January 9th to discuss this study and its implications on alcohol consumption.