Letter from the Dean

Now is the best time in history to be involved in public health.

The front page of every newspaper lists crises and problems that can only be solved through public health. HIV/AIDS, other emerging infectious diseases, disaster response and a host of other health issues—these are the gravest problems facing global health in our time. New tools in laboratory research are allowing us to discover the inner workings of genes, proteins, bacteria and viruses in ways unimagined just a decade ago. New discoveries in the lab and in the field can be shared almost instantaneously, speeding the accumulation of knowledge and new insights. Policy makers and the public recognize the critical role of public health in maintaining the health and security of our nation and the world.

To meet these challenges, the world needs scientists and researchers who are dedicated to creating new ways to attack diseases on the cellular and population levels, and at every stage in between.

At the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, we strive daily to create lifesaving insights and knowledge. Through our research, we are developing innovative methods to confront perennially endemic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, as well as epidemics of our own making—obesity, smoking and substance abuse. We are working to help the millions of Americans who lack adequate health insurance coverage and to create new paradigms and delivery systems to provide care to our growing numbers of senior citizens. And we reach beyond research and practice to shape national and international health policies.

As the first institution of its kind and the largest school of public health in the world, the Bloomberg School will continue to lead the battle against the numerous threats to global health. We now serve 2,030 students from 84 nations with 530 full-time faculty. Our scientists conduct ongoing research projects in the United States and in more than 90 other countries. And our 17,455 highly trained alumni lead ministries of health, international agencies, research institutes and academic programs throughout the world.

The Bloomberg School’s departments and its more than 50 centers and institutes provide the best environment for public health education, and our commitment to our student body continues to grow. In many ways, our students are our intellectual progeny—we want to bring them up right, inspire them through superb mentorship and send them into the world with the skills they need to succeed.

The School website provides an overview of our departments, describes the Bloomberg School’s degree programs and explains how our students can make an academic journey to a single, ultimate goal: to protect health and save lives—millions at a time.

Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH ’87
Dean
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health