From the dean: looking ahead to a milestone year

As we prepare for another academic year at the John D. Bower School of Population Health (SOPH), I am grateful for the energy, commitment and sense of purpose that continue to define our school.

This is an exciting time for SOPH. We are welcoming new students, celebrating new student leadership, expanding our academic and research efforts and continuing to strengthen partnerships across UMMC and throughout Mississippi. Each of these efforts reflects the heart of our mission: improving health by understanding the systems, conditions and communities that shape it.

This year also brings us closer to an important milestone. As SOPH looks ahead to its 10-year anniversary, we have an opportunity to reflect on how much the school has grown and to recognize the people who have helped build that foundation. Our faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners and supporters have all played a part in shaping SOPH’s first decade.

At the same time, our work is very much focused on the future. From population health science and preventive medicine to biostatistics, data science, public health training for physicians and community-based partnerships, SOPH continues to prepare leaders who can think upstream and respond to complex health challenges.

I look forward to the year ahead and to the continued work we will do together in service to Mississippi and beyond.

Warm regards,

Thomas Dobbs, MD, MPH
Dean
John D. Bower School of Population Health
University of Mississippi Medical Center