Summer 2024 IHSD Newsletter

Dear Alumni and Friends,

As we enter our fourth year as the Department of International Health and Sustainable Development (IHSD), we are delighted to share with you remarkable achievements from the past year and exciting plans for the coming year. Our commitment to academic excellence, innovative research, and community engagement continues to drive us forward. This year's update highlights our plans for a new online Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program, updates on our combined MD/MPH degree program, and notable faculty achievements.

In collaboration with the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, we are developing an online DrPH program in Leadership for International Health and Sustainable Development. This program aims to cultivate future public health leaders who work in low- and middle-income countries and equip them with critical skills for evidence-informed decision-making. We hope to welcome the first cohort of students in the fall of 2025-2026. We are confident this program will strengthen Tulane’s contributions to leadership and workforce development around the world while enhancing Tulane’s reputation as a leader in international health and development.

Our combined MD/MPH program, which began in Fall 2022, has doubled its enrollment for the 2024-2025 academic year. This program provides comprehensive training for medical students to address public health needs in low-resource settings through sustainable development initiatives. Students actively engage in community service and research projects and apply their classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. Notably, Olivia French (MD/MPH 2026) is leading a women's health project in Thailand, supported by the Morgadanes Research Scholarship and the DeBakey Scholars program. 

We’re also delighted to share a few updates on our faculty.

First, we are very happy that Martha Silva, PhD agreed to serve as the director of the IHSD MPH program. In less than a year, Martha has led many initiatives aimed at improving the curriculum and the experiences of our students at Tulane.

Katherine Andrinopoulos, PhD received the President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching in 2023, recognizing her outstanding student feedback in courses such as “The Social Determinants of HIV/AIDS” and “Health Problems for Developing Societies.” Eva Silvestre, PhD was appointed Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in July 2023. Dean Thomas LaVeist praised her long-standing commitment to EDI issues, highlighting her ideal fit for this role.

Mark VanLandingham, PhD a long-time member of our department, retired in August 2023 after 24 years of significant contributions to IHSD, the school, and the field through his research, teaching, and service. Although retired, Mark remains actively involved with the school in an emeritus capacity. His extensive research, particularly in Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S., and his service on various committees have left a lasting impact. A video celebrating his career was shown at a school dinner last fall.

Finally, we are excited to share that Jane Bertrand, PhD, MBA has capped off her lengthy career in international family planning with the recent publication of a book entitled "Fifty Years of Family Planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Dogged Pursuit of Progress." Its release was celebrated during a book launch in Kinshasa, DRC, on June 5, 2024, with many of the 100 persons interviewed for the book in attendance. The book is available via Open Access (free) and in hard copy in English, with the French translation scheduled for fall 2024.

The remainder of this newsletter shares updates and stories on research and people in IHSD. We hope you enjoy reading about our activities and stay in touch with us!

David Hotchkiss, PhD
Chair

Mai Do, MD, DrPH 
Vice Chair