University of Iowa College of Public Health

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The University of Iowa College of Public Health is a top-ranked school of public health, meeting the public health challenges of the 21st century through education, research, outreach, and community engagement.

  1. Oct 14

    Prairiewoods: An Invitation to Slow Down

    What happens when we make space to slow down, pay attention, and simply be? In this episode of Plugged In to Public Health, Lauren talks with Leslie Wright, executive director of Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. Founded by six Franciscan sisters in 1996, Prairiewoods encompasses 67 acres of restored prairie and woodland and was created around the idea of ecological spirituality: an understanding that human wellbeing, community, spirituality, and our relationship with the natural world are deeply interconnected. Leslie shares the story of Prairiewoods and the many ways people use the space, from walking its trails and spending time in nature to retreats, yoga, qigong, meditation, spiritual direction, gardening, and simply finding a quiet place to pause. But the conversation quickly becomes about more than one place. Lauren and Leslie explore what it means to live in a culture that constantly rewards productivity and doing, why opportunities for quiet and contemplation can feel increasingly rare, and what we may lose when every available moment is filled with stimulation. They discuss wonder and awe, creativity and repetitive practices, belonging, resilience, grief, radical hospitality, and the many different paths people can take toward connection and wellbeing. Leslie also offers practical ways to begin, whether through breath, movement, time outside, creative practice, or simply becoming more intentional about what receives our attention. At its heart, this episode is an invitation to consider a different set of questions: What are the things in your life that matter enough to make space for? Where do you find quiet? What allows you to experience wonder? And what might happen if, every once in a while, you stopped trying to do more and gave yourself permission simply to be? Learn more about Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center: https://prairiewoods.org/ A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-the-health-of-being-and-why-slowing-down-matters/ In this episode of Plugged In to Public Health, Lauren talks with Leslie Wright, executive director of Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. Founded by six Franciscan sisters in 1996, Prairiewoods encompasses 67 acres of restored prairie and woodland and was created around the idea of ecological spirituality: an understanding that human well-being, community, spirituality, and our relationship with the natural world are deeply interconnected. Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #mentalhealth #ecological #spirituality #meditation #wellbeing #creativity #selfcare #iowacity

    Prairiewoods: An Invitation to Slow Down

  2. Oct 9

    A Vaccine Against Cancer: 20 Years of HPV Prevention

    In 2006, the first HPV vaccine was approved in the United States, giving public health a powerful new tool: a vaccine capable of preventing infections that can eventually cause cancer. Twenty years later, what have we learned? In this episode of Plugged In to Public Health, Lauren sits down with Dr. Aloysius “Al” Klingelhutz, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Iowa. Dr. Klingelhutz has conducted research examining how human papillomaviruses, or HPV, interact with human cells and contribute to the cellular changes associated with cancer. The conversation begins with the basics of HPV, a group of more than 200 related viruses. While many HPV infections cause no serious health problems, persistent infection with certain types can cause cancers of the cervix, anus, penis, vagina, vulva, and oropharynx, or back of the throat. Dr. Klingelhutz walks us through the scientific story behind the HPV vaccine, beginning with the research that established HPV as a cause of cervical cancer and continuing through scientists’ efforts to understand how the virus transforms human cells. He explains how that knowledge eventually made it possible to develop virus-like particles that could train the immune system to recognize HPV without exposing someone to the cancer-causing components of the virus. Lauren and Dr. Klingelhutz also discuss how HPV vaccination recommendations have evolved over the past 20 years, why vaccination is most effective before exposure to HPV, and why vaccination is important for both males and females. Finally, the episode turns from discovery to implementation. Despite two decades of research supporting HPV vaccination, vaccination coverage remains an important public health issue. The conversation explores vaccine misinformation, conversations between healthcare providers and parents, and the challenge of translating an effective scientific intervention into widespread cancer prevention. Twenty years after the HPV vaccine first became available, this episode looks back at one of modern public health’s major cancer-prevention advances and asks what it will take to realize its full potential. Learn More For more information about HPV, HPV-associated cancers, and HPV vaccination: CDC: Cancers Caused by HPV https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/about/cancers-caused-by-hpv.html National Cancer Institute: HPV and Cancer https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-and-cancer National Cancer Institute: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Fact Sheet https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-vaccine-fact-sheet FDA: Gardasil https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/gardasil A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-a-vaccine-against-cancer-20-years-of-hpv-prevention/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #HPV #vaccines #cancer #cancerprevention #research #microbiology #immunology #iowacity

    A Vaccine Against Cancer: 20 Years of HPV Prevention

  3. Oct 5

    From Iowa to Taiwan: Public Health Beyond the Classroom

    What can studying public health abroad teach us about healthcare, migration, and the social factors that shape health? In this episode of Plugged In to Public Health, Lauren talks with Sarah Chen, a fourth-year undergraduate student in the University of Iowa College of Public Health who is also pursuing a certificate in human rights. Sarah spent eight weeks in Taiwan interning with Harmony Home Foundation Taiwan, an organization whose work includes supporting people living with HIV, migrant workers, undocumented individuals, and their children. During her internship, Sarah worked primarily with migrant families and children, developing English lessons, assisting with health education programming, and accompanying clients to clinics, hospitals, vaccination appointments, and other healthcare services. Sarah shares what it was like to work largely in Mandarin and navigate public health in a different cultural context. She also discusses her firsthand experience with Taiwan’s national health insurance system and some of the striking differences she observed between healthcare in Taiwan and the United States. The conversation also explores the challenges facing migrant workers, the relationship between citizenship and access to healthcare and social services, provider burnout, community advocacy, and the role that nonprofits and healthcare organizations can play in filling gaps in care. Finally, Sarah reflects on what she brought home from Taiwan and why international experiences can be particularly valuable for public health students. Her experience illustrates how concepts like social determinants of health, health equity, and cross-cultural communication can look very different when encountered in people’s everyday lives rather than discussed in a classroom A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-from-iowa-to-taiwan-public-health-beyond-the-classroom/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #migrants #humanrights #internship #studyabroad #healthequity #healthinsurance #nonprofit #iowacity

    From Iowa to Taiwan: Public Health Beyond the Classroom

  4. Sep 28

    What It Really Takes to Be a Stem Cell Donor

    What does it actually take to become a stem cell donor, and what happens when you find out you’re a match? In this episode of Plugged Into Public Health, Lauren sits down with Grayson Wills, a fourth-year nursing student at the University of Iowa, to talk about stem cell and bone marrow donation from both a deeply personal and practical perspective. Grayson’s connection to the donor registry began when his twin brother, Calder, was diagnosed with stage four blood cancer as a child. Years later, Grayson joined the registry himself and eventually learned that he was a match for a patient in Canada. Grayson walks through the process from joining the registry and completing a cheek swab to medical screening, preparing for donation, and spending several hours actually donating stem cells. He also discusses some of the misconceptions that can make people hesitant to register, including concerns about pain, cost, missed work, and what bone marrow donation actually involves. The conversation also explores why diversity within donor registries matters, how Grayson’s experiences with his brother and his own donation have influenced the nurse he hopes to become, and why he believes simply joining the registry is an important first step. To learn more about stem cell and bone marrow donation or joining the donor registry, visit the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) at https://www.nmdp.org/ A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-what-it-really-takes-to-be-a-stem-cell-donor/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #stemcells #bonemarrow #donorregistry #nursing #donation #healthscreening #healthconcerns #iowacity

    What It Really Takes to Be a Stem Cell Donor

  5. Sep 18

    Rural Pharmacy, Reimagined: Expanding Care Access with Mylo Wells

    What happens when the community pharmacy becomes a front door to healthcare? In this episode of Plugged In To Public Health, Lauren talks with Mylo Wells, PharmD, owner of Wells Hometown Drug and Wells Hometown Clinic in southeast Iowa. After graduating from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2018, Mylo opened his first independent pharmacy in Bloomfield just months later. He has since expanded to a second pharmacy location and, in November 2025, opened Iowa's first pharmacist-led walk-in clinic. Mylo explains how changes to Iowa's pharmacy practice framework have allowed pharmacists to use their clinical training in new ways, including evaluating and treating certain health conditions, prescribing medications, and ordering tests. He walks through what patients can be seen for at the clinic, how the clinic determines when someone needs a higher level of care, and why same-day access is particularly important in rural communities where other walk-in options may be miles away. Lauren and Mylo also discuss the economics behind the model, including Medicaid coverage, cash-pay visits, challenges with commercial insurance credentialing, and the larger question of how pharmacists can be compensated for clinical expertise that has historically been provided informally or for free. The conversation also explores the unique role of rural pharmacists as trusted members of their communities, the importance of practicing at the top of one's license, relationships between pharmacists and other local healthcare providers, workforce development, and whether similar models could expand to other communities and states. At a time when many conversations about rural healthcare focus on closures and declining access, this episode looks at a different story: how one rural pharmacist is building new access points to care and rethinking what community pharmacy can look like. Resources: Iowa Pharmacy Association: Standard of Care https://www.iarx.org/soc Iowa Pharmacy Association: Standard of Care FAQs https://www.iarx.org/soc_faq Wells Hometown Clinic https://www.wellshometowndrug.com/clinic/ Wells Hometown Drug https://www.wellshometowndrug.com/ A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-rural-pharmacy-reimagined-and-expanding-access-to-care/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #ruralhealth #pharmacy #healthclinic #insurance #communityhealth #workforcedevelopment #localbusiness #iowacity

    Rural Pharmacy, Reimagined: Expanding Care Access with Mylo Wells

  6. Sep 10

    How Do We Know the Air Is Safe?

    What does it actually mean when regulators say a proposed power plant is expected to meet air-quality standards? In this episode of Plugged In To Public Health, Lauren talks with Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, professor in the University of Iowa College of Public Health’s Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, about the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the broader public health questions surrounding energy production and air pollution. Using the proposed natural gas facility as a real-world example, Dr. O’Shaughnessy explains what pollutants can result from burning natural gas, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, and why some populations may be particularly vulnerable to poor air quality. The conversation also explores how the Clean Air Act regulates major pollution sources, how facilities use pollution-control technology, and how regulators determine whether a new source is expected to remain within air-quality standards. Lauren and Dr. O’Shaughnessy also dig into one of the less visible parts of environmental regulation: computer dispersion modeling. They discuss how models use emissions information and years of meteorological data to estimate where pollutants may travel and identify potential worst-case conditions, as well as why modeling and physical air monitoring each provide different kinds of information. Finally, the episode examines how public health professionals can communicate uncertainty when communities want definitive answers about environmental risk, what data would be important to monitor if the Morgan Valley Energy Center is built, and how lower-cost technologies such as PurpleAir sensors may expand community involvement in air-quality monitoring. A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-how-do-we-know-the-air-is-safe/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #iowacity #healthcare #airpollution #energyproduction #airquality #environmentalhealth #naturalgas #datacollection #morganvalleyenergycenter

    How Do We Know the Air Is Safe?

  7. Sep 4

    Following your curiosity, finding your path

    In this episode of Plugged In To Public Health, Lauren sits down with Harry Bui, a Master of Public Health student in epidemiology at the University of Iowa, to talk about finding your path in public health and why that path does not have to be linear. Harry shares how he began college interested in science education and medicine before an introductory public health course shifted the way he thought about health and healthcare. He discusses his transition into epidemiology, his interest in clinical diagnostics and health equity, and how research helped him see the connection between community needs and academic work. The conversation also covers Harry’s involvement with the University of Iowa Mobile Clinic and the Office of Innovation’s Innovation Fellows program, where he has explored entrepreneurship, technology, and new approaches to improving patient care. He also talks about his plans to apply for a Fulbright and his interest in continuing to combine public health, medicine, technology, and education in the future. Throughout the episode, Harry reflects on mentorship, uncertainty, changing career plans, and the importance of reaching out to faculty and researchers when you are trying to find opportunities. For students who are still figuring out where they fit within public health, his advice is simple: stay curious, talk to people, and give yourself permission to explore. Plugged In To Public Health is a student-run podcast from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-following-your-curiosity-finding-your-path/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged In To Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #mastersdegree #epidemiology #patientcare #fellowships #entrepreneurship #research #healthequity #iowa

    Following your curiosity, finding your path

  8. Aug 28

    What an MPH Taught Me: Reflections on Graduate School with Student Host Raj

    In this episode of Plugged In To Public Health, Lauren sits down with former podcast host and recent University of Iowa MPH graduate Prithvi Raj Daliboyina ("Raj") to reflect on his time in the College of Public Health. Before coming to Iowa, Raj completed physician training in India. During his MPH in Epidemiology, he expanded that clinical perspective through coursework and projects in epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative research, data analysis, and healthcare quality improvement. Raj discusses the transition from thinking about health at the individual patient level to examining the broader systems and population-level factors that shape health outcomes. He also shares how projects involving medication adherence and hospital length of stay helped him see the importance of issues such as transportation, communication, health literacy, care coordination, and access. The conversation also covers some of the less obvious parts of graduate school, including adapting to a new academic system, moving to a new country, deciding where to specialize within a broad field, and learning how to turn complicated public health data into information that can be understood and used by people outside the field. Raj also reflects on his time as a host of Plugged In To Public Health and the value of podcasting as a space for asking questions, challenging assumptions, and communicating different perspectives. For students beginning an MPH or still figuring out where they fit in public health, Raj offers a simple piece of advice: explore broadly, talk to people, take advantage of opportunities, and give yourself permission to discover your interests along the way. A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news-items/plugged-in-to-public-health-reflections-on-graduate-school-with-student-host-raj/ Have a question for our podcast crew or an idea for an episode? You can email them at CPH-GradAmbassador@uiowa.edu You can also support Plugged in to Public Health by sharing this episode and others with your friends, colleagues, and social networks. #publichealth #healthcare #graduateschool #mastersdegree #MPH #epidemiology #podcasting #studentperspective #healthliteracy #iowacity

    What an MPH Taught Me: Reflections on Graduate School with Student Host Raj
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The University of Iowa College of Public Health is a top-ranked school of public health, meeting the public health challenges of the 21st century through education, research, outreach, and community engagement.

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