Article Body	From The Dean: Summer 2021 The headline of this issue’s cover story on our school’s labs—“Back in Action”—might be an apt phrase to apply to our personal and professional lives as public health measures like the COVID-19 vaccines take hold in our country. When pandemic shutdowns came in 2020, the School of Public Health and Health Professions’ labs were no exception. Faculty who were updating or establishing new labs put their plans on hold, not knowing when they might have the chance to resume their work. Over the past few months, just as we’ve all been getting back to workplaces, schools and community spaces, our labs have also come back to life, and the work of our researchers is again active. Thus, the cover article celebrates this moment and looks at a number of SPHHP’s labs of various stripes. The format of the article is unusual for Health Impact in that it tells the story primarily via photos. Yet, as we know, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I invite you to spend some time with the dramatic images captured by our photographers. This spring, we wrapped up what we believe was the last semester in which many of our faculty and staff worked at least partially from home and students logged into most of their classes on Zoom. Although the University at Buffalo never closed, it has announced that in the upcoming fall semester, our campus community will again welcome faculty, staff and students in person, which was much anticipated news. About 85% of all classes will be conducted in person! While we experience in real time our country’s collective re-emergence, we should also remember the efforts and sacrifices of our public health and health professionals during the pandemic. These disciplines were among the most important contributors to the recovery, and I am proud that our school is both workplace and training ground for these professionals. Stay safe and healthy in the new school year! Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD Dean, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions SUNY Distinguished Professor
Teaser	Taking steps to combat discrimination and grow diversity 1/15/21 The headline of this issue’s cover story on our school’s labs—“Back in Action”—might be an apt phrase to apply to our personal and professional lives as public health measures like the COVID-19 vaccines take hold in our country.
Mini Teaser	1/15/21 Taking steps to combat discrimination and grow diversity
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From The Dean: Summer 2021

The headline of this issue’s cover story on our school’s labs—“Back in Action”—might be an apt phrase to apply to our personal and professional lives as public health measures like the COVID-19 vaccines take hold in our country.

When pandemic shutdowns came in 2020, the School of Public Health and Health Professions’ labs were no exception. Faculty who were updating or establishing new labs put their plans on hold, not knowing when they might have the chance to resume their work.

Over the past few months, just as we’ve all been getting back to workplaces, schools and community spaces, our labs have also come back to life, and the work of our researchers is again active. Thus, the cover article celebrates this moment and looks at a number of SPHHP’s labs of various stripes. The format of the article is unusual for Health Impact in that it tells the story primarily via photos. Yet, as we know, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I invite you to spend some time with the dramatic images captured by our photographers.

This spring, we wrapped up what we believe was the last semester in which many of our faculty and staff worked at least partially from home and students logged into most of their classes on Zoom. Although the University at Buffalo never closed, it has announced that in the upcoming fall semester, our campus community will again welcome faculty, staff and students in person, which was much anticipated news. About 85% of all classes will be conducted in person!

While we experience in real time our country’s collective re-emergence, we should also remember the efforts and sacrifices of our public health and health professionals during the pandemic. These disciplines were among the most important contributors to the recovery, and I am proud that our school is both workplace and training ground for these professionals.

Stay safe and healthy in the new school year!

Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD
Dean, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions
SUNY Distinguished Professor